Who Has the Power Over Spaces of Innovation? The Role of Technology in ICT-Triggered Change Processes

ICT-triggered change processes are known to be unpredictable and technologies are not used the way designers or managers intend because of actor groups’ innovation when ICT is deployed. The examination of sources of innovation in ICT-triggered change processes has had a socio-cognitive bias toward learning and the way actors make sense of ICT. This paper addresses the role of technology for actors in spaces of innovation. The aim of the paper is to analyze how features of ICT shape spaces for innovation in ICT-triggered change processes. To achieve this, two longitudinal case studies of the deployment of two ICT systems are analyzed. By analyzing features as programs of action inscribed in an ICT, we conclude that programs of action can be grouped along the dimensions “use/not use,” “what to do,” and “how to do.” These dimensions will shape actor groups’ spaces of innovation and their potential influence on deployment of ICT. Furthermore, we address how inscribed programs of action shape the need for temporal alliances between actor groups during the deployment of an ICT system.