Networks of collaboration or conflict? Electronic data interchange and power in the supply chain

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the way in which the design and use of interorganizational information systems reflect the strategic interests of powerful corporate players and the struggles of those players for domination in the marketplace. The paper draws upon the insights developed within the sociology of technology, in which innovation is not simply a technical-rational process of ‘solving problems’; it also involves economic and political processes in articulating interests, building alliances and struggling over outcomes. To illustrate the way in which powerful users seek to have their interests articulated in information systems, the paper discusses the design and implementation of electronic data interchange in a major UK motor manufacturer, highlighting the economic, political and cultural factors which have conditioned the design and use of this system. It then sets these findings in the context of the automotive industry more broadly, and compares them with experiences in another sector, retailing. The paper concludes that the design and use of electronic trading networks are more strongly shaped by the competitive environment than by contemporary ‘popular’ management ideas.