A SMART Seminar delivered on July 9, 2012 by Associate Professor Rajeev Sharma from the School of Information Systems and Technology at the University of Wollongong.

1. IS Research: Research Issues and Theoretical
Foundations
Seminar presented by
Rajeev Sharma
School of Information Systems and Technology
University of Wollongong
at
SMART Infrastructure Facility
University of Wollongong
July 9, 2012

2. Agenda
Overview of IS research
Some key research agendas in IS research
IS implementation
IS and strategy
IS and e-democracy
IS and decision-making
IS development
Overview of SISAT Research Centres
SMART-SISAT collaboration
2

3. Sample papers: MIS Quarterly June 2012
The Asymmetric Benefits of Relational Flexibility:
Evidence from Software Development Outsourcing
Enacting Clan Control in Complex IT Projects: A
Social Capital Perspective
Understanding User Revisions When Using
Information Systems Features: Adaptive System Use
and Triggers
Efficiency or Innovation: How Do Industry
Environments Moderate the Effects of Firms’ IT Asset
Portfolios
Toward a New Theory of the Contribution of the IT
Function in Organizations
3

4. Phenomena and context of IS research
Individual
use, motivation, affect, power
Project
management, control, performance, SA&D, CASE
Organisational
performance, competitive advantage, transformation
Government
e-government, e-democracy, surveillance
Societal
transformation, ethics, power, emancipation, economic
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5. IS research is multi-disciplinary
Psychology
motivation, performance, change
Sociology
institutionalization, structure, transformation
Management, organisational behaviour
strategy, strategic management, governance, change
Economics
competition, business value
Cybernetics, systems theory
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6. IS research is multi-method
Case studies
Surveys
Time series data
Experiments
Simulations
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7. Agenda for IS implementation research
How can IS applications be more
effectively implemented?
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8. Classical IS implementation success model
Yetton, Sharma and Southon, JIT 1999 (adapted from Leonard-Barton and Deschamps, 1988)
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9. TMS and IS implementation success
Sharma and Yetton, MISQ 2003 9

10. Training and IS implementation success
Sharma and Yetton, MISQ 2007 10

11. Configuration effects in implementation
MIT90s configurational model (Adapted from Scott Morton, 1991)
Sharma, Yetton and Zmud, I&O 2008 11

12. Implementation of elemental change
Technology upgrade
case
Change in one (or
more) elements
No interdependencies
among changes
No configurational
effects
Low implementation
costs
Sharma, Yetton and Zmud, I&O 2008
12

13. Implementation of sequential change
Payment system
case
Change in multiple
elements
Interdependencies
among changes
Moderate
configurational
effects
Medium
implementation
costs
Sharma, Yetton and Zmud, I&O 2008 13

14. Implementation of reciprocal and sequential change
Budgeting system
case
Change in multiple
elements
Interdependencies
among changes
Strong
configurational
effects
High
implementation
costs
Sharma, Yetton and Zmud, I&O 2008
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15. Interdependence effects on implementation costs
T = Technology; I = Individual roles and skills; M = Management processes; Sc = Structure;
Sg = Strategy
Sharma, Yetton and Zmud, I&O 2008
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16. Implications for EHR implementation
EHR: key infrastructure for health care delivery
Highly institutionalized environment
Commonwealth, State, Areas
doctors, nurses, administrators
Adaptation actions at multiple levels
clinics, hospitals, areas
intra- and inter-organisational workflows
High managerial costs, long process
sustained top management effort at multiple levels
Natural experiment
opportunities for theory building
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17. EHR implementation success model
Sharma, ARC Research Proposal 2012
17

18. Agenda for IS in decision-making research
How does IS affect
decision-making,
decision-making processes,
performance of ICT-enabled teams?
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19. Key issues IS & decision-making research
IS key infrastructure for decision-making
dashboards, business intelligence, data warehouses
policy decisions, strategic decisions
quality of decisions, acceptance of decisions
Impact on decision-making processes
devolution of decision-making
operational decisions vs investment decisions
EJIS Special Issue on Transforming decision-making
http://www.palgrave-
journals.com/ejis/CFP_EJIS_TDM.pdf
19

