Focusing on non-adopters of broadband: A critical realist perspective

Australia is conducting a substantial nationwide implementation of broadband. It is primarily a fixed line network but includes wireless and satellite networks in more remote areas. The rollout is under the control of the NBN Co, whose goal is to ensure access to fast broadband for all Australians. The key performance indicators are the number of serviceable and activated premises. Recent reports indicate activation rates for fixed line broadband are exceeding expectations, despite increased competition from mobile connections. Whilst this is good news, international experience suggests adoption will plateau. We contend that there needs to be more focus on those disenchanted or disinterested “non-users” who are never likely to adopt. We argue for a critical realist perspective to better represent the adoption context and to provide a grounding for better explanations of the causes behind such decisions. We also tentatively suggest possible common-sense strategies to reverse non-adoption

Examining Rural Adoption Of Broadband – Critical Realist Perspectives

Broadband infrastructure is currently being implemented throughout Australia as part of a government funded National Broadband Network (NBN). Ultimately successful universal provision will require that metropolitan installations subsidize rural adoption. It is important for the success of the project that rural adoption is maximized. This will require an understanding of the complex social, political and technical aspects affecting the adoption process for rural regions. The paper argues that critical realism can provide a useful meta-theoretical position to examine the important social and physical aspects of the adoption process. Drawing on the work of Raduescu and Vessey (2008) on critical realist explanatory frameworks, it supports using 3 commonly used critical realist frameworks to guide the examination process – that of Pawson and Tilley (2007) and Danermark et al. (2002), together with Archer’s (1995, 1998) morphogenetic model as the meta theory that underpins the examination. The frameworks and model are introduced briefly and examples provided as to how they can contribute to the examination of the rural broadband adoption process

How to phrase critical realist interview questions in applied social science research

The tenets of critical and social realism are well supported in the literature. However, researchers following a realist paradigm have concerns about the lack of methodical guidance for qualitative interviewing, despite their affirmation about the importance of in-depth interviews. A conducted review of empirical realist literature provides evidence of an absence of guidance and commonality regarding interview planning practices. To overcome this absence, this paper composes a guiding framework to assist researchers to phrase more appropriate interview questions in realist research. The steps are founded on critical and social realist concepts while guided by methodological realist principles. Its contribution aims to not only improve the practice of realist inquiry methods but also to introduce more research transparency. A more transparent method for interview questions can lead to increased validity and afford replicability of mechanism-based theories resulting from empirical realist research

Next Generation Access in a Rural Community Context: An Innovation Analysis

This thesis explores how to resolve the digital divide in Wales. This is important because access to advanced broadband is considered an essential requirement, particularly post-COVID19. UK Government is advocating next generation access (NGA) to capitalise on Industry 4.0. However, the financial costs and complexities of connecting the final few rural areas is a persisting problem area. Hence, this thesis explores new innovative approaches to provide NGA (product) to a final few (market). Studies revealed superfast broadband in remote rural communities has four-fold human, social, environmental and financial capital benefits. Analysis resulted in a new conceptual framework which combines neo-endogenous theories alongside a four-fold capital model to characterise the complex ecosystem. Previous literature focused on either supply or demand, but few studies had investigated both together at the local level. Human & social capital were identified as critical success factors in community-led initiatives, thus providing a theoretical underpinning for this thesis. This study employed a novel mutual business approach utilising the Hybrid Value System (HVS) as an ecosystem connecting the core assets of several stakeholders. Furthermore, the World Bank Social Capital Assessment Tool was modified to investigate social capital fertility to enhance investment. Henceforth, a qualitative multi-method and in-depth intrinsic case study was used to explore the ecosystem. The contribution to knowledge is how to engage multi-stakeholder and multi-capital analysis to resolve the problem area. The results identified human capital productivity, social capital collective action, and shared financial capital are required at the local level to reach the final few. The mutual business paradigm challenges all stakeholders to value non-financial capital alongside financial capital for problem area resolution. This thesis concludes that HVS methodology coupled with complex ecosystem-network visualisation techniques, provide academics, management and government policy makers with practical tools to value four-fold capital resources and bridge the digital divide

Preface to selected papers from ACIS 2016

Prefac

A Historical Study of an Implementation Methodology: A Morphogenetic Analysis

To improve the results of Enterprise Systems (ES) implementation projects, new or revised implementation methodologies are introduced by ES vendors. Yet, the innovation and adoption of implementation methodologies (IM), which are computer-based and incorporate both project management and functional components, can be problematic. The purpose of this paper is to describe and explain the adoption of an implementation methodology. We recount for the adoption of an implementation methodology through the lens of a realist theory of social change. Our qualitative study provides insight into IM instantiation as manifestation of IM adoption configuration generated by the interplay between structure and agency over time, and suggests four implementation methodology adoption configurations: fragmented, aggregated, integrated, and infrastructural. This study also offers a foundation for future work that may contribute to a more coherent view on the instantiation of IMs and adoption configurations

Identifying mechanisms influencing the emergence and success of innovation within national economies: a realist approach

This paper uses data from recent OECD (OECD Science, technology and industry scoreboard. OECD Publishing, Paris, 2013b) and Cornell University et al. (The global innovation index 2014. World Intellectual Property Organization, Fontainebleau, 2014) national innovation reports to explain Australia’s poor innovation performance. We adopt a realist approach and apply the technique of retroduction to identify potential causes. While our account is only preliminary, we contend that this technique provides the resources to uncover plausible causes for further, more detailed, causal analysis. We conclude that the retroductive method is one that can be applied to aggregated statistics more generally and could be used by analysts and policy makers in any jurisdiction

