Research Article
A Critical Review of Research on Information Technology and Organizational Structure
Published: January 1998 · Vol. 27, No. 3 · pp. 789-813
Full Text
Abstract
Since the introduction of information technology into organizations, research on information technology and organizational structure has continued. However, most studies on information technology and organizational structure have been conducted from a technological determinism perspective, which holds that information technology determines organizational structure. Because studies from the technological determinism perspective focused on the direct relationship between information technology and organizational structure, they have shown significant limitations in understanding the process through which information technology affects organizational structure. Therefore, this study critiques deterministic perspectives and presents new conceptual and methodological theories on information technology and organizational structure based on recent sociological concepts in order to understand the dynamic process by which information technology influences organizational structure. In structuration theory and social network theory, information technology is not viewed as a direct cause of organizational structural change. Rather, information technology serves as a catalyst for organizational structural change through changes in the behavior of organizational members. That is, organizational structure emerges through the interaction processes among members. Given that various existing organizational theories have overlooked the linkage between structure and agency, the introduction of social network theory will make a significant contribution to understanding complex organizational phenomena in both conceptual and methodological terms.
