An Actor-Network Analysis of a Case of Development and Implementation of IT Strategy

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 35-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiko Iyamu ◽  
Arthur Tatnall
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
It Strategy ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Technical Factors ◽  
Human Actors ◽  
The Impact

Increasingly, many organizations are highly dependent on support from Information Technology (IT). Even though Carr has controversially argued that IT does not matter, there seems to be prima facie evidence that even the most ambitious business vision still needs IT to enable it. As such, there has been much focus and emphasis on technologies, and less attention on non-technical components in the development and implementation of IT strategy. This study is focused on the connection between the technical and nontechnical, including the relationships between actors in the development and implementation of IT strategy. This article describes how Actor-Network Theory (ANT) was employed to investigate the impact of non-technical factors on the development and implementation of IT strategy in an organization. ANT was used as it can provide a useful perspective on the importance of relationships between both human and non-human actors. Another example: design and implementation of a B-B web portal, is offered for comparison.

The Impact of Network of Actors on the Information Technology

2011 ◽  
pp. 234-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiko Iyamu ◽  
Arthur Tatnall
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
It Strategy ◽  
Web Portal ◽  
Computing Environment ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Human Actors ◽  
The Impact

Organisations’ reliance on Information Technology (IT) is rapidly increasing. IT strategy is developed and implemented for particular purposes by different organizations. We should therefore expect that there will be network of actors within the computing environment, and that such network of actors will be the key to understanding many otherwise unexpected situations during the development and implementation of IT strategy. This network of actors has aligned interests. Many organizations are developing and implementing their IT strategy, while little is known about the network of actors and their impacts, which this paper reveals. This paper describes how Actor-Network Theory (ANT) was employed to investigate the impact of network of actors on the development and implementation of IT strategy in an organisation. ANT was used as it can provide a useful perspective on the importance of relationships between both human and non-human actors. Another example: design and implementation of a B-B web portal, is offered for comparison.

The Use of Structuration Theory and Actor Network Theory for Analysis

2012 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Tiko Iyamu ◽  
Dewald Roode
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Structuration Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
It Strategy ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Global Competitiveness ◽  
Fresh Perspective ◽  
Actor Networks

In the current climate of global competitiveness, many organisations are increasingly dependent on their IT strategy – either to increase their competitiveness, or often just to survive. Yet little is known about the non-technical influencing factors (such as people) and their impact on the development and implementation of IT strategy. There would therefore seem to be prima facie evidence that there is a need for a new approach to examining the relationships between social factors, technology and the organisation with respect to the development and implementation of IT strategy. This article seeks to make a contribution in this regard. Structuration Theory and Actor-Network Theory were employed to analyse how non-technical factors influence IT strategy. Structuration Theory holds that human actions are enabled and constrained by structures. Structures are rules and resources that do not exist independently of human action, nor are they material entities. Giddens describes them as ‘traces in the mind’ and argues that they exist only through the action of human beings. Actor Network Theory (ANT) provides a fresh perspective on the importance of relationships between actors that are both human and non-human. By their very presence, actors work to establish, maintain and revise the construction of organisational networks of aligned interests and gradually form stable actor-networks. ANT emphasises the heterogeneous nature of actor-networks which consist of and link together both technical and non-technical elements.

The Use of Structuration Theory and Actor Network Theory for Analysis

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiko Iyamu ◽  
Dewald Roode
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Structuration Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
It Strategy ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Global Competitiveness ◽  
Actor Networks

In the current climate of global competitiveness, many organisations are increasingly dependent on their IT strategy—either to increase their competitiveness, or often just to survive. Yet little is known about the non-technical influencing factors (such as people) and their impact on the development and implementation of IT strategy. There would therefore seem to be prima facie evidence that there is a need for a new approach to examining the relationships between social factors, technology and the organisation with respect to the development and implementation of IT strategy. This article seeks to make a contribution in this regard. Structuration Theory and Actor-Network Theory were employed to analyse how non-technical factors influence IT strategy. Structuration Theory holds that human actions are enabled and constrained by structures. Structures are rules and resources that do not exist independently of human action, nor are they material entities. Giddens describes them as ‘traces in the mind’ and argues that they exist only through the action of human beings. Actor Network Theory (ANT) provides a fresh perspective on the importance of relationships between actors that are both human and non-human. By their very presence, actors work to establish, maintain and revise the construction of organisational networks of aligned interests and gradually form stable actor-networks. ANT emphasises the heterogeneous nature of actor-networks which consist of and link together both technical and non-technical elements.

