The alignment of technology and structure through roles and networks

Area of Science:

• Organizational Studies
• Sociology of Technology
• Information Systems

Background:

• Previous research posits technologies alter organizational and occupational structures.
• A role-based approach is needed to understand these transformations in action and interaction patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and investigate a role-based framework for understanding how technologies influence organizational structures.
• To examine the mediating roles of work roles and social networks in technology-driven structural change.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Nadel's social structure theory as a theoretical foundation.
• Conducted a comparative ethnographic and sociometric field study.
• Analyzed the use of traditional versus computerized imaging devices in radiology departments.

Main Results:

• Technology's material attributes directly impact nonrelational aspects of work roles.
• Changes in nonrelational elements influence relational aspects of roles, affecting social network structures.
• Work roles and social networks were found to mediate the structural effects of new technologies.

Conclusions:

• A role-based approach effectively explains how technological changes propagate through organizational levels.
• The study demonstrates a clear pathway from technology attributes to social network structures via work roles.
• Findings highlight the crucial mediating function of roles and networks in technology-induced organizational change.