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2012 | Buch

Information Systems Theory

Explaining and Predicting Our Digital Society, Vol. 2

herausgegeben von: Yogesh K. Dwivedi, Michael R. Wade, Scott L. Schneberger

Verlag: Springer New York

Buchreihe : Integrated Series in Information Systems

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SUCHEN

Über dieses Buch

The overall mission of this book is to provide a comprehensive understanding and coverage of the various theories and models used in IS research. Specifically, it aims to focus on the following key objectives:

To describe the various theories and models applicable to studying IS/IT management issues. To outline and describe, for each of the various theories and models, independent and dependent constructs, reference discipline/originating area, originating author(s), seminal articles, level of analysis (i.e. firm, individual, industry) and links with other theories. To provide a critical review/meta-analysis of IS/IT management articles that have used a particular theory/model.To discuss how a theory can be used to better understand how information systems can be effectively deployed in today’s digital world.

This book contributes to our understanding of a number of theories and models. The theoretical contribution of this book is that it analyzes and synthesizes the relevant literature in order to enhance knowledge of IS theories and models from various perspectives. To cater to the information needs of a diverse spectrum of readers, this book is structured into two volumes, with each volume further broken down into two sections.

The first section of Volume 1 presents detailed descriptions of a set of theories centered around the IS lifecycle, including the Success Model, Technology Acceptance Model, User Resistance Theories, and four others. The second section of Volume 1 contains strategic and economic theories, including a Resource-Based View, Theory of Slack Resources, Portfolio Theory, Discrepancy Theory Models, and eleven others.

The first section of Volume 2 concerns socio-psychological theories. These include Personal Construct Theory, Psychological Ownership, Transactive Memory, Language-Action Approach, and nine others. The second section of Volume 2 deals with methodological theories, including Critical Realism, Grounded Theory, Narrative Inquiry, Work System Method, and four others.

