Action, interaction and the role of ambiguity in the introduction of mobile information systems in a UK police force

Abstract

Mobile wireless computing has been identified as a critical new application of information technology; however, only a few case studies are available focusing on the organisational or social issues related to the deployment of these technologies. This paper provides a rich description of the situated activities of a particular set of mobile workers (police officers) during the implementation of mobile wireless laptops. The paper describes two implementations of one type of technology in a single organisation. The implementations took very different trajectories; in one the technology was resisted and eventually withdrawn while in the other it was embraced and embedded into working practices. The paper clearly demonstrates how ambiguity, over time, influenced the trajectory of the implementation process in the different sites. The paper explores the use of an alternative theoretical approach to the use of technological frames to understand ambiguity and implementation of technology: Strauss's Theory of Action. Using Strauss's concept of trajectory the paper demonstrates the importance of understanding the relationship between ambiguity and the implementation of mobile information technology. © 2005 by International Federation for Information Processing.