ABSTRACT
The concept of information system can be said to encompass the set of all input and output information, whether formal or informal, that an organization handles, uses and produces as part of its operations. From a system-centered perspective, the types and amount of information that an actor can use hinges on the system and on the actor’s position in it, within a hierarchy, for example. In designing technical arte-facts as an aid to managing the information system, a central point to be considered concerns the changes over time in intra- and inter-organizational interdependencies stemming from the choice of the system’s scope and technologies. This is because information is produced in interactions between the actors, who use it not only to reach the organization’s goals, but also to pursue their own interests, which may even be at odds with the formal objectives.