20. Agenda for research into IS development
How can we develop IS applications
more successfully?
Design and development of better IS
development tools
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21. Factors Affecting Budget Overrun
Budget End-user
Newness
Overrun participation
Size
Technical
Strategic
difficulties
nature
+ End-user
Org Risks resistance
Management
commitment Instability
Conflict
Clear
objectives Communication Planning
of Objectives
Yetton et al., Information Systems Journal 2000 21

22. Model of IS Project Success
Budget Overrun Scope Completion
Performance driven IS project management
Good planning
Stable team
Active top management support
Clarify scope and objectives
Communicate scope and objectives Resource commitment
© Rajeev Sharma, University of Wollongong 22

23. Agenda for IS-strategy research
How does IS affect
organisational performance,
innovation performance,
organisational structure?
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24. Key issues in IS-strategy research
Organisational performance
competitive advantage, business value of IT
Innovation performance
new product development, co-creation of value,
competitive moves, agility, dynamic capabilities
Organisational structure
boundary of the firm, outsourcing, partnering,
strategic alliances, BPR
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25. IS strategy and organizational performance
Sharma and Shanks, AMCIS 2011
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26. Agenda for e-democracy research
How does the design of IS artifacts
underpinning e-democracy
have an impact on the outcomes
of e-democracy?
Sharma, PACIS 2011 26

27. Theoretical issues
IS key infrstructure for e-democracy
Discourse theory
long, equal and open collective deliberation would
deliver consensual and legitimate outcomes
Social choice theory
all voting rules are in conflict with some basic
democratic norm
democratic process produces outcomes that are
irrational and unstable
Sharma, PACIS 2011 27

28. Practical resolution
Participation-limiting structures
procedures (rules) that limit participation and impose
justifiable limits on freedom can produce stable
and rational social outcomes
Representative democracy as an example
rules for choosing decision-makers
rules for decision-making processes
designed and emergent rules
Sharma, PACIS 2011 28

29. Investigating effect of P-L structures
e-democracy outcomes
Participation- • process efficiency
limiting and • legitimacy of outcomes
decision-making • transparency
structures • political identities
• embedded in IS • social preferences
• emergent • agency problem
• economic prosperity
Mediating variables? • citizen welfare
Moderating • individual rights, property rights
variables? • minority rights
Other antecedent • law and order
variables? • national security
Sharma, PACIS 2011 29

30. Centre for Business and Social Innovation
“technology-enabled business and social
innovation”
“Associate Professor Katina Michael spoke
about the moral and ethical dilemmas of
emerging technologies at the
inaugural TEDxUWollongong”
http://cbsi.uow.edu.au/index.html
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31. Centre for e-Health
“focus on innovative areas in health informatics
and e-health research, especially areas
capitalizing on emerging ICTs”
ARC DP: “comparative study of attempts to
implement large-scale EHR systems”
ARC LP: “Enhancing patient management at
point of care using electronic-based clinical
pathways”
http://www.uow.edu.au/~lindad/Centre_for_e-
Health_Site/Centre_for_e-Health.html
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32. Centre for Socio Technical IS
“researching the IS development activities of
system analysis and design … modelling
techniques to support development
methodologies”
“Towards agent-oriented approach to a call
management system”
“Development of a peer-to-peer information sharing
system using ontologies”
https://ris.uow.edu.au/ris_public/WebObjects/RISPublic.woa/
wa/default?group=2385
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33. Centre for Digital Ecosystems
“National Smart Infrastructure Award in recognition
of their innovative approach to investigating the use
of new technologies to measure public transport
usage, and the community’s views on the use of this
technology”
“social media website "The Virtual Museum of the
Pacific" and the "Connected Mobility Digital
Ecosystem“
http://cde.cs.uow.edu.au/
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34. So, what is IS research?
Very broad research agenda
some common themes
Implications of IS for the social, business,
organisational, user and other use contexts
interdependent systems involving ICT, people, work
systems
ICT as key infrastructure enabler
change, transformation, improvement, success
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35. SMART-SISAT joint research themes
“to provide the data and analytical capability
to successfully create and execute a national
integrated infrastructure plan for Australia.”
policy, strategy, decision-making
transforming decision-making processes
successful implementation of IS
managing IS projects
“collaboration with infrastructure planners,
designers and researchers”
IS-enabled collaboration, virtual team performance
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36. Questions
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