Actor-Network Theory in IS Research: Critique on Application of the Principle of Generalized Symmetry

Actor-network theory (ANT) has been gaining popularity as a guiding theoretical apparatus in Information Systems (IS) research, notably research involving IS projects as such projects are seen as assemblages of people, technologies, project documents, methodologies, and other actors. A key tenet of ANT is generalized symmetry, which advocates that human and material actors be viewed on the same analytic plane. A persistent critique of ANT-based IS research is that researchers employing ANT routinely fail to uphold the ideal of generalized symmetry. Critics often point out that many ANT-based IS research accounts (whether consciously or unconsciously) privilege humans as the dominant actors in actor-networks, while paying lip-service to the idea of generalized symmetry for all actors. This paper contributes toward understanding the underlying issues of this critique by assessing the current level of compliance to ANT's principle of generalized symmetry in ANT-based IS research. Using a hermeneutic literature review approach, we investigate how the main constructs, principles, practices and techniques of the full apparatus of ANT have been identified, applied and documented in recent ANT-based IS research studies as reported in the extant literature. This review provides an updated and refreshed understanding of the current level to which ANT's principle of generalized symmetry is upheld in ANT-based IS research.