Bricolage, Care and Information by Lanzara, Giovan Francesco -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Bricolage, Care and Information

Contents Illustrations

Tables Figures

Preface

Note

Acknowledgements of Permission to Reprint Notes on Contributors Introduction Information Systems and the Quest for Meaning – An Account of Claudio Ciborra’s Intellectual Journey

Beyond machines and engineering: socio-technics and participative system design Beyond individual decision-making: institutions, information systems and the coordination of exchanges Beyond controlled change: learning, drifting, and bricolage Embracing phenomenology: Gestell, care and the quest for meaning in Information Systems Research

The search for method The meaning of technology The definition of ‘situatedness’

Epilogue and legacy: a quest for being A personal note, with acknowledgements Notes References

Part I Tracing Ciborra’s Thought: From Institutional Economics to Phenomenology 1 The Mind or the Heart? It Depends on the (Definition of) Situation*

Introduction A closer examination Debate and controversies Two case studies The first case study – the situation: coping with a complex photocopying job

Background and motivation Definitions Methodology Findings False alarm Garden path Outcomes

The second case study – the situation: living as an early Christian

Background and motivation Definitions Methodology Findings The second coming (Parousia) As though not (hos me) Outcomes

Discussion Conclusion Note References

2 Improvisation as Mood

Abstract Introduction Paradoxes in the study of improvisation Befindlichkeit or the situation of the actor The study of improvisation as a mood

The mood of panic The mood of boredom

The ex-temporality of improvisation Concluding remarks Acknowledgements Notes References

3 Imbrication of Representations: Risk and Digital Technologies*

Abstract Introduction The phenomenology of risk and information technology The software project The risks of management information systems Representations of operational risk Economics and financial practice: new scenarios The risk of infrastructure deployment Discussion Concluding remarks Notes References

4 Interpreting E-government and Development: Efficiency, Transparency or Governance at a Distance?*

Abstract Introduction A case study: e-government projects in Jordan

The e-government strategy spelt out Emerging risks

The case of DVLD Customer service or development? E-government and the minimal state On drift, aid, and durable disorder Further research and concluding remarks

ICT in actual development Risk analysis and other technologies of ordering The new knowledge frontier

Notes References

5 From Tool to Gestell: Agendas for Managing the Information Infrastructure*

Abstract Introduction The management agenda: alignment and control The economic agenda: the tactics of cultivation Social studies of technology: who sets the agenda for whom? Infrastructure as Gestell Towards a Heideggerian agenda? The case of Hoffman la Roche Notes References

6 The Platform Organization: Recombining Strategies, Structures, and Surprises*

Abstract Introduction Snapshots from the Recent Olivetti History (1977–1990) Devising and implementing a global technology strategy Identity building across discontinuities Alliances, acquisitions and surprises The organization as a platform: an emerging comparison The platform as a system of schemes, arrangements and resources Concluding remarks Acknowledgements Notes References

7 Formative Contexts and Information Technology: Understanding the Dynamics of Innovation in Organizations*

Abstract Introduction Puzzling evidence: the case of the software factory Interpreting the case: the idea of a formative context

Approaches in good currency: task complexity, power games, cultural factors The influence of the formative context Kin concepts: affinities and differences

Formative contexts, systems, and organizational routines

The pasted-up nature of information systems Practical knowledge and the problem of routines’ change Reframing information systems: Cognitive and institutional implications

Systems design as context-making

The challenge: toward a new agenda for design The intervention: designing on-line practical experiments The outcome: systems and routines for self-questioning

Concluding remarks Acknowledgements Note References

8 Organizational Learning and Core Capabilities Development: The Role of IT*

Abstract The resource-based view of the firm framework Learning in the capability development process The case of IT: from a resource to a key component of core capabilities Embedding IT into core capabilities: some guidelines Concluding remarks Notes References

9 From Thinking to Tinkering: The Grassroots of Strategic Information Systems*

Abstract Introduction Questionable advantage Shifts in models of strategic thinking and competition Reconsidering the empirical evidence New foundations for SIS design SIS planning by oxymorons Conclusions Acknowledgements Notes References

