Sociotechnical Alignment in the Intra-Organisational Diffusion of Information Technology
Knowledge, Technology Transfer and Foresight
Volume 8 of the series NATO ASI Series pp 125-148
Generally, ‘diffusing’ technologies have to gain a legitimate space, often in hard competition for recognition and the resources which will make them part of the overall operation of a company. This raises critical questions such as: how is it that IT technologies become (or not) established as valued ingredients in the life of a company? what factors are likely to influence their acceptance and hence, successful diffusion? is it merely a matter of technical and commercial merit? and what is the role played by the nature of the technology itself?
This paper addresses these particular and general questions by looking in detail at the emergence of a new software technology (i.e., formal-methods) at the British semiconductor company Inmos. The concepts of sociotechnical alignment and ‘diamond of alignment’ are developed as part of a general theoretical discussion on the nature of intra-organisational diffusion of technology.
