Advanced workplace technologies are increasingly used alongside traditional enterprise software packages (such as enterprise resource planning) in the workplace. However, we have only limited understanding of how different kinds of technologies are used to dynamically shape work routines and fluidity in a digital workplace. We conducted an in-depth six-year study of the use of enterprise resource planning (ERP) system by a large information technology service provider company. The company used the system to manage its global staffing processes. We explored how the users of this system sought to achieve the fluidity needed to do their work. Our findings show that users balance two patterns of routine performance through different technologies with varying degrees of malleability: one to generate fluidity and another to generate stability. We call this process ‘generative balancing’. Our research contributes to the literature on workplace technologies and ERP use by providing insights into how the use of technologies with different degrees of malleability helps to craft digital workspaces and enables users to deal with tensions between accomplishing local-level performance and realizing corporate-level strategic intents.

在工作场所中，越来越多的高级工作场所技术与传统的企业软件包（例如企业资源计划）一起使用。但是，我们对如何使用不同类型的技术动态地塑造数字工作场所中的工作例程和流动性的了解有限。我们对一家大型信息技术服务提供商公司使用企业资源计划（ERP）系统进行了为期六年的深入研究。该公司使用该系统来管理其全球人员配备流程。我们探索了该系统的用户如何寻求实现工作所需的流动性。我们的发现表明，用户可以通过具有不同延展性的不同技术来平衡两种常规性能模式：一种产生流动性，另一种产生稳定性。我们称此过程为“生成平衡”。我们的研究通过深入了解具有不同延展性的技术的使用如何帮助制作数字化工作区并使用户应对实现本地绩效和实现企业级战略之间的紧张关系，为有关工作场所技术和ERP使用的文献做出了贡献意向。