Form-ing institutional order: The scaffolding of lists and identifiers

Abstract

This paper examines the central place of the list and the associated concept of an identifier within the scaffolding of contemporary institutional order. These terms are deliberately chosen to make strange and help unpack the constitutive capacity of information systems and information technology within and between contemporary organizations. We draw upon the substantial body of work by John Searle to help understand the place of lists and identifiers in the constitution of institutional order. To enable us to ground our discussion of the potentiality and problematic associated with lists we describe a number of significant instances of list-making, situated particularly around the use of identifiers to refer to people, places, and products. The theorization developed allows us to better explain not only the significance imbued within lists and identifiers but the key part they play in form-ing the institutional order. We also hint at the role such symbolic artifacts play within breakdowns in institutional order.