Managing culture creep: Toward a strategic model of user IT culture

This article describes a framework of IT user culture that has implications for organizational IT strategy. The research was conducted in multiple settings with a grounded theory approach. The resulting framework is anchored to nine archetypal IT user profiles and encompasses their inter-group dynamics. By adopting a cultural perspective on IT usage, the framework can inform IT adoption and usage strategy with possible cultural antecedents and determinants of usage constructs common in IS research. The proposed framework suggests how management can influence the migration of IT user culture (culture creep). This framework can also enrich other acceptance models in order to more fully consider the human factor during IT implementation and adoption. The results underscore the importance of culture-customizing organizational IT socialization, training and evolution programs.     

Toward an ‘IT Conflict-Resistance Theory’: action research during IT pre-implementation

Most empirical research on users’ resistance toward Information Technology (IT) has been conducted after implementation of IT in organisations. Little research has been done on the way individual and group resistance emerges and evolves during prior stages of projects. This focus on pre-implementation phases is important since Information Systems (IS) managers need to anticipate potential conflicts and users’ resistance that can involve project failure. While IS literature has separately developed theories on resistance and conflicts, we conceptualise a whole theoretic-system we call ‘IT Conflict-Resistance Theory’ (IT-CRT). This theory is used as driver for a 2-year action research project conducted at Netia Corporation (a worldwide leader in video and audio broadcasting) during preliminary phases of its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation project. According to our findings, while conflicts toward IT implementation are often considered to have negative effects and require being actively managed by top managers, the case study delivers an alternative observation: a passive-like attitude of managers during the IT pre-implantation phase does not prevent the resolution of a socio-political oriented conflict between two groups of employees. Our observations illustrate how the avoidance management style invites team members to cope with conflict situations and to express tacit causes of resistance. While most Management Information System methods tend naturally to maximise users’ satisfaction and to reduce potential resistance, the IT-CRT theory developed in this article supports an alternative approach: enhancing resistance in order to anticipate and resolve latent conflicts that are directly or indirectly related to the project. The underlying message of this article for researchers and practitioners is to consider users’ resistance toward IT as a key process embedded into IT choices and IS design.     

The IT sales cycle as a source of context in IS implementation theory

Theories of systems implementation identify contextual factors that influence both management action and implementation outcomes. Building on this, I showed using case studies, how the actions of participants in the IT sales cycle create the context within which implementation takes place. I argue that implementation begins much earlier than current theories have assumed and should be considered to consist of two distinct but related processes: the acquisition of IS and their deployment in the organization.     

某远程医疗项目的风险管理及对策研究

结合实践．以“某省远程医疗工程”项目为例。站在IT项目经理的角度讨论谈项目风险管理．包括对项目风险的理解和风险管理的过程应用。     

Quantitatives IT-Portfoliomanagement

Based on previously released research this paper focuses on the question of how IT projects should be allocated to a risk/return balanced IT portfolio. Therefore we develop an approach that exploits the structure of IS Architectures and scenarios to identify project risks as well as dependencies between projects. As a result, different clusters of efficient portfolios with distinctive risk/return-properties can be derived. The presented approach is designed to support management decisions in a pragmatic manner when selecting IT portfolios. By using real data of a major German financial services provider we exemplify the implementation and the results of the presented approach.     

Information Technology Investments: Characteristics, Choices, Market Risk and Value

The decisions confronting information technology (IT) managers have changed a great deal since the early 1970s. The key decisions three decades ago were related to the management of application development projects and operations centers. Today, the key decisions are quite different. What level of service should the firm provide end-users? Should IT services, development projects and the ownership and management of operations centers be outsourced? IT investments attempt to satisfy specific needs. Because of environmental differences and differences in the cost structure and benefits of alternative ways in which these needs can be met, the answers to these questions may differ across firms. Modern financial analysis can provide insights to help managers deal with many of the problems they currently face. We use modern financial theory to show how the value of IT investments can be affected by some of the choices made by managers. We show how the market risk of demand and the market risk of costs affect the market risk and value of IT investments. We consider three types of investment decisions: outsourcing versus in-house services; investments in interorganizational systems; and determining the optimal level of IT services that should be provided. Our analysis indicates that: (1) as the market risk of demand for operations decreases, firms are less likely to outsource operations; (2) the value of an investment in an interorganizational system increases as the market risk of costs increases; and (3) the optimal level of user service is inversely related to service demand risk and is directly related to the market risk of service costs.     

