The organizational implementation of information systems: towards a new theory

This dissertation provides fundamental conceptual building blocks for a new theory of IS implementation. The main argument presented is for a new perspective to supplement and complement the main existing perspectives on IS implementation: the technological determinist perspective, the managerial imperative perspective, and the socio-technical interactionist perspective. in this the research seeks to overcomes identified shortcomings of these existing approaches to understanding IS implementation. The research methodology emphasizes multidisciplinary theory-building, based on the resource-based approach to strategy, using autopoiesis as the key organizational epistemology. The research explores the concept of organizational climate dimensions as the shapers of organizational contexts, and relates these to information systems research in implementation. The new perspective developed emphasizes managerial action and organizational contexts as a mid-level approach, bridging the gap between top-down, rationalist methods and bottom-up, emergent approaches. Based on this conceptual framework, the context for IS corporate governance is operationalized and presented as a causal model with five independent variables - IS Intent, Discipline, Trust, Support and Structural IS-related factors and one independent variable. IS-Organizational Learning. Data collection is carried out in large Portuguese companies by means of a postal questionnaire. The empirical data is supplemented by five short case studies. The key conclusions of the thesis are: (1) The duality managerial action - organizational contexts opens up whole new possibilities for research and practice of IS implementation. (2) The use of the notion of organizational contexts dimensions as a research tool allows the analysis to go deeper than the vague generalization about organizations found in most current literature. (3) The use of quantitative methods to investigate IS-related organizational contexts is not suitable, except for descriptive purposes; semi-structured interviews and in-depth case studies are recommended. (4) Two specific dimensions of IS-related contexts are suggested as topics for further investigation: IS Intent and IS structural factors

When resources collide: Towards a theory of coincidence in information spaces

This paper is an attempt to lay out foundations for a general theory of coincidence in information spaces such as the World Wide Web, expanding on existing work on bursty structures in document streams and information cascades. We elaborate on the hypothesis that every resource that is published in an information space, enters a temporary interaction with another resource once a unique explicit or implicit reference between the two is found. This thought is motivated by Erwin Shroedingers notion of entanglement between quantum systems. We present a generic information cascade model that exploits only the temporal order of information sharing activities, combined with inherent properties of the shared information resources. The approach was applied to data from the world's largest online citizen science platform Zooniverse and we report about findings of this case study

Towards a theory of information systems outsourcing risk

Information systems outsourcing risks are a vital component in the decision and management process associated to the provision of information systems and technology services by a provider to a customer. Although there is a rich literature on information systems outsourcing risks, the accumulated knowledge on this area is fragmented. In view of this situation, an argument is put forward on the usefulness of having a theory that integrates the various constructs related to information systems outsourcing risks. This study aims to contribute towards the synthesis of that theory, by proposing a conceptual scheme for interpreting the literature and presenting a preliminary version of a catalog of information systems outsourcing risks. Proposals for subsequent work towards the generation of the theory of information systems outsourcing risk are suggested

Towards a Resource-based Theory of Information Strategy

The central aim of this paper is to instigate the construction of a theory of informationstrategy based on the Resource-based View (RBV) of the firm (Barney, 1986, 1991; Penrose, 1959;Wernerfelt, 1984). Therefore, an initial theoretical framework is proposed within which such a theorycould be developed further. In essence, this theoretical framework sheds light on how organizations canrealize and sustain above-normal returns by either maintaining or solving information imperfections infactor and product markets. This explicit focus on information as a source of above-normal returns isreflected in a new type of rent, called InfoRent. Hence, information strategy can be conceived as acontinuous search for InfoRent, analogous to the notion of strategy within the RBV (cf. Mahoney et al.,1992, p.364). First, the urge for constructing a theory of information strategy will be clarified.Subsequently, the appropriateness of the RBV as theoretical foundation for constructing such a theorywill be discussed. Finally, the initial outline of a theoretical framework will be explained and empiricalwork that exemplifies the relevance and explanatory power of the theory are described shortly

Towards a Theory of Information Systems User Competency

Individuals differ in their abilities to use information systems (IS) effectively, with some achieving exceptional performance in IS use. Various constructs have been identified in the literature to describe usage intentions of IS users and actual usage of IS, but studies to describe IS user competency or the ability to achieve proficiency in IS usage are lacking. This research develops a grounded model of IS User Competency (IUC) by using the Repertory Grid Technique in an inductive approach to identify a set of user factors associated with IS user competency. Based on the findings, a deductive approach using the survey method was undertaken to validate a subset of the model that focused on IS-specific factors - domain knowledge of and skills in IS, willingness to try and to explore IS, and capability of perceiving IS value. The overall framework of IUC also comprises Personal Disposition and Traits, General Learning and Cognitive Factors, Communication and Collaboration Skills and Tendencies, Job Experience, Formal Education, Generation Factors, and Exposure to Technology. The survey findings suggest that all three IS-specific factors in the model are relevant and important to IS user competency, with willingness to try and to explore IS being the most significant factor. The results not only highlight important factors that can be fostered in IS users to improve their performance with IS use but also present research opportunities for IS training and potential hiring criteria for IS users in organizations

Towards a critical realist theory of labour market information

Despite the importance of Labour Market Information (LMI) to career practice, there is a surprising lack of theory that focuses on LMI and how it supports career guidance. Building on previous work, especially by Staunton and Rogosic (2021), this paper will argue for a move toward a critical realist account of LMI that sees it as historically and politically positioned, rather than objectively verifiable on its own terms. This opens up new possibilities for how career practitioners can make use of LMI and fresh avenues for theory and research