Together, these theories provide a rich tapestry of knowledge around the use of theory in IS research. Since most of these theories are from contributing disciplines, they provide a window into the world of external thought leadership.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Employing Personal Construct Theory to Understand Information Systems: A Practical Guide for Researchers
Abstract
This chapter presents a description of Personal Construct Theory and how the theory may be employed in information systems research. Within the purview of Personal Construct Theory, the Repertory Grid technique is also described, which is an interview technique employed to elicit and document a research participant’s system of personal constructs. The concept of laddering is also presented which facilitates delving into the detailed meanings attributed by a research participant to their construct system. Examples of information systems projects are also included in this chapter to further elucidate Personal Construct Theory and the Repertory Grid technique.
M. Gordon Hunter, Peter Caputi, Felix B. Tan
Chapter 2. Psychological Ownership and the Individual Appropriation of Technology
Abstract
We use information technology to accomplish a significant portion of our daily tasks. The way individuals choose to use technology varies as much as the outcomes of their usage. Appropriation – the way that people choose or learn to use technology – has been explored at a group level to explain group behaviors and performance. Although appropriation antecedents and outcomes have been investigated in many studies, none has attempted to explain the motivations or factors influencing the individual appropriation of technology; nor has extant research discovered the impacts resulting from individual appropriation. In this exploratory chapter, we inquire within this gap by arguing that appropriation and psychological ownership are theoretically equivalent. This new theoretical connection suggests potentially significant antecedents for individual appropriation, which have been overlooked. The desirable consequences of psychological ownership (e.g., competency, security, satisfaction) are proposed to apply to the individual appropriation of technology.
James Gaskin, Kalle Lyytinen
Chapter 3. Transactive Memory and Its Application in IS Research
Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of the transactive memory (TM) ­literature, both general and within information system (IS) research. The objective of this chapter is to introduce the reader to TM and its applications in research, and to ­provide some practical knowledge on how TM can be incorporated into future research in IS. The chapter begins with a brief introduction to the concept of TM ­followed by an overview of TM studies to date. The focus is then narrowed to TM applications within IS research. The chapter concludes with information on TM measures and its nomological network to facilitate future research in this area.
Dorit Nevo, Ron Ophir
Chapter 4. The Language-Action Approach: Information Systems Supporting Social Actions
Abstract
The Language-Action Perspective (LAP) approach, with the premise that people perform actions through communication, provides an appropriate framework for analyzing and designing information systems matching the needs of today’s information and communication technology (ICT)-intensive organizations. The LAP approach considers that work in organizations is performed through communication and coordination among its workers. Therefore, according to the LAP approach, purpose of the information systems is to support social actions. Language-action theories provide information systems researchers guidance to gain a comprehensive understanding on how people can use communication to create, control, and maintain social interactions in the organizational context. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the LAP approach and its main theoretical foundation Habermas’ theory of communicative action along with a discussion on the differences between ­traditional view and LAP view of information systems.
Karthikeyan Umapathy
Chapter 5. A Summary and Review of Galbraith’s Organizational Information Processing Theory
Abstract
This chapter reviews Galbraith’s original theory of organizational information processing and its proposed advancements. Original theory version describes uncertainty, especially task uncertainty, as the determinant of an organization’s structure. Four strategies are proposed to solve the organizational design problem: creation of slack resources and creation of self-contained tasks reduce the need for information processing. Investment in information systems and creation of lateral relations are strategies to reduce this uncertainty by increasing the capability of information processing but also has its limitations. Interpersonal characteristics as well as interdepartmental and interorganizational relations determine the organizational design problem, not just task uncertainty. Therefore, equivocality has to be reduced besides uncertainty. The additional factors are presented and integrated in a new model based on the original theory. The relevance of organizational information processing theory in the context of IT is demonstrated by practical examples, for explanation, justification, and integration of IT. Theoretical basis can be used to disclose possible reasons for problems and different outcomes which are arising in the case of IT adaptation.
Clemens Haußmann, Yogesh K. Dwivedi, Krishna Venkitachalam, Michael D. Williams
Chapter 6. Scientia potentia est: Organizational Learning, Absorptive Capacity and the Power of Knowledge
Abstract
An organization’s ability to learn from past experience and observation of the environment around it affects the efficiency and effectiveness of its operations. Organizational learning (OL) theory broadly defines this process in terms of seeking, interpreting, and using knowledge, with the process triggered by a reference gap and resulting in learning. The ability of the organization to leverage knowledge obtained through OL results in absorptive capacity (ACAP). ACAP specifically measures how the organization acquires, assimilates, transforms, and utilizes new information, resulting in both knowledge and commercial outputs and competitive advantages. While OL describes the construction of the knowledge base, ACAP describes how learning results in performance, flexibility, and innovation. ACAP is especially critical in rapidly changing, complex, or highly uncertain environments requiring the assimilation of a great deal of information in contexts which may not be programmable. Today’s digital environment, with the widespread availability of vast amounts of detailed, real-time information, renders the ability to screen, analyze, communicate, retrieve, store, and use new information into the key to increased performance, better organization–environment strategic fit, and lasting competitive advantage.
Kimberly A. Zahller
Chapter 7. Applying Actor Network Theory and Managing Controversy
Abstract
Actor Network Theory has been applied in the IS research for over a decade. However, when applying ANT, IS researchers still face difficulties in ­convincing the academic community of the importance and contribution of their analysis. This chapter reviews some of the key concepts and propositions of ANT, the most common criticism ANT-based IS research would receive from sceptic reviewers and suggests possible ways to deal with it.
Amany Elbanna
