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Technology and The Courtroom: An Inquiry into Knowledge Making in Organizations

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  • Giovan Francesco Lanzara
  • Gerardo Patriotta

Abstract

Recent theories of knowledge management have offered a functionalist understanding of knowledge creating dynamics in organizations. Their focus is on the role of knowledge assets as a determinant of competitive performance. However, the presupposition that knowledge can be managed or treated as an objective commodity seems to overlook the highly interactive, provisional and controversial nature of knowledge‐oriented phenomena in organizations. By deviating from the mainstream, we conduct a phenomenological inquiry into knowledge making within the setting of courtroom trials. Evidence is provided by in‐depth case studies carried out in six Italian courtrooms adopting videocassette recording (VCR) technology as a tool for recording and storing the proceedings of criminal trials. The behavioural responses of courtroom actors confronted by the intrusion of an alien technology in a highly institutionalized and resilient setting are particularly relevant for the study of knowledge in organizations. They reveal the highly controversial, pasted up and medium‐specific features of organizational and professional knowledge systems. Rather than being the product of smooth conversion processes, knowledge in organizations is the outcome of inquiry, controversy and bricolage, resilient as a whole, but subject to local disputes, experiments and reassembling. Based on the findings of the cases, our account points towards a view of organizational knowledge as a dynamic, heterogeneous ‘assemblage’ characterized by ongoing transformations and reconfigurations.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovan Francesco Lanzara & Gerardo Patriotta, 2001. "Technology and The Courtroom: An Inquiry into Knowledge Making in Organizations," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(7), pages 943-971, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:38:y:2001:i:7:p:943-971
    DOI: 10.1111/1467-6486.00267
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    Cited by:

    1. Américo, Bruno Luiz & Carniel, Fagner & Clegg, Stewart Roger, 2019. "Accounting for the formation of scientific fields in organization studies," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 18-28.
    2. Sunday Bolade, 2024. "Towards a Measurable Substance of Organizational Knowledge," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 751-770, March.
    3. Khurshid, Hamid & Snell, Robin Stanley, 2021. "Examining mechanisms for creating shared value by Asian firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 122-133.
    4. Wan Satirah Wan Mohd Saman & Nuraisyah Chua Abdullah & Norhayati Baba & Norshila Shaifuddin & Wan Nor Haliza Wan Mokhtar, 2015. "Sustainable Electronic Court Records Risk Management: Conceptions and Development of Framework," International Journal of Business and Administrative Studies, Professor Dr. Bahaudin G. Mujtaba, vol. 1(1), pages 42-48.
    5. Kent D. Miller & Shu-Jou Lin, 2010. "Different Truths in Different Worlds," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(1), pages 97-114, February.
    6. Isto Huvila, 2022. "Making and taking information," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 73(4), pages 528-541, April.
    7. Gerardo Patriotta, 2003. "Sensemaking on the Shop Floor: Narratives of Knowledge in Organizations," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(2), pages 349-375, March.
    8. MariaLaura Di Domenico & Helen Haugh & Paul Tracey, 2010. "Social Bricolage: Theorizing Social Value Creation in Social Enterprises," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 34(4), pages 681-703, July.
    9. Woojin Yoon & Jaeyun Jeong & Kyoung Won Park, 2021. "Informal Network Structure and Knowledge Sharing in Organizations: An Empirical Study of a Korean Paint Manufacturing Company," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-18, May.

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