Markus Philipp Zimmer

• Maschewski, Jan; Richter, Kenneth & Zimmer, Markus Philipp (2027). The Spirit of Governance: Theorizing Organizing Logics of Digital Health Platform Governance. Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS). ISSN 1530-1605. Full text in Research Archive
• Richter, Kenneth; Zimmer, Markus Philipp; Werner, Matthias & Drews, Paul (2026). Responsibility in Data Governance Has Many Faces: Theorizing Normative Reference Points. Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS). Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Data governance research recognizes that formal governance acquires meaning through situated interpretation and enactment. Yet, little is known about the normative assumptions underlying actors' judgments when data governance is responsible. We address this gap by conceptualizing them as normative reference points (NRPs) that guide how responsibility is understood, assigned, and justified in governance practice. Drawing on an abductive analysis of qualitative interviews, we identify five NRPs and show how their relations constitute two modes of responsibility enactment: stabilizing and deliberating. The stabilizing mode renders responsibility actionable through concentration, routinization, and traceability, whereas the deliberating mode keeps responsibility open to reflection, stakeholder consideration, and case-sensitive judgment. We contribute threefold. First, we develop NRPs as a vocabulary for theorizing the plurality of responsibility in data governance. Second, we theorize the tension generated by the relation between the stabilizing and deliberating modes. Third, we show how data governance practices mediate this tension.

• Zimmer, Markus Philipp; Zeller-Lanzl, Julia; Gierlich-Joas, Maren; Schoch, Manfred; Drews, Paul & Thatcher, Jason Bennett [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2026). Resilience, Perseverance and Paths in Academia: Discussing Strategies and Perspectives for Early Career Researchers. Business & Information Systems Engineering (BISE). ISSN 2363-7005. doi: 10.1007/s12599-026-01023-y. Full text in Research Archive
• Torres, Maria Julia; Püchel, Lea; Zimmer, Markus Philipp & Brandt, Tobias (2026). Non-profits' digital transformation: understanding organizational identity dynamics. Proceedings of European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS). 18. doi: https:/aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2026/gen_track/gen_track/18. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Digital Transformation (DT) is a central socio-technical process in information systems (IS) research that scholars have theorized as redefining organisational identity (OI). This theorizing stems from studies of for-profit organisations and thus ties to their use and understanding of OI. However, nonprofits engage in DT, and because of their often, long-term organisational purpose, they typically feature distinct and rather stable organisational identities. We argue that this distinct feature makes nonprofits a critical research site for advancing our theorising of DT through the theoretical lens of OI, posing the research question: how does DT change a nonprofit’s identity? To answer this question, we conducted a longitudinal case study of Greenpeace International (GPI). Our findings suggest that GPI’s DT manifests in a cyclical five-periods-process that is deeply entangled with its OI and we contribute to the DT literature by extending existing theorizing of DT-induced identity dynamics to the context of nonprofit organisations.

• Zimmer, Markus Philipp; Vassilakopoulou, Polyxeni; Grisot, Miria & Niemimaa, Marko Ilmari (2026). Embracing contrarian thinking: value-reflexive research for a better world. European Journal of Information Systems. ISSN 0960-085X. 35(2), p. 165–177. doi: 10.1080/0960085x.2026.2648981. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Scientific progress relies on contrarian thinking that questions assumptions shaping how scholars frame, study, or theorize phenomena. Unexamined, such assumptions perpetuate the same views, practices, and explanations, building entrenched research trajectories that limit scholarly debate on understanding the world. If we are interested in a healthy Information Systems (IS) discipline that contributes to a better world, we require precisely this openness to different understandings of the world. Therefore, for this special issue, we invited original submissions that embrace contrarian thinking and engage in value-reflexivity when investigating and theorizing about digital phenomena. In this editorial, we synthesize previous work to define contrarian thinking and link it to value-reflexivity. We then present how the special issue articles embrace such thinking through value-reflexivity. Our contribution to IS research is twofold: first, we illustrate the importance of such thinking for triggering and upholding vigorous debate on phenomena, research methods, and theory; second, we invite and encourage scholars to embrace contrarian thinking through value-reflexivity. By bringing contrarian thinking through value-reflexivity into explicit consideration, we hope to foster the boldness required for new, and even radical ideas for IS research to thrive and contribute to a better world.

