Re-examining the concept of boundary object: Implementation of an accounting risk management system in a French university

This research relates to a four year study regarding the implementation of an accounting and control risk management system in a medium-sized French Higher Education Institution (HEI). The purpose of this paper is to contributes to the boundary object literature by showing how an insufficient invisible infrastructure, due to the lack of sufficient equipment work of system, led to the transformation of the boundary object's nature and only partial success of the system performativity. Based on an interpretive case study, the findings show that the implementation process of the risk management system, rather than reducing uncertainty, itself created unexpected uncertainties that would not have emerged otherwise. These uncertainties are especially related to legal issues linked to the professional identities and responsibilities of operational managers. The findings highlight a theoretical insight regarding the concept of the boundary object: its potential to assume an obstructive nature instead of being a shared space.