A PRAGMATIC PERSPECTIVE TO KNOWLEDGE ADAPTION: BOUNDARY OBJECTS IN IT OUTSOURCING1

Based on a multi-case study from a pragmatic perspective to knowledge adaption, this research plans to analyse the processes of knowledge codification, transfer and integration in the context of IT outsourcing. It plans to address the following research question: how do IT service vendors successfully adapt their knowledge to new businesses. We plan to collect data from vendors both in China and New Zealand. Our findings will uncover the mechanisms and rationales underlying the processes of IT service vendors’ knowledge adaption. Our contributions may be threefold. First, from the pragmatic perspective to knowledge adaption, we develop a new theory to address the conflicts about whether existing knowledge in organizations can improve performance of new businesses. Second, we contribute to the literature of organizational learning, especially to studies on learning in communities of practice. We plan to provide new a theoretical lens to explaining how organizations can adapt different knowledge to new businesses by using appropriate boundary objects, and to uncover what specific conditions can make such knowledge adaption successful. Lastly, this study plans to shed new light on how IT service vendors adapt to turbulent markets

Enabling effective user participation in ERP implementation: A case study on the role of brainstorming sessions

This research investigates the role of brainstorming sessions in promoting effective user participation in ERP implementation. An exploratory case study was conducted, with the data analysis based on the grounded theory approach and the findings organized in a theoretical model. Results show that brainstorming sessions were instrumental for effective user participation, resulting in high levels of users’ psychological involvement and proactive participation behaviors. Brainstorming transformed both the subject and formality of user participation, featuring the users in the center of stage to lead the reflection and sharing in a personally meaningful and relevant manner. Senior management push and consultant support were also identified as factors affecting the success of brainstorming

Client Influence on IT Outsourcing Vendors’ Operational Capabilities: A Relationship Learning Perspective

Operational capabilities are essential for any business in today’s highly competitive environment. Whereas prior research on IT outsourcing vendors’ operational capabilities has examined internal mechanisms, little is known about the effect of clients. This study focuses on clients’ influence based on multiple cases drawn from the Japan-China IT outsourcing context. What is unique about this context is that the majority of Japanese clients are large mature IT vendors themselves. As a result, the clients play a “teacher” role for the vendors, which emphasize a strong client orientation. From a relationship learning perspective, this study shows that client characteristics, i.e., the purpose of outsourcing, level of project management maturity, and sustainability and length of projects, contribute to vendors’ development of operational capabilities

End-to-End User Participation in Information Systems Development: A Case Study Based on a Control Perspective

Despite its well recognized importance, user participation in information systems development (ISD) is often limited, passive, symbolic, or marginal in practice. Users are thought to be in a weak position to influence the process and outcome of ISD. As an exploratory case study, this research reports on a refreshing user participation experience to examine what kinds of user behavior can exert strong control over ISD and how. In developing a core business system for a large commercial bank, a group of business experts collocated with the developers as part of the development team. Results show that strong control by users was achieved through their end-toend participation, which was instrumental for ISD success in terms of high quality and smooth rollout. In particular, users’ influence was strengthened over time through their participation by doing in completing some of the key tasks usually done by the IS staff. This research contributes toward a new theory on user participation from a control perspective

Exploring the Path to ERP Implementation Success: In Retrospect after Rollout

Whereas numerous studies have examined critical success factors (CSFs) for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation, little work has investigated the underlying causal links in the form of conceptual models. This study develops a casual model for ERP implementation success, using a two-stage approach. In Stage one, 27 online publications on ERP implementation in China were collected, and analyzed based on the grounded theory approach, to identify critical events and activities in the process of ERP implementation. In Stage two, a focus group study was conducted to create paths to ERP implementation success in the form of a conceptual model. The 48 critical factors identified in Stage one were mapped onto goals of ERP implementation, following the soft systems methodology (SSM). The result is a model including five high-order concepts: organizational impact, data quality, Normalization of processes, continuous improvement, and fit between business process and ERP systems

Participation in Development and Implementation - Updating An Old, Tired Concept for Today\u27s IS Contexts

The participation of users in system development and its role in IS success have been core topics of IS research since the 1960s, yet critical analysis and recent changes in IS practice suggest the need to revisit the topic. The purpose of this paper is to revitalize participation as an important area of IS theorizing and research and to build the foundations for an updated theory that is robust enough to accommodate changing IS practice. In this paper, we critically analyze traditional IS participation theory and show that it contains partial and conflicting explanations for participation~{!/~}s effects on system success. These explanations leave important conceptual issues unresolved, particularly when viewed in light of developments such as ERP system installations, outsourcing, and new software development approaches such as contextual design. To address these gaps, we outline the key elements of a new theoretical framework, including a redefined concept of system success, an elaborated conceptualization of participants and other actors, a fine-grained characterization of participation activities, and a restatement of hypothesized causal links among the concepts. We conclude with a brief discussion of research strategies for investigating the framework

INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT IN A LOW MATURITY ENVIRONMENT: AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY ON CONTROL MODES

This paper presents an exploratory case study to examine information systems development (ISD) processes in a low maturity environment, and to understand the role of control mechanisms in project success. The case involves the development of a large scale bank information system, which progressed without a fully-defined master plan or much reliance on formal development methodologies, but was successfully launched nevertheless despite some delay. Data were analyzed from the lens of control modes. Results show that clan control emerged as a dominant form of informal control in a high complexity and low methodological maturity environment, and end-to-end user participation through collocation with the developers served as effective outcome control, which appeared to be a critical success factor. The reliance on behavior control was marginal, although the project manager\u27s effective leadership as a form of self-control also played a role in project success. This work contributes to ISD research in general and the development of a control perspective to user participation in ISD. One of the practical implications is that potential problems associated with the absence of formal methods in a low ISD maturity environment may be overcome by strong user control over the process and quality via extensive participation