Social Shaping of Information Infrastructure: On Being Specific about the Technology

Abstract

We are in this paper discussing conceptualisations of the relationship between IT and organisational issues. To move beyond an "IT enables/ constrains" position, we argue that it is necessary to take the specifics of an information system (IS) more serious. A theoretical framework called actor-network theory from social studies of science and technology is presented as promising in this regard. With respect to new organisational forms, the class of ISs which need closer scrutiny is information infrastructures (INIs). They have characteristics which distinguish them from other ISs, namely the role and pattern of diffusion of standards. These standards are neither ready-made nor neutral: they inscribe organisational behaviour deeply within their "technical" details. Diffusion and adoption of standards depart from other kinds of ISs by requiring the coordination of the surrounding actors, institutional arrangements and work practices.

The sociomateriality of organisational life: considering technology in management research

“…One influential example of an entanglement perspective is that of Actor Network Theory (ANT), originally developed by sociologists Michel Callon (1986) andBruno Latour (1987), and used by a number of organization scholars to examine sociotechnical relations in the workplace (Berg, 1997;Kaghan and Bowker, 2001;Monteiro and Hanseth, 1996;Scott and Wagner 2003;Walsham and Sahay, 1999). ANT proposes that entities have no inherent qualities, but acquire their form and attributes only through their relations with others in practice.…”

Who do you think you are? A review of the complex interplay between information systems, identification and identity

“…This interoperability introduces its own research and management challenges and it can be argued that systems for identification are best conceptualised as identification infrastructures as they share many of the characteristics of information infrastructures that have been studied by information systems scholars (Monteiro & Hanseth, 1995;Star & Ruhleder, 1996;Ciborra & associates, 2000;Darking & Whitley, 2007;Henfridsson & Bygstad, 2013). For example, it has been shown repeatedly that infrastructures often constrain future actions in unexpected ways.…”

When mobile is the norm: researching mobile information systems and mobility as post-adoption phenomena

“…There is a rich discourse in the IS literature about the nature of the IT artefact, its centrality in IS research and theorising the IT artefact in general (Kling, 1991;Monteiro & Hanseth, 1996;Orlikowski & Iacono, 2001;Benbasat & Zmud, 2003;Baskerville, 2012;Riemer & Johnston, 2014). In this regard, Kling (1991) warned of the 'convenient fiction' to equate computer-based technologies generically, noting there are social and technical differences in the ways that systems evolve.…”