Control enactment in context: Understanding the interaction of controlee and controller perceptions in inter-organisational project teams

2023 | Information Systems Journal | Citations: 0

Authors: McCarthy, Stephen; O'Raghallaigh, Paidi; Li, Yuzhu; Adam, Frédéric

Abstract: Control is necessary for aligning the actions of management (i.e., controllers) ... Expand

Abstract: Control is necessary for aligning the actions of management (i.e., controllers) and subordinates (i.e., controlees) around common goals. The enactment of control often fails in practice; however, as controlee perceptions may not match those of controllers, leading to a myriad of possible outcomes. Through an interpretive case study of two inter-organisational IT projects, we reveal how controlees' appraisals and responses to controls are context-dependent and play out across multiple levels (e.g., personal, professional, project and organisational contexts). We build on a coping perspective of IS controls to theorise the ‘coping strategies’ that controlees pursued relevant to these contexts and the ‘coping routes’ followed when combining different consecutive coping strategies. We find the process need not end with the selection of a single strategy but can potentially continue as both the controller and controlees make ongoing readjustments. While Behavioural Control Theory traditionally assumes the presence of a single control hierarchy, interorganisational IT projects are multi-level entities that amalgamate different structures and cultures. Our study moves beyond the existing assumptions of Behavioural Control Theory to discuss how a controller's choice of activities shapes the salience of different contexts in controlee appraisals. Collapse

Topics: IT project interorganizational system organizational context electronic health systems development

Methods: case study theory development conceptual modelling qualitative interview theoretical contribution

Theories: control theory

A Configuration Taxonomy of Business Process Orientation

2022 | Business & Information Systems Engineering | Citations: 0

Authors: Van Looy, Amy; Trkman, Peter; Clarysse, Els

Abstract: Organizations strive to develop a variety of capabilities to improve and measure ... Expand

Abstract: Organizations strive to develop a variety of capabilities to improve and measure business processes. Researchers have used various maturity models to investigate the development of a business process orientation (BPO), and most have argued that such a development comes in stages. Current literature underestimates the interrelationships between BPO capabilities and fails to consider multidimensional or non-linear paths to maturity. To refine the features of maturity models, this study relies on configuration theory to uncover different archetypes for BPO development and quantitatively evaluate them by examining performance differences among archetypes based on a large-scale international dataset. The resulting empirical taxonomy with seven BPO archetypes establishes important performance differences between organizations at a similar maturity level. Besides strengthening the theoretical foundations of BPO and making maturity assessments more multifaceted, the results help organizations give their managerial efforts a focus by enabling comparison with peers in the same archetype and showing various paths for BPO improvement. Collapse

Topics: organizational productivity business process management individual productivity system efficiency IS economics

Methods: parametric test ANOVA maturity model design science cluster analysis

Theories: resource based view of the firm

Working around inadequate information systems in the workplace: An empirical study in Romania

2022 | International Journal of Information Management | Citations: 1

Authors: Wong, Louie H.M.; Hurbean, Luminita; Davison, Robert M.; Ou, Carol XJ; Muntean, Mihaela

Abstract: We explore how employees behave when faced with information systems (IS) that in ... Expand

Abstract: We explore how employees behave when faced with information systems (IS) that inadequately support their work. Inadequate IS often induce workaround behaviour, a phenomenon that is insufficiently understood in contemporary organisations. Drawing on workaround theory and coping theory, we develop a research model that links inadequate IS with corporate policy and employee attitudes to workaround behaviour. We test the model with data collected from 310 employees of Romanian organizations who currently use enterprise systems. We discuss the implications of the study for practice and research, as well as future directions and theoretical possibilities. Collapse

Topics: IT policy enterprise information system problem solving decision making analytical information system

Methods: survey PLS tool partial least squares path modeling conceptual modelling survey design

Reversing a relationship spiral: From vicious to virtuous cycles in IT outsourcing

2021 | Information Systems Journal | Citations: 11

Authors: Akkermans, Henk; Oppen, Willem van; Vos, Bart; Ou, Carol X. J.

