IS Research: Behavioral Perspectives

B20.3382

10/10/05

Professor Natalia Levina Information Systems Area 8-78 Kaufman Management Center 212-998-0850 nlevina@stern.nyu.edu

Professor Lee Sproull Office of the Dean 11-55 Kaufman Management Center 212-998-0804 lsproull@stern.nyu.edu

 

In general, the course meets on Tuesdays, 9:30-12:30pm, in KMC 8-191. However, some sessions take place at a different time. The most up to date version of course documents can be found on Blackboard.

 

Overview

This course is intended to generate understanding of the philosophical, theoretical, and empirical foundations of the behavioral study of information technology. The course involves reading and discussion of the research literature which includes individual, group, organizational, and societal level phenomena surrounding the development, use, and implications of information technology.

 

Goals:

• Get familiar with IS literature on topics of interest to behavioral IS researchers
• Provide a roadmap for understanding IS behavioral research
• Give a sense of what makes top quality research in the area
• Help formulate an interesting topic to execute a study

 

Activities:

• This is a seminar not a lecture course, which means that it is based on active class interaction. Students are expected to come to class fully prepared to discuss all the readings on a particular topic. To prepare for discussion, you should read the following note on How to Read a Behavioral Research Paper .” Class participation grades will be allocated on the basis of both the quality and quantity of contribution.
• Students are required to lead and facilitate several class sessions during the course of the semester. One or two students will lead each session depending on the enrollment. This involves activity before, during, and after the class session. Before the class session, the student should become familiar with all the readings for that class and prepare themes and questions for class discussion. It is recommended that the student meet with the instructor a few days before the class session to discuss the relevance of particular issues and themes. During the class session, the student will provide a 15 - 20 minute overview of the important themes and issues raised by the readings, will then facilitate a discussion of these and related topics for the remainder of the session, including closing the session in the last 10 - 15 minutes of the class. After the class session, the student will prepare a summary of the themes, issues, and questions discussed, and distribute this to the rest of the class by the next session. Grades for facilitating a session will depend on the level of preparation, framing of overview and summary, and quality of discussion facilitated. 
• Each student is responsible for preparing reading summaries before each class and preparing take-away thoughts/reactions after each class. Summary documents should be short and should be posted on Blackboard classroom management site before the class (How to Prepare a Paper Summary).  One paragraph take-away thoughts should be posted on the discussion board on Blackboard after the class.
• Students will prepare six (out of a possible thirteen) reaction papers on assigned readings. These two-page papers are due at the beginning of each class, and are intended to evoke some thoughtful consideration of the material read, for example, exploring an issue or concept in greater depth, raising some theoretical or empirical questions, comparing and contrasting approaches or findings across the readings, etc.
• To integrate course material, students will write a ten page research proposal paper, which is due on May 13^th, 2004. This paper provides an opportunity for students to reflect upon and integrate ideas across sessions. The paper should formulate an interesting research question in the area of behavioral IS research and position the research question within background literature.  Unlike the standard research proposal, the paper should conclude with only a very short methodology section that identifies possible venues for gathering data to address research question.
• Some of the sessions may be conducted with an involvement of Prof. Michael Davern from the University of Melbourne via videoconferencing.

 

Grading:

Reaction Papers	20%
Summaries and Takeaways	10%
Class Participation	20%
Leading Class Discussion	20%
Research Proposal Paper	30%

 

Accessing Readings:

Yvonne Perez in the Information Systems department will have original copies of each reading.  Students should see her and make a personal copy of the selected reading.  Please see her only when you are ready to make a copy, lest others need the reading and find it missing.  Up-to-date list of readings will be provided before the term begins.

 

Part I:  Introduction (January 27)

SESSION 1 Frameworks for Understanding Behavioral IS Research – Natalia Leads

Readings for Session 1:

Required:

Burrell, G. and G. Morgan (1979). Sociological Paradigms and Organisational analysis: Elements of the Sociology of Corporate Life. London, Heinemann.