Chapter 8. Using Concepts from Structuration Theory and Consequence of Modernity to Understand IS Deployment in Health-Care Setting
Abstract
The use of structuration theory in the field of information systems is long debated. Questions on its applicability and suitability have led to many insightful studies and papers in this area. We, in this chapter, draw on these studies and provide a complementary view on use of ST in studying IS deployment. While doing so, we draw on Giddens’s recent work and utilise telehealth implementation case study as an example.
Urvashi Sharma, Julie Barnett, Malcolm Clarke
Chapter 9. Hubble Bubble Toil and Trouble: The Special Case of Emergency Services
Abstract
The author outlines the technological frames strand of social shaping of technology theory and posits that the dimensions used by the major proponents of the theory to not necessarily apply to all situations. The proposal is to use an analogy of a technological bubble rather than a frame to describe in particular the interaction of emergency services personnel in emergency situations. The qualities of the bubble as soft-edged, three-dimensional and ephemeral lends well to the correlation between the tasks, beliefs and attitudes of emergency workers and their relationships with technological artefacts.
Polly Sobreperez
Chapter 10. ERP Diffusion and Assimilation Using IT-Innovation Framework
Abstract
This chapter introduces information technology (IT) frameworks as a mean of studying the IT “diffusion and assimilation” process. The chapter consists of three main sections; the first section introduces the reader to the topic and chapter structure, the second section defines the related terminologies in this field and illustrates the different frameworks and theories that explain and interpret the IT-innovation diffusion success. The third section formulates and proposes the specifications of a hybrid integrative conceptual framework for IT adoption and diffusion. This framework encompasses three main clusters: the external environment, the internal environment, and the technology characteristics. These clusters contain a total of 17 attributes drawn from the different theories and frameworks in this field and proven to be significant. Overall, the chapter serves several goals; it provides the reader with better understanding of IT-innovation diffusion theories, IT-assimilation practices, implementation pitfalls, and IT-diffusion practices trend.
Husam Abu-Khadra, Khalifeh Ziadat
Chapter 11. The Yield Shift Theory of Satisfaction and Its Application to the IS/IT Domain
Abstract
Information Systems/Information Technology (IS/IT) satisfaction is a key indicator of IS/IT success. For IS professionals and providers, satisfaction is critical throughout the life of a system because dissatisfied stakeholders can derail implementation, discontinue using an important system, erode IS/IT budgets, or even transfer their entire IT infrastructure to a different organization. The IS literature offers several perspectives on satisfaction, but none yet accounts fully for known satisfaction phenomena. We identify ten observed satisfaction effects, and summarize six existing models for satisfaction, identifying their merits, and the limits of their explanatory power. We then advance Yield Shift Theory (YST), a new causal theory of the satisfaction response that offers a more complete explanation of the phenomenon. YST derives two propositions from five assumptions to propose that the yield for a given goal is a function of the utility one ascribes to moderated by the likelihood one assesses of its attainment, and that variations in the satisfaction response are a curvilinear function of shifts in yield for an individual’s active goal set. We argue the falsifiability and scientific utility of the theory, discuss its relevance to IS/IT, and suggest directions for future research.
Robert O. Briggs, Bruce A. Reinig, Gert-Jan de Vreede
Chapter 12. Intention-Based Models: The Theory of Planned Behavior Within the Context of IS
Abstract
The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is a social-psychological model that has been – and still – extensively applied within the domain of Information Systems in predicting, examining, and explaining human behavior. It is a comprehensive model positing that the actual behavior is driven by human intentions that are influenced by personal, social, and situational factors. In this chapter we demonstrate the TPB in a way that best describes the origin of the theory and its relation to other intention-based theories, the purpose behind the theory, and the practical applications of the theory illustrated by an example from the Information Systems field.
Enas Al-Lozi, Anastasia Papazafeiropoulou
Chapter 13. Understanding IS Theory: An Interpretation of Key IS Theoretical Frameworks Using Social Cognitive Theory
Abstract
Past research studies have introduced a multitude of theoretical models and constructs when investigating individual behavior. We have now reached a point where the IS discipline requires cohesive guidance to make sense of such a large number of theoretical considerations, as well as to assist in identifying theories that have the potential to shed new light on the complex interaction of technology and behavior. The aim of the present chapter is to use Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) as a meta-level framework to organize the theoretical models and constructs used in the IS literature, so as to provide a clear and integrated depiction of the state of our theoretical knowledge. First, a thorough review of the IS literature which used SCT was performed. Second, the major behavioral theoretical models used in IS research were also reviewed. This literature is mapped into the SCT framework, thus highlighting the main successes but also pitfalls of past research. Future research directions are then identified and discussed.
Kevin Carillo
Chapter 14. The Potential of Critical Realism in IS Research
Abstract
Although, the information systems (IS) field is dominated by positivistic research there exist plausible alternatives. The dominating alternatives include constructivism, grounded theory for theory development, and structuration theory as an underpinning theory for developing theories for technology-enabled organizational change. The alternatives overcome some problems with positivism, but they are themselves not without problems. This chapter presents and discusses how critical realism (CR) can be an alternative philosophical underpinning for IS research. The chapter presents briefly CR and how CR can be used in IS research. Contemporary examples of how CR can be used and is used in research aiming at generating new IS theory, IS evaluation research, and IS design science research are presented.
Sven A. Carlsson
Chapter 15. Grounded Theory and Information Systems: Are We Missing the Point?
Abstract
Theories indigenous to the Information Systems (IS) discipline are scarce. The Grounded Theory Method (GTM) specifically aims to create theory in domains where none are. But although its use in information systems (IS) research increased over the last two decades, the number of grounded IS theories created did not. This could be because either GTM is not ‘right’ for the information systems discipline or that it is not ‘done right’. The chapter investigates both options and concludes firstly that the method is ‘right’: it is a general method, capable of accepting any kind of data and works well with information systems, which are defined as actor networks of technology and people. Furthermore, GTM’s paradigmatic position (or, more accurately, its lack of one) is very conducive to mixed-actant research. There is, however, reason to suspect that GTM is not ‘done right’ and that GTM’s core tenets are often misunderstood. Two core tenets are defined: (a) the specific rigour of its data collection and analysis; and (b) the maxim of only using concepts as the unit of analysis for developing grounded theory. To elaborate on this a brief history of concepts is given. In conclusion, the GTM analysis regime is re-stated.