• Zimmer, Markus P. & Gierlich-Joas, Maren (2026). Digital transformation of work: Theorizing the process from an identity theory perspective. Journal of strategic information systems. ISSN 0963-8687. 35(2). doi: 10.1016/j.jsis.2026.101966. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Organizations increasingly engage in digital transformation (DT) of work. Previous research has shown that DT of work can engender intended and unintended consequences, such as tensions signaling organizational inertia. Scholars and practitioners often attribute transformation failure to such inertia. However, not inertia but the failure to evaluate and address it entails transformation failure. To evaluate inertia, we must dissect the nature of tensions signaling it. For this, we must understand how the DT of work process, from which they emerge, unfolds. We theorize that DT of work unfolds from an interplay of DT work and function work. We empirically study this interplay through an ethnography of a large car manufacturer’s human resources function. We draw on identity theory—the concepts of identity claim and understanding—and illustrate that DT of work unfolds in three evolutionary periods marked by shifting identity claims and understandings reflected in DT work. We reveal that DT of work involves vertical (i.e., between claims and understandings) and horizontal (i.e., among coexisting understandings) identity tensions. Against previous literature’s contentions, these tensions indicate that DT of work shifts identity by addition, not substitution. We contribute twofold. First, we conceptualize a process model of how DT of work unfolds from an identity theory perspective. This model outlines how revised identity claims initiate DT work and how DT of work produces multiple identity understandings entailing vertical and horizontal identity tensions. While vertical tensions trigger revisions of identity claims that initiate adjustments in DT work, horizontal tensions suggest DT of work shifts identity by addition. Second, we outline how our insights into identity tensions in DT of work can inform research into DT-induced identity tensions and underlying inertia.

• Naqvi, Syed Asad Ali; Zimmer, Markus Philipp; Kauschinger, Martin; Drews, Paul & Basole, Rahul (2026). AI-Enhanced Literature Reviews: Connecting Emerging Phenomena and Bodies of Knowledge. Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS). ISSN 1530-1605. 59, p. 7233–7242. doi: 10.24251/HICSS.2026.858. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Bodies of Knowledge (BoKs) are structured knowledge collections that describe key concepts, terminology, and practices. Emerging research phenomena are rapidly evolving and novel domains that are attracting growing interest from researchers. The relationship between existing bodies of knowledge and emerging phenomena is complex, and offers exciting research opportunities. To address this challenge, we introduce a literature review framework called Contextualize, Visualize, and Interpret (CVI-AI), which leverages artificial intelligence and visualization capabilities to help researchers understand the relationship between emerging phenomena and existing BoKs. Our contributions are threefold. First, we illustrate how incorporating AI tools into the CVI-AI framework improves the literature review process and outcomes by examining the connections and semantics within the literature while formulating novel research questions. Second, our framework provides guidance for applying AI tools to research. Third, our study supports researchers in developing new research agendas by linking emerging phenomena to the existing BoKs.

• Gratzke, Lennart; Zimmer, Markus Philipp & Drews, Paul (2026). IT Outsourcing Relationships in the Context of Digital Transformation: From Transactional Relationships to Ecosystem Partnerships. Information systems management. ISSN 1058-0530. 43(1), p. 65–84. doi: 10.1080/10580530.2025.2575172. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Digital Transformation (DT) reshapes the IT function and its ecosystem. This transformation affects multiple domains of the IT function, including IT outsourcing (ITO) and relationships with outsourcing partners. While several studies explored shifts in ITO relationships, there is a lack of systematic understanding of how DT changes the nature of organizations’ ITO relationships. Previously published ITO taxonomies still reflect the dimensions and characteristics of traditional ITO practices. We propose that the DT alters the dimensions and characteristics of ITO. We thus revisit and advance existing taxonomies by employing a systematic literature review of recent ITO studies. Based on this review, we update existing taxonomies’ dimensions and characteristics to reflect the DT-induced change in ITO relationships. The updated taxonomy reveals a shift from transactional relationships to ecosystems of partnerships in ITO. This shift provides directions for future research of ITO relationships and for managing today’s IT service networks.

