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When information technologies (IT) have a central role in organizational change programs, understanding how organization members make sense of technology is critical to influencing their actions and to achieving planned outcomes. Orlikowski and Gash articulated a theoretic framework centered on technological frames of reference (TFR) to investigate interpretive processes related to IT in organizations. The TFR framework has been cited across a wide range of publications and has formed the basis for a genre of studies on the interpretive aspects of IT and organizational change. In this article, the author assesses these research contributions and argues that further theoretic development is needed for the TFR framework to reach its potential contributions to knowledge. The author outlines the following research strategies that could facilitate TFR theory development: focusing analysis on frame structure, investigating framing as a dynamic interpretive process, and examining the cultural and institutional basis of organizational frames.
Keywords: technological frames of reference; ICTs; organizational change
INTRODUCTION
Organizational change has been characterized as first and foremost an interpretive process (Barr, 1998; Bartunek, 1984; Bartunek, Lacey, & Wood, 1992; Bartunek & Moch, 1987; Daft & Weick, 1984; Gioia, Thomas, Clark, & Chittipeddi, 1994; Isabella, 1990; Weick, 1979). People act on their interpretations of the world (Berger & Luckmann, 1967); thus, their understandings must change if their actions are to change substantively. How people make sense of technology is an important component in organizational change in which information technology (IT) plays a central role (Gephart, 2004; Griffith, 1999). Managers may hope for organizational transformation through IT use, but such results are difficult to achieve (Markus, 2004). Inertia or limited application are more common outcomes than significant changes in how people think about and perform work using IT (Orlikowski, 2000). Understanding and guiding interpretive processes could help managers to improve these organizational change outcomes.
Arguing for a systematic theoretic approach to studying interpretation related to IT in organizations, Orlikowski and Gash (1994) articulated a perspective centered on technological frames of reference (TFR). They defined technological frames as the knowledge and expectations that guide actors' interpretations and actions related to IT. They posited that social groups have shared frames and that differences in these groups' frames can inhibit effective deployment of a technology. The TFR framework has been...