Trojan actor‐networks and swift translation Bringing actor‐network theory to IT project escalation studies

This study investigates the potential of actor-network theory (ANT) for theory development on information technology project escalation, a pervasive problem in contemporary organizations. In so doing, the study aims to contribute to the current dialogue on the potential of ANT in the information sys...

Celý popis

Uloženo v:
Podrobná bibliografie
Vydáno v:Information technology & people (West Linn, Or.) Ročník 17; číslo 2; s. 210 - 238
Hlavní autoři: Mähring, Magnus, Holmström, Jonny, Keil, Mark, Montealegre, Ramiro
Médium: Journal Article
Jazyk:angličtina
Vydáno: 01.01.2004
Témata:
Actor network theory
Actors
Air transport
Case studies
Disasters
Information science
Information systems
Information technology
Information theory
Management
Networks
Organization studies
Projects
Strategic information systems
Systems development
USA
ISSN:0959-3845
On-line přístup:Získat plný text
Tagy: Přidat tag
Žádné tagy, Buďte první, kdo vytvoří štítek k tomuto záznamu!
Popis
Shrnutí:This study investigates the potential of actor-network theory (ANT) for theory development on information technology project escalation, a pervasive problem in contemporary organizations. In so doing, the study aims to contribute to the current dialogue on the potential of ANT in the information systems field. While escalation theory has been used to study 'runaway' IT projects, two distinct limitations suggest a potential of using ANT: First, there is a need for research that builds process theory on escalation of IT projects. Second, the role of technology as an important factor (or actor) in the shaping of escalation has not been examined. This paper examines a well-known case study of an IT project disaster, the computerized baggage handling system at Denver International Airport, using both escalation theory and ANT. A theory-comparative analysis then shows how each analysis contributes differently to our knowledge about dysfunctional IT projects and how the differences between the analyses mirror characteristics of the two theories. ANT is found to offer a fruitful theoretical addition to escalation research and several conceptual extensions of ANT in the context of IT project escalation are proposed: embedded actor-networks, host actor-networks, swift translation and Trojan actor-networks.
Bibliografie:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ObjectType-Article-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
ISSN:0959-3845
DOI:10.1108/09593840410542510