‘Reliability’ Reconsidered: A Critique of the HRO‐NAT Debate

The concept of reliability is beginning to take on new meaning as Information Technology becomes pervasive in both the private and public sectors. This topic deserves further attention as new mobile Internet systems proliferate. This research note is concerned with developing a more operational understanding of the concept of ‘reliability’. The HRO‐NAT Debate is raising many related issues in this regard. However, the article goes further and seeks to provide a multi‐level contingent schema for this purpose.