Managing historical conditions in information systems strategizing: An imprinting perspective

2023 | Journal of Strategic Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Dias, Malshika; Pan, Shan L.; Tim, Yenni; Land, Lesley

Abstract: Information systems (IS) strategizing is particularly challenging for establishe ... Expand

Abstract: Information systems (IS) strategizing is particularly challenging for established organizations because of their historical conditions. The question of how established organizations can effec­ tively manage their historical conditions in IS strategizing remains under-explored. To address this question, we conducted a case study tracing the history (1960–2020) of an established or­ ganization in the building and construction industry. Through the analysis, we found four sys­ tems: accounting management system, business communication system, knowledge management system, and community collaboration system, as the historical conditions that formed an IS imprint, which was later managed and reproduced during IS strategizing. Using the imprinting lens, we developed an understanding of: (1) the formation of the IS imprint at the organizational foundation; and (2) the reproduction of the IS imprint, considering imprint-as-resource and imprint-as-constraint during IS strategizing. We contribute to the literature by providing an un­ derstanding of how historical conditions inform IS strategizing in the long term and by applying the imprinting lens to uncover the process through which an IS imprint is strategically managed and reproduced beyond the founding phase. The insights developed from this study are trans­ ferable to similar organizational contexts for managing historical conditions in IS strategizing. Collapse

Topics: information systems strategy accounting communication service infrastructure IT supported collaboration knowledge management system

Methods: case study qualitative interview archival research narrative analysis longitudinal research

Dealing with the Social Media Polycontextuality of Work

2022 | Information Systems Research | Citations: 17

Authors: Vaast, Emmanuelle; Pinsonneault, Alain

Abstract: Existing scholarship on social media provides us with important but incomplete i ... Expand

Abstract: Existing scholarship on social media provides us with important but incomplete insights regarding how people rely upon social media as they work. Scholarship so far focuses on social media as technologies that enable and constrain people to do certain things. This study proposes a perspective on social media for work that views them not only as technologies that enable people to do certain things, but also as contexts with emerging norms and roles in which people participated. As they do so, people are confronted with opportunities and challenges that are inherent to social media polycontextuality. This study investigates the case of data scientists and how they dealt with the social media polycontextuality of their work. The study reveals that data scientists relied on strategies of enhancing, differentiating, or occasionally reducing their engagement with social media contexts. The study brings novel insights for scholarship on social media and work by unpacking the social media polycontextuality of work and the interconnections in the engagement with multiple social media contexts. It explains how these interconnections manifest in people’s deliberate participation in or temporary withdrawal from diverse and changing social media contexts. This study also contributes to scholarship by highlighting how people deal with an ensemble of social media applications rather than with a single, isolated information technology. History: Manju Ahuja, Senior Editor; Walter Fernandez, Associate Editor. Funding: This work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada [Grant 435-2015-0241]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2022.1103. Collapse

Topics: social media IT career Slack affordance LinkedIn

Methods: qualitative interview theory development constant comparative analysis grounded theory qualitative coding

Theories: sociomaterialism theory theory of affordance

COVID-19 Community Archives and the Platformization of Digital Cultural Memory

2021 | HICSS | Citations: 0

Authors: Acker, Amelia; Flamm, Lucy

Abstract: In this study we aim to understand how GitHub is used by COVID-19 interest group ... Expand

Abstract: In this study we aim to understand how GitHub is used by COVID-19 interest groups for organizing community archives to protect their knowledge from the Chinese government’s censorship efforts. We introduce two case studies of such COVID-19 community archives published with GitHub that appeared online in early 2020. Using public GitHub repository documentation and web archive web crawls from the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, we describe how these digital community archives emerge and exist on the platform, how knowledge of them circulated on other US based social media sites and show strategies and tactics these volunteers used to keep these community archives alive, resist censorship, and guard the safety of these collections. We argue that these COVID-19 community archives are at risk because of their platform accessibility as much as the content they document, and that understanding how organizers use GitHub’s platform affordances is essential to theorizing how platforms are impacting approaches to preserving cultural memory. Collapse

Topics: internet technology pandemic social media misinformation digital ecosystem

Methods: case study theory development

Theories: theory of affordance

Pathways to being CIO: The role of background revisited

2020 | Information & Management | Citations: 4

Authors: Jones, Mary C.; Kappelman, Leon; Pavur, Robert; Nguyen, Quynh N.; Johnson, Vess L.

