Interorganizational Information Integration and Social and Technical Interactions

Organizations must establish and maintain collaborative relationships in which knowledge sharing is critical to resolving numerous issues relating to data definitions and structures, diverse database designs, highly variable data quality, and incompatible network infrastructure. These integration processes often involve new work processes and significant organizational change. They are also embedded in larger political and institutional environments which shape their goals and circumscribe their choices. Interorganizational information integration is central to the design and implementation of many advanced information technologies, such as data mining, visualization, and GIS. It also involves phenomena and theoretical frameworks in several disciplines, and is a linchpin of IT use in many critical public policy areas.