Abstract: IT outsourcing (ITO) remains a popular business practice, but many buyers and su ... Expand

Abstract: IT outsourcing (ITO) remains a popular business practice, but many buyers and suppliers of IT services are caught in a vicious relationship spiral of low trust, bad collaboration and mediocre performance. This paper describes a novel process understanding of how vicious cycles work and suggests a new method for how they can be reversed into virtuous cycles. Based on the action research and complementary system dynamics simulation, this paper demonstrates how an ineffective ITO relationship between a European Harbour Authority and its main IT supplier ITCo was formed and, later, transformed. The method, involving collaborative redesign of service workflows, applied in this action research triggered the reversal of an otherwise downward relationship spiral. Both the empirical facts from the action research data and the system dynamics simulation data are provided as evidence. We conclude the paper with conceptual and methodological contributions as well as scope for future research. Collapse

Topics: interorganizational relationship outsourcing organizational productivity service quality customer satisfaction

Methods: simulation action research system dynamics qualitative interview case study

Adaptation or Persistence? Emergence and Revision of Organization Designs in New Ventures

2021 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: Alexy, Oliver; Poetz, Katharina; Puranam, Phanish; Reitzig, Markus

Abstract: How organization designs evolve between adaptation to changing conditions and th ... Expand

Abstract: How organization designs evolve between adaptation to changing conditions and the pressures toward persistence of the designs adopted at founding remains an understudied phenomenon. To fill this lacuna, we conducted a longitudinal, multicase study of eight young ventures. We find that, in these ventures, specific organization design solutions changed frequently, triggered by various internal and external developments, although the changes were typically incremental and myopic. However, the more abstract principles of design, captured in the founders’ logics of organizing, were less amenable to change. This explains why observations of imprinting effects in logics of organizing may be consistent with observations of dynamic change to organization designs. Collapse

Topics: information exchange business model social media database system project management

Methods: qualitative interview design principle business process modeling theory development triangulation

The Role of Algorithmic Transparency in Contact-tracing App Adoption

2021 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Bitzer, Tobias; Wiener, Martin; Morana, Stefan

Abstract: Contact-tracing apps represent an algorithm-based technology with significant p ... Expand

Abstract: Contact-tracing apps represent an algorithm-based technology with significant potential to help address the COVID-19 pandemic by facilitating swift case isolation. However, low adoption rates have prevented these apps from tapping their full potential. A key barrier to adoption has been citizens' uncertainty surrounding contact-tracing apps. In this regard, algorithmic transparency may be a critical factor in fostering app adoption. In this study, we focus on one central aspect of algorithmic transparency -namely, transformation algorithmic transparency in terms of information disclosure on the app's inner workings (TAT disclosure). Using an online experiment with 206 participants, we find no significant direct relationship between TAT disclosure and individuals' installation decision; still, we do find a significant indirect relationship, mediated by actual comprehension of the app's inner workings and trust into the app. Two moderating factors (benefit appeal and Coronavirus anxiety) did not show any significant effects. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Collapse

Topics: mobile application contact tracing mobile application mobile system covid 19 digital distribution

Methods: experiment survey computational algorithm mediation analysis logistic regression

Motivating information security policy compliance: The critical role of supervisor-subordinate guanxi and organizational commitment

2020 | International Journal of Information Management | Citations: 0

Authors: Liu, Chenhui; Wang, Nengmin; Liang, Huigang

Abstract: Employees’ non-compliance with organizational information security policy (ISP) ... Expand

Abstract: Employees’ non-compliance with organizational information security policy (ISP) when using informational resources has become the main reason for continuous security incidents. Drawing upon technology threat avoidance theory (TTAT) and social exchange theory (SET), our study investigates the influence of supervisorsubordinate guanxi (SSG) and organizational commitment in the information security management. Our hypotheses were tested using survey data from 235 Chinese government employees. Results not only confirm the direct effect of SSG on government employees’ ISP compliance but also suggest that SSG indirectly influences compliance behavior via the mediation of organizational commitment. Organizational commitment weakens the negative influence of perceived costs on compliance behavior and also weakens the positive effect of self-efficacy on employees’ ISP compliance. For low-commitment employees, the negative influence of perceived costs on compliance behavior is more significant than that of those with strong organizational commitment, and selfefficacy exerts a stronger effect on ISP compliance for low-commitment employees than it does for high-commitment employees. This study contributes to current literature on information systems (IS) by confirming the critical roles of SSG and organizational commitment in motivating employees’ compliance behavior. Collapse

Topics: organizational commitment self efficacy information management IT security information security management

Methods: survey partial least squares regression descriptive statistic data transformation statistical hypothesis test

Theories: social psychology theory social exchange theory technology threat avoidance theory

