Developing a Structurational Approach to Electronic Customer Relationship Management (ECRM)

The literature on culture provides a set of general concepts and ideas as a way of looking at the world (Hofstede 1980). However, the typologies of culture have inherent weaknesses, e.g., they do not reflect the variety of values and attitude that may exist in a country, nor do they explain how cultures have developed over time (Skok and Doringer 2001). These limitations lead our research to investigate the potential impact of cultural differences on eCRM using concepts from Structuration Theory by ,. In this paper the authors highlight the dimensions of culture and its potential impact on eCRM systems, using a Structurational analysis based on . The authors use the practice lens for studying technology in organizations based on , to develop a framework of studying different agencies and their structures within eCRM systems context. The authors conclude by a framework of Structurational analysis of eCRM systems displaying different agencies and their structures. This framework of analysis will be used to conduct a comparative case study in future research

The role of boundary objects in the co-evolution of design and use: the KMP project experimentation

Nowadays, it is widely recognized that an ICT tool cannot be built without knowing who will use it and what they will do with. In this perspective, Human-Computer Interaction community (Carroll, 1990; Jarke, Tung Bui and Carroll, 1998; Young and Barnard, 1987; Young and al., 1989) developed a scenario-based approach contrasting with the traditional information system design. The scenario describes an existing or envisioned system from the perspective of one or more users and includes a narration of their goals, plans and reactions (Rosson and Carroll, 2002). As a result, design is founded on the use of scenarios as a central representation for the analysis and design of use. The scenario-based design appears to be a first step in the integration of users in the design of ICT tool. However, we would like to underline in this paper a more active role of users in the design process. According to Orlikowski (2000) while a technology can be seen to have been constructed with particular materials and inscribed with developers' assumptions and knowledge about the world at a point in time, it is only when this technology is used in recurrent social practices that it can be said to structure user's action. The use of technology in recurrent social practices must be considered because how technological properties will for the moment be used or appropriate is not inherent or predetermined. Finally, this approach leads us to dissociate the designers' world from the users' world. In this perspective, the design project is the result of the co-evolution and the convergence of both worlds: on the one hand, the world of design and a first integration of users by scenarios; on the other hand, the world of users where innovation is the art of interesting an increasing number of allies who will make the world of design stronger and stronger. The objective of this paper is to understand the mechanisms of interaction between the world of design and that of users i.e. between loops of co-design and loops of uses. Indeed, according to Akrich, Callon and Latour (1988) we adopt a whirlwind model of innovation. In this perspective, “innovation continuously transforms itself according to the trials to which it is submitted i.e. of the “interessements” tried out » (Akrich and al., 2002: 7). We will demonstrate that the key success of an innovation depends on the co-evolution and convergence of design and use around boundary objects developed during this process (see Figure 1). More specifically, we will show the role of boundary objects on the integration and on the involvement of users in the design process. In order to do so, we carried out an empirical research – the Knowledge Management Platform project - located in the scientific park of Sophia Antipolis (Alpes-Maritimes, France), focusing on the Telecom Valley® (TV) association which gathers the main actors of the Sophia Antipolis Telecom cluster. Indeed, the KMP project aims to build a semantic web service of competencies in order to enhance exchange and combination dynamics of knowledge within the Telecom cluster thanks to an interactive mapping of competencies. This paper will comprise three parts: Based on the researches of Akrich, Callon and Latour (1988), Hatchuel and Mollet (1986), Orlikowski (2000), Romme and Endenburg (2006) we will identify and analyse in a first part the process of design. The combination of these approaches leads us to distinguish the design' world from the users' world. In this perspective, the success of an innovation may be explained by the co-evolution and the convergence of these two worlds. In this process, we suggest that boundary objects play a key role in the convergence of these two worlds. We will present in a second part the empirical study of the KMP project within the TV network. The KMP project involved researchers from socio-economic sciences (GREDEG Laboratory, UNSA-CNRS, Rodige and Latapses teams), cognitive sciences and artificial intelligence (INRIA, Acacia team), telecommunications (GET) and users (TV) for a total force of 187 men per month for a two-year period (2003-2005). At this present time this project is being set up in a pre-industrialization phase, supported by TV and the PACA region. Here, we will analyse the specific process of design experimented by KMP. Finally, the third part discusses the role of boundary objects in the KMP experimentation. In this part, we will show the evolution of boundary objects during the loops of design. More specifically, the focus will be on the emergence of compromises between designers and users, their materialisation in boundary objects and finally their evolution during the design' process.boundary objects, IS development, actor network theory

Government Workspace Digitalization and Socioeconomic Development Outcomes in Ghana