Orlikowski, W.J. and Baroudi, J.J. “Studying Information Technology in Organizations: Research Approaches and Assumptions,” Information Systems Research, 2, 1, 1991: 1-28.

Lee, S.C. and Lee, H.G., “The importance of Change Management after ERP Implementation: An Information Capability Perspective,” ICIS 2004 Proceedings

Lee, J.C. and Myers, M., “The Challenges of Enterprise Integration: Cycles of Integration and Disintegration over Time”, ICIS 2004 Proceedings

Skim:

Rosemann M., Vessey, I., and Weber R, “Alignment in Enterprise Systems Implementation: The Roel of Ontological Distance,” ICIS 2004 Proceedings

 

Supplementary:

Banville, C. and M. Landry (1989). Can the Field of MIS be Disciplined. Communications of the ACM 32(1): 48-60.

Klein, H.K., and Myers, M.D. "A Set of Principles for Conducting and Evaluating Interpretive Field Studies in Information Systems," MIS Quarterly (23:1) 1999, pp 67-92.

Pfeffer, J. “Barriers to the Advance of Organizational Science: Paradigm Development as a Dependent Variable,” Academy of Management Review, 18, 4: 1993: 599-620.

Robey, D. and Boudreau, M-C. “Accounting for the Contradictory Organizational Consequences of Information Technology: Theoretical Directions and Methodological Implications,” Information Systems Research, 10, 2, 1999: 167-185.

Van Maanen, J. “Style as Theory,” Organization Science, 6, 1: 1995: 132-143.

Walsham, G. “The Emergence of Interpretivism in IS Research,” Information Systems Research 6, 4, 1995: 376-394.

 

PART II:  Information Technology Creation

SESSION 2: Designing Technology for Use – ( February 3^rd)

Readings for Session 2:

Required:

John, B. and D.E. Kieras. (1996).  Using GOMS for user interface design and evaluation: which technique? ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction 3(4): 287-319.

Salvatore Parise, Sara Kiesler, Lee Sproull, Keith Waters.  1999.  Cooperating with life-like interface agents.  Computers in Human Behavior, 15: 123-142.

Hollan, J., Hutchins, E. & D. Kirsh (2000).  “Distributed cognition: toward a new foundation for human-computer interaction research.”  ACM Transactions on Computer Human Interaction, 7(2): 174-196

Suchman, L. (1995). "Representations of work: Making work visible." Association for Computing Machinery. Communications of the ACM 38(9): 56-64.

Supplementary:

Bowker, G.C., Timmermans, S. and Star, S.L. Infrastructure and Organizational Transformation: Classifying Nurse's Work, in W.J. Orlikowski, G. Walsham, M. Jones, and J. DeGross (eds.) Information Technology and Changes in Organizational Work, London: Chapman & Hall, 1996.

Davern, M. J., D. Te'eni, & J. Moon (2002). Build it (right) and they will come (back)! The Dynamics of Behavior in Information Environments. Under review at MIS Quarterly.

Vicente, K. J. (2000). HCI in the Global Knowledge-Based Economy: Designing to Support Worker Adaptation." ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction 7(2): 263-280.

Vicente, K. J. (2002). Ecological Interface Design: Progress and Challenges. Human Factors 44(1): 62-78.

Nielsen, J.  and J. Levy, (1994). Measuring Usability: Preference versus Performance.  Communications of the ACM. 37(4): pp 65-75.

John, B. (1995) “Why GOMS?”.  Interactions 2(4): pp. 80-89.

John, B. and D.E. Kieras.  1996. The GOMS family of analysis techniques: Comparison and contrast. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction 3(4): 320-351.

Terveen, L. G. and W. Hill (2001). Human-Computer Collaboration in Recommender Systems. HCI in the New Millennium. J. Carroll. New York, NY, Addison Wesley.

