As the awareness of the importance of managing organizational knowledge grows, the issue of how to build information and communication technology (ITC)-based systems to support knowledge management activities, i.e., knowledge management support systems (KMSSs), has been raised. However, knowledge and its manipulating activities, by their very nature, are sociotechnical phenomena in which social...

IS/IT can cause several types of risk. Traditionally, risks are analysed from a techno-scientific perspective. In these approaches, socio-technical interactions are largely ignored. This research in progress intends to explore the use of a socio-technical approach, the Actor-Network Theory (ANT), for the problem of creating knowledge about IS/IT risk. The objectives are to understand how Operat...

The paper discusses some of the main contributions to the theory of communities of practice (COP theory), especially as it relates to organizational learning. The paper does not attempt a full overview but concentrates on the notion of power relations. Early COP theory, was formulated as part of situated learning theory, and promised to work on issues of social context and unequal power relatio...

In the IS-literature, graphical representations often accompany ActorNetwork Theory (ANT) analyses of IS-initiatives, serving as tools for improving visibility of the case and interest and power of actors. Building on a comprehensive literature survey, we identify a gap in existing visualisation approaches, as these mainly focus on offering visual support of the case. We present a visualisation...

Recent IT project escalation research has seen a multi-method approach to understanding what causes escalation in IT projects. Specifically, Mähring, et al. (2004) examined the DIA Computerized Baggage Handling System failure using both the traditional four factor escalation theory model and Actor-Network Theory’s (ANT) translation stage. Mähring, et al.’s findings suggested that both theoretic...

On the basis of a longitudinal interpretive case study, this paper explores the dynamics in the implementation of an industry interorganizational information system (IOIS). The paper covers 11 years (1994–2005) of the implementation process. We use the lens of actor network theory (ANT) to analyze the process of emergence, development, and progressive stabilization of a socio-technical network,...

The continuous advancement of mobile technologies offers an opportunity for mobile carriers and banks to offer mobile banking services. However, such convergence of services from mobile carriers and banks raises many complex issues, particularly because it requires alliances among the actors who have different and sometimes conflicting interests. Using the mobile banking sector in Korea, this p...

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are increasingly used in healthcare settings. Despite their technical robustness, their implementation has not always been straightforward. This is a case study of the implementation of a clinical information system for patient registration and tracking in the busy emergency department (ED) of a large English NHS University Hospitals Trust. By ad...

This paper presents an Actor Network Theory (ANT) analysis of a computer hack at a large university. Computer hacks are usually addressed through technical means thus ensuring that perpetrators are unable to exploit system vulnerabilities. We however argue that a computer hack is a result of di erent events in a heterogeneous network embodying human and non-human actors. Hence a secure organiza...