THE THREE AMIGOS: THE ROLE OF ACTOR-NETWORKS, BOUNDARY OBJECTS AND STRATEGIC UNCERTAINTIES IN THE RISE AND FALL OF THREE INNOVATIONS IN A SINGLE COMPANY By

This study reports on attempts to introduce management accounting innovations over a two year period in several plants at a manufacturing site of a multinational company. The study follows the efforts of three individuals (the amigos) to introduce different management accounting innovations at three different plants on the site. Although two of the attempts “failed”, one innovation was “successful ” to the extent that efforts were subsequently made to introduce it into two other plants. Consequently, five stories account for the different outcomes that can best be explained using a theoretical framework that combines actor-network theory, boundary objects and strategic uncertainties. In a number of ways this study complements previous research by Briers and Chua (2001) who also used actor-network theory and boundary objects to explain the process of innovation but, importantly, this paper also introduces Simons (1990) notion of strategic uncertainties to explain how different boundary objects wax and wane in importance over time, along with the networks attached to them. 1