Theoretical Foundation

This chapter aims to elucidate the concept of actor-network theory (ANT), which is valuable in systems and technology research, particularly where human and non-human actors are treated as equals. The contextual application of ANT in this book is illustrated in a socio-technical environment to better systematize the social aspects of technical work. Three progressive moments of translation stages are explained: problematization, interessement, and enrollment. Porter’s value chain contextualizes the problematization stage by helping to identify possible key performance indicators in the organization’s activities, explaining how decision-makers utilize artificial intelligence (AI)-based technologies as actors in the context of ANT applications. The interessement stage aims to lock human and non-human actors in their roles, illustrating decision-making in an AI environment where decision-support models are based on decision trees and the more advanced concept of fuzzy logic models. Furthermore, the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the value-based adoption model (VAM) are introduced as key models in the study of technology acceptance. Lastly, enrollment involves the coordination and alignment of actors’ roles, illustrating how the concepts of socio-technical theory effectively integrate new technologies by addressing both human and technical aspects.