Socio-Technical Structure: An Experiment in Integrative Theory Building

When it comes to investigating the relationship between the social and the technical, the Information Systems (IS)discipline has been a net importer of theories. These theories often carry differing interpretations of central concepts, which then become both contusing and difficult to integrate. In response to calls for IS to become a reference discipline in its own right (in other words, a theory exporter), this paper offers an example of integrative theory development. Instead of adapting a theory from another discipline or building a theory from empirical data, we examine the structure concept in some of its various theoretical adaptations in IS and try to integrate them to produce theory focusing on IS concerns while resolving some of the major areas of contention. Both social and technological versions of structure are investigated through three theoretical IS perspectives drawn from different reference disciplines. The first perspective relates to social theories (principally structuration theory), the second to linguistic theories (principally the structural linguistics of Chomsky), and the last to science studies (principally actor-network theory). The objective is to study areas of agreement and contention around the structure concept. Areas of agreement can be incorporated into integrative theory development, whereas areas of contention must be resolved (a far more difficult task). The resulting theoretical model is illustrated with a case study involving competence management systems design and use at Volvo Information Technology in Goteborg, Sweden.

[1]  T. P. Hughes,et al.  The Social Construction of Technological Systems: New Directions in the Sociology and History of Technology , 1989 .

[2]  D. Edge,et al.  The social shaping of technology , 1988 .

[3]  Geoff Walsham,et al.  The Emergence of Interpretivism in IS Research , 1995, Inf. Syst. Res..

[4]  P. Lawrence,et al.  Organization and Environment: Managing Differentiation and Integration , 1967 .

[5]  Lyle M. Spencer,et al.  Competence at Work: Models for Superior Performance , 1993 .

[6]  Allen S. Lee.  Editor's comments: MIS quarterly's editorial policies and practices , 2001 .

[7]  Ron Weber,et al.  On the deep structure of information systems , 1995, Inf. Syst. J..

[8]  Mary Anne Devanna,et al.  Strategic Human Resource Management , 1984 .

[9]  B. Latour.  Technology is Society Made Durable , 1990 .

[10]  W. Orlikowski,et al.  Information Technology and Changes in Organizational Work , 1996, IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology.

[11]  Gerald E. Ledford,et al.  A skill-based approach to human resource management , 1992 .

[12]  John Law,et al.  Shaping technology building society: studies in socio-technical change , 1993 .

[13]  Michael D. Myers,et al.  A Set of Principles for Conducting and Evaluating Interpretive Field Studies in Information Systems , 1999, MIS Q..

[14]  M. Callon.  Techno-economic Networks and Irreversibility , 1990 .

[15]  R. Stamper.  Information in business and administrative systems , 1973 .

[16]  Eric Monteiro,et al.  Inscribing behaviour in information infrastructure standards , 1997 .

[17]  R. Stamper.  Signs, Information, Norms and Systems , 1996 .

[18]  Peter Bøgh Andersen,et al.  What Semiotics can and cannot do for HCI , 2001, Knowl. Based Syst..

[19]  K. Eason.  Information Technology and Organizational Change , 1989 .

[20]  Thomas J. Atchison,et al.  The Concept of Job Analysis: A Review and Some Suggestions , 1980 .

[21]  Richard Baskerville,et al.  Deep structure or emergence theory: contrasting theoretical foundations for information systems development , 1998, Inf. Syst. J..

[22]  S. Hill,et al.  The Tragedy of Technology , 1988 .

[23]  Madeleine Akrich,et al.  The De-scription of Technical Objects , 1992 .

[24]  Richard Leifer,et al.  Deep structures: Real information requirements determination , 1994, Inf. Manag..

[25]  Wanda J. Orlikowski,et al.  Information Technology and the Structuring of Organizations , 2011 .

[26]  C. Ciborra,et al.  Formative contexts and information technology: Understanding the dynamics of innovation in organizations , 1994 .

[27]  W. Orlikowski.  Using Technology and Constituting Structures: A Practice Lens for Studying Technology in Organizations , 2000 .

[28]  Kecheng Liu,et al.  Semiotics in Information Systems Engineering , 2000 .

[29]  Satish Nambisan,et al.  Information Systems as a Reference Discipline for New Product Development , 2003, MIS Q..

[30]  Kecheng Liu,et al.  Understanding the roles of signs and norms in organizations - a semiotic approach to information systems design , 2000, Behav. Inf. Technol..

[31]  B. Latour.  On Recalling Ant , 1999 .

[32]  Eric Monteiro,et al.  Scaling Information Infrastructure: The Case of Next Generation IP in Internet , 1998, Inf. Soc..

[33]  A. Strauss,et al.  Grounded Theory in Practice , 1997 .

[34]  J. Law.  A Sociology of monsters: Essays on power, technology, and domination , 1991 .

[35]  Jeremy Rose,et al.  The Problem of Agency; How Humans Act, How Machines Act , 2003 .

[36]  A. Giddens.  Central Problems In Social Theory , 1979 .

[37]  Karen Ruhleder,et al.  Steps Toward an Ecology of Infrastructure: Design and Access for Large Information Spaces , 1996, Inf. Syst. Res..

[38]  Jay R. Galbraith.  Designing Complex Organizations , 1973 .

[39]  Ronald K. Stamper.  Analysing the cultural impact of a system , 1988 .

[40]  Geoff Walsham,et al.  Interpretive case studies in IS research: nature and method , 1995 .

[41]  A. Giddens.  The Constitution of Society , 1985 .

[42]  Steve Woolgar,et al.  The Machine at Work , 1997 .

[43]  D. Mcclelland.  Testing for competence rather than for "intelligence". , 1973, The American psychologist.

[44]  M. Markus,et al.  Information technology and organizational change: causal structure in theory and research , 1988 .

[45]  J. Hassard,et al.  Actor Network Theory and After , 1999 .

[46]  Richard Baskerville,et al.  Information Systems as a Reference Discipline , 2002, MIS Q..

[47]  Jonny Holmström,et al.  Drifting technologies and multi-purpose networks: the case of the Swedish cashcard , 2001, Inf. Organ..

[48]  Wanda J. Orlikowski,et al.  Studying Information Technology in Organizations: Research Approaches and Assumptions , 1991, Inf. Syst. Res..

[49]  D. MacKenzie,et al.  The social shaping of technology : how the refrigerator got its hum , 1985 .

[50]  J. March,et al.  Handbook of organizations , 1966 .

[51]  Henry Mintzberg,et al.  The Structuring of Organizations , 1979 .

[52]  Gerardine DeSanctis,et al.  Capturing the Complexity in Advanced Technology Use: Adaptive Structuration Theory , 1994 .

[53]  Anthony Giddens,et al.  Social Theory Today , 1987 .