Social Study of Information Systems


The Social Study of Information Systems is interested in people developing and using technology and the "culture" of those people. SSIS brings social sciences concepts and methods to study information systems. SSIS studies these phenomena by drawing on and using "lenses" provided by social sciences, including philosophy, sociology, social psychology, organisational theory, political science. Thus, it relates to Social Informatics, Human-centered computing (HCC), Science and Technology Studies (STS), Design science.

Key universities

Key Universities involved in SSIS are: the London School of Economics, Lancaster University, University of Manchester, University of Warwick, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Salford, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Cambridge, University of Edinburgh, Harvard University, and Peking University.

Selected scholars

High-profile people in the field are Claudio Ciborra, Jannis Kallinikos, Chrisanthi Avgerou & Susan Scott, Wanda Orlikowski, Shoshana Zuboff, Lucas Introna & Lucy Suchman, Joe Nandhakumar, Wendy Currie, Geoff Walsham, Mathew Jones & Michael Barrett, Kalle Lyytinen, Rob Kling.

Additional scholars

The social study of information systems has also been shaped by the work of scholars across information systems, STS, sociology, communication, and public administration, including :

Key publications

  • Quast, M., Handel, M. J., Favre, J.-M., Estublier, J. Social Information Systems : Agility Without Chaos, Enterprise Information Systems, Springer.
  • Walsham, G. Interpreting information systems in organizations, John Wiley, Chichester.
  • Zuboff, S. In the age of the smart machine: The future of work and power, Heinemann Professional, Oxford.