A Theoretic Basis for IS? The Contribution of ANT

Authors

  • Jim Underwood

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v10i1.449

Keywords:

foundations of information systems, FOIS, actor-network theory, ANT, representation, semiotics, Foucault

Abstract

Representation is a key issue of IS design and operation that is often ignored. Actor-network theory (ANT), a semiotic theory of stakeholders, provides a way of dealing with representation. Combining aspects of ANT and Foucault's discourse theory allows us to include concepts as actors and promises a flexible and durable foundation for IS practice, but ANT itself indicates that the search for a purely theoretical foundation for IS is misguided.

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How to Cite

Underwood, J. (2002). A Theoretic Basis for IS? The Contribution of ANT. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v10i1.449

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 1 (2002): Theme: SME research and best ISF conference papers

Section

Selected Papers from the Information Systems Foundations Conference (ISF)

License

AJIS publishes open-access articles distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Non-Commercial and Attribution License which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and AJIS are credited. All other rights including granting permissions beyond those in the above license remain the property of the author(s).