The study sought to understand how the structurational environment shapes socioeconomic outcomes of government workspace digitalization in Ghana based on a qualitative, interpretive case study and the structurational model of technology as a theoretical lens. The findings show how the availability of electronic transactions law, government borrowing, and extendable system design can positively influence socioeconomic outcomes of government workspace digitalization. However, use of multiple system development environments, bureaucracy, a within-country digital divide, and a persistent physical signature and letterhead culture can negatively influence the socioeconomic development goals of government workspace digitalization

Analysing ERP Use with the Structurational Model of Technology

The post implementation period of an ERP implementation in an Australian manufacturing organisation is examined with the aim of understanding and explaining the business consequences that occurred. The description of the case is followed by an analysis using the structurational model of technology. The radical change in the way users needed to understand the business in terms of the new system, coupled with insufficient training and support post implementation, and user resistance to change, impacted on the benefits the organisation gained from the system

The duality of technology : rethinking the concept of technology in organizations

"April 1990."Includes bibliographical references (p. 33-36).Wanda J. Orlikowski

The Role of Group Learning in Implementation of a Personnel Management System in a Hospital

A new HR system was introduced in a Dutch hospital. The system implied collaborative work among its users. The project planning seemed to be reasonably straightforward: the system's introduction was intended to take place gradually, including pilots in different departments and appropriate feedback. After some time, the system was successfully adopted by one group of users, but failed with another. We conceptualize the implementation process of groupware as group learning to frame the adoption of the system, and analyze the qualitative data collected during the longitudinal case study. We found that in the user group with strong group learning, adoption of the system occurred effectively and on time. In another user group with rather weak group learning, the use of the system was blocked after a short time. The results provided a first confirmation of our assumption about the importance of group learning processes in the implementation of groupware

Business intelligence capability: the effect of top management and the mediating roles of user participation and analytical decision making orientation

In this study, we draw on the structurational model of technology in an institutional setting to investigate how top management affects the development of a firm’s business intelligence (BI) capability. We propose a multiple mediator model in which organizational factors, such as user participation and analytical decision making orientation, act as mediating mechanisms that transmit the positive effects of top management championship to advance a firm’s BI capability. BI capability has two distinct aspects: information capability and BI system capability. Drawing on data collected from 486 firms from six different countries, we found support for the mediating effects of top management championship through user participation and analytical decision making orientation. These findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of how firms can develop BI capability. This study is one of the first to comprehensively investigate the antecedents of BI capability

Making sense of enterprise systems in institutions: a case study of the re-implementation of an accounting system

Whereas previous research provides a number of accounts of failure prone enterprise system (ES) implementations, empirical evidence of the re-implementation of an accounting system in a Scandinavian high-tech company shows how the system became highly integrated, accepted by its users, and well-aligned to the work processes. To learn from this case study, we investigate the interactive and dynamic relationships among the enterprise system, people and institutional properties. We investigate the institutional structures and the sensemaking processes at play to identify how the idea of an efficient accounting system travelled from a national to a local level, how the system moved from being highly customized to becoming a standard package and how the users’ enactment of the system reinforced existing institutional practices. Based on the findings, we frame our contributions into five lessons learned: (1) An ES implementation entails mutual adaptations between the organization, human actors and enterprise system; (2) “small is beautiful” is almost a truism but may turn out to be an appropriate starting point; (3) a certain level of resilience is essential to cope with future upgrades and enhancements; (4) the recognition of professional identity and roles is vital for ES adaptation; and (5) first customizing and then un-customizing the ES may be a valuable approach towards integrating the system. We relate these lessons to ES adaptations in general in discussing the study’s contributions and implications

Business Intelligence Capability: The Effect of Top Management and the Mediating Roles of User Participation and Analytical Decision Making Orientation

In this study, we draw on the structurational model of technology in an institutional setting to investigate how top management affects the development of a firm’s business intelligence (BI) capability. We propose a multiple mediator model in which organizational factors, such as user participation and analytical decision making orientation, act as mediating mechanisms that transmit the positive effects of top management championship to advance a firm’s BI capability. BI capability has two distinct aspects: information capability and BI system capability. Drawing on data collected from 486 firms from six different countries, we found support for the mediating effects of top management championship through user participation and analytical decision making orientation. These findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of how firms can develop BI capability. This study is one of the first to comprehensively investigate the antecedents of BI capability

Research Agenda for Studying Open Source II: View Through the Lens of Referent Discipline Theories

In a companion paper [Niederman et al., 2006] we presented a multi-level research agenda for studying information systems using open source software. This paper examines open source in terms of MIS and referent discipline theories that are the base needed for rigorous study of the research agenda