Making sense of technological frames: a study of social interpretations of information technology in the organizational context

Abstract

Technological frames (shared cognitive structures that relate to technology) are the main theme of this research. Its general goal is to analyze the nature and extension of the differences that sustain technological frames for different social groups as well as to understand the motivations for congruencies and incongruencies. The research was conducted in a higher education institution with an international academic information system as its object of analysis. The system was already implemented at the time of the research and is in use today. Methodologically, this study is characterized by epistemological suppositions supported by an interpretative perspective and a qualitative approach. In-depth interviews, participant observation, document analysis and physical artifacts were the sources of empirical data. Data analysis and interpretation were backed up by a dialectic-hermeneutic method. The results point to different interpretations of the academic information system. These interpretations are socially constructed by the individuals and become greatly affected by their prior knowledge of the system, their assumptions and expectations towards it. Personal and contextual characteristics as well as technological ones are integrated creating, reinforcing and modifying congruencies and incongruencies in technological frames.

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