Abstract
This paper investigates the large-scale diffusion of a collaborative technology in a range of different business contexts. The empirical data used in the article were obtained from a longitudinal (2007–2009) case study of a global oil and gas company (OGC). Our study reports on ongoing efforts to deploy an inte grated collaborative system that uses Microsoft SharePoint (MSP) technology. We assess MSP as a configurational technology and analyze the diffusion of a metadata standard developed in-house, which forms an embedded component of MSP. We focus on two different organizational contexts, namely research and development (R&D) and oil and gas production (OGP), and illustrate the key differences between the ways in which configurational technology is managed and used in these contexts, which results in an uneven diffusion. In contrast with previous studies, we unravel the organizational and technological complexity involved, and thus empirically illustrate the flexibility of large-scale technology and show how the trajectories of the various components are influenced by multiple modes of ordering.
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andriessen, J.H.E., Hettinga, M., Wulf, V.: Introduction to Special Issue on Evolving Use of Groupware. Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) 12(4), 367–380 (2003)
Baskerville, R., Pries-Heje, J.: Diversity in Modeling Diffusion of Information Technology. Journal of Technology Transfer 28(3-4), 251–264 (2003)
Ciborra, C.U.: Groupware and Teamwork: Invisible Aid or Technical Hindrance? John Wiley, Chichester (1996)
Davenport, T.H.: Putting the Enterprise into the Enterprise System. Harvard Business Review 76(4), 121–131 (1998)
de Laet, M., Mol, A.: The Zimbabwe Bush Pump: Mechanics of a Fluid Technology. Social Studies of Science 30(2), 225–263 (2000)
Fleck, J.: Learning by Trying: The Implementation of Configurational Technology. Research Policy 23(6), 637–652 (1994)
Hanseth, O.: The Economics of Standards. From Control to Drift. In: Ciborra, C.U., Braa, K., Cordella, A., Dahlbom, B., Failla, A., Hanseth, O., Hepso, V., Ljungberg, J., Montrero, E. (eds.) The Dynamics of Corporate Information Infrastructures, pp. 56–71. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2000)
Henriksen, H.Z., Kautz, K.: An Analysis of IFIP TC 8 WG 8.6 – In Search for a Common Theoretical Denominator. In: Avison, D., Elliot, S., Krogstie, J., Pries-Heje, J. (eds.) The Past and Future of Information Systems: 1976–2006 and Beyond, pp. 143–152. Springer, New York (2006)
Klein, H.K., Myers, M.D.: A Set of Principles for Conducting and Evaluating Interpretive Field Studies in Information Systems. MIS Quarterly 23(1), 67–94 (1999)
Law, J.: Organizing Modernity. Blackwell, Oxford (1994)
Leonardi, P.M., Barley, S.R.: Materiality and Change: Challenges to Building Better Theory About Technology and Organizing. Information and Organization 18(3), 159–176 (2008)
Lyytinen, K., Damsgaard, J.: What’s Wrong with the Diffusion of Innovation Theory? In: Ardis, M.A., Marcolin, B.L. (eds.) Proceedings of the IFIP TC8 WG8.1 Fourth Working Conference on Diffusing Software Products and Process Innovations, pp. 173–190. Kluwer, Boston (2001)
Mark, G.: Conventions and Commitments in Distributed CSCW Groups. Computer Supported Cooperative Work 11(3), 349–387 (2002)
Monteiro, E., Hepsø, V.: Diffusion of Infrastructure: Mobilization and Improvisation. In: Larsen, T.J., Levine, L.L., DeGross, J.I. (eds.) Information Systems: Current Issues and Future Challenges, pp. 255–274. IFIP, Laxenburg (1998)
Munkvold, B.E.: Implementing Collaboration Technologies in Industry Case Examples and Lessons Learned. Springer, London (2003)
Orlikowski, W.J.: Using Technology and Constituting Structures: A Practice Lens for Studying Technology in Organizations. Organization Science 11(4), 404–428 (2000)
Pollock, N., Williams, R.: Software and Organizations: The Biography of the Enterprise-Wide System or How SAP Conquered the World. Routledge, London (2009)
Robey, D., Boudreau, M.-C.: Accounting for the Contradictory Organizational Consequences of Information Technology: Theoretical Directions and Methodological Implications. Information Systems Research 10(2), 167–185 (1999)
Sahay, S., Monteiro, E., Aanestad, M.: Configurable Politics and Asymmetric Integration: Health e-Infrastructures in India. Journal of the Association for Information Systems 10(5), 399–414 (2009)
Soh, C., Kien, S.S., Yap, T.J.: Cultural Fits and Misfits: Is ERP a Universal Solution? Communications of the ACM 43(4), 47–51 (2000)
Walsham, G.: Doing Interpretive Research. European Journal of Information Systems 15(3), 320–330 (2006)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 IFIP
About this paper
Cite this paper
Jarulaitis, G. (2010). The Uneven Diffusion of Collaborative Technology in a Large Organization. In: Pries-Heje, J., Venable, J., Bunker, D., Russo, N.L., DeGross, J.I. (eds) Human Benefit through the Diffusion of Information Systems Design Science Research. TDIT 2010. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 318. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-12113-5_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-12113-5_13
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-12112-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-12113-5
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)