Good, N., Schafer, J.B., Konstan, J., Borchers, A., Sarwar, B., Herlocker, J., and Riedl, J. (1999). Combining Collaborative Filtering with Personal Agents for Better Recommendations. In: Proceedings of the 1999 Conference of the American Association of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-99). pp 439-446. Reprinted at: http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/research.html

Jenn Goetz and Sara Kiesler (2002).  Social scripts of a robotic assistant: matching robots to tasks.  CMU HCII: unpublished paper

Suchman, L. “Do Categories have Politics?” in Friedman’s Book below

Winograd, T. “Categories, Disciplines, and Social Coordination,” in Friedman’s Book below

Friedman, B. (ed.).1997.  Human Values and the Design of Computer Technology.  Cambridge: CLSI Publications. (selected articles)

 

SESSION 3: Information Systems Development in Organizations (February 10^th)

Readings for Session 3:

Required:

Robey, D. and M. L. Markus (1984). "Rituals in Information System Design." MIS Quarterly March: 5-15.

Boland, R. J., Jr. (1978). "The Process and Product of System Design." Management Science 24(9): 887-898.

Barki, H. and J. Hartwick (1994). "User Participation, Conflict, and Conflict-Resolution - the Mediating Roles of Influence." Information Systems Research 5(4): 422-438.

Levina, N. "Collaborative Practices in Information Systems Development: A Collective Reflection-in-Action Framework," 23rd International Conference on Information Systems, Barcelona, Spain, 2002.

Supplementary:

Agarwal, R., De, P., Sinha, A., and Tanniru, M. "On the usability of OO representations," Communications of the ACM (43:10) 2000, pp 83-89.

Banker, R., and Slaughter, S. "A field study of scale economies in software maintenance," Management Science (43:12) 1997, pp 1709-1725.

Banker, R., Davis, G., and Slaughter, S. "Software development practices, software complexity, and software maintenance performance: a field study," Management Science (44:4) 1998, pp 433-450.

Beath, C.M., and Orlikowski, W.J. "The Contradictory Structure of Systems-Development Methodologies - Deconstructing the Is-User Relationship in Information Engineering," Information Systems Research (5:4) 1994, pp 350-377.

Bødker, S., Ehn, P., Knudsen, J., Kyng, M., and Madsen, K. "Computer support for cooperative design," Conference on Computer-supported cooperative work, Association for Computing Machinery, Portland, OR USA, 1988, pp. 377-394.

Bødker, S. "Creating conditions for participation: conflicts and resources in systems development," Human-Computer Interaction (11:3) 1996, pp 215-236.

Boland, R.J., Jr "Control, Causality and Information System Requirements," Accounting, Organizations and Society (4:4) 1979, pp 259-272.

Faraj, S., and Sproull, L. "Coordinating Expertise in Software Development Teams," Management Science (46:12), December 2000, pp 1554-1568.

Guinan, P., Cooprider, S., and Faraj, S. "Enabling software development team performance during requirement definition: A behavioral versus technical approach," Information Systems Research (9) 1998, pp 101-125.

Harter, D., Krishnan, M., and Slaughter, S. "Effects of process maturity on quality, cycle time, and effort in software product development," Management Science (46:4) 2000, pp 451-466.

Iivari, J., Hirschheim, R.A., and Klein, H. "A Paradigmatic Analysis of Contrasting Information Systems Development Approaches and Methodologies," Information Systems Research (9:2), June 1998, pp 164-193

Kirsch, L.J. "The management of complex tasks in organizations: Controlling the systems development process," Organization Science (7:1) 1996, pp 1-21.

Kirsch, L., Sambamurthy, V., Ko, D.-G., and Purvis, R. "Controlling Information Systems Development Projects: The View from the Client," Management Science (48:4), April 2002, pp 484-498.

Kraut, R.E., and Streeter, L.A. "Coordination in Software Development," Communications of the ACM (38:3), March 1995, pp 69-81.

Newman, M. and D. Robey (1992). "A Social-Process Model of User-Analyst Relationships." Mis Quarterly 16(2): 249-266.

