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Redefining the network: enrollment strategies in the PDA industry

Jonathan P. Allen (School of Business and Management, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA)

Information Technology & People

ISSN: 0959-3845

Article publication date: 1 June 2004

1914

Abstract

Theories of sociotechnical change seek to understand technology as both material and social artifacts. Actor‐network theory (ANT) offers an approach to sociotechnical change that has been criticized for emphasizing a micro‐level analysis of political strategies at the expense of larger social and cultural processes. This paper presents an approach to sociotechnical change that links the enrollment process of ANT with broader social practices, through the concept of inclusion in multiple technological frames. Inclusion in different technological frames is used to explain the sources of enrollment strategies in the early personal digital assistant (PDA) industry. Two case studies of PDA evolution (Psion, led by David Potter, and Palm, led by Jeff Hawkins) are used to illustrate the link between enrollment strategies and inclusion.

Keywords

Citation

Allen, J.P. (2004), "Redefining the network: enrollment strategies in the PDA industry", Information Technology & People, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 171-185. https://doi.org/10.1108/09593840410542493

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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