• Trittin-Ulbrich, Hannah; Zimmer, Markus P.; Habersang, Stefanie; Dobusch, Leonhard; Gierlich-Joas, Maren & Schüßler, Elke [Show all 13 contributors for this article] (2025). Digital Responsibility: Building Bridges Between Organization Theory and Information Systems. Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research. ISSN 0341-2687. doi: 10.1007/s41471-025-00234-5. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract This essay collection provides an interdisciplinary discussion between organization theory (OT) and information systems (IS) on digital responsibility. Digital responsibility refers to the design, development, adoption, use, and decommissioning of digital technology in accordance with ethical principles regarding these technologies’ social, ecological, and economic impact. The included essays provide interdisciplinary views on theory, method , and impact of digital responsibility. The collection’s aim is to facilitate and deepen the exchange between the fields of OT and IS and to stimulate interdisciplinary research on digital responsibility.

• Richter, Kenneth; Zimmer, Markus Philipp & Drews, Paul (2025). Govern Like You Mean It: Embedding Data Ethics Practices within Data Governance. Proceedings of the American Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS). ISSN 3066-8743. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  As organizations increasingly rely on data-driven decision-making, the integration of data ethics (DE) within data governance (DG) remains insufficiently understood. Existing DG prioritizes compliance, data quality, and efficiency, but lacks guidance on how DE can be systematically enacted. Therefore, this study addresses this gap by examining how organizations embed DE within governance mechanisms. Using a qualitative research approach, we conducted and analyzed interviews with DG professionals to identify and categorize DE practices. Our findings reveal that DE is not a separate governance function but is embedded within existing governance mechanisms, materializing through structural, procedural, and relational mechanisms. By mapping DE practices onto these mechanisms, this study advances the theoretical understanding of the interplay between DG and DE and refines existing DG frameworks to integrate ethical considerations better. These insights provide organizations with a structured approach to institutionalizing DE, ensuring that ethical commitments are not merely aspirational but operationalized within DG.

• Naqvi, Syed Asad Ali; Zimmer, Markus Philipp; Drews, Paul & Basole, Rahul (2025). Understanding Partnering Strategies in the Low-Code Platform Ecosystem. Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS). ISSN 1530-1605. doi: 10.24251/hicss.2025.744. Full text in Research Archive
• Naqvi, Syed Asad Ali; Zimmer, Markus Philipp; Syed, Rehan; Drews, Paul & Basole, Rahul (2025). Overcoming Multi-legacy Application Challenges through Building Dynamic Capabilities for Low-code Adoption. Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS). ISSN 1530-1605. p. 7503–7512. doi: 10.24251/hicss.2025.896. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Incumbent organizations face challenges in managing multiple legacy applications. Legacy applications limit the integration of new applications and hinder the use of modern application development technologies such as cloud and AI. We present a case study of an incumbent organization that developed dynamic capabilities (DC) to leverage low-code for effectively tackling these challenges. By conducting 18 expert interviews, our work identifies key capabilities such as legacy application sensing, seizing low-code opportunities, and orchestrating transformative shifts in software development practices. Our study makes two key contributions. First, we demonstrate how organizations develop DC to use low code as a new option to overcome challenges stemming from siloed legacy application. Second, we develop a process model that explains how organizations can develop DC to use low-code for achieving end-to-end process coverage, advance software development practices, and the flexibility of the IT infrastructure.