Abstract: This study examines the relationship between the background of an organization’s ... Expand

Abstract: This study examines the relationship between the background of an organization’s top information systems executive or chief information officer (CIO) and what a CIO does. It provides a somewhat different picture of the much discussed relative merits of a CIO’s background. Findings indicate that a technical background has little relationship to what the CIO does once they become CIO. Where they are hired from, however, does relate to reporting line, business focus, and how and with whom they spend their time once hired. These findings will enable more effective CIO hiring and development activities, and inform future research. Collapse

Topics: Chief Information Officer IT workforce innovation management electronic mail strategic management

Methods: ANOVA parametric test survey chi squared test logistic regression

CASSI: Design of a Simulation Environment for Vehicle Relocation in Carsharing

2020 | European Conference On Information Systems | Citations: 1

Authors: Prinz, Christoph; Lichtenberg, Sascha; Willnat, Mathias

Abstract: ... Expand

Abstract: Collapse

Topics: ride sharing platform knowledge base Python service quality IT productivity

Methods: simulation computational algorithm design theory qualitative interview design principle

How Much Method-in-Use Matters? A Case Study of Agile and Waterfall Software Projects

2020 | Journal of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Thummadi, Babu Veeresh; Lyytinen, Kalle

Abstract: Development methods are rarely followed to the letter, and, consequently, their ... Expand

Abstract: Development methods are rarely followed to the letter, and, consequently, their effects are often in doubt. At the same time, information systems scholars know little about the extent to which a given method truly influences software design and its outcomes. In this paper, we approach this gap by adopting a routine lens and using a novel methodological approach. Theoretically, we treat methods as (organizational) ostensive routine specifications and deploy routine construct as a feasible unit of analysis to analyze the effects of a method on actual, “performed” design routines. We formulated a research framework that identifies method, situation fitness, agency, and random noise as main sources of software design routine variation. Empirically, we applied the framework to examine the extent to which waterfall and agile methods induce variation in software design routines. We traceenacted design activities in three software projects in a large IT organization that followed an objectoriented waterfall method and three software projects that followed an agile method and then analyzed these traces using a mixed-methods approach involving gene sequencing methods, Markov models, and qualitative content analysis. Our analysis shows that, in both cases, method-induced variation using agile and waterfall methods accounts for about 40% of all activities, while the remaining 60% can be explained by a designer’s personal habits, the project’s fitness conditions, and environmental noise. Generally, the effect of method on software design activities is smaller than assumed and the impact of designer and project conditions on software processes and outcomes should thus not be understated. Collapse

Topics: waterfall model systems development agile software development IT project requirements elicitation

Methods: design methodology design process qualitative interview Markov chain cluster analysis

Theories: measurement theory

DIGITISATION ALONG THE PATIENT PATHWAY IN HOSPITALS

2019 | European Conference On Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Hufnagl, Christine; Doctor, Eileen; Behrens, Laura; Buck, Christoph; Eymann, Torsten

Abstract: The European health care system faces massive challenges due to different influe ... Expand

Abstract: The European health care system faces massive challenges due to different influences such as an aging population, multi-morbidity and an innovation-sceptical industry. Above all, hospitals are in the focus of interest, given their central importance and networking of the supply system. Due to a lower availability of resources, but at the same time increasing demands and expectations on the quality of care, hospitals are under particular pressure to optimise. Digital technologies and information systems promise valuable potential along the patient pathway with regard to increasing efficiency and improving the quality of care. This paper provides a structured literature review on the digitisation of the patient's pathway and closes the research gap to a holistic view. As part of a quantitative empirical research study, 130 German hospitals were surveyed regarding their digital potential. Therefore, a cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the current state of digital documentation and communication, as well as the identification of digitisation and integration in hospitals. The study shows interesting results regarding digital potentials, particularly concerning the internal and external communication of hospitals. Collapse

