{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,5]],"date-time":"2026-02-05T19:50:10Z","timestamp":1770321010838,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2006,7,1]],"date-time":"2006-07-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1151712000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2006,7,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Purpose<\/jats:title><jats:p>Proposes the concept of rhetorical closure to address the phenomenon of pervasive IT \u201cfashions\u201d. Suggests that prevailing discourses surrounding IT are dominated by the rhetoric of closure and that such closure, although mutually constructed by suppliers, consultants and managers, has had several adverse consequences in terms of organizational change and results. Stimulates a critical thinking regarding the persistence of successive waves of new IT fashions and the consequences of closure on practice.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title><jats:p>Theoretical framework informed by political views within the social shaping school combined with Habermas' theory of communicative action. Illustration of the argument is based on 22 semi\u2010structured interviews (senior practitioners from client\u2010firms, software suppliers and consulting\u2010firms working on ERP projects).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Findings<\/jats:title><jats:p>Outlines the nature of the \u201cchain reaction\u201d produced by rhetorical closure from individual practices to the segment level. Identifies occasions for breaking down rhetorical closure at the three levels of analysis. At the individual level, opportunities are related to daily users' practices. At the organizational level, opportunities are related to ongoing organizational decisions and negotiations regarding IT adoption. At the segment level, opportunities are related to forming coalitions, networks and groups of users.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title><jats:p>Adopts an original perspective, examining the concept of rhetorical closure from a combination of two approaches: social shaping of technology and communicative action theory. Connects different types of closure to different types of rationality, and recognizes the specific validity claims underlying them. Calls into question current decision\u2010making processes that sustain IT pervasiveness and taken\u2010for\u2010granted assumptions of inevitability associated with new IT fashions.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/09593840610689840","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2006,9,26]],"date-time":"2006-09-26T06:46:58Z","timestamp":1159253218000},"page":"244-271","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Combining social shaping of technology and communicative action theory for understanding rhetorical closure in IT"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Marlei","family":"Pozzebon","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Ryad","family":"Titah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Alain","family":"Pinsonneault","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"key":"key2022012219514020300_b1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Abrahamson, E. 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