Action in action research Melin, Ulf; Axelsson, Karin
Journal of systems and information technology,
05/2016, Letnik:
18, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the concept of action by addressing actions and roles in the practice of action research, illustrated by dilemmas in an action research project on ...information systems development in public sector. The main ambition with action research is being able to solve organisational problems through intervention and to contribute to scientific knowledge. The main emphasis has so far been on the “research part”. Here the authors focus on the “action part” of action research to generate rigorous research, to solve local problems and to deal with evident dilemmas in action research.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a qualitative case study. The empirical illustrations of this paper originate from an action research project that focused the two e-service development initiatives analysed below. The analysis is structured using key aspects and phases proposed by Avison et al. (2001). As a result of the analysis, the concept of action is elaborated. The action elements action, actor, motive, space and time are analysed together with different roles. This goes beyond the existing action research literature.
Findings
The conclusions show that there is a need to understand actions and roles within action research projects – not separating action from research. Research is also seen as action. The practice of action research is also discussed as context-bounded interactive social action: action research as a recurrent, interactive and dynamic activity. It is also identified that the understanding of roles, actions and interaction can help handle dilemmas in action research.
Research Limitations/implications
The authors contribute to the body of knowledge concerning action research in the information systems research field and in general by exploring the need to study the concept of action (e.g. situations and elements), to be explicit concerning the different phases, roles and responsibilities and management of different dilemmas in action research. A limitation of this study is that the inter-organisational development character in this study adds an extra dimension into the practice of actions research only partially highlighted. Another limitation is focus on public agencies. However, this is not critical for the results on action elements and the action research dilemmas that are studied.
Practical Implications
The understanding of roles, actions and interaction can solve the dilemmas and challenges linked to the practice of action research in the information systems field, but such understanding can help discover and handle dilemmas in action research.
Originality/value
The originality in this research is an illustration of and a perspective of action research as a context-bounded interactive social action: action research as a recurrent, interactive and dynamic activity. The value is that this knowledge can help handle dilemmas in action research.
Purpose - The purpose of 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 (IO) e-service projects.Design methodology approach - The analysis in the paper is made from an e-government systems development life cycle perspective and a challenge and success factor perspective. The point of departure is theory and a comparative analysis of two e-government projects.Findings - The main results in this paper are: a combination of perspectives (in a project stage and analysis grid) that can serve as a support when managing e-service development and a set of identified crucial success factors within an IO e-government project including project manager skills and position in the agency organization as well as when and how systems maintenance issues are introduced into a project. Existing theory and perspectives are also criticised based on the present study.Practical implications - Lessons to learn from a challenge and success factors perspective in two different e-government projects, and suggestions to revise an e-government development life cycle in order to perform a better practice in the field. The revised developed project stage and analysis grid presented in the paper is one way to deal with the challenges related to the management of e-service development in the public sector.Originality value - The paper addresses a number of challenges of complexity and risk that e-government initiatives face. It is not an easy matter to realize such initiatives' potential. 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. This is the niche for the present paper.
There is currently an ongoing, global race to develop, implement, and make use of AI in both the private and public sectors. How AI will affect responsibilities and public values to be upheld by ...government remains to be seen. This paper analyzes how AI is portrayed in Swe-dish policy documents and what values are attributed to the use of AI, based on an established e-government value framework. Statements are identified in policy documents and are coded into one of four value ideals, as well as being either a benefit, a consideration, or a risk. We conclude that there is discrepancy in the policy level discourse concerning AI between the dif-ferent value ideals and that the discourse surrounding AI is overly optimistic. A more nuanced view of AI in government is needed to create realistic expectations.
Purpose
– This article compares inter-organizational (IO) interaction and inter-organizational information systems (IOS) to support IO interaction in public and private sectors. The purpose of the ...article is to explore and discuss differences and similarities between e-government and e-business focusing IOS and interaction. This is done in order to facilitate learning between the two fields. The point of departure is two case studies performed in private and public sectors.
Design/methodology/approach
– A comparative study of two cases in two sectors (private and public) is conducted. IO concepts from industrial markets that characterize an IO relationship (continuity, complexity, symmetry, and formality) and concepts that describe dimensions of such relationships (links, bonds, and ties) are used as analytical lenses. The empirical case study data, mainly generated from interviews, have been analyzed in a qualitative, interpretive way, using these central IO concepts from industrial markets (the IMP approach). This approach is in line with a strategy to use theory as a part of an iterative process of data collection and analysis.
Findings
– The findings in the present study show that there are several similarities concerning interaction in relations between organizations in the two sectors. There are also differences depending on the level of analysis (empirical level vs analytical level). The study shows the need to be explicit regarding organizational value, end-customer or client/citizen value and the type of objects that are exchanged in the interaction. This is presented in the article together with suggested refinements of the analytical framework used for understanding IO interaction. The latter finding is a contribution to the general field of interaction and network studies and also a contribution to the e-government field.
Practical implications
– This article is a point of departure to facilitate learning between the public and the private sectors focusing on IO relations and IOS. Learning between the two sectors is needed for researchers in the two areas as well as policy makers and practitioners developing e-government interaction and IOS.
Originality/value
– There are few articles addressing learning between the private and the public sector within the e-government area. Not at least when focusing IO issues. There is also a tendency that wheels are reinvented in the sectors and in the e-government research area. An important initiative in this article is to contribute in filling this gap by providing examples of a comparative analysis as well as understanding of how to perform such analyses of IO interaction.
