The ERP System as a Part of an Organization\u27s Administrative Paradox

This paper argues that ERP systems take the part of an organization’s administrative paradox. An administrative paradox is two sides of the same coin when coordinating organizations – the concurrent striving for flexibility and stability. The analysis of the ERP system is based on an interpretative and qualitative case study of an engineering firm. The theoretical lens used in this paper is structuration theory. One important point in this paper is that information systems can be viewed as a means to formalise coordination from an interpersonal level to a systemic one. This can, for instance, be realised through demands of input, process, and results of actions. In this way information systems can make a contribution to organizing ideals such as reliability and the achievement of sensible outcomes. On the other hand (as part of the administrative paradox) the use of information systems can institutionalize operating procedures and certain patterns of communication and coordination, restrain reorganizing activities and changes in control- and power structures. The information system’s constitutive role (consisting of a set of rules and resources, facilitating and constraining, coordinating, human action) is definitely an important issue when implementing, using, and improving ERP systems in organizations

Understanding Organizational Coordination and Information Systems - Mintzberg\u27s Coordination Mechanisms Revisited and Evaluated

This paper investigates organizational coordination and its relationship to computer-based information systems. As a basis for understanding organizational coordination and information system use, Mintzberg’s well-known set of coordination mechanisms is used as a point of departure in this paper. The set of coordination mechanisms is evaluated by applying it in an interpretive case study of a house building firm and confronting the set of mechanisms with other theories of coordination. The result of the evaluation shows that the applied set of coordination mechanisms does not sufficiently cover important aspects of organizational coordination and information system use, such as more dynamic issues (e.g. coordination history, external influence, emergent processes, concurrency and variation, and communication). The set of coordination mechanisms is, however, more sufficient when it comes to understanding formal division of labour, stable organizational structures and roles, and planned coordination

Managing E-Government Projects: A Comparative Case Study of Two Inter- Organizational E-Service Development Initiatives

E-government initiatives have large potentials in developing better services for citizens and a potential to transform government structures. However e-government initiatives face a number of challenges of complexity and risk - it is not an easy matter to realize its potentials. A key research issue for the e-government field, as well as the information systems field in general, is to understand why some projects progress to success while others end in failure. The main objective in this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the progress and the success vs. failure in e-government development based on case studies of two inter-organizational e-service projects. The analysis in the paper is made from a) an e-government systems development life cycle perspective and b) a challenge and success factors perspective. The main result in this paper is that crucial success factors of an inter-organizational e-government project include project manager skills and position in the agency organization as well as when and how systems maintenance issues are introduced in the project. Criticism is presented concerning the life cycle model used in the analysis regarding this last matter.

Open Government Data in an e-service Context - Managerial and Conceptual Challenges

Open government data (OGD) includes different data sets that are launched by government organizations in order to stimulate third-party development of e.g. apps for mobile devices. At the same time a government organization is expected to provide useful public e-services. Government organizations of today tend to treat OGD and e-services separately, so is the e-government community. The aim of this paper is to address challenges related to the work with OGD within an e-service context from: (1) a managerial, and (2) a conceptual perspective. A qualitative case study of the Swedish Transport Administration and their work with OGD and e-services as an empirical base in this paper. This paper illustrates, using a set of analytic categories generated from previous studies, that there are several challenges related to the managerial and conceptual work and perspectives concerning OGD. There are also different patterns present when managing e-services and OGD (bottom-up vs. top-down)

Sociomaterial Actors in the Assimilation Gap

This paper investigates the conditions for assimilation of information systems and IT in or-ganizations and the influence of various actors in the organization context. To do so it draws on the literatures on assimilation gap, sociomateriality and infrastructure together with a lon-gitudinal study of implementation and use of information and communication technology in and among organizations in a Swedish region. There were substantial investments made on a regional level and the focus of this study is how the investments were transformed and assimi-lated in practices, relations and communication. Based on the empirical data from the case study, reflected in the literatures the paper extends the assimilation process into interplay among actors in organizations contexts. It describes organizations strategies for coping with needs for information and the actors in these processes. Two categories of actors are identified, sensemaking and sensegiving actors, as most important in assimilation of IS/IT in organizations. A sociomaterial perspective gives guidance and a better understanding of the assimilation process in terms of knowledge and interpretative frames, and how assimilation involves identity construction and negotiations among sensemaking and sensegiving actors.The contribution of this paper is a better understanding of the context of assimilation and adaptation of IT in organizations’ business processes

LEADERSHIP IN A DIGITAL ERA - IS “DIGITAL LEADERSHIP” A BUZZWORD OR A SIGNIFICANT PHENOMENON?

Digitalisation, digital transformation, digital workplace, data-driven organisations, big data, artificial intelligence – the discourse on different facets of digitalisation is present, powerful and sometimes convincing and seductive. “Digital leadership” is another, related phenomenon that has emerged in the digital era. Talking about leadership and using digital as a prefix: what is this all about? Is it a phenomenon of scientific and conceptual interest? Does it have a substantial practical significance or is it just another buzzword? This paper will investigate and reflect upon those questions with the aim to contribute to a deeper understanding of leadership in a digital era. The basis of this paper is consti- tuted by a hermeneutic literature review of related research on leadership, digitalization and digital transformation. Thereto, five interviews with senior executives working with leadership in a digital era have been conducted. As a theoretical lens we applied the concepts of transactional versus transform- ative leadership. The analysis conclude that the transactional form of leadership seems to prevail. However, when practitioners talk about leadership in a digital era they emphasise the need for char- acteristics related to more transformative leadership. In this sense, we have identified an ongoing transition of leadership itself. Another conclusion is that leadership in a digital era is based on para- doxes and also about handling them. Finally, talking about “digital” leadership does not really con- tribute to the understanding or characteristics of leadership. Thus, we suggest skipping the prefix and instead talk about leadership in a digital era

The ERP System as a Part of an Organization’s Administrative Paradox

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ANALYZING BEST PRACTICE AND CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS IN A HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEM CASE – ARE THERE ANY SHORTCUTS TO SUCCESSFUL IT IMPLEMENTATION?

This paper discusses critical success factors (CSF) and best practice in relation to IT implementation in the health sector. We have studied a University Hospital’s implementation of a health information system (HIS) and particularly one clinic which implementation process was described as very successful compared to other units at this hospital. The purpose of the paper is to gain further understanding of if and how well CSFs and best practice solutions can explain this successful case. We do this in order to explore if CSFs and best practice offer any shortcuts to successful IT implementation. By understanding the reasons behind this case’s success we can identify if CSFs and best practice potentially can explain the success, or if there are other explanations in this case. Based on our findings we discuss and question the sometimes overestimated belief in CSFs and best practice as shortcuts to success performance. An important contribution from this study is that situational and contextual factors are very critical to understand and acknowledge during HIS implementations