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Our study seeks to deepen understanding of the outcome of IT projects (success or failure) by examining the active role of the objects involved (in particular, technology) and their interaction with humans taking part in the project. With this in mind, the article sets out to lay a cornerstone in this domain by answering the following two questions: a) How should interactions between actors and technology be analysed in terms of the relational ontology of a specific IT project, in accordance with the principles of ANT? b) To what extent does this new analytical approach provide an explanation of the results obtained ? The product in question is an IT project for the industrialisation of a technology (Virtual Desk) that ultimately ended in failure (the project was abandoned). To answer these questions, we propose a method of visualising the project based upon network analysis derived from actor-network theory (ANT). This method for observing IT projects was applied in real time during the course of a longitudinal study concerning the Virtual Desk. Our study yielded two contributions. The first, which is theoretical, involves the discovery of a mode of operationalisation of ANT allowing improved reading and understanding of the outcome of IT projects and helps explain the limitations of its operationalisation in ontological terms. The model developed facilitates analysis of dynamic interactions between the various entities involved in the project, thereby allowing an understanding of the development of the network along a convergent/divergent continuum. It demonstrates the need to abandon an approach based on linear cause-and-effect chains while underscoring the need to create and maintain “technological symbiosis” between humans and non-humans in order to promote a successful outcome for IT projects. The second contribution, which is methodological, is consistent with recent studies aimed at improving the cartography of controversies, and proposes a first method of viewing (graphics) socio-technical networks as well as their development.

Emergent tools 2.0 like social networks technologies or Social Networks Systems (SNS) allow the development of a social capital and facilitate collaboration and innovation through organizations. In an economic and managerial environment where social capital is considered as a prerequisite for the collective action in organization, the introduction of these technologies of Social Networks Systems can be also an opportunity for actors to redistribute the power and the influence between them in the organization. This research study aims to understand how the stakes in power related to the development of the social capital can impact the adoption of SNS tool by actors. Through an Action-Research within a City and based on Bourdieu's theory on the social positions and on Crozier and Friedberg's strategic actor's theory, we identify that the appropriation of social networks technology is primarily a socio-political appropriation in two phases : in the first phase actors discover social capital as a new symbolic capital and in a second phase they use the technology to influence the development of the organizational social capital in order it can serve their own interests. This work highlights also the role played by information systems and particularly social network systems in the development and maintaining of actors' social positions within the organization.

The paper aims at testing if there exists a relationship between internal IS integration and external IS integration. The analysis is based on the literature that links internal and external integration and proposes a set of contingency variables. Contrary to operational research literature, Venkatraman's scheme of evolutionary stages emphasizes a disconnect between internal and external. Using data from the COI-TIC survey, synthetic indicators of intrafunctional IS integration and supply chain IS integration are built and their explanatory factors are analyzed on a sample of 9721 firms. Among technologies used internally, ERP have the greatest influence on intrafunctional IS integration and are the best predictor of supply chain IS integration. Economic sectors show discrepancies between intrafunctional and external IS integration.

This article looks at the issue of information security governance. To respond to the shortcomings identified in the literature, it explores (i) the process of organizations' engagement in the governance of information security, and (ii) the practices of the organizations involved. The statistical and econometric analysis of data from a survey conducted with one hundred and twenty large companies in Luxembourg suggests that the knowledge of organizations involved in the governance of information security or promoting this approach, the expected performance, and the effort undertaken, are potential determinants of the organizations' engagement in the process. These results may be analyzed under the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) developed by Venkatesh et al. (2003). The data from organizations also helps to draw a picture of current practices in the matter of information security governance. The major originality of the research lies in the very high participation rate (85.71%) by organizations in the study, which gives the results a strong validity in what is, moreover, an extremely sensitive and confidential field. At the theoretical level, the research improves knowledge of the two issues explored. In practice, it provides managers with feedback on current practices implemented by the organizations in the field of information security governance and draws some recommendations. These contributions may also have an impact on public policies and on institutions promoting information security governance.