• Christ, Anna-Sophia; Carl, K. Valerie; Kurtz, Christian; Lobschat, Lara; Mueller, Benjamin & Zimmer, Markus P. (2025). Taking Digital Responsibility for Data: Toward a Governance Model for User-Generated Data. Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research. ISSN 0341-2687. 77, p. 527–556. doi: 10.1007/s41471-025-00225-6. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  As firms increasingly rely on user-generated data (UGD) to drive decision-making, questions of digital responsibility have become central to contemporary data governance. This article develops a governance model for UGD that integrates the ecosystem view with three complementary dimensions—object, authority, and subject—to clarify what is governed, who holds governing power, and who is affected. This model captures the distributed and relational nature of governance across interconnected actors and infrastructures. While the model is designed to be broadly applicable, we illustrate how governance responsibilities shift between different phases in the lifecycle of UGD, such as its initial capture and subsequent use. By linking these lifecycle moments to the roles and relationships within the ecosystem, we highlight how technical, organizational, and stakeholder considerations converge in practice. The model emphasizes transparency, contextual integrity, and distributed accountability as guiding principles for responsible data management, offering actionable guidance for managers and policymakers navigating the tension between data-driven innovation and digital responsibility.

• Eberl, Julia Katharina; Zimmer, Markus Philipp & Drews, Paul (2025). Digital leadership routines: Understanding the role of artifacts in digital leadership development. Information and organization. ISSN 1471-7727. 35(4). doi: 10.1016/j.infoandorg.2025.100599. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Digitalization requires organizations to quickly adapt to technological trends for sustaining and improving their market position. To ensure they are capable of responding quickly to such trends, organizations implement a new leadership approach, which research and practice refer to as Digital Leadership (DL). The previous literature considers organizations from the information technology (IT) industry as frontrunners in developing DL. While it has focused on the skills of the digital leader and defining DL, our study addresses the so far unexplored development of DL at routine level. We conducted 24 interviews with followers and leaders in the IT industry. Analyzing the transcripts of those interviews with the theoretical lens of organizational routines, we contribute to DL research. We shift the narrative in this field from defining what DL is to understanding how DL is developed by the actions of leaders and followers through artifact-based transformation of DL routines. We identify artifacts in six roles that stabilize or flexibilize performance of DL routines. We uncover that DL is not static but dynamic as flexibilizing artifacts promote adjustment in routine performance based on situational context. Leaders and followers can impede DL development by deciding to situationally deviate from the intended role of artifacts due to tensions between artifacts and past experiences. These findings advance DL theory by uncovering the importance of followers in DL and leadership theory by adding the lens of routines to leadership development. They help practitioners to understand the complexity of DL development and how the IT industry realizes DL.

• Baiyere, Abayomi; Zimmer, Markus P.; Staykova, Kalina S. & Jöhnk, Jan (2025). Beyond Digital vs. IT: The Untold Story of Their Relationship from an Organizing Logic Perspective. Information Systems Research. ISSN 1047-7047. 36(4). doi: 10.1287/isre.2021.0230. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Organizations often feature digital and information technology (IT) units, suggesting that managers perceive digital technology as different from IT. However, these units do not coexist in silos; rather, they interact in pursuit of organizational goals. In this study, we investigate the interactions between the digital and IT units of three organizations undergoing digital transformation. We find that these interactions reflect three relationships with varying dynamics. The interplay of these dynamics shape organization’s digital transformation efforts. We outline three considerations for managing these dynamics productively. First, we outline conditions that determine the dynamic (e.g., synergistic or conflicting) more likely to manifest. These conditions depend on the (in)compatibility between the units’ need to interact and the strategic, routine or technology rationales they draw on. We caution against seeking compatibility at all costs. Rather, managers should consider the context of each interaction before deciding how to influence these dynamics. Second, we found that interpersonal relationships, hiring talent with diverse perspectives, or establishing idea exchange forums can help to foster productive collaborations. However, they alone do not determine these dynamics. Third, cross-unit relationships is important for accomplishing organizational goals like digital transformation. Managers should proactively nurture such relationships to foster collaboration among units.

