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Constructing enterprise resource planning: A thoroughgoing interpretivist perspective on technological change
Author(s) -
Shepherd Craig
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of occupational and organizational psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.257
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 2044-8325
pISSN - 0963-1798
DOI - 10.1348/096317906x105742
Subject(s) - enterprise resource planning , perspective (graphical) , context (archaeology) , rhetoric , sociology , epistemology , resource (disambiguation) , technological change , knowledge management , strict constructionism , focus (optics) , engineering ethics , computer science , engineering , linguistics , paleontology , computer network , philosophy , artificial intelligence , biology , physics , optics
Most perspectives towards understanding technology treat it as having essential material properties that constrain some uses and enable others. In contrast, this paper argues for an understanding which treats constructions of the capabilities of technology as interpretatively flexible and grounded within specific contexts. The paper begins with a review of perspectives towards understanding technological change. Next, I provide an overview of the discourse analysis literature. This locates the form of discourse analysis used here, systematic constructionism, within this milieu. Then, I introduce enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and evaluate the literature. This is followed by a description of the context in which an ERP system was introduced and the methods of data collection and analysis. The analysis elaborates how three interpretative repertoires used to justify the implementation of the ERP system were disrupted by counter‐constructions produced by individuals reciprocally positioned within them. Moving on, I discuss the contributions and limitations of this approach for understanding technological change, before reflecting on how my commitments affect the data presented here and my ability to contribute to debates on technology. Finally, I propose there is a need for further studies that focus on unravelling the rhetoric surrounding technological change.