ABSTRACT
The adoption and implementation of technological innovations takes place in a social matrix of existing relations. Social interaction and communication between and among those who have a stake in technological development underlie not only the adoption but also the implementation and the utilization of technological innovations. Social network analysis is defined as a method of research for understanding the structure in a social system. The social network analysis methodology shows how the meaning of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology is socially constructed at a national or international scale. It also provides a visual way to gain insights into the structure created by a large number of heterogeneous GIS system builders throughout a country or wider area. In terms of theory building this research could be related to the debate of loosening the technology/society divide. GIS, like other computer based innovations, is an interdisciplinary technology which crosses the boundaries of many well established technological traditions of practice.