• Naqvi, Syed Asad Ali; Zimmer, Markus Philipp; Drews, Paul; Lemmer, Kristina & Basole, Rahul (2024). The Low-Code Phenomenon: Mapping the Intellectual Structure of Research. Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS). ISSN 1530-1605. doi: https:/aisel.aisnet.org/hicss-57/st/sw_development/12/. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The term low-code has been closely associated with simplifying and accelerating software development. Driven by the idea that low-code can help to meet the increased digitalization demands, the low-code phenomenon is rising in academia and industry. This resulted in an immense increase in publications on low-code, posing the question of what research streams characterize the low-code literature. We conducted a bibliometric analysis based on 725 articles. Out of these 725 articles, we selected 105 articles with the term ”low-code” in the title or abstract. Our contribution is to clarify the conceptual understanding of low-code by identifying six research streams, namely, origins of low-code within software engineering, low-code as an enabler for emerging software engineering trends, workplace transformation, establishing low-code methodologies, understanding low-code adoption and leveraging low-code for digital transformation. We conclude with future research directions that still need to be explored within the low-code literature.

• Naqvi, Ali S. A.; Zimmer, Markus Philipp & Drews, Paul (2024). Empowering the Public Sector: Unveiling the Transformational Potential of Low-Code in Crisis Responses. Proceedings of the American Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS). ISSN 3066-8743. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Low-code presents a nascent approach that is both a technology and a method to simplify software development. Research on the use of low-code to support digital transformation in public sector organizations is scarce. To address this gap, we draw upon publicly accessible data and identified three cases in which governments used low-code to support social entrepreneurs and small businesses during the pandemic. All three cases shared a similar vision of supporting the timely payment of financial aid while maintaining the limits imposed by the lockdown. However, in each case, three different low-code platforms and capabilities were used. We used Vial's digital transformation framework as the theoretical lens. By performing a cross-case analysis, we contribute to research by presenting a model that illustrates low-code adoption to support digital transformation. Moreover, we provide six technological and organizational learnings that can assist practitioners in leveraging low-code to support digital transformation.

• Vimalan, Naveen; Zimmer, Markus Philipp & Drews, Paul (2024). Fostering Inclusivity – Towards Principles for Inclusive Information Systems Design. Lecture Notes in Information Systems and Organisation (LNISO). ISSN 2195-4968. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Designing information systems (IS) for impaired individuals is crucial yet challenging. Current inclusive design approaches often prioritize technical functionality in artifact design. However, they frequently overlook social and structural factors within design processes, such as promoting social inclusion or addressing stereotypes. This limits design processes’ inclusivity. To address this research problem, we conducted a systematic literature review of inclusive design approaches unveiling six inclusion principles. These principles, derived from examining inclusive design approaches against the functional, social and critical disability model, advocate social and structural dimensions, which existing inclusive design approaches often neglect. The proposed principles can thus guide designers to more effectively incorporate functional, social and structural dimensions of disability in design approaches and by this, can foster greater inclusivity.

• Zimmer, Markus Philipp & Minkkinen, Matti (2024). NARRATIVE APPROACH TO FUTURES: FUTURE-ORIENTED PERSPECTIVE TO RESPONSIBLE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION. Proceedings of European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS). Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Responsible digital transformation (RDT) involves future-oriented strategizing. The key notion: organizations use digital technology to transform and create responsible futures. Scholars emphasized the importance of future-oriented research to theorize how we can create a better world. Nevertheless, we see little empirical work that takes a future-oriented perspective on digital transformation (DT) or specifically RDT. Since organizational actors often tell imagined futures in narrative form, we develop and illustrate narrative approach to futures as an empirical approach for studying future-orientation in DT. Thus, we synthesize existing work to develop narrative approach to futures and illustrate this approach in a single case study of Greenpeace’s RDT. We contribute twofold. First, we contribute narrative approach to futures as an analytical approach as well as three archetypal futures narratives and concepts that provide for theorizing how futures produce present transformative action. Second, we contribute outlining implications of such approach to studying DT, specifically RDT.

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• Zimmer, Markus Philipp; Paul, Karen & Drews, Paul (2024). Greenpeace’s Digital Transformation: A Case of Digital–Sustainable Co-Transformation. Leuphana University Lüneburg. doi: https:/www.greenpeace.de/publikationen/Zimmer_Greenpeace_Digital_Transformation.pdf. Full text in Research Archive

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