Introduction. Literature on people’s dealings with information sometimes suggeststhat the concepts of information behaviour and information practice are interchangeable. These concepts are often used without theoretical underpinning.This contribution presents an in-depth examination of the concept of informationpractice in relation to theoretical contributions within the information behaviourliterature.

Method. This conceptual paper critically examines the theoretical foundations oftwo central concepts by exploring existing information research and literature onsocial science theory. It aims to unpack the intellectual roots from which these concepts have emerged.

Analysis. Based on an established distinction between theories of action andtheories of practice, a fine-grained comparison of theoretical differences betweeninformation behaviour and information practice research is presented.

Results. Contributions based on the concept of information behaviour areanthropocentric in nature, psychologically oriented, and portray dealings withinformation as planned behaviour grounded in individual choice. The informationpractice literature leans towards a posthumanist perspective through its focus onmateriality and distributed agency.

Conclusion. Theories and concepts are ambiguous phenomena that can be imbuedwith different meanings by different authors. This does not necessarily pose aproblem if authors strive to clearly explain their theoretical premises and what theymean by the central concepts they use.