CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 927Information Systems Theories and ImplementationManagement and Organizational StudiesInformation Technology Governance and Strategy

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 56 of the 59 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

A Foundation for the Study of IT Effects: A New Look at DeSanctis and Poole’s Concepts of Structural Features and Spirit

Open access
Bentley University, USA, Markus, M. Lynne, Silver, Mark, Fordham University·2008·Journal of the Association for Information Systems
DOI 10.17705/1jais.00176
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

Gerardine DeSanctis and Marshall Scott Poole made an important contribution to the study of IT uses and effects with their insightful concepts of “structural features” and “spirit.” Unlike their concept of “appropriation,” which has found broad acceptance in the IS community, the concepts of structural features and spirit have not been widely used. Published concerns that the concepts are not consistent with basic assumptions in Giddens’ structuration theory, on which the concepts were based, could account for their neglect. However, concepts like structural features and spirit are indispensable for any program of research that attempts to show how IT artifacts can, together with other influences, contribute to the consequences of IT use. Addressing the criticisms that have been leveled against these concepts is, therefore, important. In this paper we unpack DeSanctis and Poole’s concepts and propose redefining them as three new concepts: technical objects, functional affordances, and symbolic expressions. We believe this reconceptualization addresses several concerns about the original concepts, while retaining the core insights of DeSanctis and Poole’s innovative analysis.

Overview

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.17705/1jais.00176

Cites

56 of 56 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Verification

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Citations

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Show all 59 references

3 of the 59 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 14

  1. Eco, U. (1976) A Theory of Semiotics. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
  2. Gutek, B. A., T. K. Bikson, and D. Mankin (1984) Individual and Organizational Consequences of Computer-Based Office Information Technology, in S. Oscamp (Ed.) Applied Social Psychology Annual: Applications in Organizational Settings, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, pp. 231-254.
  3. Hevner, A. R., S. March, and J. Park (2004) "Design Science in Information System Research," Management Information Systems Quarterly (28) 1, pp. 75-105.
  4. Hutchby, I. (2003) "Affordances and the Analysis of Technologically Mediated Interaction: A Response to Brian Rappert," Sociology (37) 3, pp. 581-589.
  5. Jones, M. (1999b) Structuration Theory, in R. Galliers and W. L. Currie (Eds.) Rethinking Management Information Systems: An Interdisciplinary Perspective, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, pp. 103-135.
  6. Jones, M., W. J. Orlikowski, and K. Munir (2004) Structuration Theory and Information Systems: A Critical Reappraisal, in J. Mingers and L. Willcocks (Eds.) Social Theory and Philosophy for Information Systems, Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp. 297-328.
  7. Latour, B. (2005) Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network Theory. Oxford, UK: Vol. 9 Issue 10/11 pp. 609-632 Special Issue 2008
  8. Markus & Silver/IT Effects Oxford University Press.
  9. Markus, M. L. (2005) "The Technology Shaping Effects of e-Collaboration Technologies-Bugs and Features," International Journal of e-Collaboration (1) 1, pp. 1-23.
  10. Michaels, C. F. and C. Carello (1981) Direct Perception. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
  11. Poole, M. S. and G. DeSanctis (2004) Structuration Theory in Information Systems Research: Methods and Controversies, in M. E. Whitman and A. B. Woszczynski (Eds.) The Handbook for Information Systems Research, Hershey, PA: Idea Group, Inc., pp. 206-249.
  12. Ragin, C. C. (1987) The Comparative Method: Moving Beyond Qualitative and Quantitative Strategies. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
  13. Rappert, B. (2003) "Technologies, Texts and Possibilities: A Reply to Hutchby," Sociology (37) 3, pp. 565-580.
  14. Sayer, A. (1993) Method in Social Science. London, UK: Routledge.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Items 801–900 of 924

Related

See all

Metadata

Authors
Bentley University, U., Markus, M. L., Silver, M., & Fordham University
Affiliations
Bentley University (US)
Venue
Journal of the Association for Information Systems
Publisher
Association for Information Systems
Published
2008-10
Volume
9
Issue
10
Pages
609-632
ISSN
1536-9323 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.17705/1jais.00176
OpenAlex
W2789700923
Cited by
927
References
59
Citations by year
2026: 72 · 2025: 73 · 2024: 63 · 2023: 68 · 2022: 76 · 2021: 64 · 2020: 68 · 2019: 48 · 2018: 47 · 2017: 33 · 2016: 47 · 2015: 55 · 2014: 49 · 2013: 64 · 2012: 35
FWCI
74.96
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of the Association for Information Systems (publishedVersion)
  • Journal of the Association for Information Systems (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management Information Systems › Information Systems Theories and Implementation
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Management and Organizational Studies
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management Information Systems › Information Technology Governance and Strategy
Keywords
structural features, alcoholic beverages, structuration theory, appropriations, technical objects, functional affordances, symbolic expression, reconceptualization

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review