Organizational Culture and Information Systems Implementation: A Structuration Theory Perspective

The structure and culture of an organization does affect implementation of projects. In this paper we try to identify organizational factors that could affect the implementation efforts of an Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS). The information system in question has taken overtly a long time and it’s not complete yet. We set out to find out whether organizational issues are at play in this particular project. The project under study is a large-scale integrated information system which aims at strengthening and further developing Financial Management Information in the wider public service in Kenya. We borrow concepts from Structuration Theory as applied in sociology to understand the organizational perspective in the project. We use the theory to help explain some of the meanings, norms and issues of power experienced during the implementation of the IFMIS. Without ruling out problems of technological nature, the findings suggest that many of the problems in the IFMIS implementation may be attributed to organizational factors, and that certain issues are related to the existing organization culture within government

The diffusion of IP telephony and vendors' commercialisation strategies

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in the Journal of Information Technology. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available at the link below.The Internet telephony (IP telephony) has been presented as a technology that can replace existing fixed-line services and disrupt the telecommunications industry by offering new low-priced services. This study investigates the diffusion of IP telephony in Denmark by focusing on vendors’ commercialisation strategies. The theory of disruptive innovation is introduced to investigate vendors’ perceptions about IP telephony and explore their strategies that affect the diffusion process in the residential market. The analysis is based on interview data collected from the key market players. The study's findings suggest that IP telephony is treated as a sustaining innovation that goes beyond the typical voice transmission and enables provision of advanced services such as video telephony

Digital Work: A Research Agenda

We have been invited to discuss “digital work” and to propose a research agenda for the next decade or so. We value the opportunity to share some thoughts on this important area. In doing so, we will begin with a reconceptualization off the phenomenon that is at stake here, offer some specific examples, and then close by considering some possible future research directions that we hope will be both useful and generative

Technology Use Rationale and Assimilation in the Implementation of Electronic Data Interchange

This study explores how rationales for information technology use relate to the extent of its assimilation in organizations and considers whether and how rationales associated with the technology-in-practice are transformed as the organization makes use of the technology. A multiple-case study of electronic data interchange (EDI) adoption and assimilation was analyzed, looking at both institutional and strategic rationales for EDI use. The degree of assimilation was greatest among those organizations that cited a strategically-oriented rationale for using EDI. The study also found evidence of a shift from institutional to strategic rationales in several organizations as they decided to extend their use of EDI beyond their initial implementation. Shifts in rationale emerged as organizational members gained greater exposure to the organizing vision of the larger EDI community and, to a lesser extent, as they experienced improvements in organizational performance through the use of EDI

The Ambiguous Power of Social Media: Hegemony or Resistance?

Recent developments have demonstrated the efficacy and effectiveness of social media as a veritable tool for mobilization and networking. Ordinary citizens rely on the power of social media to mobilize against sit-tight leaders. Oppressed citizens use social media to protest against bad government and anti-people’s policies. Based on the findings of a recent research, this article discusses recent protests across the world and how citizens use the new media and social media during the protests to stay connected, plot strategies and circulate news to the rest of the world. The article concluded that; with the new media, citizen-reporters and social media, there is no hiding place or safe haven for sit-tight leaders and anti-people policies as citizens are better empowered than ever by emerging technologies to challenge the status quo. The paper therefore hypothesizes that the ambiguous power of social media has become a tool for resistance movements as well as hegemony as demonstrated at the protest sites around the world such as the 2014 Burkinabé Uprising, Occupy Wall Street, the Arab Spring, the chilean students’ protest, the Los Indignados movement, the Québec student’s strike and Idle no more in Canada etc., The ambiguous power of the  social media has become a major issue in recent years in view of the use of the social media by protester to stay connected during protest to resist authoritarian regimes around the world. The use of the social media as a tool for resistance or hegemony in recent years has brought the issue to the Ambiguous power of the social media to the forefront of academic debate. It therefore becomes imperative to explore the double edge sword nature of the social media to determine its full impact on the society. This will add to our knowledge of social media as a veritable tool for resistance and hegemony.     Keywords: Social Media, New Technology, New media, Citizen Reporters, Democracy, Networking, Hegemony, Resistance

How Green is my Outsourcer - Environmental Responsibility in Global IT Outsourcing

The focus of this paper is on the intersection of Environmental Responsibility (ER) and Global IT Outsourcing (GITO). GITO is well established as a business practice towards reducing costs and improving performance. ER is becoming increasingly important in global outsourcing in relation to environmental issues. The cost of energy has already increased dramatically and further increases appear likely. Sustainability issues related to carbon footprint and greenhouse gases (GHG) are also becoming increasingly important. Thus responsible and economic energy management has become a critical business capability and an important social responsibility. Global outsourcing of IT operations to a less energy efficient, less environmentally responsible organization may provide increased returns to shareholders, but may also become an ER liability. The key question this paper seeks to answer is how are GITO vendors transforming their ER capabilities? Drawing on preliminary fieldwork and an extensive literature search, we conclude that ER issues will become important capabilities for outsourcers to demonstrate, as buyers are increasingly sensitive to their stakeholders’ environmental concerns

Deriving an IS-Theory from an Epistemological Position

Starting with a subjective epistemological position in combination with an objective ontological position we show that language is the limiting factor of scientific communication. Theoretically we draw on Language Critique, a branch of philosophy known as the Erlangen School to analyse communication and mutual understanding based on linguistic signs. We then argue that, if language limits communication in scientific discourse, this is true for any discourses in information systems processes. We propose a formalised theory of information systems anchored at Language Critique and show resulting consequences for research on information systems

Toward Third Wave Information Systems Research: Linking Sociomaterial Practice with Broader Institutional Logics

The sociomaterial movement has done much to strengthen the theorizing of IT artifacts in practice. This “second wave” information systems research, which focuses on theorizing of the interpenetration of IT artifacts and human activity, is a response to the positivistic, reductive accounts that overly simplified human activity around the development and adoption of IT in the name of generalizability. However, with their focus on local ideographic interpretation, sociomaterial views have abandoned the search for regularities across contexts and across time. In this paper, we take a step toward a “third wave” approach as we look to theoretically account for both idiosyncrasies in sociomaterial practice in situ, and the regularities across these practices. Drawing on institutional logics and the concept of sociomaterial practice, we develop a conceptualization that highlights how technologies afford the enactment of different practice scripts as users draw on different institutional logics

Current trends and future directions in the practice of high-level data modeling: An empirical study

Many organizations now purchase and customize software rather than build information systems. In this light, some argue that high-level data modeling no longer has a role. In this paper, we examine the contemporary relevance of high-level data modeling. We addressed this issue by asking 21 experienced data-modeling practitioners to reflect on their work and to give their opinions on trends and future directions in high-level data modeling. We analyzed transcripts of our interviews with them using Klein and Myers’s (1999) framework for qualitative research. We found considerable variation in the practice of high-level data modeling. We also found that high-level data modeling is still considered important, even though organizations ultimately may purchase off-the-shelf software. The reason is that high-level data modeling assists organizations to obtain clarity about IT project scope and requirements, thereby reducing the risk that costly implementation mistakes will be made