The Effect of IT Governance Maturity on IT Governance Performance

There are several best practice based frameworks that detail effective arrangements for the internal structure of an IT organization. Although it is reasonable that there is a correlation between the quality of the internal structure of an IT organization – labeled IT governance maturity, and the external impact of the same IT organization on the business – labeled IT governance performance, this has not been validated. The results, based on 35 case studies, confirm the hypotheses of a positive correlation between IT governance maturity and IT governance performance. Among IT processes described in 34 references, the internal structure of the IT organization, clearly defined organizational structures and relationships, mature quality management, and cost allocation show the strongest positive correlation to IT governance performance. The maturity of project management and service level management, as well as performance and capacity management, show almost no correlation to IT governance performance. The findings can be used to improve current frameworks for IT governance.     

An Integrative Economic Optimization Approach to Systems Development Risk Management

Despite significant research progress on the problem of managing systems development risk, we are yet to see this problem addressed from an economic optimization perspective. Doing so entails answering the question: What mitigations should be planned and deployed throughout the life of a systems development project in order to control risk and maximize project value? We introduce an integrative economic optimization approach to solving this problem. The approach is integrative since it bridges two complementary research streams: one takes a traditional microlevel technical view on the software development endeavor alone, another takes a macrolevel business view on the entire life cycle of a systems project. Bridging these views requires recognizing explicitly that value-based risk management decisions pertaining to one level impact and can be impacted by decisions pertaining to the other level. The economic optimization orientation follows from reliance on real options theory in modeling risk management decisions within a dynamic stochastic optimization setting. Real options theory is well suited to formalizing the impacts of risk as well as the asymmetric and contingent economic benefits of mitigations, in a way that enables their optimal balancing. We also illustrate how the approach is applied in practice to a small realistic example.     

Reconciling user and project manager perceptions of IT project risk: a Delphi study1

Abstract. In an increasingly dynamic business environment characterized by fast cycle times, shifting markets and unstable technology, a business organization’s survival hinges on its ability to align IT capabilities with business goals. To facilitate the successful introduction of new IT applications, issues of project risk must be addressed, and the expectations of multiple stakeholders must be managed appropriately. To the extent that users and developers may harbour different perceptions regarding project risk, areas of conflict may arise. By understanding the differences in how users and project managers perceive the risks, insights can be gained that may help to ensure the successful delivery of systems. Prior research has focused on the project manager’s perspective of IT project risk. This paper explores the issue of IT project risk from the user perspective and compares it with risk perceptions of project managers. A Delphi study reveals that these two stakeholder groups have different perceptions of risk factors. Through comparison with a previous study on project manager risk perceptions, zones of concordance and discordance that must be reconciled are identified.     

Information systems use as strategy practice: A multi-dimensional view of strategic information system implementation and use

Information systems (IS) are strategic in so far as they are used to realize strategic intent. Yet, while much has been said about aligning IS functionality with the strategic intent and how to organizationally implement strategically aligned systems, less is known of how to successfully implement strategic change associated with system use – a truly critical challenge within strategic IS implementation. Drawing on a strategy-as-practice perspective we address this gap by developing a multi-dimensional view of IS strategy, conceptualizing three key challenges in the IS strategy process, to explain how and why a paper mill, despite successfully implementing a strategic production management system, failed to produce intended strategic change. We call this outcome strategy blindness: organizational incapability to realize the strategic intent of implemented, available system capabilities. Using a longitudinal case study we investigate how cognitive rigidity of key actors and fixed, interrelated practices shaped the implementation of the new production system. We also identify core components and dynamics that constitute a richer multi-dimensional view of the IS strategy implementation (alignment) process. In particular, we identify three salient factors that contribute to strategy blindness – mistranslation of intent, flexibility of the IT artifact and cognitive entrenchment – and discuss how they affect strategic implementation processes. We conclude by discussing implications of our findings for IS strategy theory and practice, especially the contribution of strategy-as-practice to this stream of research.     

