Sociotechnical Spaces: Guiding Politics, Staging Design

This article addresses how insights from the social shaping tradition and political process theory may contribute to an understanding of the sociotechnical design and implementation of change. This idea is pursued through the notion of “sociotechnical spaces” and its delineation, with respect to the analysis of two distinct cases: Business Process Reengineering (BPR) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in light of “film-less” radiological practice. Sociotechnical space is elaborated as being an occasioning as well as a result of sociotechnical choices and processes. It points to the role of socio-material and discursive practices in rendering spaces open to problematisation and action. It is suggested that the notion of sociotechnical spaces helps generate a sensitising guide for researchers and practitioners, and is proposed as a constructive means to localising potential political concerns. The article tentatively points to some analytical implications, and to challenges and possibilities for the “bridging” between spaces otherwise rendered distinct.