Orlikowski & Ianoco's view of IT artefacts
Orlikowski & Iacono's (2001) examination of IS literature has led them to identify five conceptualizations of the IT artifact which represent alternative views of how IS researchers have treated technology in their research.
- Tool view: The tool view views the IT artifact as not problematic and independent variable. The focus is on the type of using IT either for information processing, enhance productivity, shift social relationships, etc.
- Proxy view: focusing on one or few aspects of IT including logics about: human understanding of technology, diffusion of technology in organizations, the extent to which technology is integrated in the social system, and the monetary measures of technology that is the value of technology to organizations.
- Ensemble view: a packaged view of technology including tasks, people, policies, devices, and how technology is the way it and how it is used.
- Computational view: focuses on the computational power of IT disregarding how people interact with technology.
- Nominal view: technology is absent and only mentioned by name. The IT artifact is neither dependent nor independent variable thus it’s an omitted variable.