Sociotechnical networks and information management in health care

Abstract

In this paper, the notion of a sociotechnical network is used to illustrate the mutuality of technology and organisation. The paper tells the story of the proposed implementation of an executive information system in a newly corporatised hospital. In order to build a coherent and stable network, diverse interests of heterogeneous actors had to be accommodated within the executive information system. Ultimately, the failure to unify the multiplicity of interpretations surrounding the proposed system meant that the project ceased to exist.