Information systems development as situated socio-technical change: a process approach

Authors: McLeod, Laurie¹; Doolin, Bill²

Source: European Journal of Information Systems, Volume 21, Number 2, 25 March 2012 , pp. 176-191(16)

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Abstract:

We outline a process approach for conducting qualitative research on how contemporary information systems (IS) development is enacted in practice. The approach involves a longitudinal case study to obtain rich data from which a detailed process narrative is produced. The narrative is informed by a conceptual model of IS development as situated socio-technical change, generating a theoretical explanation that highlights the temporal, emergent and contingent nature of IS development. This approach extends prior process studies of IS development by focusing on micro-level project activities, examining change as a continuous process and theorising IS change as the outcome of a dynamic trajectory of situated and socio-technical interactions. The methodological approach developed here can be used by other researchers to inform process studies of this complex organisational phenomenon.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/ejis.2011.43

Affiliations: 1: School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand 2: Business School, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand

Publication date: 2012-03-25