BEHIND THE IT PRODUCTIVITY PARADOX: THE SEMIOTIC NATURE OF COMPUTER ARTIFACTS

IT systems often severely disappoint the expectations to increase productivity of value creation processes. After referring to empirical evidence, the paper reflects on the reasons for persisting deficiencies by developing a semiotic perspective on the use of computer artifacts. This semiotic view allows for understanding IT system implementations as efforts of structuring social practices in organisations. Finally, conclusions for an improved practice of implementing IT systems for effective use in organisations are derived from the theoretical reflections.