Showing papers by "Chris W. Clegg published in 2005"

Constructing identity and participation during technological change

Abstract: The organizational practice of user participation in IT system development remains problematic. Two of the major issues identified are establishing the most effective strategy and selecting the most appropriate user representatives. Opinions on these issues vary according to theoretical perspective and empirical evidence does not provide definitive solutions. Taking a social constructionist perspective, this longitudinal case study of a contested technological change process allowed the exploration of organizational talk about user participation over time. In particular, we focus on differing and changing constructions of ‘the user’ and ‘effective participation’. We argue that claims about who represented an appropriate user and what was an appropriate participative strategy varied across time and fulfilled particular political functions. We conclude that issues identified as problems in the literature on user participation may rather be manifestations of the political and socially constructed nature of o...

Sociotechnical study of e-business: grappling with an octopus

Abstract: This paper reports on a study that investigated the status and anticipated development of e-Business activity. A prime aim of the study was to increase understanding of the human and organizational issues that arise with e-Business, and the extent to which these are currently addressed. An expert panel method was used, which involved interviewing 70 leading practitioners of, and experts in, e-Business in the UK. The findings identify the distinguishing novel features of e-Business, highlight the key issues it raises, and provide evidence of current uptake and impacts. The findings include ideas on good practice. The study emphasizes the importance of taking a holistic, sociotechnical view of the complex set of interrelated changes involved in e-Business.