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Contextual dynamics during health information systems implementation: an event-based actor-network approach

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European Journal of Information Systems

Abstract

Despite its information-intensive nature and considerable investments, healthcare continues to lag behind other industries in effectively exploiting information technology (IT). This paradox suggests that the healthcare industry presents particular challenges for successful implementation of information systems. As a result, there is an increasing interest in research into how information systems implementation efforts are shaped in interaction with the healthcare context. This paper contributes to this emerging body of knowledge by applying Actor-Network Theory (ANT) to explore the implementation of a radiology network system in a Swedish hospital. The analysis of the process reveals how complex contextual dynamics had disruptive effects. First, we identified important dynamics related to implementation content; these were mainly expressed as tensions between the radiology network system and medical work practices. Second, we found important dynamics related to implementation context; these were mainly expressed as tensions between shifting networks of actors within the implementation project and the broader institutional setting. Seeking to understand contextual dynamics during healthcare information systems implementation, we use events to focus, structure, and present the ANT analysis. This event-based approach furthers our understanding of how researchers can apply ANT to study IT-based change in general.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank many colleagues at the Swedish hospital for open-minded and constructive collaboration. Also, we acknowledge the detailed and very useful comments provided by the editor and reviewers. These insights have greatly helped us frame the argument and streamline the presentation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Information Systems, Virginia State University, U.S.A.

    Sunyoung Cho

  2. Center for Process Innovation, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, U.S.A.

    Lars Mathiassen

  3. IT University of Göteborg, Sweden

    Agneta Nilsson

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  1. Sunyoung Cho
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  2. Lars Mathiassen
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  3. Agneta Nilsson
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Correspondence to Sunyoung Cho.

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Note: The authors are listed in alphabetical order and have contributed equally to the paper.

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Cho, S., Mathiassen, L. & Nilsson, A. Contextual dynamics during health information systems implementation: an event-based actor-network approach. Eur J Inf Syst 17, 614–630 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1057/ejis.2008.49

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