The adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by organizations goes back to 50s of the last century, when mainframes were used to process enormous quantity of structured data (such as sales or wages).

In the last decades ICT have changed their rationale within organizations. Besides processing data, ICT are now used for networking data and people (for example through e-mails, intranets, internet). ICT today, in other words, are more integration technologies than processing technologies within organizations.

From an organizational point of view, this evolution of the ICT is quite consistent with the evolution of structural and governance models. ICT are actually considered essential for the passage to post-fordist models, which are based on integrated and flexible structures.

However, the introduction of ICT in the organizations does not assure per se an improvement in communication, co-ordination and performance. Adopting a new technology is a necessary but not sufficient condition for its effective use. ICT, as integration technologies, are intrinsically social artefacts that need to be assessed, analyzed and managed through social and organizational lens, not only technological.

KnownetLab proposes an an inter-disciplinary approach for the analysis of the organizational consequences of ICT. This approach integrates social, organizational and technological variables. Knownetlab studies the adoption, diffusion and use of ICT within and between organizations through the analysis and diagnosis of issues dealing with Information Systems Management, Human Resources Management, Organizational Design and Internal Communication. In particular, the competences of Knownetlab in this area are on:

· Media mix reconfiguration: the impact of the introduction of a new communication technology on the use of other pre-existing media. For example, this issue include the analysis of the degree of substitution between e-mail and face-to-face; the impact of this substitution on organizational processes; the analysis and assessment of media choice.

· Factors for the development of trust and identification through ICT. Formation and maintenance of trust and identification among organizational members are traditionally considered an output of social, direct, long-term and face-to-face interaction. The question: "how can these variables develop in a virtual setting?" is therefore a not trivial one.

· Interaction between ICT use and diffusion and organizational power, participation in decision making and teamwork. The adoption of ICT is often associated to an increase in the involvement of low-status members in the setting of organizational objectives and in the processes of decision making. Hierarchical and organizational barriers are supposed to not constrain the free exchange of ideas and information through ICT. However, technology features alone are not sufficient to explain this consequences, wherever they can occur. It is necessary to asses the organizational climate and the pre-existing power relations in order to explain and manage the consequences of ICT in this field.

· Technology introduction management. Different types of technology introduction have different consequences on technology actual use due to two factors: (i) the choice of the technology (and the choice of its features) constraint the choice of final users; (ii) the management of the technology introduction (the assignment of project roles and responsabilities) influence both the effectiveness/efficiency of the organizational change and the perception of the technology by the final users.

· Inter-organizational networks development. A Virtual Organization has been defined as a temporary network of indipendent firms which collaborate to exploit a business opportunity. ICT play a prominent role in the coordination within these networks, by providing a common technological platform. However, in order to make Virtual Organizations work, it is necessary to assess and manage also the "social" platform, consisting of mutual trust, reputation and identification of the members.