In this editorial introduction Allen Lee's definition of the information systems (IS) field is taken as the starting point: “Research in the information systems field examines more than just the technological system, or just the social system, or even the two systems side by side; in addition, it investigates the phenomena that emerge when the two interact” (Lee, A. “Editorial”, MISQ, Vol. 25, No. 1, 2001, p. iii). By emphasizing the last part of this, it is argued that actor‐network theory (ANT) can provide IS research with unique and very powerful tools to help us overcome the current poor understanding of the information technology (IT) artifact (Orlikowski, W. and Iacono, S., “Research commentary: desperately seeking the ‘IT’ in IT research – a call for theorizing the IT artifact”, Information Systems Research, Vol. 10 No. 2, 2001, pp. 121‐34). These tools include a broad range of concepts describing the interwoven relationships between the social.
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1 June 2004
Conceptual Paper|
June 01 2004
Guest editors’ introduction: Actor‐network theory and information systems. What's so special? Available to Purchase
Ole Hanseth;
Ole Hanseth
Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway and London School of Economics, London, UK
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Margunn Aanestad;
Margunn Aanestad
Department of Informatics at the University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Marc Berg
Marc Berg
Department of Social‐Medical Sciences, Institute of Health Policy and Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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Publisher: Emerald Publishing
Online ISSN: 1758-5813
Print ISSN: 0959-3845
© Emerald Group Publishing Limited
2004
Information Technology & People (2004) 17 (2): 116–123.
Citation
Hanseth O, Aanestad M, Berg M (2004), "Guest editors’ introduction: Actor‐network theory and information systems. What's so special?". Information Technology & People, Vol. 17 No. 2 pp. 116–123, doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/09593840410542466
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