Abstract
In recent years, IT scholars have adopted from historians of technology a social constructivist approach to study IT and organizational change. Actor-network theory has also shown to be a promising tool to analyze the complexity of the intricate relationships between technical and nontechnical aspects of change, and thus to serve as a framework for studies on IT and organizational change. In this paper we want to extend this argument by stating that the interdependence and influence of IT in the case of complex, networked, infrastructural technologies is not limited to that of organizational change, but has a broader scope that encompasses society as a whole. Thus, we want to explore how information technology is transforming our lives, and how to account for this transformation. We base our argument on an evaluation of the criticism voiced of social constructivist approaches to technology studies, and on our observations gleaned from studies of the development of cellular technologies in Europe.
Recommended Citation
Fomin, Vladislav V., "Understanding Information Technology and its Relationship to Organizational and Societal Change" (2002). ECIS 2002 Proceedings. 135.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2002/135