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Show moreTheories of technological change are generally constructed based on assumptions that the technological artifact is a member of a historical line of technological advance (trajectory and evolutionary theories) or that novel technological developments simply "happen" (happenstance theories). Where a more constructivist view is taken technological change is assumed to be a social construct driven by the societal elements of human relationships and initiative. This paper takes a different approach to technological change positing that a combination of social structure and human agency act in a recursive manner to push a technological artifact forward. Using Anthony Giddens' structuration theory as the foundation for framing the analysis, two software technolgies are examined to determine how they became. Human agency and organizational structure are observed and support is developed for the idea that the process of technological becoming is a recursive process whereby human agents are continuously confronted by the constraints imposed by their social setting and it is through their knowledgeable actions to address these constraints that success or failure for the artifact arises. The study also provides initial support for the idea that technological closure, as posited by the Social Construction of Technology school of artifactural becoming, does not occur. It is observed that the becoming process never ends and that constant attention from informed agents is required throughout a technology's life for that technology to maintain a position of "existence." This is a preliminary study that provides the beginning of a foundation upon which future research may be constructed. Particularly, additional work in the area of key parameters in the recursive process of becoming could lead to an empirical model of the becoming process that reflects characteristics of dynamic system theory and that might provide a tool for practitioners to make directionally sound decisions about new technological developments.
Doctorate of Management Programs
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