Sabherwal, Rajiv; Robey, Daniel “ Reconciling variance and process strategies for studying information system development,” Information Systems Research;; Dec 1995.

Orlikowski, W.J. "CASE tools as organizational change: Investigating incremental and radical changes in systems development," MIS Quarterly (17:3), September 1993, pp 309-340.

Wastell, D. "Learning dysfunctions in information systems development: overcoming the social defenses with transitional objects," MIS Quarterly (23:4) 1999, pp 581-600.

 

SESSION 4: Managing IT Function (February 17^th)

Readings for Session 4:

Required:

Chan, Y.E., Huff, S.L., Barclay, D.W., and Copeland, D.G. "Business strategic orientation, information systems strategic orientation, and strategic alignment," Information Systems Research (8:2), Jun 1997, p 125.

Sambamurthy, V., and Zmud, R.W. "Arrangements for information technology governance:  A theory of multiple contingencies," MIS Quarterly (23:2), Jun 1999, p 261.

Ang, S., and Straub, D. "Production and Transaction Economies and IS Outsourcing: A Study of the U.S. Banking Industry," MIS Quarterly (22:4), December 1998, pp 535-552.

Ang, S., Slaughter, S., and Ng, K.Y. "Human capital and institutional determinants of information technology compensation:  Modeling multilevel and cross-level interactions," Management Science (48:11), Nov 2002, p 1427 (Skim)

Supplementary:

IT Alignment and Infrastructure

Broadbent, M., and Weill, P. "Improving business and information strategy alignment: Learning from the banking industry," IBM Systems Journal (32:1) 1993, p 162.

Brown, C.V. "Horizontal mechanisms under differing IS organization contexts," MIS Quarterly (23:3) 1999, pp 421-454.

Brown, C.V., and Ross, J.W. "The information systems balancing act: building partnerships and infrastructure," Information Technology & People (9:1) 1996, p 49.

Ross, J.W., Vitale, M.R., and Beath, C.M. "The untapped potential of IT chargeback," MIS Quarterly (23:2), Jun 1999 1999, p 215.

Ross, J.W., and Weill, P. "Six decisions your IT people shouldn't make," Harvard Business Review (80:11), Nov 2002 2002, p 84.

Robey, D., Ross, J.W., and Boudreau, M.-C. "Learning to implement enterprise systems: An exploratory study of the dialectics of change," Journal of Management Information Systems (19:1), Summer 2002, p 17.

Weill, P., and Vitale, M. "Assessing the health of an information systems applications portfolio:  An example from process manufacturing," MIS Quarterly (23:4), 1999 1999, p 601.

Weill, P., and Vitale, M. "What it infrastructure capabilities are needed to implement e-business models?," MIS Quarterly (1:1), Mar 2002, p 17.

IT Outsourcing

Lacity, M.C., and Willcocks, L.P. "An Empirical Investigation of Information Technology Sourcing Practices: Lessons From Experience," MIS Quarterly (22:3), September 1998, pp 363-408.

Levina, N., and Ross, J.W. "From the Vendor's Perspective: Exploring the Value Proposition in IT Outsourcing," MIS Quarterly (27:3), September 2003, pp 331-364.

Loh, L., and Venkatraman, N. "Diffusion of Information Technology Outsourcing: Influence Sources and the Kodak Effect," Information Systems Research (3:4), December 1992, pp 334-378.

Sabherwal, R. "The Role of Trust in Outsourced IS Development Projects," Communications of the ACM (42:2), February 1999, pp 80-86.

Kern, T., and Willcocks, L. The relationship advantage : information technologies, sourcing, and management Oxford University Press, Oxford ; New York, 2001, pp. xii, 397. – selected chapter

IT Workers

Ang, S., and Slaughter, S.A. "Work outcomes and job design for contract versus permanent information systems professionals on software development teams," MIS Quarterly (25:3), Sep 2001, p 321.

Lee, P.C.B. "Turnover of Information Technology Professionals: A Contextual Model," Accounting, Management and Information Technologies (10:2), April 2000, pp 101-124.

