Information Technology Reference
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There are, however, some basic differences in concept. The proposal in this paper is that
autonomous IS be themselves considered as social actors, whereas it is the network that
is the actor in ANT. Non-human entities may wholly or partly constitute such a network,
but they are held to contribute to the actions of the network by virtue of their position
and their associations, not because they act autonomously themselves (Callon, 1989, p.
93). The ANT concept is therefore an important conceptual precedent for the proposal
in this paper, but is applicable in a radically different analytical context.
Social impacts of the ISBL
The positive benefits of transaction standardisation have been too well canvassed to
need much discussion here. They include streamlined business operations, efficiency
gains in dealing with customers, improved data accuracy and reliability, reduced infra-
structure, and inter-organisational links for the transmission and sharing of data (Weill
and Broadbent, 1998; Parker and Benson, 1988). When standardisation is coupled with
the installation of autonomous systems that can be operational around the clock, further
benefits come from the reduction or elimination of time dependencies. As the technical
problems inhibiting systems integration are progressively solved, there seems no reason
to doubt that further efficiency benefits will continue to materialise.
The instrumental impacts of the ISBL on power relations are, however, more problematic
and await empirical research. While the range of possibilities is extensive, the linguistic
perspective suggests at least two directions for analysis that are likely to be fruitful.
These are, first, the consequences of attempts to extend the compass of the ISBL as a
standard language of interaction and, second, the implications of limiting the vocabulary
available to people wishing to conduct various types of transaction. Each of these appears
to have some negative social implications.
A further issue is the possibility that the use of the ISBL as an instrument in support of
power-seeking behaviour carries with it some hidden risks to the adopting organisations.
These arise essentially from the loss of flexibility that is entailed. The extent of this risk
is not easily assessed; what is argued here is that the widespread adoption of the ISBL
would represent a commitment to stability tending to inhibit systems change.
Imposing the ISBL
The imposition of a standard version of the ISBL as the language for conducting some
types of business transactions is a likely outcome on the basis of existing trends. One
approach already in use is to use pricing policies and other strategies to ensure that
business partners, including customers and suppliers, find it economically desirable to
interact with autonomous systems. Organisations with an interest in imposing the ISBL
in this way logically include all those working to an efficiency-oriented business model
such as government departments and agencies, banks, utilities, and other organisations
with highly routinised modes of doing business.
Examples of the approach can be found with the installation of B2B procurement ex-
changes, where purchasers combine to develop a large transaction-processing vehicle
based on standard definitions of goods and services (Hammer, 1996). What has quickly
become apparent is that large companies can in this way put themselves in a position to
dictate to their suppliers on modes of interaction, often at great expense to those other
companies. The failure of a number of major B2B projects has somewhat slowed the pace
of change in this area, but the innate potential for the exercise of control is evident.
Other examples on a smaller scale can also be found. One such is provided by the organ-
isation Tabcorp, one of the major players in the Australian gambling industry. Despite
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