The argumentative salience of technology frames of reference: An analysis of argumentative discourse in the development of a health information exchange initiative

Abstract

This study examines the impact that the argumentative salience of technology frames of references has on the execution of complex IS implementation projects. It employs Toulmin's argument model to develop argument maps that depict the structure of argumentation that took place during the development and implementation of an interorganizational health information exchange initiative (HIE) that took place in southeast USA. Toulmin's argument model faciliated the portrayal of frame salience in terms of three structural properties (i.e., blindness, indifference, and ownership). The study used these properties to show how the breadth, depth and conspicuity of frame structures changed during the course of the project and demonstrated how these changes impacted both the level of contestation observed in the project as well as project outcomes. In addition to lending insights that are specific to this case, our conceptualization of frame structure lends itself to cross-case comparisons and future theory building as the impact of these argument structures can be evaluated in a multitude of different contexts.