Materiality in a practice-based approach

The paper provides an overview of the vocabulary for materiality which is used by practice-based approaches to organizational knowing. Common terms for materiality are 'artifact' and 'object'. The interaction between social and material realities is grasped as several processes: object-oriented activity, symbolization, embodiment, performance, alignment and mediation. Material artifacts both stabilize and destabilize organizational action. They may ensure coordination, communication, and control, but they may also create disturbance and conflict.