published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

This investigation focuses on configurable technologies, a term which refers to technologies that are highly parameterizable and are built from a range of components to meet the very specific requirements of a particular organization. They cannot be seen independently of their representations through external intermediaries who "speak" for the technology by providing images, descriptions, demonstrations, policies, templates and "solutions". I use the term technology-configuring mediation to refer to the process characterized by a socially constructed relationship between clients and consultants, where visions of how the technology should operate are negotiated. Configurable tools are well illustrated by ERP projects and represent an important trend in IS, drawing its popularity from the hope of benefiting from increased economies of scale and access to cumulative knowledge supposedly "embedded" into these technological artifacts. / From a critical interpretive perspective that combines ideas from structuration theory, social shaping views of technology and critical discourse analysis, this dissertation is based on an empirical investigation that spanned one year and is primarily organized in three papers. The first paper investigates the use of structuration theory in the IS field, asking: How can we successfully apply structuration theory in IS empirical research? Paper 1 contributes to the advancement of interpretive research methods by describing, analyzing and illustrating the ways IS scholars have used Giddens' theory in their research. In addition, it presents a repertoire of research strategies that may help overcome barriers to the empirical application of structurationist theory by dealing with three core elements: time, context and duality of technology. / The second paper discusses the rhetorical closure that often dominates discourses about IT, arguing that configurable technologies are social constructions and, to different degrees, are always open to change. Taking ERP projects as a typical illustration of configurable IT, Paper 2 describes a multilevel framework that identifies occasions for ERP package negotiation and change at three levels---segment, organization and individual---thereby breaking down the rhetorical closure that seems to dominate public debate. Paper 2 draws on structurationist and political streams of thinking about technology to set out a theoretical framework that contributes to advancing our knowledge of configurable IS phenomena. / The third paper addresses the question: How does the mediation process influence the negotiation between global principles and local contexts during the implementation of configurable IS, and how does such a negotiation influence the success of the implemented technology? Paper 3 provides a new understanding of configurable technology implementation. The structuring of a new configuration is seen as a mediation process where knowledge and power dependencies are created and recreated over time by consultants and clients, the entire process being bordered by internal and external constraints. Paper 3 recognizes different patterns of mediation and explains how these patterns affect the negotiation of global principles and local contexts as well as the project results. The study ends by identifying a collection of mediating strategies that are likely to improve the implementation of configurable IS.

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