Abstract
This paper compares sociotechnical systems (STS) theory and actor
network theory (ANT) as developed by Latour, Callon and Law. We examine
how STS and ANT can be viewed as responses to rationalist/functionalist
research on large sociotechnical systems and as extensions and elaborations
of pragmatist/culturalist frameworks developed in sociology and anthropology.
We reexamine, from an actor network perspective, Trist and Bamforth’s
seminal article in which the concept of a sociotechnical system was
introduced. We also discuss how STS ideas on interactive planning
can be combined with concepts from ANT to investigate interdependent
processes of invention and innovation in large sociotechnical networks.
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