Compliance with institutional imperatives on environmental sustainability: Building theory on the role of Green IS

Addressing the complexity of the growing number of regulatory imperatives from global institutional environments has prompted firms in the IT sector to leverage the enabling effects of IT-based systems to help manage environmental compliance and related organisational risks. Thus, a new breed of IS—Green IS—emerged in recent years. This paper presents an integrative theoretical model that: (1) employs institutional theory to help explain how a range of exogenous regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive factors from the institutional environment and the organisational field influence IT manufacturers’ decisions on the design and manufacture of environmentally sustainable products; and (2) uses organisational theory to describe the strategic endogenous arrangements that organisations institute using Green IS in order to support sense-making, decision making and knowledge creation around environmental sustainability. The paper employs the findings of a case study of Compliance and Risks’ Ltd. Compliance-to-Product (C2P) application and its implementation in two US-based Fortune 500 IT manufacturers to help validate and refine the a priori theoretical model. The paper therefore makes a significant contribution to theory building on the phenomenon of Green IS, through its articulation of empirically-based theoretical propositions which employ conceptual mechanisms to explain how Green IS can support organisational sense-making, decision making and knowledge sharing and creation around the design and manufacture of Green IT.     

Rethinking the place of the artefact in IS using Heidegger's analysis of equipment

The IT artefact, conceived as a bundle of features or properties, is frequently seen as the core object of interest in IS. We argue that this view of IT derives from a worldview that stresses a duality between the individual and the external world. Using a stylized account of an IT implementation project, we show how this worldview conditions the phenomena that show up as most central in the IS discipline and the way mainstream theories and research approaches make sense of these phenomena. Retelling the same story through the lens of Heidegger's analysis of equipment in Being and Time (1927/1962), we present an alternative conception of IT as equipment holistically interwoven with other equipment, user practices, and individual identities. This allows rethinking what are central and peripheral concepts and phenomena in the IS discipline, and outline implications of such a shift for IS theorising, research practice and design.     

Attention-shaping tools,expertise, and perceived control in IT project risk assessment

This study investigates the use of attention-shaping tools and their interactions with expertise and perceptions of control on individual decision-making about risks in IT projects. The paper uses data collected from 118 IT project experts and 140 novices through a role-playing experiment to provide several novel insights into how these three factors independently and collectively influence perception of risks and subsequent project continuation decisions. First, attention-shaping tools have a significant effect on both risk perception and decision-making. However, among individuals with low expertise, risk shaping tools exhibit a significant but dual-sided effect on risk perception. They help identify risks captured by the attention-shaping tool but simultaneously introduce blind spots in their risk awareness. Second, while individuals with greater expertise perceive significantly higher levels of risks relative to those with lower expertise, the level of expertise had generally no influence on decision-making. Third, we found that perceived control is a powerful factor influencing both risk perception and decision-making. Implications for research and practice are discussed along with potential avenues for future research.     

Why funders invest in crowdfunding projects: Role of trust from the dual-process perspective

While previous studies have identified several factors that influence funders’ investment behavior in crowdfunding, few have explored the underlying mechanisms, particularly the potential boundary conditions in which the effect of funders’ trust varies. This paper examines two contextual variables: project type and funding level, which moderate the relationships between key antecedents and investment decisions. The research model based on the trust theory and dual-process perspective was developed and evaluated with a web-based experiment using actual crowdfunding projects chosen from a real crowdfunding site. Our findings provide new insight into the role of trust and its antecedents in different contexts.     

Effects of firm and IT characteristics on the value of e-commerce initiatives: An inductive theoretical framework

We explore the theoretical foundations on how firm and IT characteristics explain the market value variations in e-commerce initiatives by examining the announcements of 946 e-commerce initiatives in the public media. Our approach combines the Event study methodology and Decision tree induction to examine the main and interaction effects of IT and firm characteristics on Cumulative Abnormal Returns (CAR). In particular, we generate complex interaction models that can guide e-commerce investment decisions so managers can know, for example, which combination of IT and firm characteristics are more likely to be viewed positively by investors. The selected study variables as well as explanation of the proposed framework are informed by innovation, resource-based view, transaction cost economics and complementarity theories. We have inductively developed a set of propositions that can be deductively tested to assess the validity of our proposed theoretical framework. Hence our study provides an initial roadmap for theory development on e-commerce and CAR.     

