A New Perspective in Understanding The Role of Information Technology Features in Technology Use Pattern

Abstract

One of the current themes dominating the agenda of IS research is to focus on the specifics of technology without losing view on the role of human agency. Addressing this issue calls for developing an integrated theoretical perspective that would incorporate both the role of technology and human agency in explaining the technology use pattern. This paper provides a new theoretical perspective by incorporating the two views—technology and human agency. Technological determinism attributes technology use patterns to the features of the artifact, whereas the human agency perspective attributes it to the ongoing interaction of the human actors with the technology. The current call in the field of IS seeks an integration of these two opposite perspectives in future IS research. This would have strong implications for both academicians and practitioners. For example, it might help us to understand how the differences in the features of the technology being operationalized in a particular social context influence the social outcomes of technology use. It may help practising managers and technology policy makers in organizations to understand in advance the effect technology features may have on organizational life. This is more of predictive value in the sense that managers and technology policy makers may have an a priori understanding about how the technology might be used in their organization based on the sets of features that they intend to operationalize. An understanding of this may enable the organizational decision-makers to make informed decision about which category of features to operationalize so that the technology may prove compatible and invaluable in the achievement of corporate objectives. This in turn, may affect an organization's technology selection decision or their modes of implementation. This conceptual paper discusses the two opposing perspectives of attributing technology use pattern in the field of IS: Technological determinism Human agency with a focus on structuration theory and actor-network theory. It then provides a new theoretical perspective for the field of IS research. In the new perspective, the author argues that technology use is neither exclusively situated nor emergent. The usage pattern is a function of both the artifact and the human actors who appropriate the technology in their day-to-day lives. The author postulates that differences in technology features may be associated with differences in technology use pattern and the resultant social outcome if a dual focus is maintained on the artifact and the human agents. The paper also provides a discussion on the dominant research traditions in the field of IS and case study research design as a means to operationalize future research with this new perspective along with an insight as to how certain key concepts can be practically applied.