Professor Wanda Orlikowski is a preeminent scholar whose pioneering work has fundamentally reshaped understanding of technology's role within organizational contexts and workplace practices. She currently holds the distinguished position of Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Information Technology and Organization Studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she has established herself as a leading authority in the field. Dr. Orlikowski earned her Ph.D. from New York University Stern School of Business in 1989, following earlier academic achievements at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Throughout her illustrious career, she has maintained visiting appointments at prestigious institutions including the London School of Economics and the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge, further cementing her international reputation as a thought leader in organizational studies and information systems.
Professor Orlikowski's groundbreaking research examines how digital technologies transform organizational structures, coordination mechanisms, and accountability frameworks, with her sociomaterial perspective challenging conventional views of technology as merely instrumental. Her influential work, particularly the development of sociomaterial practice theory in collaboration with Susan Scott, has provided essential frameworks for understanding how digital work is constituted through inseparable social and material elements in contemporary organizations. This research has been widely recognized with prestigious honors including the Lasting Impact Award from ACM's Computer-Supported Cooperative Work Community for her seminal paper on groupware implementation and the Distinguished Scholar Award from the Academy of Management's Organizational Communication and Information Systems Division. Her theoretical contributions have generated significant shifts in how scholars and practitioners understand digital transformations in workplace organizing and coordination.
Beyond her scholarly achievements, Professor Orlikowski has demonstrated exceptional dedication to mentoring the next generation of researchers, with students consistently noting her patient guidance, thoughtful feedback, and near-constant availability throughout their academic journeys. She has served editorial roles for leading journals including Organization Science and MIS Quarterly, helping to shape research standards and directions in her field through rigorous scholarly engagement. Currently elected as a Fellow of both the Academy of Management and the British Academy, her ongoing research continues to explore emerging sociomaterial configurations in digital work, examining how these configurations reshape professional identities and organizational boundaries in an increasingly technology-saturated world. Professor Orlikowski's intellectual leadership remains vital as organizations globally navigate complex digital transformation challenges, with her theoretical frameworks providing essential guidance for understanding profound organizational changes brought about by technological innovation.
