The role of organizational objects in construction projects: the case of the collapse and restoration of the Tjörn Bridge

Abstract

The construction industry immutably produces built environments that directly influence the everyday lives of human beings. Nevertheless, materiality, defined as intransient physical matter socially enacted in the form of artefacts and objects as well as built constructions, is often overlooked and simply regarded as passive and inert matter. In contrast, a growing body of literature recognizes the agency of materiality and examines how materiality and agency are co-produced. When examining a spectacular event like the collapse of the Tjörn Bridge on Sweden’s west coast, it is argued that organizational objects are capable of interpellating various actors, thus enabling informed and adequate action. The concepts of the organizational object and interpellation are thus useful analytical terms when examining construction project organization, helping scholars of the construction industry and practising managers to rethink the role of materiality as something that both acts and is acted upon.

Keywords:

• Bridge construction
• civil engineering
• interpellation
• materiality.