Distance, Climate, Demographics and the Development of Online Courses in Newfoundland and Labrador

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-28
Author(s):  
Scott Reid
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Physical Factors ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Human Actors ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

One of the assertions of the Actor-Network Theory is that physical factors can be actors within a network of other factors which determine the development and use of technology. This paper documents the impact of climate, distance and demographics on the adoption of online courses at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada. The qualitative study demonstrates that these physical factors did influence professor’s decisions to use online courses. The findings support the Actor-Network Theory and provide insight into the interaction of physical and human actors within a network that facilitated the adoption of online courses at the university being studied.

STRUCTURING A SUCCESSFUL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROCESS: A CASE STUDY FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF ACTOR NETWORK THEORY

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huda Ibrahim ◽  
Hasmiah Kasimin
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Technology Transfer ◽  
Transfer Process ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Local Market ◽  
Private Company ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Technology Transfer Process

An effi cient and effective information technology transfer from developed countries to Malaysia is an important issue as a prerequisite to support the ICT needs of the country to become not only a ICT user but also a ICT producer. One of the factors that infl uences successful information technology transfer is managing the process of how technology transfer occurs in one environment. It involves managing interaction between all parties concerned which requires an organized strategy and action toward accomplishing technology transfer objective in an integrated and effective mode. Using a conceptual framework based on the Actor Network Theory (ANT), this paper will analyse a successful information technology transfer process at a private company which is also a supplier of information technology (IT) products to the local market. This framework will explain how the company has come up with a successful technology transfer in a local environment. Our study shows that the company had given interest to its relationships with all the parties involved in the transfer process. The technology transfer programme and the strategy formulated take into account the characteristics of technology and all those involved.  

scholarly journals The Managing of Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Technologies’ Network Effect: An Adaptation of Actor-Network Theory

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-44
Author(s):  
Kobra Elahifar
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Music Industry ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
File Sharing ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Network Effect ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
P2p File Sharing ◽  
The Impact

Peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing technologies have impacted the music industry, including its strategies for the distribution of the musical products, for more than a decade now. As a result, music labels have delayed full digitization of their industry in fear of “online music piracy”. The present paper reviews the historical context of the evolution of the music industry from 1999 to 2012. Using Actor-Network theory, the paper examines the strategies that helped the music industry to translate new actors’ effect in order to sustain music labels’ business on their path to digitize music distribution. I will discuss the impact of new digital policies and methods of governing online behavior including the business concept of “entrepreneurship” as they may potentially affect the future of public domain within the framework of consumer rights.

Talking about Associations and Descriptions or a Short Story about Associology

2017 ◽  
pp. 220-233
Author(s):  
Beate Ochsner
Keyword(s):  
Short Story ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Bruno Latour ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Human Actors ◽  
Agency And Structure

In 1999, Bruno Latour advocated for “abandoning what was wrong with ANT, that is ‘actor,' ‘network,' ‘theory' without forgetting the hyphen.” However, it seems that the “hyphen,” which brings with it the operation of hyphenating or connecting, was abandoned too quickly. If one investigates what something is by asking what it is meant as well as how it emerges, by (re-)tracing the strategy in materials in situated practices and sets of relations, and, by bypassing the distinction between agency and structure, one shifts from studying “what causes what” to describing “how things happen.” This perspective not only makes it necessary for us to clarify the changing positions and displacements of human and non-human actors in the assemblage, but, also question the role (the enrolment) of the researcher him/herself: What kind of “relation” connects the researcher to his/her research and associates him/her with the subject, how to prevent (or not) his/her own involvement, and, to what degree s/he ignores the relationality of his/her writing in a “sociology of association?”

Why Using Actor Network Theory (ANT) Can Help to Understand the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) in Australia

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 44-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imran Muhammad ◽  
Say Yen Teoh ◽  
Nilmini Wickramasinghe
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Electronic Health Record ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
Health Record ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Healthcare Reforms ◽  
Electronic Health

Globally, healthcare reforms are being initiated to address the tremendous challenges facing healthcare systems. Without exception these reforms include the implementation of a variety of e-health solutions. Such e-health solutions are complex and have far reaching implications. In this paper, the authors argue that while these implementations and adoptions of e-health solutions are necessary, it is essential that an appropriate lens of analysis should be used to maximise and sustain the benefits of IS/IT (information systems/information technology) in healthcare delivery. Hence, in this paper, the authors proffer Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as an appropriate lens to evaluate these various e-health solutions and illustrate, in the context of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR), the chosen e-health solution for Australia.

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