Levina, N., Xin, M., and Yang, S. "Information Technology Workforce Structure and Compensation in IT services vs. other firms: Implications to IT Outsourcing," 24th International Conference on Information Systems, Seattle, WA, 2003, pp. 759-766.

McMurtrey, M.E., Grover, V., Teng, J.T.C., and Lightner, N.J. "Job satisfaction of information technology workers: The impact of career orientation and task automation in a CASE environment," Journal of Management Information Systems (19:2), Fall 2002, p 273.

Moore, J.E. "One road to turnover:  An examination of work exhaustion in technology professionals," MIS Quarterly (24:1), Mar 2000, p 141.

Moore, J.E., and Burke, L.A. "How to turn around 'Turnover Culture' in IT," Association for Computing Machinery. Communications of the ACM (45:2), Feb 2002, p 73.

 

PART III:  Information Technology In Use

SESSION 5: Technology Adoption (February 24^th)

Readings for Session 5:

Required:

Venkatesh, V. and F. D. Davis 2000. A theoretical extension of the technology acceptance model: Four longitudinal field studies. Management Science 46(2): 186-204.

Sproull, L., S. Kiesler, and D. Zubrow.  1984.  Encountering an alien culture.  Journal of Social Issues, 40, 3: 31-48.

Orlikowski, W.J. "Using technology and constituting structures: A practice lens for studying technology in organizations," Organization Science (11:4) 2000, pp 404-428.

Supplementary:

Majchrzak, A., Rice, R.E., Malhotra, A., King, N., and Ba, S. "Technology adaptation:  The case of a computer-supported inter-organizational virtual team," MIS Quarterly (24:4), Dec 2000, p 569.

Mathieson, K. (1991). Predicting User Intentions: Comparing the Technology Acceptance Model with the Theory of Planned Behavior. Information Systems Research 2(3): 173-191.

DeSanctis. G. M.S. Poole.  1994.  Capturing the complexity in advanced technology use: Adaptive structuration theory.  Organization Science 5: 121-147.

Kraut, R. E., R.E. Rice, C. Cool, R.S. Fish.  1998.  Varieties of social influence; The role of utility and norms in the success of a new communication medium.  Organization Science 9: 437-453.

Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society: outline of the theory of structuration. Berkeley, University of California Press. (Intro and First Chapter)

 

SESSION 6 Supporting Individual Work (March 3^rd)

Readings for Session 6:

Required:

Bell, D. E., Raiffa, H, & A. Tversky. (1988). "Descriptive, Normative, and Prescriptive Interactions in Decision Making" Chapter 1 in Decision making: Descriptive, normative, and prescriptive interactions. Cambridge, England, Cambridge University Press: pp. 9-32

Todd, P. and I. Benbasat (1999). “Evaluating the impact of DSS, cognitive effort, and incentives on strategy selection.” Information Systems Research 10(4): 356-374.

 

Supplementary:

Kottemann, J. E. and W. E. Remus (1989). “A Study of the Relationship Between Decision Model Naturalness and Performance.” MIS Quarterly 13 (2): 171-181.

Davern, M.J. (2002). “Fit and Individual Performance with Information Technology”, working paper.

 

SESSION 7: Communication: Basic Models (March 10^th)

Readings for Session 7:

Required:

Sproull, L. and S. Kiesler.  1986.  Reducing social context cues: Electronic mail in organizational communication.  Management Science, 32:1492-1512 *Review*

Walther, J. B. (1996). Computer-mediated communication: Impersonal, interpersonal, and hyperpersonal interaction. Communication Research, 23: 1-43.

Yates, J., and Orlikowski, W. "Genre systems:  Structuring interaction through communication norms," The Journal of Business Communication (39:1), Jan 2002 2002, p 13.

Supplementary:

Fulk, J., C. Steinfeld, J. Schmitz, G. Power.  1987.  A social information processing model of media use in organizations.  Communication Research 14: 529-552.  <or a more recent one>

Orlikowski, W.J., and Yates, J. "Genre repertoire: The structuring of communicative practices in organizations," Administrative Science Quarterly (39:4) 1994, pp 541-574.

