(Re)conceptualizing Common Information Spaces Across Heterogeneous Contexts: im-/mutable mobiles and imperfection

The design and conceptualization of Common Information Spaces (CIS) has long been recognized as an important research topic within CSCW. Informed by recent developments in ActorNetwork Theory (ANT), this paper contributes to the conceptualization of CIS across heterogeneous contexts. In particular, the paper develops a dynamic perspective on CIS emphasizing how CIS is malleable, open and achieved in practice. Furthermore, we argue that large-scale CIS efforts inherently tend to re-produce fragmentation as an unintended consequence of integrating heterogeneous sources of information. Empirically, the research is grounded in extensive field work in a major international oil and gas company.