Page 56 - Journal of Management Inquiry, July 2018

270 Journal of Management Inquiry 27(3)

Figure 1. Existing literature and research gap.

suggests that (technological) artifacts convey information question are the graphical user interfaces on the spatially dis-
about work tasks to their users and preconfigure the course tributed desktops, where codified organizational rules and
of action without determining it (Bechky, 2003; Pentland & functionalities are displayed, and the OTAP’s material as
Feldman, 2008). In health care settings, some scholars found well as digital traces (i.e., printouts and data records).
that information about surgical and medical care practices is Our theorizing acknowledges that the accomplishment of
materialized through different media (Ferlie & Shortell, mindful organizing will be performed differently depending
2001; Timmermans & Berg, 2003). Three ideas are crucial on its material enactment through different tools and their
here: First, inscriptions prescribe, but this does not mean inscriptions. This both builds on and departs from previous
determining. Rather, it is to be understood in terms of the research that stresses the role of coordination in managing
many “metaphysical shades” of what “things” can do: unexpected events (Bechky & Okhuysen, 2011; Faraj & Xiao,
“authorize, allow, afford, encourage, permit, suggest, influ- 2006). In line with this research, we argue that responses to
ence, block, render possible, forbid, and so on” (Latour, unexpected events build on material, social, and cognitive
2005, p. 72). It is an empirical question whether, for exam- resources already available in an organization. For example,
ple, a tool is perceived to act in the background and only Faraj and Xiao (2006) demonstrate that coordination in
“allowing” some course of conduct or whether it is perceived trauma centers takes place through relying on prearranged
to actively “encourage” or “block” social processes. Second, protocols and rules, which codify the knowledge of experts
in health care settings, a specific interest is on the role of involved in patient care and establish the sequences of activi-
inscriptions in authorizing and regulating people’s activities, ties for providing it. While the OTAP also incorporates proto-
expectations, and responsibilities because issues of account- cols and rules, they are more about how to plan, organize, and
ability become more crucial with regard to aiming at finan- monitor work rather than about how surgeries or medical care
cial incentives or avoiding penalties such as lawsuits. should be performed. In contrast to Bechky and Okhuysen
Thereby, actors involve tools and their inscriptions in captur- (2011), we are not interested in how the available resources
ing, transforming, and refuting claims (Timmermans & Berg, are created in the first place but treat the OTAP as already
2003). Third, in line with the sociomateriality thesis, Latour given. The most crucial difference, however, lies in our tool-
(1986, 2005) stresses that nonhuman actors are inevitably focused perspective on mindful organizing and the emphasis
involved in the constitution of social practice. Accordingly, on the material dimension of mindful organizing, which
expectations do not only reside in the heads of employees but acknowledges the importance of physical and digital materi-
are also distributed in an expectancy network that is consti- als in shaping an expectancy network. This does not exclude
tuted by human and nonhuman actors such as tools. This also sociocognitive resources such as common understandings
means that expectations are not only distributed among peo- and expectations or shared situational awareness, but asks
ple but also in spatial, temporal, and material terms. how these are shaped by (im-)material inscriptions rather than
Against this background, we argue that a tool may involve treating them as being merely conversationally mediated.
different inscriptions, instantiated by different physical and/
or digital materials, with variable capacities to enable, trans- Research Context
late, and regulate behavior. In this article, we are interested in
how the OTAP’s inscriptions are involved in accomplishing The setting of our in-depth qualitative case study is a hospital
mindful organizing, that is, in enabling or constraining the in Northern Germany. We focus on operation theaters and
continuous refinement of expectations and drawing on a their surrounding infrastructure because they are prone to not
more nuanced appreciation of context while retaining aware- only emergencies but also unexpected events that are related
ness of the big picture (see Figure 1). The inscriptions in to the management and organization of surgeries and