Understanding technological innovation: a socio-technicalapproach

How do the social sciences address the question of innovation and the relationship between technology and use? This is the core point of this book which examines critically diverse works, in sociology, history, economics and anthropology, in order to formulate a new approach. This reflection is essentially of a general nature, though the cases used to illustrate the analysis are drawn primarily from the field of ICT. Patrice Flichy studies how the socio-technological actions of the different actors, particularly designers and users, are organized within the same frames of reference. He also introduces a new element into the model by demonstrating how time is involved in technological choices. "Understanding Technological Innovation" will be essential reading for advanced teaching and research training in the fields of science and technology studies, and media and communication studies.

Foreword -- Standard theories -- From no technology to alltechnology -- The residual factors in economic analysis -- Economists and the diffusion of innovation -- Sociologists and thediffusion of innovation -- The closed world of the technicalhistory of technology -- All-technology -- Technological determinism / social determinism -- Economists' view of the origins ofinnovation: technology push or market pull -- The question ofdeterminism in history -- The question of effects in sociology andhistory of communication -- The issue of determinism in thesociology of labour -- A socio-technical approach -- The anthropology of technology -- Thinking the technological and the socialtogether -- Cultural technology -- Technology as a social artefact -- Technoscience and networks -- The network -- The actor -- Thecontext -- Limits of networks -- The role of users -- Semioticapproaches -- Sociology of media and new media -- Informationtechnologies and organization -- Socio-technical action and frameof reference -- Forms of scientific and technological action -- From negotiation between social worlds to boundary objects -- Thesocio-technical frame of reference -- Socio-technical action andinn…