The Ripple Effect of Information Infrastructures

Abstract

This paper explores how the nature of work is impacted by the information infrastructure within the work exists. Drawing on an empirical case of a global organization replacing the local area network (LAN), we examine the work required for (re)designing, implementing, maintaining, and managing the sociotechnical aspects of the LAN. We identify breakdowns related to cooperative, technical, and organizational work, revealing faultlines in boundary-crossing activities. By exploring the characteristics of these faultlines, our study highlights how work and infrastructure co-evolve. Work may appear to take place within a local context, yet in practice, it transforms the global infrastructure, with interdependent entities located elsewhere in the infrastructural setup, such as people, artifacts, and policies that only have peripheral (or invisible) relations to the work. This interplay impacts not only the characteristics of the work itself but also the inherent characteristics and legacy of multiple work contexts beyond immediate boundaries. We argue that viewing work from an infrastructural perspective is crucial for identifying who and what is needed to accomplish work tasks. The ripple effect of information infrastructures impacts local work contexts in unanticipated ways, extending beyond visible work practices. Transforming infrastructures thus requires an extended peripheral perception in shaping and scoping the work at multiple scales.