Theory borrowing in IT-rich contexts: Lessons from IS strategy research

2020 | Journal of Information Technology | Citations: 0

Authors: Moeini, Mohammad; Simeonova, Boyka; Galliers, Robert D; Wilson, Alex

Abstract: While indigenous theorizing in information systems has clear merits, theory borr ... Expand

Abstract: While indigenous theorizing in information systems has clear merits, theory borrowing will not, and should not, be eschewed given its appeal and usefulness. In this article, we aim at increasing our understanding of modifying of borrowed theories in IT-rich contexts. We present a framework in which we discuss how two recontextualization approaches of specification and distinction help with increasing the IT-richness of borrowed constructs and relationships. In doing so, we use several illustrative examples from information systems strategy. The framework can be used by researchers as a tool to explore the multitude of ways in which a theory from another discipline can yield the understanding of IT phenomena. Collapse

Topics: information systems strategy knowledge representation

Methods: design artifact theory development structured literature research ontological modelling

Theories: information systems theory resource based view of the firm

Sublating Tensions in the IT Project Risk Management Literature: A Model of the Relative Performance of Intuition and Deliberate Analysis for Risk Assessment

2019 | Journal of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Moeini, Mohammad; Rivard, Suzanne

Abstract: The information technology (IT) project risk management literature comprises two ... Expand

Abstract: The information technology (IT) project risk management literature comprises two dominant but diverging bodies of knowledge: the normative and the experiential. We conducted a three-step dialectical review of this literature with the aim of creating a bridging body of knowledge. In the first step, delineation, we synthesize the overarching variance and process explanations in each body of knowledge and motivate the examination of their divergences. In the second step, contrastation, we perform a dialectical interrogation of these bodies to articulate their key assumption-level tensions. We elaborate on the most prominent tension between the two bodies, namely, the relative performance of intuition and deliberate analysis for project risk assessment. In the third step, sublation, we propose a theoretical model that resolves this tension. Anchored in both bodies of knowledge and drawing from managerial decision-making research, the model proposes that the relative performance of intuition depends on characteristics of the IT project manager (projectspecific expertise), the project (risks’ temporal complexity and risks’ structural complexity), and the project’s organizational environment (e.g., stakeholders’ involvement in risk management, methodsusing pressures). Moreover, the model posits that project-specific expertise moderates all the other effects. Building on the bridging knowledge insights from this model, we discuss how researchers can design interventions to increase project managers’ use of deliberate analysis when it is expected to outperform intuition or to encourage reliance on intuition when it is likely to outperform deliberate analysis. Collapse

Topics: risk management IT project risk management IT project knowledge type knowledge base

Methods: qualitative coding theory development literature sample grounded theory literature study

Broadening the Conceptualization of Theory in the Information Systems Discipline: A Meta-Theory Approach

2019 | ACM SIGMIS Database | Citations: 0

Authors: Niederman, Fred; March, Salvatore T.

Abstract: The traditional and most prevalent view of theory in the information systems (IS ... Expand

Abstract: The traditional and most prevalent view of theory in the information systems (IS) discipline is conceptualized in what has been termed ?variance theory," or more properly ?variance meta-theory," where a meta-theory is a means by which to conceptualize the types of constructs and relationships used to develop a specific theory (instance). Variance meta-theory conceptualizes the constructs and relationships in a theory strictly as properties of entities, interrelated in a static (statistical) correlational manner. Theories formulated using variance meta-theory generally seek to explain or predict immutable inferred causal relationships. This view of theory is limiting and constraining in an applied field like IS where phenomena of interest are complex, constantly changing, and reliant on proactive human actions, as well as underlying forces. As new technologies are developed, users adapt and learn, take actions, and respond to results. We argue that alternative meta-theories more readily address this wider range of IS research questions. We examine three such meta-theories ? network, process, and co-evolution, comparing and contrasting their underlying conceptualizations, entities, relationships, and methodologies. We argue further that theory (instances) formulated in the language of each of these meta-theories can be used as part of a broad scientific process of proposing, testing, and reevaluating theory to develop increasingly nuanced understandings of IS phenomena, ultimately resulting in the accumulation of knowledge that is relevant to both theory and practice. Collapse

Topics: social network participatory design information system use affordance problem solving

Methods: design methodology theory development design artifact grounded theory

Theories: co-evolution theory social sciences theory