Technology Introduction as Social Interpretation by End-Users: Key Articulations in the Literature

What happens after new technologies have been rolled out in organisations? Current literature studying technology introduction often explicitly or implicitly focusses more on the adaptation of technologies than on the role of social interpretation of technology by end-users. Focusing specifically on how end-users, collectively and over time, respond to new technologies in organisational settings, we performed an extensive review of literature employing elements of structured and hermeneutical approaches. We identify 5 key dimensions employed by authors to conceptualise technology introduction and distinguish 3 major streams of literature using the particular positions that each paper takes along these dimensions. The streams are mainly distinguished by how they conceive the social aspects of the process and how they understand the effects of technology. This finding has implications for appropriate management of the process under each conception

Managing enterprises and ERP systems:a contingency model for the enterprization of operations

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems development and emerging practices in the management of enterprises (i.e. parts of companies working with parts of other companies to deliver a complex product and/or service) and identify any apparent correlations. Suitable a priori contingency frameworks are then used and extended to explain apparent correlations. Discussion is given to provide guidance for researchers and practitioners to deliver better strategic, structural and operational competitive advantage through this approach; coined here as the "enterprization of operations". Design/methodology/approach: Theoretical induction uses a new empirical longitudinal case study from Zoomlion (a Chinese manufacturing company) built using an adapted form of template analysis to produce a new contingency framework. Findings: Three main types of enterprises and the three main types of ERP systems are defined and correlations between them are explained. Two relevant a priori frameworks are used to induct a new contingency model to support the enterprization of operations; known as the dynamic enterprise reference grid for ERP (DERG-ERP). Research limitations/implications: The findings are based on one longitudinal case study. Further case studies are currently being conducted in the UK and China. Practical implications: The new contingency model, the DERG-ERP, serves as a guide for ERP vendors, information systems management and operations managers hoping to grow and sustain their competitive advantage with respect to effective enterprise strategy, enterprise structure and ERP systems. Originality/value: This research explains how ERP systems and the effective management of enterprises should develop in order to sustain competitive advantage with respect to enterprise strategy, enterprise structure and ERP systems use

The influence of change-related stress on user resistance when an enterprise system is implemented: a longitudinal field study

When an enterprise system is implemented employees often respond with user resistance behavior. As employees’ work environment are changed significantly they also experience stress during an implementation. However, neither technostress nor user resistance research have focused on the stress related to the change induced by an enterprise system implementation. Hence, it is not known how change-related stress results in user resistance behavior and thus prevents organizations from managing the implementation process sufficiently. Therefore, we provide a research model that theorizes the influence of change characteristics, such as change complexity, switching costs and switching benefits, on change-related work overload and role ambiguity as change stressors, which in turn determines employees change-induced exhaustion. When this exhaustion is perceived as a threat user resistance behavior will occur. Using a longitudinal field study with 273 employees during an enterprise system implementation we provide empirical evidence for the proposed model

Dialectical Inquiry in Information Systems Research: A Synthesis of Principles

Although dialectical inquiry has been sporadically and selectively applied in the Information Systems (IS) discipline, and premier IS journals increasingly welcome dialectical inquiries, we lack methodological guidance on its application and evaluation, hindering its adoption as an important and valid IS research method. In response, we present a critical analysis of general dialectics literature and 63 extant IS dialectical inquiry publications in 18 journals spanning three decades, revealing that there is a growing and sizeable community of IS researchers using dialectical inquiry explicitly or implicitly to examine how sociotechnical phenomena change. Based on this analysis, we synthesize six principles for dialectical inquiry that are firmly rooted in dialectical philosophy, evidenced in IS publications, clearly distinct from each other, and together comprehensive. As such, our contribution can help IS researchers, reviewers, and editors to extend and solidify their methodological repertoire

A Paradox of Progressive Saturation: The Changing Nature of Improvisation over Time in a Systems Development Project

In this paper, we investigate improvisation in a systems development project in the context of safety-critical, rigid quality-management standards. This study took place in a technology company in the automotive industry over a 31-month period and focused on the development of an innovative information system for automobiles. Our analysis traced different forms of improvised practice over the course of a systems development project at the company along with various triggers of improvisation. We found that, as the project progressed, the latitude to improvise became saturated by the increasing structural influences on improvisation. Yet, paradoxically, these structural influences provoked developers to improvise in ways that were progressively more innovative by drawing on accumulated knowledge; we call this phenomenon a “paradox of progressive saturation”. We identify ten forms of improvisation that unfold across different stages of a systems development project. We offer a conceptualization of the paradox of progressive saturation to represent the changing nature of improvisation over time, which contributes to the literature on improvisation in information systems development

