Social Shaping of Technology

Origins and Different Approaches

From a theoretical point of view, SST approaches mainly developed from British sociology of science studies, sociology of scientific knowledge, and history of technology, becoming habitual international reference points in the social studies of technology in the second half of the 1980s. SST criticized traditional approaches to technology, which only addressed its impacts and its effects on society, considering technological development as autonomous to society. SST approaches are also characterized by examining the content and the design of technology, exploring a range of different factors involved in the emergence of technology in society, including organizational, political, economic, and cultural aspects. Adopting a strong constructivist perspective derived from the sociology of science, SST stresses the interactive nature of the process of innovation and the diffusion of technologies.

Although SST is often understood to be one particular theory, it does not represent a well-defined approach and can be considered broad, gathering together a vast range of scholars and traditions including, for example, industrial sociology, economic history, and the sociology of science. However, two specific approaches are usually considered to be the main reference points in the field of SST. The first one is the social construction of technology (SCOT) approach (Bijker, Hughes, and Pinch 1987), which offers an interpretative model for the emergence of technology in society as the result of a process of negotiation between relevant social groups. During the process of social construction, artifacts are characterized by an interpretative flexibility, and their shape [Page 1332]and uses can be influenced by different sociocultural agents and factors. The process of negotiation of the actual shape of technology ends with a closure of the negotiation process and, therefore, with the closure of the social construction of technology. The main focus of the SCOT approach is on the design and development of technology, which is seen as a phase during which artifacts embody the social relations between the different agents and groups involved in their design and use, thus encompassing the social interests shared by social groups of reference.

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