Strategies for Conversation and Systems Analysis in Requirements Gathering: A Qualitative View of Analyst-Client Communication

This paper describes how strategies for conversation and systems analysis may operate in requirements gathering. The emergence of these concepts, whilst using grounded theory techniques to analyse a case study of analyst-client interaction is discussed. The topics of conversation in the case study are analysed and grouped into themes and examined with reference to strategies for conversation and systems analysis. Methodological issues that occur when undertaking qualitative analysis of discourse are also discussed. Finally, some implications for systems analysis practice are outlined

On Emergence and Forcing in Information Systems Grounded Theory Studies: The Case of Strauss and Corbin

Grounded theory method (GTM), which has been increasingly used in the information systems (IS) field, is a contested method. GTM has even been viewed as a family of methods by Antony Bryant and Kathy Charmaz in the respected ‘Handbook of Grounded Theory’. One debate that is of particular relevance is about the metaphor of ‘emergence’ and the most basic rule of GTM - that researchers should not force preconceived conceptualizations on data. This debate has its origins in a dispute between the two co-founders of grounded theory, Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss. Glaser criticized Strauss for the introduction of the stage of axial coding and the use of one single coding paradigm. In his view, the paradigm is too rigid, forces data, hinders emergence, and leads to conceptual description instead of grounded theory. It is perhaps surprising then, that this debate has so far been conducted without any empirical evidence in support of the proposition that the Strauss and Corbin version of grounded theory might result in forcing. In this article, we analyse IS studies in top journals where Straussian grounded theory procedures - which have found most adherents in the IS discipline - are utilized. We provide detailed insights into the use and the impact of axial coding and the coding paradigm. We find that the researchers’ use of Straussian coding procedures in the IS field is on a level that is conscious and deliberative. We relate our findings to the broader debate about the contested nature of GTM, and find that axial coding and the coding paradigm are an exemplar that shows that GTM is an evolving method that is subject to idiosyncratic interpretations and flexible deployment. Our findings, we argue, are in line with the more recent development of constructivist grounded theory that holds that grounded theories are not discovered, they are constructed, based on conscious decisions and interpretive acts. We also put forward three propositions, and five guidelines, intended to assist IS researchers in constructing grounded theories using Straussian coding procedures, while adhering to the primacy of avoiding preconceptions

Using Grounded Theory Method in Information Systems: The Researcher as Blank Slate and Other Myths

The use of grounded theory method (GTM) as a research method in information systems (IS) has gradually increased over the years as qualitative research in general has become more prevalent. The method offers a systematic way to generate theory from data, but is rarely used to its full potential in IS as a number of myths and misunderstandings about GTM prevent researchers from getting the full potential out of the method. To address this problem, we advance the general level of knowledge of GTM. We clarify aspects of the method that are often misunderstood by novice users or casual observers and provide guidance to address common problems. Exemplars from the IS literature are used to illustrate the concepts and to promote the informed use of the methodology. By doing so, this paper will contribute to improving the use of the method and to the quality and dissemination of grounded theory research outcomes

Netsourcing Strategies for Vendors: A Resource-based and Transaction Cost Economics Perspective

This paper discusses Netsourcing strategies for vendors, a little explored area of outsourcing research, using both a resource-based (RBV) perspective and a transaction cost economics (TCE) perspective. Using both theories and an infrastructural view of Information Technology service, we present a conceptual model of vendor sourcing decisions. We then present a number of propositions based on case studies of vendor decisions. Finally we conclude by discussing the theoretical contribution of RBV and TCE and, crucially, the value of combining both theories for the study of Netsourcing, and for other areas of IS research

Building A Substantive Theory Of Emotions From An Iois Project

The object of this grounded theory study was a three year long, public sector inter-organizational information system (IOIS) project which spanned four user organizations, two suppliers, one national organization, a research organization and a Government Ministry. The data were elicited by means of narrative stories, observations of project meetings, diaries, project memoranda and emails sent by project members to each other during these years. Glaserian grounded theory method was used as the technique for theory building. Three core categories were identified: governance, power and emotions. The study offers two key contributions: first, it builds a substantive theory of Emotions of Control in an IOIS project, presented in the form of propositions. The theory offers an approach to understanding the meaning of emotions in project work and the consequences of emotions in collaboration. Second, we offer a window into the theory building process using Glaserian grounded theory. We argue that the findings of this study have some implications of value to researchers studying emotional issues in IOIS projects or information system (IS) projects in general, because the role of emotions in project work can be pivotal in determining project success

Design Preferences of U.S. and Chinese Virtual Communities: An Exploratory Study

This paper explores the design preferences of virtual communities in two cultural groups – the U.S. and China. The design preferences studied are web design, tools used and types of virtual communities preferred. Content analysis was employed to study twenty of the most popular Chinese and U.S. virtual communities. The study found that there are differences in the preference for the type of virtual communities and the tool used by Chinese and U.S. communities. The findings challenge aspects of website design across these cultural groups thought to be dissimilar based on prior research. Implications for research and practice are also discussed

Same but Different: Understanding Women\u27s Experience of ICT in the UAE

Information Communications Technologies (ICTs) have become a potent global force in transforming social, economic, and political life. Given the centrality and importance of ICTs, men and women need to have equal opportunities to access, use, and master them. In particular, it could be asked whether women in Islamic societies within the GCC region have equal access to these new technologies. What are some of the promising new social, economic and political opportunities for Islamic women in the ICT sector, or does ICT access and use by those women replicate patterns of segregation seen elsewhere in their societies? What are the barriers that women, especially those in the Islamic world, have to overcome to actively participate in the promise of these technologies? We use grounded theory as our preliminary research methodology to analyse interviews with women who work in the ICT sector in the UAE. We discuss five major themes from the research: Westernization, IT as Modernity, Education, Government Initiatives, and Gender Perspective, and introduce a preliminary framework of the area. We conclude by discussing some inherent contradictions of women\u27s ICT use in a society that wishes to modernize, rather than Westernize, and how this is played out in our study

Towards unfolding CRM implementation challenges in Pakistan: A case study

This interpretive grounded theory study describes and analyses major power issues in a Scandinavian inter-organisational IS project which spanned four organisations, two suppliers, one national organisation and a research organisation. The paper explores different dimensions of power that emerged during the project – sources of power, power as resistance, reasons for the power struggle, and power as exercised, We conclude that, while power issues in ISD projects are by no means a new phenomenon, these power issues were exacerbated in this IOIS project due to the project governance structures necessary to coordinate several organisation