The impact of the material properties of an Information System on the user’s practices: case study of a sales system

Abstract

Information Systems (IS) play an essential role in organizations, often going beyond their status of material artifact. In our case study of a large external advertising company, the role of the Information System in managing the media offer is crucial. The aim of this paper is to understand and to analyze the impact of changes in the material properties of a Sales Information System on the users’ practices as part of the sales process through the application of the perspective of weak sociomateriality. For this research exercise we used a qualitative approach based on 42 semi-structured interviews conducted as part of a longitudinal study from 2011 to 2018, complemented by observation and documentary analysis. Our case study shows that as multiple ways of imbrication between material and human occur in organization, users’ practices change and can become observable and analyzable. It also demonstrates the permanent and sometimes temporary changes in the material properties of an IS, thus affecting practices in the organization.