The long and winding road: collaborative IT and organisational change

The role of collaborative information technology in organisational changes continues to be a source of controversy in the CSCW literature. We report organisational changes in a Ftih computer consukancy accompanying the introduction and use of Lotus Notes over a period of three years. The case shows that collaborative information technologies, such as Lotus Notes, are capable of supporting a variety forms of organisation. The uptake and use of Notes appeared to be more strongly Muenced by aspects of the organisational contex< intemd social structure and the users’ capabihties – in this case economic recessio~ changing foci of cmttrol and the role changes in the company – than by any intilc logic of the technology.

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