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Control is vital for IS projects to be delivered on time and within budget. Control theory helps us better understand and explain control in information systems operations and development. However, simplistic notions about control do not correspond to how control actually works. We believe that a social perspective that sees controls as negotiated orders, and not just things imposed by controllers on controlees, better explains control of IS projects and operations. Through an interpretive case study of client-vendor control in the IS department of a large agricultural distributor, we show that: (1) control enactment involves the controller's consideration of the social and organizational context as well as the controller's intention. (2) Control enactment involves a socially constructed meaning and unintended consequences. (3) The control enactment also involves controlee intent either because of negotiation with the controller, or indirectly by way of alternative structures. Finally, (4) the control itself influences the controller and controlee in unanticipated ways. Seeing control as the result of negotiated orders between controllers and controlees contributes to control theory by suggesting that, in practice, negotiation, shaping and re-appropriation are necessary for successful control enactment.

Knowledge portals (KPs) are highly integrative knowledge management systems (KMSs) that promise to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the use of organizational knowledge. KPs have the potential to stimulate the processes of knowledge management and knowledge integration; improve communication and collaboration; and to increase the competitiveness of the firm. However, KPs face major challenges in practice, and many KP implementation efforts fail. This paper provides an extensive review of current information system (IS) research on KPs. It focuses on internal KPs and suggests that there are three major deployment challenges: (1) sufficient participation, (2) a favorable organizational culture, and (3) knowledge integration.

This research aims to design and implement a framework and system platform for creating values-based digital games for the young. Studies show that many digital games include violence and about half of the violent incidents have negative repercussions such as increased aggression in the “real” world. This influential nature of digital games calls for research on ways in which games can be leveraged. One way is to use digital games to foster positive values and sustainable practices. This is especially relevant in the context of young players since they are malleable. Digital games present opportunities for learning via decision-making. When players interact with games, they go through several decision-making cycles, each time, subconsciously reviewing the consequences of their actions to guide future decisions. This research will use a multi-methodological approach combining qualitative and design science research to explore and create a platform to design and implement context-adaptive values-based digital games.

Erratum to: O. Ngwenyama et al. (Eds.) New Information Technologies in Organizational Processes DOI: 10.1007/978-0-387-35566-5

Erratum to: E.H. Wynn et al. (Eds.) Global and Organizational Discourse about Information Technology DOI: 10.1007/978-0-387-35634-1

Information systems success and failure are among the most prominent streams in IS research. Explanations of why some IS fulfill their expectations, whereas others fail, are complex and multi-factorial. Despite the efforts to understand the underlying factors, the IS failure rate remains stubbornly high. A Panel session was held at the IFIP Working Group 8.6 conference in Bangalore in 2013 which forms the subject of this Special Issue. Its aim was to reflect on the need for new perspectives and research directions, to provide insights and further guidance for managers on factors enabling IS success and avoiding IS failure. Several key issues emerged, such as the need to study problems from multiple perspectives, to move beyond narrow considerations of the IT artifact, and to venture into underexplored organizational contexts, such as the public sector.

In recent years India has become the information technology (IT) offshoring destination of choice for many Western organizations. From the perspective of vendor organizations in India, however, the IT offshoring phenomenon is more than just a business relationship with Western firms. It is also embedded within the context of the longstanding imbalances of power in the relationship between the West and the East, the implications of which have been largely ignored in empirical work on offshoring within the information systems (IS) discipline. Drawing on concepts from postcolonial theory and using data from our ethnographic fieldwork, we explore the experiences and responses of one Indian vendor organization to asymmetries of power in its relationship with Western client organizations. Our analysis demonstrates how a postcolonial reading and interpretation of IT offshoring adds an important new dimension to previous IS research and also helps to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the strategies deployed by vendor organizations.

This paper looks at Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) from the perspective of critical research. Using the concepts of ‘gaze’ and ‘face’, we examine the development and use of a web-based KMS in Taiwan. The findings indicate that, although a web-based KMS was developed to enable knowledge sharing, the capabilities for surveillance inherent in the KMS severely limited sharing. This study raises broader questions about the relationship between cultural values and the production of knowledge in KMS.

Consumer information systems (CIS) are an emerging area of inquiry for information systems researchers. IS researchers have traditionally emphasized efficiency and effectiveness of organizational processes and system use. However, design for consumer information systems requires more attention to be paid to processes of value creation embedded in the consumer experience. This shift in focus demands a reconsideration of current information systems development approaches. In this paper we propose a conceptual framework for consumer information systems development. The framework includes six elements of co-creation of consumer value. The framework is illustrated by reviewing the findings from three case studies.

