Appropriation of Information Systems: Using Cognitive Mapping for Eliciting Users' Sensemaking

This paper explores the use of cognitive mapping for eliciting users' sensemaking during information system (IS) appropriation. Despite the potential usefulness of sensemaking, few studies in IS research use it as a theoretical lens to address IS appropriation. A possible reason for this may be that sensemaking does not easily lend itself to be used in practice. We introduce cognitive mapping as a way to elicit users' sensemaking and illustrate its value by reporting on findings from an empirical study of the introduction of an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system. The contribution of the paper is threefold: first, our findings demonstrate cognitive mapping's use for eliciting users' sensemaking during IS appropriation. Second, our findings illustrate how cognitive mapping can be used as a dynamic approach facilitating collective negotiation of meaning. Third, we contribute with a thorough discussion of the epistemological and methodological assumptions underlying cognitive mapping to ensure its validity and trustworthiness.