Ecologies of e-Infrastructures

Abstract

We present and discuss a historical reconstruction of the development of a Microsoft SharePoint eInfrastructure in NorthOil (2003 - 2008). The eInfrastructure was to support strategically emphasized work processes and open up a richer context of decision-making around production optimization. Specifically, the new eInfrastructure was to make it more convenient to trace decisions historically and across disciplinary and geographical boundaries - a need driven in part by post-Enron requirements for more elaborate and systematic reporting to the stock exchange. The Microsoft-based SharePoint eInfrastructure was intended to "seamlessly" integrate the many different and distinct information systems holding relevant information on production optimization. A principal aim of our study is to analyze how, why, and who resisted this largely top-down eInfrastructure initiative. We analyze how local practices rely heavily on specialized, niche information systems that are patched together as an ongoing performance to achieve commensurability. These local practices, however, are not immune to change. We discuss the indications of a transformative amalgam of (elements of) the new eInfrastructure and (elements of) the existing, local practices. © 2009, by the Association for Information Systems.