Objects-in-Use and Organizing in Action Nets

In this article, the authors engage in, and contribute to, the discussion about the role of objects (material arrangements) in processes of organizing. The point of departure of the study was a critical incident at a hospital when a drop infusion pump failed. By following the action, that is, to apply an action net perspective, initiated by incident aiming to secure the ongoing care and treatment of patients on the ward, the authors are able to illustrate the relation between objects-in-use (such as boundary objects) and ongoing organizing practices, and how such organizing activities are dependent on, and conditioned by, material arrangements and objects. Furthermore, they also show that objects, far from being stable entities, are also being constructed, deconstructed, and reconstructed—dependent on what is appropriate in a specific time and place, and as part of ongoing organizing.