The Legacy of Coordinative Practice: How the Mesh of Formal and Informal Articulation Work Through Time Affects a Shipyard in Transition

Abstract

This article explores the balance, and the shift in balance, between technologies and practices that coordinate work. The empirical data stems from a primarily qualitative study of a Norwegian shipyard in a phase of transition, where new models of collaboration emerge due to changes in the company environment. The article highlights the interplay between formal and informal articulation work, as well as the role of coordinative IT artifacts in this regard. With this background, the findings show that the balance (between coordinative technologies and practices) shifts depending on circumstances. Thus, the more formal coordination gains importance as transitions increases the need for detailed instructions. The findings also show that the existing IT infrastructure (the legacy) lacks the granularity as a coordinative artifact to facilitate necessary change in the organizational work arrangement, and how the workers cope with such issues. Based on this, the paper provides insights into how articulation work and its sociomaterial aspects develops over time in the interplay of organizational and technological change (or lack thereof).