Corporate intranet failures: interpreting a case study through the lens of formative context Online publication date: Thu, 22-Jun-2006
by Dick Stenmark
International Journal of Business Environment (IJBE), Vol. 1, No. 1, 2006
Abstract: Although intranets are well-established information environments, companies complain that their intranets are left under-utilised. Consulting the standard management literature, it seems the medicine typically prescribed is tighter management control. In this study, we examine the use of and the attitudes towards an international company's intranet. Although the respondents' testimonies seem to be in line with existing literature, advocating centrality and control, we argue that this is only a superficial pattern. When the informants' statements are not accepted as facts but instead critically questioned to reveal the underlying attitudes, an alternative view emerges. Applying the notion of formative context to the intranet, we uncover the institutionalised cognitive frames governing the actors' reasoning and explain the clashes between the espoused theory of intranet usage and the theory-in-use. In compliance with previous studies of information infrastructure, we conclude that intranet management, too, is centred on control as the supreme management objective.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Business Environment (IJBE):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com
Our Blog 
Follow us on Twitter 
Visit us on Facebook