From Control to Drift

Firms are investing considerable resources to create large information infrastructures able to fulfil their varied information-processing and communication needs. The more the drive towards globalization, the more such infrastructures become crucial. The ‘wiring’ of the corporation should be done in a way that is aligned with its corporate strategy — it is global and generates value.This book presents six in-depth case studies of large
corporations — AstraZeneca, IBM, Norsk Hydro, Roche, SKF, and Statoil — which offer a rich picture of the main issues involved in information infrastructure implementation and management. Far from being a
linear process, the use of the information infrastructure is in fact an open-ended process, in many cases out of control. Current management models and consulting advice do not seem to be able to cope with such a business landscape. This book provides the reader with interpretations and theories tha can foster a different understanding and approach. Thus, the economics of standards, complexity theory, and actor-network theory are harnessed to penetrate the issues emerging
from the case studies and to generate a new conception of the information infrastructure that is relevant both for researchers and practitioners.

Author Biography

Claudio U. Ciborra is Professor of Information Systems at the London School of Economics. He is a leading researcher in the areas of information systems, management, and strategy. Affiliated to many leading European universities and research centres, he has conducted several international projects studying the impacts of IT on organizations. Author of many books on this topic, he is also widely published in the related fields of institutional economics, strategy,
and organization theory.