Department of Business Development and Technology, Aarhus University, Herning, Denmark; Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
Department of Sociology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
Soc Stud Sci. 2017 Oct;47(5):703-750. doi: 10.1177/0306312717709363. Epub 2017 Jun 23.
What theories or concepts are most useful at explaining socio technical change? How can - or cannot - these be integrated? To provide an answer, this study presents the results from 35 semi-structured research interviews with social science experts who also shared more than two hundred articles, reports and books on the topic of the acceptance, adoption, use, or diffusion of technology. This material led to the identification of 96 theories and conceptual approaches spanning 22 identified disciplines. The article begins by explaining its research terms and methods before honing in on a combination of fourteen theories deemed most relevant and useful by the material. These are: Sociotechnical Transitions, Social Practice Theory, Discourse Theory, Domestication Theory, Large Technical Systems, Social Construction of Technology, Sociotechnical Imaginaries, Actor-Network Theory, Social Justice Theory, Sociology of Expectations, Sustainable Development, Values Beliefs Norms Theory, Lifestyle Theory, and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. It then positions these theories in terms of two distinct typologies. Theories can be placed into five general categories of being centered on agency, structure, meaning, relations or norms. They can also be classified based on their assumptions and goals rooted in functionalism, interpretivism, humanism or conflict. The article lays out tips for research methodology before concluding with insights about technology itself, analytical processes associated with technology, and the framing and communication of results. An interdisciplinary theoretical and conceptual inventory has much to offer students, analysts and scholars wanting to study technological change and society.
哪些理论或概念最有助于解释社会技术变革？这些理论或概念如何或不能整合？为了回答这个问题，本研究通过 35 次半结构化访谈，对社会科学专家进行了调查，这些专家还分享了 200 多篇关于技术接受、采用、使用或扩散主题的文章、报告和书籍。这些材料确定了 96 种理论和概念方法，涵盖了 22 个已确定的学科。本文首先解释了其研究术语和方法，然后重点介绍了被认为与材料最相关和最有用的十四种理论。这些理论包括：社会技术转型、社会实践理论、话语理论、本土化理论、大型技术系统、社会建构技术、社会技术想象、行动者网络理论、社会正义理论、期望社会学、可持续发展、价值观信仰规范理论、生活方式理论和接受和使用技术的统一理论。然后，根据两个不同的分类，将这些理论定位。理论可以分为五类，即关注能动性、结构、意义、关系或规范的理论。它们还可以根据根植于功能主义、解释主义、人文主义或冲突的假设和目标进行分类。本文介绍了研究方法的技巧，然后得出了关于技术本身、与技术相关的分析过程以及结果的框架和沟通的结论。一个跨学科的理论和概念清单为想要研究技术变革和社会的学生、分析师和学者提供了很多帮助。
