Interdisciplinary research teams increasingly rely on communication tools to coordinate

tasks, share knowledge, and maintain alignment. While these tools can enhance

collaboration, they also shape participation, reinforce hierarchies, and introduce new

forms of fragmentation. This study investigates how digital and non-digital

communication tools function as sociotechnical mediators in interdisciplinary

collaboration, focusing on the Designing Value Networks (DVN) research group at a

Dutch university of applied sciences. Using Actor-Network Theory (ANT) and Susan

Leigh Star’s concepts of boundary objects and infrastructure, the study analyzes semi-

structured interviews and ethnographic observations to examine how tools such as

Microsoft Teams, Google Docs, Miro, and WhatsApp actively structure visibility, task

coordination, and knowledge circulation. Findings reveal that communication tools not

only support collaboration, but also mediate power, access, and epistemic alignment.

Misalignments often emerge through infrastructural breakdowns, inconsistent tool

adoption, and informal hierarchies embedded in digital workflows. The study concludes

that enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration requires more than the adoption of new

platforms, it demands infrastructural stewardship, participatory tool governance, and

reflexive practices that legitimize informal communication and support equitable

engagement. By critically reassessing how tools are embedded, governed, and

maintained, institutions can better support the ongoing, negotiated process of alignment

in complex research environments. This research contributes to Science and Technology

Studies (STS) and Media and Communication Studies by demonstrating that

communication tools are not passive instruments, but active participants in shaping the

possibilities, and limitations, of interdisciplinary collaboration.