This paper discusses some of the challenges that organizations face when trying to make enterprise systems work. Using critical ethnography, we studied the implementation of an enterprise system in a small-medium sized enterprise within a large conglomerate in Australasia. We found that organizational learning around strategically important issues failed to occur. This failure to learn negatively impacted the implementation of the enterprise system. We use the theory of organizational defensive routines to help explain this failure.

Much of the literature on enterprise systems implementation suggests that ERP systems should support the strategic objectives of the organization. In fact some ERP vendors tend to assume that implementing their products is a straightforward translation from strategy to IT-enabled business processes. But the strategic management literature reveals that corporate strategy is often contested terrain. Conflict over strategy has the potential to delay or derail ERP implementation efforts, leading to cost overruns, failures, and lack of expected benefits. This paper seeks to understand and explain how conflicts over strategy can affect the success of ERP implementations. We studied one firm's attempt to pursue information technology-enabled enterprise integration using critical ethnography. The firm is a small-to-medium sized enterprise within a large conglomerate in the Asia-Pacific region. Our findings show that, as the dominant actors and political agendas changed, so too did the company's enterprise integration strategy. The ERP system was designed to support a future corporate world and work environment that never arrived.

Many IS scholars argue that global organizations need to understand cultural differences if they are to successfully deploy information technology. We agree that an understanding of cultural differences is important, but suggest that the concept of “national culture” that has tended to dominate the IS research literature is too simplistic. In this article, we challenge information systems researchers to go beyond models of national culture. We propose that IS researchers should adopt a more dynamic view of culture – one that sees culture as contested, temporal and emergent.

Action research (AR), which emphasises collaboration between researchers and practitioners, is a qualitative research method that has much potential for the information systems (IS) field. AR studies of IS phenomena are now beginning to be published in the IS research literature. However, the rigour of many AR studies in IS can be improved. When AR has been published, the findings have frequently been emphasised at the expense of the process. In this article, we look at the process in AR projects, and look at some of the key choices and alternatives in controlling AR. We discuss three aspects of control: the procedures for initiating an AR project, those for determining authority within the project, and the degree of formalisation. We analyse seven recent AR projects in IS and from this analysis distil recommendations for determining these control structures.

Discusses the use of information technology to facilitate communication and collaboration. In this action research project a groupware product called Lotus NotesTM was implemented to facilitate communication and collaboration amongst the senior management team. Although there was a real need for change, and the project received strong support from senior management on the basis that it would enable radical changes in coordination within the workgroup, these radical changes did not occur. The authors analyse the reasons for failure, and suggest that the project failed because of institutional forces which inhibited dramatic changes in work habits.

A number of researchers have drawn attention to the way in which information systems development is an inherently political activity. Using the critical social theory of Jurgen Habermas, discusses the development of an information system in mental health. Using critical ethnography, reveals otherwise hidden agendas, power and managerial assumptions to be deeply embedded in the project. Raises broader questions about the extent to which information systems can be seen as “colonizing mechanisms”.

It is well known that executive information systems (EIS) are high risk systems to implement and maintain. Factor research is the most commonly used framework for studying the causes of EIS failure yet there is no conclusive evidence that the factors suggested in the information systems (IS) research literature ensure system success. This paper reports on a case study of a failed EIS in a large New Zealand organization and compares this case with the success factors found in the research literature. One of the findings is that the broader issues surrounding the failure were more significant than the more narrowly focused factors suggested by the factor research approach. These broader issues include the social, cultural, political and economic context of the system as a whole. Another finding was that many of these broader contextual issues were not directly controllable by the EIS project team. This paper will have implications for all those who have to develop or are involved with the development of EIS.

We suggest that a new type of information system appears to be increasing in importance, that of consumer information systems. Compared with traditional information systems development approaches, where the focus is on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of organizational processes, design for consumer information systems focuses more on the enjoyment, pleasure and purchases of the consumer. We argue that the shift in focus from users to consumers in consumer information systems calls for a significant re-appraisal of our current information systems development methods. Hence, this chapter proposes a new research agenda for IS researchers focusing on the development of consumer information systems. We plan to pursue this agenda by primarily using design science research, supplemented by other research methods as needed. The expected contributions include new insights into effective management processes for service design, a better understanding of issues of integration of information systems development practices used to develop consumer information systems, and the development of methods for requirements discovery for service innovation. These three components aim to contribute to a holistic evaluation of consumer information systems.