Topics: systems documentation enterprise resource planning digital transformation telephone database system

Methods: survey descriptive statistic ANOVA parametric test structured literature research

Knowledge Gaps with the Agile Approach

2019 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Nakayama, Makoto; Kinnett, Seth

Abstract: A recent survey (VersionOne Inc. 2018) shows that the vast majority of organiza ... Expand

Abstract: A recent survey (VersionOne Inc. 2018) shows that the vast majority of organizations have some agile development teams. The agile approach emphasizes rapid value creation with low ceremonies with minimal documents (Cho 2008;Ji and Sedano 2011). That is, systems know-how is retained mostly as tacit knowledge. However, embedded in individuals and their relationships (Madhavan and Grover 1998), tacit knowledge is susceptible to knowledge loss and knowledge hoarding (Ersoy and Mahdy 2015). It is often limited within the scope of teams (Kasauli et al. 2017), and employee turnover may disrupt its sharing (Droege and Hoobler 2003). These issues create the systems knowledge gaps between what is required and what is available throughout systems lifecycle. Collapse

Topics: systems design systems documentation IT skill

Methods: survey field study qualitative interview

A New Look at an Old Problem: How Digital Representations Can Support Data-Driven Decision-Making in Organizations

2018 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Bremhorst, Mark

Abstract: Given organizations’ increasing use of analytics, it is increasingly important t ... Expand

Abstract: Given organizations’ increasing use of analytics, it is increasingly important to ask how, exactly, information systems can support data-driven decision-making. I offer a model that contributes to IS theory by extending the representational perspective and by helping identify commonality among data science and decision support literatures. My study seeks answers to two questions: RQ1: How do information systems’ designers improve the efficacy of information systems’ reporting? RQ2: How does a system user integrate information system outputs into their decision-making? I examine these questions using two cases, one from the natural resources context and a second in the chronic disease context. My findings provide support for the model. Moreover, I found that designers engaged in two kinds of interventions to improve the antecedents in my model: representational interventions - tactics to improve the efficacy of event-representations; and cognitive interventions - tactics to improve dimensions of frame-of-reference fit. Collapse

Topics: situation awareness decision making decision support database system systems documentation

Methods: case study theory development qualitative interview field study triangulation

Theories: information systems theory cognitive theory

Exploring the Effects of Extensional Versus Intensional Representations on Domain Understanding

2018 | Management Information Systems Quarterly | Citations: 1

Authors: Samuel, Binny M.; Khatri, Vijay; Ramesh, V.

Abstract: Cognitive research suggests that understanding the semantics, or the meaning, of ... Expand

Abstract: Cognitive research suggests that understanding the semantics, or the meaning, of representations involves both ascension from concrete concepts denoting specific observations (that is, extension) to abstract concepts denoting a number of observations (that is, intension), and vice versa. Consonantly, extant conceptual schemas can encode the semantics of a domain intensionally (e.g., ER diagram, UML class diagram) or extensionally (e.g., set diagram, UML object diagram). However, prior IS research has exclusively focused on intensional representations and the role they play in aiding domain understanding. In this research, we compare the interpretational fidelity of two types of representational encoding of cardinality constraints, an intensional schema using an ER diagram and its extensional analog using a set diagram. We employ cognitive science research to conceptualize that extensional representations will enable enhanced understanding as compared with intensional representations. Further, given that prior research suggests that the semantics of cardinality constraints remain challenging to understand, we focus on mandatory and optional cardinality constraints associated with relationships in these representations. Based on our laboratory experiments, we find that understanding with an extensional representation was (1) at least as good as that with an intensional representation for mandatory cardinality constraints and (2) significantly better for optional cardinality constraints. We also conducted an applicability check of our results via focus groups and found support for the perceived significance of extensional representations in practice. Overall, this research suggests that the tradition in IS research of exclusively focusing on intensional encoding of domain semantics should be reexamined. Collapse

Topics: problem solving systems documentation systems development information management data quality

Methods: experiment entity relationship modeling design science experimental group conceptual modelling