Using actor‐network theory to analyse strategy formulation

Abstract

Drawing upon actor-network theory, this article analyses the sociotechnological construction of China's strategy for the telecommunications market transformation. We define the telecommunications market as the non-human actor. The public and society, the state, and the operators constitute three groups of human actors representing the social interests in the telecommunications industry. We have observed that these actors' interests are influenced by the situation of technology advance, the telecommunications development level, the macro reform progress and the national policies concerning the political and economic systems, and the international trend in telecommunications reforms. Owing to the dynamics of these contextual elements and the struggle of actors to inscribe their interests into the national strategy, China has transformed the telecommunications market by four stages, each stage with specific foci. Our case study demonstrates that the applications of actor-network theory can be extended to investigate the formulation of a national strategy. The research design in which the social and technological contexts are dynamically connected with strategy formulation can be drawn upon by other actor-network studies.

Research on IT in China: A Call for Greater Contextualization

“…It is generally believed that in a guanxi-oriented society, people tend to adapt to the environment rather than attempt to change it. Business is influenced by paternalism, personalism, and high-context communications, whereas individualism, impersonalism, and formal communications were highlighted as characteristics of Western culture (Liang and Abbott et al (2013), Gao (2005Gao ( , 2007, Gao and Lyytinen (2005), Heikkilä (2013), Hsiao (2003), Jarvenpaa and Mao (2008), Lee and Oh (2006), Liang and Xue (2004) Research on IT in China L Li et al Xue, 2004). From a guanxi perspective, Hsiao (2003) explored technology fears arising from mistrust, which is rooted in how a society's socio-cultural structure affects economic activities.…”

“…These contextual factors include ongoing reform, a market structure in transition, the catching up in technology etc. For example, studies of the telecommunications market in China often focus on the effect of China's accession to the WTO, changes in relevant industry standards, industrial evolution, and the reform of the regulatory system (Gao, 2005;Gao and Lyytinen, 2005;Lee and Oh, 2006;Gao, 2007). China's unique market structures determine Chinese firms' strategy for offshore IT outsourcing.…”

“…Moreover, Martinsons and Ma (2009) Several studies examined various aspects of the Chinese IT industry (Damsgaard and Truex, 2000;Lee and Oh, 2006). For example, drawing upon actor-network theory, Gao (2005) analyzed the socio-technological development of China's strategy for telecommunications market transformation. Gao (2007) investigated China's experience of developing and deploying wireless local-area network standards.…”

The Rise and Fall of Comprehensive Accounting Theories: R. J. Chambers and Continuously Contemporary Accounting

“…Since the 1980s, different interpretations of ANT have been propagated in a wide range of different social science research fields, such as geography (e.g., Smith, 2003), urban studies (e.g., S. Graham & Marvin, 2001), and information systems (e.g., Gao, 2005). In the field of accounting, a particular interpretation of ANT emerged in the 1990s as a response to the traditional functionalist studies (e.g., Littleton, 1933;Sombart, 1924;Yamey, 1959) and the more recent interpretive ones of accounting phenomena (e.g., Hopper & Powell, 1985;Hopper, Storey, & Willmott, 1987;Willmott, 1983) that had emerged in the 1980s.…”

How Shell’s Domains Link Innovation and Strategy

“…(It's important to note that, from the ANT perspective, 'actors' are not limited to humans involved in an activity, but can include, for example, regulations, natural disasters -any other 'thing' that might impact the activity is given the same label.) Innovation, scenarios, domains and ANT have been widely researched and reported on; but while ANT has considered innovation (Callon, 1986) and been applied to strategy (Gao, 2005), it has not previously been deployed to explain strategyinnovation relations, nor to explain domains and how they contribute to those relations. This article reports in detail a real-time, real-world application of ANT at Shell to explain how domains provide the structural foundation for linking its innovation practice to strategy, and how the explicit analysis of this link has developed Shell's managers' understanding of the reach and potential of domains.…”