Social Construction of Communication Technology

Abstract

This entry presents a brief overview of the development of social constructionist theory as adopted by the organizational communication discipline when studying technology use in organizations. The discussion begins with a summary of the major ideas in technological determinism, a paradigm to which social constructionist thinking responds. The major sections review seven theoretical traditions: social construction of technology, large technological systems, actor–network theory, technology as occasion for structuring, adaptive structuration theory, social influence theory, and sociomateriality theory. Throughout the discussion the entry focuses on contextualizing theories in the historical contexts in which they were developed, including the contexts of both technologies and theories of the time. Critiques of the theories and responses to critiques are discussed. The chapter concludes with an overview of a series of contributions of the social constructionist paradigm as a whole, as exemplified by these particular theories, and also suggests guidelines for future research in this area.