From Control to Drift: The Dynamics of Corporate Information Infrastructures

Citation

Elbanna, A.R. (2001), "From Control to Drift: The Dynamics of Corporate Information Infrastructures", Information Technology & People, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 232-239. https://doi.org/10.1108/itp.2001.14.2.232.1

This book presents a collaborative work of a relatively large and diverse research team of ten academics comprising three junior researchers and two members of industry, and is based on six case studies. Unlike most reported cases in IS, the book reveals the real names of the studied companies. However, except for some general comments, there is little consistency between the individual cases concerning the details of the data collection.

The book is divided overall into two parts, entitled “Theory” and “Cases” respectively. The theory part intends to address the theoretical foundation upon which the case studies in the second part can be explained. The authors’ justification for this split is to make the book appealing to both the academics (students and scholars) and practitioners, assuming that the academics are more concerned with the theories and the practitioners with the real life cases. For that they think that academics would approach the book by moving from the first part to the second while managers and consultants would approach it from the other way around. Yet, this split by itself reveals the state of the IS field and the struggle to appropriate and fully integrate the foreign borrowed ideas from a wide range of disciplines.

The first chapter by Claudio Ciborra and Ole Hanseth provides a good introduction and an overview to the themes of the book and defines its research stance. They clearly state that the book tries to provide an alternative point of view of infrastructure to that claimed by the management literature. Moreover, they identify its aim of providing better understanding of the issue and opening more unresolved open‐ended thought‐provoking questions rather than adding a new recipe for the management.

In the first chapter of the theoretical part, “A critical review of the literature on the management of corporate information infrastructure”, Ciborra advocates the rationale and value of the interpretive approach of the book. Contrasting the main ideas of the management thinking represented by Weill and Broadbent (1998) with the findings of the case studies, Ciborra challenges the control notion that underlies the management thinking. He suggests that concepts like care, hospitality and cultivation could enrich our understanding of the business rather than the boxes and lines of the strategic alignment. No doubt that this chapter adds rich ideas to the notion of the infrastructure as a heterogeneous socio‐technical network. Referring to the cases presented in the second part of the book plus relying on the theoretical ideas of the following theoretical chapters, this chapter may make more sense for the reader if it is revisited again after reading the book.

Chapter 3 by Ole Hanseth and Kristin Braa entitled “Globalization and ‘risk society”’ critically discusses the managerial models of global organisations. Following the notions of Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Beck concerning modernity, globalisation, reflexivity, and side‐effects, the authors argue that all models seem to be based on what they call a “non‐global” perspective on globalisation. These models in particular focus on control and try to address the questions of whether firms can control their worldwide operations, whether IT infrastructure can facilitate such control, and whether IT infrastructure itself can be controlled. The chapter neatly summarises Giddens’s and Beck’s ideas yet surrenders itself to a single school of thought. It also sets an interesting argument concerning the management of global organisations yet fades out when it is dragged into the IS field with only one example to be adhered to, namely the Internet.

Hanseth in chapter 4, “The economics of standards”, argues that the economic studies have more illuminating ideas on infrastructure that could be extended to corporate information infrastructure than the simple linear model provided by the management theory. Although it is scattered and provides inadequate appropriation of the ideas to the corporate information infrastructure, the chapter introduces some attractive and certainly useful concepts and ideas that may need to be tied together, taken further, and utilised more convincingly within the corporate information infrastructure.

The final chapter in the theory part “Actor‐network theory and information infrastructure”, written by Eric Monteiro, introduces another analytical vehicle for the development and use of information infrastructure, namely actor‐network theory (ANT). Elegantly, he presents a minimalistic but clear and carefully written version of ANT – and more courageous – tries to connect it to the other theories presented in the book. He positions ANT arguably somewhere in the middle of the technology determinism‐social construction continuum. He then proceeds to explain ANT symmetrical stance not only towards human and non‐human but also towards the macro and micro‐social. He added that ANT could be looked at as an underlying theory upon which theories like information economics and reflexive modernity could be founded. This chapter is definitely one of the best‐written about ANT in the IS field and provides a significant contribution to the IS library.

The first chapter in the “Cases” part, “Conservative success: organization and infrastructure evolution at SKF”, by Bo Dahlbom, Ole Hanseth, and Jan Ljungberg, proceeds with the infrastructure development at SKF, a world leader in the production of ball and roller bearings. By contrast with the management literature’s generalised claim concerning global competition and the need for radical and rapid organisational change, flexibility and dynamics and the design of infrastructure from scratch, the case presents a successful global company with a stable standardised evolving approach. Yet the authors leave us to ask with them for how long such a conservative approach can be possible.

The following chapter is entitled “Infrastructure as a process: the case of CRM in IBM”. In this chapter Ciborra and Failla present IBM’s ongoing experience of implementing a strategic program that aims to redefine and build anew the business process that links customers with the company (CRM). The case follows the CRM origin, launch, deployment, use, and ongoing modifications. The construction of the CRM as a major new infrastructure is revealed to be gradually emerging mostly out of contingent choices, opportunistic moves, and short cuts. The authors present an intense case that touches many issues, each of which requires a chapter by itself to be adequately explained. Some of these issues include the multiple perception of the CRM in different national contexts; people management and commitment reach; IT support and how it can contribute to the stabilisation of the CRM; changes in individual departmental and even national organisations’ roles and responsibilities; the position of IT in the CRM compared to the BPR notion of IT; the role played by the silent installed IT base; and global system compatibility with the existing local applications that are geared to local legal and business contexts.

