Compare methods

	Sociotechnical Systems Analysis	Sociology of Expectations
Field	Science Technology Studies	Science Technology Studies
Family	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline
Year of origin	1983	2006
Originator	Thomas P. Hughes	Nik Brown, Mads Borup, Harro van Lente, Kornelia Konrad
Type	Historical-analytic method for large technological systems	Interpretive method for analysing future-oriented expectations
Seminal source	Hughes, T. P. (1983). Networks of Power: Electrification in Western Society, 1880-1930. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN: 9780801828737	Borup, M., Brown, N., Konrad, K., & Van Lente, H. (2006). The sociology of expectations in science and technology. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 18(3-4), 285-298.
Aliases	Large technical systems analysis, Hughesian systems approach, Technological systems analysis	Expectations analysis, Sociology of promises, Technological hype analysis
Related	4	4
Summary	Sociotechnical systems analysis, developed by the historian of technology Thomas P. Hughes, studies large technological systems—electric power, telephony, transport—as a 'seamless web' in which physical artefacts, organisations, scientific knowledge, laws, and people are woven together. Drawing on his study of electrification in Networks of Power and his model of system evolution, the method locates the system's reverse salients, follows the work of system builders, and traces how a system acquires momentum and passes through characteristic phases of growth.	The sociology of expectations studies how promises, visions, hype, and expectations about the future actively shape the development of science and technology. Set out by Nik Brown, Mads Borup, Harro van Lente, and Kornelia Konrad, it treats expectations not as mere predictions to be judged true or false but as performative resources that mobilise funding, coordinate actors, and guide work—analysing how futures are constructed in the present and with what real effects.