A Conceptual Artefact for Antifragile IS: A Design Science Research Approach in Support of IS Plasticity

In a context characterized by uncertainty, complexity, and the proliferation of risks, information systems (IS) are still predominantly designed according to a resilience logic: Absorbing shocks, preserving critical functions, and restoring stable operations. While this approach remains essential, it is insufficient to fully account for how IS evolve when confronted with "black swan" events. Antifragility refers to a different dynamic, in which IS do not merely withstand disruptions but leverage them to improve. This capacity to evolve through transformation rather than simple preservation directly raises the issue of IS plasticity, understood as the ability of IS to reconfigure over time. Accordingly, this article addresses the following research question: How can we understand the relationship between plasticity, resilience, and antifragility in IS? The study reports the first iteration of a four-phase Design Science Research approach. The findings take the form of a conceptual artefact composed of two complementary components: A diagnostic matrix that presents technical design principles along a resilience–antifragility continuum, and organizational plasticity practices that moderate the transformation of a resilient IS into an antifragile one. The central theoretical contribution lies in reformulating antifragility as a manifestation of IS plasticity, resulting from a socio-technical configuration in which resilience constitutes a necessary but insufficient prerequisite, and where organizational plasticity conditions the capacity to derive durable gains from disruptions. From a managerial perspective, the artefact supports diagnosis, cross-functional alignment, and strategic arbitration between a "resilience-only" posture and a governed progression toward antifragility.