The same but different: Understanding variation and similarity in the outcomes of a similar technology. A comparative case study on the deployment of manufacturing execution systems in three Belgian SME's

Abstract

Current research on technological innovation seems preoccupied with studying the varying outcomes of technological innovation on work and organisations. To understand this variation and explain why technological innovation leads to specific outcomes, the process of technological innovation must be scrutinized. A comparative case study was conducted to examine the design, implementation and use of an identical technology (Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)) in three Belgian SMEs. We explain the organisational and labour related outcomes of MES deployment by analysing both the strategic choices during the selection, design, implementation and utilization of MES in relation to the division of labour between employees, management and technology developers during the technological innovation process. Our findings show how various strategic choices and different divisions of labour lead to both overarching similarities (e.g. increased centralisation, standardization and employee control) as well as important variations in technological outcomes (e.g. degree of (de)centralisation, standardization and employee control). These results illustrate the relative autonomy organisations have in shaping technological outcomes while simultaneously showing the limitations they face, stemming from (I) the material characteristics of technology shaped at meso and macro political level and (II) the social relations at organisational level.