The main purpose of this paper is to discuss the spectrum of interpretations that can be related to the implementation and use of a healthcare information system (HIS). The empirical part of this ...paper is based on a qualitative case study of a Swedish healthcare provider, called “Alpha”, where a HIS was implemented. By studying how different actors interpret technological and organizational changes in a healthcare case, we mirror different images of the implementation project. Put together, this diversity of images provides an illustration of the complexity associated with the process of implementing a HIS. We apply an adjusted version of Orlikowski's practice lens, with its roots in Structuration Theory, in order to study technology in organizations (focusing inertia, application and change). The implementation process of a HIS is much too complex to be judged as being either entirely positive or negative; instead it offers an illustration of the multi-faceted and reciprocal relation between IS and organization. This challenge literature on critical success factors. This study illustrates several images of HIS implementation and use. Highlighting images is one way to illustrate reluctance, support, complexity and power that are present in HIS implementation and use. This is one important contribution from this article. The complexity in the implementation is linked to healthcare organizations as professional bureaucracies, being highly politicized and institutionalized and to the IT artefact as an integrated HIS. Viewing images as rational myths is also discussed in this paper as an original approach to understand HIS implementation.
•The use of images as a concept to study HIS implementation and use.•An analysis of HIS implementation challenges using ST.•Illustrative case study of HIS implementation and use.•CSF literature critique.
The intangible and (often) young nature of socio-technical phenomena makes them difficult to understand and communicate. Researchers and practitioners have responded by applying metaphors, ...prescribing an epistemological structure to these phenomena. While metaphors are frequently applied, researchers have paid limited attention to their applications and limitations. To address this gap, we applied a mixed-method approach, exploring the communities’ applications of metaphors for the conceptual development of socio-technical phenomena, using two communities: Open Government Data and IT Development and Maintenance. We synthesised 21 articles and two books into an emergent analytical framework, Communities’ Applications Of Metaphors (CAOM). We collected empirical material for each community’s academic and practical sides between 2015–2020, resulting in 100 articles and 263 documents. We conducted a word frequency analysis and an in-depth analysis of the empirical material, drawing on CAOM. The contributions are the emergent CAOM framework with the key concepts of metaphors’ usage, expression, and assemblages of metaphors. We conclude that the application of metaphors in communities is influenced by community type and metaphors’ role, while the topic influences metaphor selection. Metaphors are combined to create new ways of reasoning. We recommend that governments draw on action-oriented metaphors when writing policies for socio-technical phenomena, while digital government researchers should include action-oriented elements when they develop metaphors, which can help practitioners put new knowledge into practice.
To couple or not to couple Melin, Ulf; Sarkar, Pradip K.; Young, Leslie W.
Information technology & people (West Linn, Or.),
07/2020, Letnik:
33, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Purpose
The predominant narrative is that contemporary organisations, motivated by economic-rationalist aspirations, adopt cloud applications on the premise of achieving cost-savings and efficiency ...gains. However, how they actually adopt and rollover such new or emerging technologies may be influenced by acts, patterns and processes of institutional legitimacy. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics surrounding decisions on how specific cloud applications are adopted from the context of institutional theory, with a particular focus on the concepts of coupling and decoupling.
Design/methodology/approach
To examine this phenomenon, two qualitative case studies, using a reflexive research approach, of an Australian and a Swedish university have been undertaken, both of which adopted commercial cloud applications for e.g. e-mail, collaboration and storage (as examples of software as a service) at different points in time. One of the universities was known for its early adoption of cloud applications, but had decelerated further deployment of such services, while the other, despite its conservative reputation, has made rapid strides in this regard.
Findings
The findings of the dual case studies reveal that organisations, contrary to economic-rationalist claims, may or may not decide to adopt particular commercial cloud-based offerings for the support of core operations, on the basis of how they perceive their institutional legitimacy being affected by a complex network of influential actors, both internally and in the external spaces. Therefore, this paper offers an institutional theory-based discourse and rich illustrations on how the role of technology is played out in enhancing relationships between an organisation and such actors in terms of legitimacy focusing acts of coupling and decoupling.
Originality/value
In the analysis and findings the authors, in a novel way, illustrate how organisations strive for: institutional legitimacy through acts of coupling, and the revelations of consequential decoupling. The value is based on a rich case description, analysis and application of institutional theory.
The main purpose of this paper is to discuss whether an enterprise system (ES) is a part of an organization's administrative paradox. The paper aims to question which role the ES has in organizing, ...focusing aspects of flexibility and stability. The paper is a qualitative, longitudinal, case study of how an ES maintains, and even reinforces, existing administrative organizational structures. The theoretical lens used is mainly structuration theory. An ES can 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 studied ES even centralizes control, creates norms, and enhances power for actors in positions of authority (top management). Because of its structure and configuration the ES is a powerful tool to coordinate. The ES is considered to be organizationally ungainly, but at the same time indispensable. The paper provides valuable insights on how the studied organizations try to deal with standardization/stability and flexibility that can be valuable for other system users or implementers to learn from, as well as the analysis as a whole. The paper combines structuration theory and theories covering the administrative paradox and aspects of coordination in order to analyze and discuss the implementation and use of an ES.
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