Spontane strategier i innovationsnetv rk: Materialitetens betydning for stabiliseringen af virtuelle verdner som professionelt kommunikationsmedie [Spontaneous strategies in innovation networks: The importance of materiality in stabilising virtual worlds] Spontane strategier i innovationsnetv rk: materialitetens betydning for stabiliseringen af virtuelle verdner som professionelt kommunikationsmedie [Spontaneous strategies in innovation networks: The importance of materiality in stabilising virtual worlds]

Megen forskning har besk ftiget sig med, hvordan sociale og organisatoriske processer ndres, n r de finder sted i virtuelle rum. Denne artikel tager udgangspunkt i innovationsprocesser, hvor akt rer fors ger at etablere virtuelle verdner som platform for professionel kommunikation, men i stedet for at fokusere p kommunikationsprocesser internt i virtuelle verdner vil artiklen stille sp rgsm lstegn ved dikotomien mellem den fysiske og den virtuelle verden og unders ge materialitetens betydning for organiseringen af det virtuelle. Ved at anl gge et perspektiv inspireret af Akt r Netv rks Teori vil artiklen argumentere for, at fysiske steder og objekter ikke blot fungerer som kontekst for innovationsprocesser, men tv rtimod inddrages som strategiske ressourcer, der aktivt medskaber de virtuelle verdner. Empirisk funderes analysen i fem danske virksomheder og viser, hvordan virksomhederne benytter sig af fysiske steder og objekter som strategisk ressource i innovationsprocessen. Hermed bidrager artiklen til litteraturen omkring innovation inden for nye medier s som virtuelle verdner. Much research has dealt with how social and organisational processes change when they take place in virtual spaces. This article considers innovation processes in which actors try to establish virtual worlds as platforms for professional communication. However, instead of focusing on internal communication processes in virtual worlds, the article seeks to question the dichotomy between physical and virtual worlds and to explore the importance of materiality in organising the virtual. Adopting a perspective inspired by actor-network theory, the article argues that physical places and objects do not only serve as context for innovation processes, but on the contrary are incorporated as strategic resources that actively help create the virtual worlds. The article is based on an empirical analysis of five Danish companies, and shows how companies make use of physical places and objects as strategic resources in the innovation process. Thus the article contributes to the literature on innovation in new media such as virtual worlds.