Sociomaterial Dynamics in Information Systems
Summary
Sociomaterial dynamics in information systems refers to the continuous and co-constitutive interplay between social practices and material artefacts, including software, hardware and data infrastructures. This perspective rejects any strict separation between human actors and technological artefacts, instead viewing them as mutually enacting in situated contexts. Research in this field explores how technologies afford new organisational forms, reshape decision-making and reorganise power relations, while recognising that social norms, institutional pressures and human values simultaneously configure technological design and use. A relational ontology underpins this work, emphasising ‘intra-action’ over interaction and highlighting performative processes through which systems, routines and identities are enacted. Applications range from public administration and platform economies to industrial maintenance and smart infrastructures. By illuminating the material contours of digital work and the social shaping of technology, sociomaterial research contributes to more responsible deployment of artificial intelligence, more transparent algorithmic governance and more resilient organisational design on a global scale.
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Sociomaterial Dynamics in Information Systems publication trend
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Technical terms
Sociomateriality: A theoretical lens that regards social and material elements as inseparable and mutually constitutive in organisational and technological practices.
Affordance: The potential actions or possibilities that a material artefact offers to users within a given context, shaped by both technical properties and social interpretations.
Relational ontology: A philosophical stance asserting that entities do not pre-exist their relations but are dynamically constituted through ongoing practices of intra-action.
Algorithmic management: The use of data-driven algorithms to monitor, evaluate and direct human labour within organisational settings.
Digital mediation: The process by which digital technologies transform and shape communication, decision-making and collaboration among human and non-human actors.
References
- On becoming a sociomaterial researcher: Exploring epistemological practices grounded in a relational, performative ontology. Information and Organization (2019).
- Representation and Mediation in Digitalized Work: Evidence from Maintenance of Mining Machinery. Journal of Information Technology (2018).
- Beyond Uberization: The co-constitution of technology and organizing. Organization Theory (2021).
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