International Journal of Public Information Systems

From the very beginning of the www, web applications have been suggested as an efficient means of promoting organisational identity and of sharing information within organisations. This article draws on structuration theory, actor network theory, imaginary organisations and multiple organisational identities to explore the consequences of attempts to use web applications to revitalise a large non-profit organisation (NPO). NPOs form a substantial part of organised activity in many Western countries. They are also interesting because those who want to implement change have little opportunity to force organisational members to accept the change, and thus have to rely on adjusting change to what is in demand among the members, or convince the members of the merits of the change initiative. The change initiative in this article is shown to mean different things to different people, which depends, in part, on the organisational identities they ascribe to. The web technology also attracted many imaginators at different levels, each trying to further their imagination of the webapplication-supported organisation. Depending on the perspective adopted, the analysis reveals both organising and disorganising effects of the web-application initiatives. The article concludes with six suggestions to would-be imaginators.