In their case study chapter (chapter 8), “Who’s in control: designers, managers or technology? Infrastructures at Norsk Hydro”, Hanseth and Braa present the story of infrastructure evolvement of Norsk Hydro, a Norwegian company that works in different business area (fertilizer, light metal, and oil and gas). This shows how infrastructure emerged from small movements where each one is to a large extent a side‐effect of changes in the environment. This contradicts the initial planning thinking even with Norsk Hydro itself. The chapter uses actor‐network theory (ANT) to offer an explanation of how SAP, that is a part of the infrastructure, drifted from the initial planning towards almost the opposite. It questions who is really in control as people, departments, and divisions who once thought that they control SAP and that they can align it to their interests ended up by being aligned, controlled, and locked by SAP. One only questions whether this is another technology determinism argument justified by the use of ANT. And if so then it defeats Monteiro’s suggestion in chapter 5 that ANT provides a more modest stance.

Chapter 9 is entitled “Infrastructure strategy formation: seize the day at Statoil” by Eric Monteiro and Vidar Hepø. With a neat introduction, the authors take us to a journey with Lotus Notes to see its introduction and diffusion in Statoil, the State of Norway’s Oil Company Ltd (Den norske stats oljeselskap A/S). Presenting the alignments, compromises, and challenges that face Lotus Notes, they gradually let us realise that Lotus Notes is nothing but one element of a larger, evolving infrastructure and that alignment with business strategy does not simply unfold from a decision. The case is quite rich, with many actors reflecting the complexity of the organisation life. It could have been more useful if the authors had introduced us to the whole scene (i.e. organisation structure, projects in place…etc.) at an early stage in the case.

The next chapter, “Global and local dynamics in infrastructure deployment: the Astra Hässle experience” by Antonio Cordella and Kai Simon presents the case of Astra Hässle, a Swedish pharmaceutical research company. It presents another view of infrastructure that does not stem from cultivation or evolutionary processes in the organisation but is dictated by an organisation‐wide change program. The authors introduced a model for analysing infrastructure implementation based on the notion of inscription adopted from ANT. They suggest a framework that is a matrix of technology inscription and organisational inscription. Notwithstanding, the case is not particularly illuminating and the authors sometimes jump to conclusions that are not well supported by the written case in hand.

In chapter 11, “From alignment to loose coupling: from MedNet To www.roche.com”, Ciborra surprises us with the story of Hoffmann La Roche diffusion and use of the internet and Intranet, a story of an infrastructure that has not yet been managed!It reveals that following on from the failure of a previous infrastructure that planned to impose a new, dramatic, unfavoured formative context on the company (MedNet), the implementation and diffusion of the company Internet and intranet follows no plan/ no strategy approach. It is more about mushrooming, cultivation and bricolage rather than planning and strategic alignment. Moreover, it interestingly compares between the management reaction towards IT projects (SAP, MedNet, intranet and Internet) and shows that low cost, low risk projects enjoy a relaxed approach of releasement, nurturing and cultivation instead of having a strategic plan to follow, “if nobody seems to have a clue where all this will lead to, nobody seems to be panicking about it either”!

Chapter 12 is entitled “Postface: from infrastructure to networking” by Bo Dahlbom. This being the last chapter, one expects, if not a recap and conclusion of the ideas of the book, that it would be at least within the same stream of thoughts. Surprisingly this is not the case here as Dahlbom contradicts many ideas of the previous chapters and presents a philosophical discussion of society and infrastructure. He argues that thinking in terms of infrastructure is itself an industrial age thinking that does not reflect the post‐industrial age we are entering. For that it discusses the validity of the notion of infrastructure in post‐industrial society. That very society – he argues – that is best characterised as a society with no infrastructure. Hence IT cannot be understood in terms of infrastructure but rather only as a “flexible means of communication, by which social structures are formed, re‐formed, and dissolved, in a continuous process of networking”. The chapter by itself provides an interesting argument; however, reading it within the context of this book left me baffled!

In general, the book is pleasant to read and worth having as it has slow release of ideas that a reader would visit and revisit, particularly some chapters and case studies, for their richness. Indeed, the division of the book sometimes seems uncomfortable: for example reading chapter 11 after 2 allows the reader to reflect more on both. Yet I trust that after a first visit to the book, you will find your way around it and the best reading sequence that suits your needs.

The book keeps its promise to leave us with more open‐ended thought‐provoking questions. Remarkably, some cases contradict others and moreover the last chapter goes even further to blow away many ideas of the whole book.

To conclude, the book represents a valuable endeavour to host and incorporate new theories, notions, and thinking from other disciplines into the IS field. However, it left me wondering when the never‐ending borrowings from different disciplines to the IS field would be significantly appropriated and integrated in order to provide a more powerful explanatory vehicle, let alone generating a new IS theory.