EFFECTS OF INFORMATION SYSTEM INTENT OF MANAGERS ON INFORMATION SYSTEMS IMPLEMENTATION: CASE OF SELECTED E-GOVERNMENT PROJECTS IN TWO CITY ADMINISTRATIONS IN ETHIOPIA

The importance of management support in information systems (IS) implementation has been emphasized in previous studies. In line with this, research on critical success factors in IS projects implementation and management is increasingly recognizing the importance of non-technical factors, such as leadership. However, despite its importance, there is lack of empirical evidence to clarify the role of top managers IS intent on IS implementation. This paper, thus, argues for the need for greater inquiry into the field of management support for IS implementation success. It will provide an empirical investigation of the influence of IS strategic intent of managers on IS effectiveness in two city administrations in Ethiopia. The research will be conducted as an interpretive case study in the selected two public institutions. Information Systems projects from these two setups will be selected and the role and extent of IS intent of managers in relation to each project will be studied in detail. Interview items will be adapted from related previous studies. By so doing, this research is aimed at increasing our understanding of managers’ role in facilitating success of IS implementation in organizations

Organizational Transition to Enterprise Resource Planning Systems: Theoretical Choices for Process Research

The number of organizations implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) software solutions is rapidly increasing. Transition to ERP systems is often combined with a business process reengineering effort and intended to produce radical organizational change. Prior to conducting research on ERP transition, researchers need to become aware of the theoretical choices available to guide their studies. In this paper, three dimensions of process theories used to explain organizational change are identified: form, motor, and theoretical content. Whereas form deals mainly with the amount and frequency of change, motor refers to the mechanisms explaining how and why change unfolds, and theoretical content consists of specific constructs and their interactions that produce change. In order to make complete theoretical choices, researchers should consider all three dimensions of change in the design of their research. The three dimensions are combined in a framework that can guide research on ERP-related organizational transition. 1

IT-Driven Organizational Identity Change: A Longitudinal Inquiry

While organizational scholars are increasingly interested in issues of identity, in-depth empirical studies analyzing the actual process of identity change have lagged, particularly when the process is triggered by IT-related transformational change (Alvesson et al. 2008). In this longitudinal case study, we follow the identity change process of librarians following the digitization of their work environment. We use segments of Hatch & Schultz‟s (2002) organizational identity dynamics model to uncover the provisional identities experienced by librarians over time. We also illustrate how the librarians‟ image, as mirrored by the patrons, led the librarians to put forward initiatives to impress on the patrons ideas of “who they were” and “who they could be.” This duality is explained by the ambiguous nature of information technology, which can be interpreted as both an opportunity and a threat concurrently

An Empirical Test of the Theory of Relationship Constraints

Agency theory has long been a stalwart of IS research and is one of the most commonly used lenses to study the relationship between a principal and an agent. The Theory of Relationship Constraints (TRC) has recently been recommended as an information-oriented alternative to agency theory. TRC suggests that three attributes (i.e., the level of information asymmetry, levels of tacit and explicit knowledge) affect the perceived efficacy of a relationship constraint. As the first empirical test of TRC, this study uses scenario analysis to show that, as these attributes change, so do the constraints that are perceived as effective. No single constraint, as predicted, is perceived to be universally effective. Under certain conditions, social versus legal constraints have greater perceived efficacy, but this varies with the three attributes. This research provides support for TRC and suggests insights for future research and current practice

Validation Guidelines for IS Positivist Research

The issue of whether IS positivist researchers were sufficiently validating their instruments was initially raised fifteen years ago and rigor in IS research is still one of the most critical scientific issues facing the field. Without solid validation of the instruments that are used to gather data on which findings and interpretations are based, the very scientific basis of the profession is threatened. This study builds on four prior retrospectives of IS research that conclude that IS positivist researchers continue to face major barriers in instrument, statistical, and other forms of validation. It goes beyond these studies by offering analyses of the state-of-the-art of research validities and deriving specific heuristics for research practice in the validities. Some of these heuristics will, no doubt, be controversial. But we believe that it is time for the IS academic profession to bring such issues into the open for community debate. This article is a first step in that direction. Based on our interpretation of the importance of a long list of validities, this paper suggests heuristics for reinvigorating the quest for validation in IS research via content/construct validity, reliability, manipulation validity, and statistical conclusion validity. New guidelines for validation and new research directions are offered