Shaping Electronic Communication: The Metastructuring of Technology in Use

Wanda J. Orlikowski, JoAnne Yates, Kazuo Okamura and Masayo Fujimoto

Working Paper Series from MIT Center for Coordination Science

Abstract: In this paper we suggest that the use of computer-mediated communication technologies in new and fluid organizations can be facilitated by the explicit and ongoing adapting of those technologies to changing contexts of use. In an exploratory study on the use of a computer conferencing system in an R&D setting, we found that the new medium's effectiveness was significantly influenced by the intervention of a few individuals who took on a role we label technology-use mediation. These mediators shaped everyday use of the conferencing technology, modifying the technology as well as the context of use to promote effective electronic communication. Drawing on the insights of this empirical study, we develop a theoretical framework that views technology-use mediation as influencing how users structure their communication technologies, and hence as one form of metastructuring. We believe that the role of technology-use mediation constitutes a valuable mechanism for providing the ongoing attention and resources needed to contextualize what are often generic computer-mediated communication technologies to the shifting conditions of dynamic organizational forms.

Date: 1994-04
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