The paradoxical effects of legal intervention over unethical information technology use: A rational choice theory perspective

© 2016 Elsevier B.V. While the IS literature offers rich insights into the kinds, causes and consequences of unethical information technology use (UITU), we know little about the degree to which legal intervention may mitigate UITU. Our research aims at understanding how legal intervention could mitigate UITU by influencing the cost-benefit analysis in determining the decision to commit such unethical use of IT. Our contributions are twofold. First, we provide testable propositions on the role of legal intervention. Second, we offer an innovative take on intervention – conceived as a multi-mechanism process that adapts to UITU as well as to the way IT users negotiate the IT artifact

Understanding Online Reverse Auction Determinants of Use: A Multi-Stakeholder Case Study

Various interorganizational systems (IOS) such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Supply Chain Management Systems (SCMS) have attracted significant attention among information system (IS) researchers. However, IS scholars have taken less interest in Online Reverse Auctions (ORAs), a widely used IOS in online business-to-business transactions. This study examines the factors that enable and/or inhibit ORA use from the perspective of buyers and suppliers, as well as the potential role of the institutional context based on a case study of a French retailer. Building on 122 semi-structured interviews collected in two stages with various stakeholders from the interorganizational community (buyers, suppliers and technology initiators), we demonstrate the extent to which the determinants of ORA use differ between buyers and suppliers (e.g. perceived outcomes, capabilities required to use ORAs). We then show how a change in the institutional context not only failed to redress distrust between buyers and suppliers, but also created new barriers to ORA use by introducing controls and sanctions that outweighed the economic benefits of ORA use among buyers. We contribute to the IS literature by demonstrating the role of strategic capabilities in shaping use. While the IS literature acknowledges the institutional context as a determinant of use, little is known about the extent to which a change in the institutional context may affect ORA use. Our research shows the extent to which legislation can trigger IT discontinuance because of the perceived risk introduced

Analyse des interprétations d’un SIIO en post-adoption et effets sur l’usage: jeux de discours et stratégies de contournement.

La phase de post-adoption est critique pour comprendre la réalisation des objectifs escomptés de l’adoption et l’usage des systèmes d’information. Toutefois, la majorité des recherches qui analysent la phase de post-adoption des systèmes d’information se sont concentrées sur les technologies intra-organisationnelles. Cet article se propose de comprendre l’évolution des interprétations d’un Système d’Information Inter-Organisationnel (SIIO) en phase de post-adoption ainsi que leurs effets sur l’usage du système et la négociation du pouvoir entre les différents acteurs impliqués. Pour ce faire, nous avons adopté une approche qualitative basée sur une étude de cas contrastant les représentations de trois groupes de parties prenantes (initiateurs de la technologie, acheteurs et fournisseurs) constituant la communauté inter-organisationnelle dans le cadre des Enchères Electroniques Inversées (EEI). L’analyse de nos résultats met en évidence le rôle des jeux de pouvoir et de contournement (opportunisme boomerang, boycott et lobbying) liés aux enjeux économiques des acteurs. Les stratégies de contournement collectives ont permis de remettre en cause l’usage du SIIO et sont à l’origine d’un changement des rapports de force. La mise en évidence de l’efficacité de ces stratégies montre comment des acteurs en situation de faiblesse peuvent construire des stratégies collectives de résistance. Nous montrons également les limites de l’intervention en post-adoption et l’influence de la rumeur et de la presse qui ont permis de légitimer la contestation des fournisseurs.stratégies de contournement; rumeur; interventions; pouvoir; Post-adoption;

Exploring the Renewal of IT-enabled Resources from a Structural Perspective

Organizations are exposed to ever-increasing dynamic environments, making sustaining the derivation of IT benefits critical. However, researchers have observed that IT benefits are short-lived and have called for studies on how organizations can sustain the derivation of IT benefits, especially in dynamic environments. Research shows that the integration of IT assets and other organizational resources needed to form IT-enabled resources from which organizations derive IT benefits can also constrain the renewal of IT-enabled resources to sustain the derivation of IT benefits. In this study, we draw on relevant theories, published empirical cases, and a primary case study to explore, from a structural perspective, the renewal of IT-enabled resources to sustain the derivation of IT benefits. We find that certain structural properties (i.e., component flexibility, component centrality, and component coupling) emerge during the formation and modification of IT-enabled resources and influence the renewal of IT-enabled resources. We extend Nevo and Wade’s model on the formation of IT-enabled resources with the structural properties and offer eight propositions on how the structural properties and organizational capabilities influence the renewal of IT-enabled resources. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications and identify areas for future research