We argue that the use of electronic communication technologies in changing organizational forms can be facilitated by the explicit and ongoing adaptation of those technologies to changing contexts of use. This paper reports on an exploratory study of the use of a computer conferencing system in a Japanese R&D project group. We found that the system’s use was significantly influenced by the activities of a few individuals who shaped users’ interaction with the conferencing technology, modified features of the technology, and altered the context of use. These activities—which we call technology-use mediation—promoted effective electronic communication both initially at the point of adoption, as well as over time as needs, preferences, experiences, and conditions changed. Drawing on these insights, we develop a theoretical framing of the mediation process which suggests that it can be a powerful organizational mechanism for helping organizations provide the ongoing attention and resources needed to adapt electronic communication technologies to changing conditions, contexts, and organizational forms.

This study found that the use of a computer conferencing system in an R&D lab was significantly shaped by a set of intervening actors--mediators--who actively guided and manipulated the technology and its use over time. These mediators adapted the technology to its initial context and shaped user interaction with it; over time, they continued to modify the technology and influence use patterns to respond to changing circumstances. We argue that well-managed mediation may be a useful mechanism for shaping technologies to evolving contexts of use, and that it extends our understanding of the powerful role that intervenors can play in helping CSCW applications succeed.

We have examined aspects of the development of telemedicine and telecare in Japan. Despite Japan's reputation as an integrated and technocratic country, the diffusion of telemedicine has fallen below expectations, notwithstanding the urgent need to solve the problems of an ageing society. There has been a fragmentation of objectives and perspectives within the corporate (manufacturing) sector and within the policy sector of central and local government. There has also been a broader fragmentation between manufacturers, government and users (doctors and hospitals). As a result, the success or failure of individual projects appears to depend not on the quality of the technology, and often not on the evident importance of the social need, but on the overall coherence of a complex socio-technical system.

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