Why things happen – Developing the critical realist view of causal mechanisms

Events happen within the organizational world not by chance but for reasons. It is surely the task of management research to try to explain why these events occur. This requires us to understand the nature of causality but, in general, this is seldom discussed in the management or IS literature. The standard, positivist view underlying statistical analysis is the Humean one of constant conjunctions of events leading to universal laws. Against this, many constructivists find the whole idea of external causality implausible. In this paper we explore a third alternative that is developing strongly within the philosophy of science, social theory and critical realism – the mechanisms view. This proposes that events are generated through the interaction of specific mechanisms endowed with causal powers that may or may not be triggered, and may or may not be countervailed. In particular, the paper develops some of the fundamental concepts such as the nature of events, emergent properties, the difference between properties and powers, casual interactions between levels, absences as causes, event causality and generative causality, and abstracting causal regularities. The paper concludes by illustrating these ideas with a series of empirical case studies

Exploring ‘People’ as the key element in enterprise architecture implementation: A Critical Realist Perspective

TOGAF (2009) describes the purpose of Enterprise Architecture (EA) is to optimise enterprisewide systems - the often-fragmented legacy of data processes (both manual and automated) - into an integrated environment that is responsive to change and supports the delivery of the business strategy (The Open Group Architecture Framework [TOGAF], 2009). However, for a number of reasons organisations still have difficulties establishing an effective EA (Raadt & Vliet, 2008; Gartner, 2009; and Janssen & Klievink, 2012, among others) and various reports suggest up to two thirds of implementations do not fulfil expectations (Roeleven, 2010). Being organisation wide with a strong governance element EA has significant social implications and social dependence, yet many implementations wrongly treat EA as solely a technical program. This thesis argues that the lack of focus on the ‘people’ element of EA could be the reason why many organisations still struggle with EA implementation. Recognising the importance of people in EA implementation requires acceptance of implementation as a social program, heavily influenced by the structural and cultural systems surrounding the architecture. In order to address the need for greater recognition of the role of people and the social aspects of EA implementation, this thesis adopts critical realism (CR) and its most recognised methodology, the morphogenetic approach (MA). Realism emphasises ontology and strongly argues that ontology, methodology and epistemology are closely linked – as Fleetwood (2005, p. 197) suggests, ontology matters: “The way we think the world is (ontology) influences: what we think can be known about it (epistemology); how we think it can be investigated (methodology and research techniques); the kinds of theories we think can be constructed about it; and the political and policy stances we are prepared to take”. In order to examine the social implications of technology implementation it makes sense to adopt a wellrecognized social theory like critical realism. This social realist approach proposes an analytical separation between structure, culture and agency (people) in order to examine their interactions over time. The MA suggests three important cycles – structural conditioning, social interaction and structural elaboration that provide a platform for examining possible change. Archer also importantly suggests that the emergent properties of collectivities and individuals differ. Such a model has clear value for examining the “people” acceptance of the new impositions and opportunities provided by the EA implementation. It acknowledges the sociocultural consequences of interactions between the structure and the culture to provide particular situational logics that direct, but do not determine the actions of people. The MA emphasises strongly the role of time in situation examination suggesting that structure and culture predate subsequent actions by involved agents. The thesis describes particular situational logics or mechanisms emanating from the interaction between structural and cultural systems that encourage particular behaviours in response to the EA program. These actions are then further examined in the sequence of MA cycles. Since mechanisms are only effective if people adopt them or not, another important element in this study is the part played by “reflexivity”. Reflexivity highlights the linkage between people concerns, projects and practices as people act in order to promote their concerns, and form projects to advance or to protect what they care about most. Reflexivity is an important mechanism for explaining how people’s ultimate concerns impact on their approach to the impositions of EA. An Australian university implementing EA (termed UX for anonymity) has been used as a case study in this research – this fortuitous timing allowed a careful and detailed examination of implementation over a 3-year period from initial rollout to ultimate acceptance. The study describes the challenging environment of university implementation where “academic freedom” is paramount and individual and group autonomies are threatened by EA – the study presents the important mechanisms and situational logics that direct people’s actions within the complex social context of a university. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were used as the primary method of data collection across UX stakeholders. A range of interviews were held throughout the study period with the university IT Governance Committee, the University Architecture Board, the CIO, and the Enterprise Business Group, as well as individual end-users such as teaching staff, researchers, students, and administrative staff of the faculties, schools and service centres. The MA provided a basic structure for unravelling the social complexity and helped guide the interview questions to identify the generative mechanisms hidden in the real domain, and to highlight the conditions that encourage individual and collective acceptance of EA practices. The reflexivity indicator developed by Archer –ICONI– is used throughout to explain how personal projects are formed and how they mediate the exercise of structural/cultural constraints and enablement within EA implementation. Passive participation in regular EA implementation meetings at UX was also important and useful to unearth possible perceived causal possibilities emanating from within the program itself and evident within the social context of implementation. Underpinned by a critical realist perspective, the thesis demonstrates that the MA is a powerful analytical tool to uncover the hidden mechanisms (the situational logics of structures and cultures) and social responses that enable success of EA implementation. The research examines the particular situational logics evident within the University under study and how these provide opportunities and constraints to the acceptance of EA over time. Equally important was reflexivity theory in attaining knowledge and understanding about what it is about people’s internal relations that makes EA implementation succeed. This thesis offers organisations a means to focus on the deeper issues of EA implementation programs by understanding the social complexity surrounding the architecture. The recognition of people as a key element in EA implementation provides a useful explanation of how the key stakeholders (and their power, influence and interests) may constrain and enable EA implementation. By including reflexivity as an important mechanism, organisations will be in a better position to understand the role of people and their interactions with preexisting structures and cultures operating over different time periods – reflexivity suggesting that “people” always have the possibility to do otherwise than expected, largely dependent on their personal history and their current personal projects and ultimate concerns