Information systems research methods need to contribute to the scholarly requirements of the field of knowledge but also need to develop the potential to contribute to the practical requirements of practitioners′ knowledge. This leads to possible conflicts in choosing research methods. Argues that the changing world of the IS practitioner is reflected in the changing world of the IS researcher and that qualitative approaches to IS research help to bridge the gap between the two domains of knowledge. Illustrates how this gap may be bridged through discussing the ethnographic research method. Concludes by assessing the contributions and limitations of this method to IS research and practice.

The New Zealand Education Department attempted to implement a centralized payroll system in 1989. The difficulties that the department experienced were broadcast on national radio and television and publicised on the front page of The New Zealand Herald. In the end, the centralized payroll system was scrapped by the government. This paper examines this case study using the critical hermeneutics of Gadamer and Ricoeuer. Critical hermeneutics, as an integrative theoretical framework, combines both framework, combines both interpretive and critical element, and addresses those social and organizational issues, which are key to the successful implementation of information systems. This paper suggests critical hermeneutics as a conceptual foundation for information systems implementation research.

Part 3: Design Themes; International audience; A deep understanding of stakeholder strategies can be a powerful tool in helping IS researchers understand the realities of IS design and implementation in developing countries. We discuss the strategies used by stakeholders during the implementation of the first state government owned agricultural marketing information system project in India. Our main findings are that, while some stakeholder strategies were consistent with the implementation of the new system, most stakeholder strategies were not. Our findings may have important implications for the design and implementation of information systems in other developing countries.

We suggest that a new type of information system appears to be increasing in importance, that of consumer information systems. Compared with traditional information systems development approaches, where the focus is on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of organizational processes, design for consumer information systems focuses more on the enjoyment, pleasure and purchases of the consumer. We argue that the shift in focus from users to consumers in consumer information systems calls for a significant re-appraisal of our current information systems development methods. Hence, this paper proposes a new research agenda for IS researchers focusing on the development of consumer information systems. We plan to pursue this agenda by primarily using design science research, supplemented by other research methods as needed. The expected contributions include new insights into effective management processes for service design, a better understanding of issues of integration of information systems development practices used to develop consumer information systems, and the development of methods for requirements discovery for service innovation. These three components aim to contribute to a holistic evaluation of consumer information systems.

This paper discusses some of the difficulties and challenges that an information technology (IT) firm in a developing country faces in its attempt to become a global player. In 1999, the firm KnowICT embarked on a strategic project called Knowledge Management (KM), whose main purpose was to unify and integrate knowledge that resided in the various organizational business units into one strategic knowledge infrastructure. By combining the knowledge resources dispersed in the various organizational business units, KnowICT managers hoped that KnowICT could be transformed into a leading global IT consultancy firm, rather than be seen just as a provider of routine outsourcing jobs. Although at a basic operational level the KM project has been deemed a success, the attempt to combine the knowledge resources from the various organizational business units proved more difficult than anticipated. We use postcolonial theory to explain the difficulties and challenges that KnowICT faces. Postcolonial theory draws attention to issues of power, ownership, control, and identity. We suggest postcolonial theory can meaningfully enhance our understanding of the development and use of information and communication technologies in developing countries.

Many IS scholars argue that global organizations need to understand cultural differences if they are to successfully deploy information technology. We agree that an understanding of cultural differences is important, but suggest that the concept of “national culture” that has tended to dominate the IS research literature is too simplistic. In this article, we challenge information systems researchers to go beyond models of national culture. We propose that IS researchers should adopt a more dynamic view of culture – one that sees culture as contested, temporal and emergent.

Ethnographic research is one of the most in-depth research methods possible. Because the researcher is at a research site for a long time and sees what people are doing as well as what they say they are doing – an ethnographer obtains a deep understanding of the people, the organization, and the broader context within which they work. Ethnographic research is thus well suited to providing information systems researchers with rich insights into the human, social, and organizational aspects of information systems. This article discusses the potential of ethnographic research for IS researchers, and outlines the most important issues that need to be considered in selecting this method.

The conventional wisdom amongst information systems (IS) researchers is that information systems is an applied discipline drawing upon other, more fundamental, reference disciplines. These reference disciplines are seen as having foundational value for IS. We believe that it is time to question the conventional wisdom. We agree that many disciplines are relevant for IS researchers, but we suggest a re-think of the idea of "reference disciplines" for IS. In a sense, IS has come of age. Perhaps the time has come for IS to become a reference discipline for others.