Hans Lehmann
Chapter 16. Developing Theories in Information Systems Research: The Grounded Theory Method Applied
Abstract
Scientific work depends on a foundation of strong and robust theories to guide the process of scientific discovery. Theories are paramount for the understanding, description, and prediction of phenomena studies in the field. In information systems research (ISR), however, only few domain-specific theories have emerged from that last decades of scientific work. To help researchers answer the call for more IS-specific theoretical work, this chapter introduces the Grounded Theory Method (GTM) as one approach to conceptual, theory generating work that extends our understanding beyond the use of grand theories from adjacent disciplines. Based on a brief historical overview, the chapter shows some particularities of ISR and how GTM can be used to address them. It introduces the general process of GTM-based studies and shows how theories emerge ground observations grounded in the field. Afterwards, the chapter shows some of the often rather small and substantive theories in IS can mature toward grand theories using the GTM approach. The ability to frame our research results in a theoretical way is important to build a cumulative research tradition in IS. This will not only help to gradually extend our understanding of relevant phenomena, but will also allow for advances in the discipline search for domain identity and in our race for credibility with the adjacent disciplines.
Benjamin Müller, Sebastian Olbrich
Chapter 17. Conducting Information Systems Research Using Narrative Inquiry
Abstract
This chapter places Narrative Inquiry in the theoretical context of Grounded Theory. To begin, Grounded Theory is explained along with the concept of Grounded Theory Method, which employs the constant comparison of data obtained through qualitative interviews. Then Narrative Inquiry, within this ­context, is introduced and explained. The discussion leads to the necessity to adopt an interview technique within the Narrative Inquiry approach to gather interview data. Thus, a more specific technique is described known as the Long Interview Technique. This technique further requires the development of an interview guide specifically related to an individual project. This guide is referred to as an interview protocol. While the interview protocol must be developed to allow flexibility within the interview and reduce researcher bias, it must also support a consistent approach to conducting a number of interviews to gather data related to the research question. This overall approach is related to conducting research in general and more specifically information systems research. Recent information systems research investigations are presented.
M. Gordon Hunter
Chapter 18. The Mikropolis Model: A Framework for Transdisciplinary Research of Information Systems in Society
Abstract
Today information and communication technology is extensively used in business and private contexts. Rapid technological developments drive a process of tapping new areas and further penetrating existing areas of application with ­information and communication technology. This not only affects the way we live and work on an individual level – it affects our society on a global level. While the effects of information technology on individual, group, and organizational level have been, and continue to be, studied on the basis of a wide array of frameworks, models, and theories, we lack a means of doing research with respect to the societal-level aspects of information and communication technology and information systems, in particular. Questions about how technology and organization coevolve, and about how these coevolutionary processes interact with societal factors and conditions are not adequately addressed. Information systems in society are a genuine area of study of the information systems research community. We believe, however, that a problem-oriented, transdisciplinary approach is necessary. The Mikropolis Model presented in this chapter provides a framework for studying information systems in society in a problem-oriented, transdisciplinary manner.
Jan-Hendrik Wahoff, João Porto de Albuquerque, Arno Rolf
Chapter 19. Inquiring Systems: Theoretical Foundations for Current and Future Information Systems
Abstract
Inquiring systems have been a part of the information systems discipline for the past 40 years. In this chapter, we highlight the impact that the inquiring systems have had on the information systems in use in contemporary organizations as well as the potential for inquiring systems to form the theoretical foundations of the information systems of tomorrow.
James L. Parrish Jr., James F. Courtney
Chapter 20. Information Systems Deployment as an Activity System
Abstract
The use of Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) is penetrating a wider part of human life, broadening the scope of IS research accordingly. Nonetheless, extant IS research literature shows that it is the social and organizational contexts of IS design, implementation, and use which lead to the greatest problems. Thus, there is a need for a detailed knowledge about the context of IS, and the process whereby the IS influences, and is influenced by, the context. This chapter demonstrates the application of Developmental Work Research (DWR), which is an interventionist approach based on Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) for the study of work, organizations, and technology undergoing developmental transformation. The core of the approach consists of learning, development, and research as basic elements for both practitioners and researchers. It provides a dynamic framework for understanding and analyzing many areas of IS research and practice. The link between DWR and other research approaches used in IS research is also presented.
Faraja Igira
Chapter 21. The Work System Method as an Approach for Teaching and Researching Information Systems
Abstract
The Work System Method (WSM) was developed in a series of ­publications over the last decade by Steven Alter. It is a significant theoretical development in the field of Information Systems (IS) and has a growing support base. This chapter satisfies the need in IS research and practice for a review of the major concepts in the WSM and the most recent developments in related research. It is based on extensive literature review of publications by the originator of the methodology and other authors as well as on the experience of the authors with it. Possible directions for future work are provided for enhancement of IS development and education.
Doncho Petkov, Olga Petkova, Kosheek Sewchurran, Theo Andrew, Ram Misra
Backmatter
Metadaten
Titel
Information Systems Theory
herausgegeben von
Yogesh K. Dwivedi
Michael R. Wade
Scott L. Schneberger
Copyright-Jahr
2012
Verlag
Springer New York
Electronic ISBN
978-1-4419-9707-4
Print ISBN
978-1-4419-9706-7
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9707-4

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