10 Reframing the Role of Computers in Organizations: The Transactions Costs Approach*

Summary Introduction A critique of the conventional wisdom

Two current views

Flaws in the decision-making view A transactional view of organizations and their information systems

Economic organizations: markets, hierarchies and groups

Information systems The role of information technology Strategies for the joint design of the organization and its information systems Concluding Remarks Acknowledgement Notes References

11 Markets, Bureaucracies and Groups in the Information Society: An Institutional Appraisal of the Impacts of Information Technology*

Abstract Introduction Expected changes in economic organization A framework for the analysis of organization and information technology

Organizations Information technology

Empirical data Participation in computer-based organizations

Patterns and costs of organizational participation A forecast of participation possibilities

Concluding remarks Notes References

Part II Building on Ciborra’s Legacy 12 Knowledge: Climbing the Learning Ladder to a ‘Phenomenological’ View*

Abstract Introduction Knowledge and rationality Knowledge and learning Everyday knowledge Epistemology Notes References

13 Organizing Technology: Of Hospitality*

Introduction On a phenomenological understanding of technology Hospitality, bricolage and gestell

Hospitality

Bricolage, improvisation and tinkering Gestell as the enframing of technology Contextualizing the research

Studying mobile data terminals at Hereford and Worcester fire brigade

Contextualizing UK fire service provision The Hereford and Worcester Fire Brigade Information technology and the fire service Hosting mobile data terminals An invitation to the stranger or welcoming of the MDT? Welcoming the stranger and forgetting the distance Boundaries, autonomy and the forgetting of hostility Bricolage and mobile responses: spatial and temporal (dis) connections Gestell and the technological mood that (re) constitutes the MDT Hospitality and interruption Conclusion Acknowledgements Note References

14 The Hospitality Metaphor as a Theoretical Lens for Understanding the ICT Adoption Process*

Abstract Introduction The philosophical and methodological background of the Hospitality Metaphor The main statements of the Hospitality Metaphor as a lens for understanding the process of ICT adoption.

By hosting a new technology, we reinterpret our identities Hosting the new technology will involve learning by doing and improvisation

During the hosting process, technology can drift

Hospitality involves moods and emotions Hospitality is about appropriation and care Hospitality involves cultivation

We cannot forget the dubious character of technology: technology can become an enemy

The Hospitality Metaphor as a means of understanding the process of mobile ICT adoption

The rituals of hospitality The consequences of the mobile ICT use

Discussion Conclusions Acknowledgements Notes References

15 Rigid Technology and Improvised Implementation: The case of ERP Systems*

Abstract Introduction Improvisation Research methodology

Research site Data collection and analysis ANT and improvisation

Findings from the case study: an ANT reading

The initial claim and associations

Trials to translate the BUs involved

Counter-translation in America BUs Bringing in a powerful actor in EUB translation

Clash of problematizations and efforts to re-align The reversing of the project network

Back to primary networks Counter-enrolment of other systems Polarizing the system’s network

Discussion Conclusion Notes References

16 Object Lessons and Invisible Technologies*

Abstract Introduction Object problems Object solutions The digital business ecosystem Data collection The SME engagement experience Understanding the DBE Getting out the dilemma Conclusion Notes References

17 Control Devolution as Information Infrastructure Design Strategy: A Case Study of a Content Service Platform for Mobile Phones in Norway*

Abstract Introduction Information infrastructures and control Business sector information infrastructures and design A case study of the CPA platform The CPA platform Early content services for fixed line phones in Norway Proprietary mobile phone platforms as an interlude The emergence of the CPA platform Analysis: relinquishing control Discussion: control and control devolution Concluding remarks Note References

18 Transaction Costs and Information Systems: Does IT Add Up?*

Abstract Introduction Transaction costs Ciborra, ICT and TCT Transaction costs and ICT Re-thinking ICT’s effects on transaction costs

Search costs Negotiation costs Enforcement costs

Conclusions and implications for ICT strategies Notes References

19 Dispositioning IT All: Towards a Theory for Thriving without Models

Abstract Preamble Introduction In-the-worldness Disposition Propensity Strategic Dispositioning IT all Notes References

Index

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