Tensions and Contradictions in Information Management. An Activity-theoretical Approach to Information Activities in a Swedish Youth-Peace Organisation

Sammanfattning: The thesis aims to contribute to the research on the management and use of information in organisations byproviding a holistic understanding of the various information practices and needs as well as attitudes towardsinformation at different levels in the broader socio-historical context of a specific organisation. To this end,findings and approaches from research traditions in library and information science, management studies andorganisational theory are combined in an activity-theoretical approach with some neo-institutional aspects. Anempirical study using this theoretical framework investigates information activities in a Swedish youth organisationwith the aim of contributing to peace and democracy. This study aims to answer research questions concerning howthe individual and collective information practices of its Board members and the development of organisationalstrategies and routines for information activities are related to each other and to the socio-historical context of suchorganisations.The empirical data was gathered, firstly, through a qualitative case study of one youth/peace organisation, in which14 members from two Boards were interviewed, 6 meetings were observed and e-mail communication andorganisational documents were studied. The results were used in two questionnaires to Board members in a totalsample of 9 similar youth/peace organisations to explore the assumption that a common socio-historical contextwould result in similar activities and constraints. Environmental scanning, seeking information, storing andretrieving information, creating information products, disseminating information to the environment and sharinginformation within the organisation are identified as distinct information activity systems in the case organisationthat could be combined in a broader information management activity system. The outcome of Board members'individual, collective and organisational actions within these activities is mediated by a combination of how theyperceive the objects, the available tools and resources, the chosen or emerging division of labour, organisationaland collective aims and individual goals, and the explicit rules and implicit values that could be applied to theaction in an organisational context. Most strategies are emergent in nature and start in a bottom-up process. A basiccontradiction stemming from the socio-historical context of youth/peace organisations underlies the tensions ininformation activities. Board members have to make sense of contrasting identities in which empowerment iscontrasted with professionalism as a basis for the organisations' legitimacy.The theoretical contribution of this study is the creation of two activity theoretical models for the analysis ofinformation activities in organisations. The models provide a way to discuss the links between individual andcollective information behaviour and organisational information management in a holistic perspective. They raisequestions about the nature of these relationships and encompass the contextual aspects of information practicesthus leading to a greater understanding of the ways in which information management develops in specificorganisational contexts.