A cultural theory analysis of e-government: Insights from a local government council in Malaysia

In this paper, we use the ways of life proposed by cultural theory—hierarchism, fatalism, individualism, and egalitarianism—to explain the social relations and dynamics over time, which affected the ability to implement and manage a major ICT-enabled government change initiative (e-services). This is illustrated using an in-depth case study of one local government council in Malaysia. Our analysis found culture to be evident across multiple levels, including organizational (local council), subgroup (project team, operators, user group) and individual (IT consultants) in the context of the e-services project. More specifically, various characteristics of the ways of life were salient in the e-services project, particularly during the early years—mostly, hierarchism and fatalism at the organizational and subgroup levels, and individualism at the individual level. Furthermore, the study found changes, for instance, the emergence of egalitarianism at the subgroup level over time. The paper acknowledges that in order for researchers to understand how culture influences e-government, the focus of attention needs to shift from solely concentrating on the organizational level to also understanding the dynamic and fragmented nature of culture at the group and individual levels.     

The contingent effect of personal IT innovativeness and IT self-efficacy on innovative use of complex IT

While organisational investment in complex information technologies (IT) keeps growing, these technologies are often applied at a superficial level and fail to attain the promised benefits. To further extract the value potential of complex IT, this study investigates employee users' innovate with IT (IwIT), which is a post-acceptance behaviour that refers to individual users applying IT in novel ways to support their task performance. Drawing on the information system continuance (ISC) model, we propose a research framework with perceived usefulness (PU) and satisfaction (SAT) as the antecedents of IwIT. We further emphasise the contingent role of personal characteristics and include personal innovativeness with IT (PIIT) and IT self-efficacy (ITSE) as the moderators of the framework. We validate the model with data from users of two complex ITs: enterprise resource planning and business intelligence technologies. The results suggest that positioning personal factors as moderators significantly increases the explanatory power of the ISC model and offers a more comprehensive understanding about IwIT. Specifically, ITSE positively moderates the effect of PU and negatively moderates the effect of SAT on IwIT. The moderating role of PIIT, however, is subject to the specific type of IT of investigation.     

The effect of process tailoring on software project performance: The role of team absorptive capacity and its knowledge‐based enablers

Software process tailoring (SPT) is a team‐based and learning‐intensive activity that addresses the particular dynamic characteristics of a development project. Because SPT critically influences how projects are conducted, its performance should be investigated. However, the extant literature lacks empirical evidence on how the underlying effects of SPT performance and its team‐supportive factors operate and influence software project performance. From the knowledge perspective, this study adopts dynamic capabilities theory and considers the learning ability and absorptive capacity of software project teams to develop a theoretical model to address this gap. The results of an empirical examination of the model with 135 software project teams advance our understanding of how team‐level learning antecedents—experience, communication quality and trust—dynamically facilitate teams' absorptive capacity (AC) when they conduct SPT, which in turn reinforces project performance. The mediating effects of the proposed model are unveiled and discussed, and theoretical implications as well as practical guidance for how AC and these factors promote SPT and project performance are suggested.     

Theoretical approaches to gender and IT: examining some Australian evidence

Researchers have sought a theoretical perspective to explain the under‐representation of women in the information technology (IT) workforce of many nations. Gender imbalance limits the size and skill sets of IT human resources. The essentialist theory, social construction theory and individual differences theory of gender and IT have been proposed to account for the IT gender gap. This study examined evidence for these theories to explain this gap through content analysis of articles published in the national newspaper, The Australian, over three time periods. Newspaper articles report implicit theoretical perspectives on IT and gender and influence the views of the Australian public, including women. While evidence to support all theories was found over the three periods, the essentialist theory was dominant. Increased utility of the individual differences theory to account for the IT gender gap was seen in 2007–2008. The primary contribution of this study is to provide evidence that suggests that theoretical approaches, whether implicit or explicit, shape how people understand the under‐representation of women in the IT workforce. Media interventions are proposed to help redress the imbalance through increased awareness.     

A study of IS assets,IS ambidexterity,and IS alignment: the dynamic managerial capability perspective

This study aims to explore how IT-business alignment can be better achieved. Drawing on the dynamic capability view, information systems (IS) alignment and IS ambidexterity are theorized as IT departments’ ordinary capability and dynamic managerial capability, respectively. Four IS assets are identified as antecedents of both IS ambidexterity and IS alignment. A research model with 14 hypotheses is tested with a sample of 162 manufacturing firms. The PLS analysis shows that IS ambidexterity can increase IS alignment in terms of operational support and that the four IS assets can affect IS alignment directly or indirectly. Implications for research and practice are provided.