Postmes, Tom; Spears, Russell; Lea, Martin (1998). Breaching or building social boundaries? SIDE-effects of computer-mediated communication.  Communication Research, 25(6), 689-715.

 

NYU Spring Vacation March 14 to 21

 

SESSION 8: Communication: Group Processes (March 24^th)

Readings for Session 8:

Required:

Check out this web sites before the class: http://www.groupsystems.com/  (specifically http://www.groupsystems.com/products/meetingroom.htm) and http://www.ventana.co.uk/index.htm

Nunamaker, J.; Briggs, R.; Mittleman, D.; Vogel, D. 1997.  Lessons from a Dozen Years of Group Support Systems Research: A  Discussion of Lab and Field Findings.  Journal of MIS, 13:163-207.

Cramton, Catherine.  2001.  The mutual knowledge problem and its consequences for dispersed collaboration.  Organization Science, 12: 346-371.

Jarvenpaa, S.L., and Leidner, D.E. "Communication and trust in global virtual teams," Organization Science (10:6), Nov/Dec 1999, p 791.

Supplementary:

Straus, S. G. 1997.  Technology, group process, and group outcomes: testing the connections in computer-mediated and face-to-face groups.  Human-Computer Interaction 12: 227-266.

Morris, M., Nadler, J., Kurtzberg, T., & Thompson, L. 2002. Schmooze or lose: Social friction and lubrication in e-mail negotiations. Group Dynamics, 6: 89-100.

Thompson, L., & Nadler, J. 2002. Negotiating via information technology: Theory and application. Journal of Social Issues, 58: 109-124.

Maznevski, M. & Chudoba, K. 2000. Bridging space over time. Global virtual team dynamics and effectiveness. Organizational Science, 11: 473-492.

Wiesenfeld, B.M., Raghuram, S., & Garud, R.  1999.  Communication patterns as determinants of organizational identification in a virtual organization.  Organization Science, 10: 777-790.

Olson, G. M. & Olson, J. S. 1997. Research on computer supported cooperative work. In The Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction, Elsevier.

Limayem, M and G. DeSanctis.  2000.  Providing decisional guidance for multicriteria decision making in groups.  Information Systems Research, 11: 4. 

Valacich, J.S., & Schwenk, C. 1995. Devil's advocacy and dialectical inquiry effects on group decision making using computer-mediated versus verbal communication. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 63: 158-173.

Dennis, A. R., & Williams, M. L. (In press). Electronic brainstorming: Theory, research and future directions. In P. B. Paulus (Ed.), Group creativity. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Connolly, Terry. 1993. Behavioral decision theory and group support systems.  In L. Jessup & J. Valacich (Eds.). Group Support Systems, pp.270-280. NY: Macmillan.

Pinsoneault, A., Barki, H., Gallupe, R.,. & Hoppen, N. 1999. Electronic brainstorming: The illusion of productivity. Information Systems Research,10: 110-133.

Dennis, A. R., B. H. Wixom, et al. 2001. Understanding fit and appropriation effects in group support systems via meta-analysis. MIS Quarterly, 25: 167-93.

McLeod, P., Baron, R. Marti, M., & Yoon, K. 1997. The yeses have it: Minority influence in face-to-face and computer-mediated group discussion. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82: 706-718

 

SESSION 9: Communication: Distributed Work (March 31^st) 

Readings for Session 9:

Required:

Sproull, L.  2005 in press.  Online communities.  In Hosein Bidgoli (ed.), Handbook of Internet Security.  New York: John Wiley.

Sproull, L.,  C. A. Conley, and J. Y. Moon.  2005 in press.  Prosocial behavior on the Net. In Yair Amichahi-Hamburger (ed). The Social Net: the Social Psychology of the Internet.  Oxford: Oxford University Press.

von Hippel, E., and Krogh, v. "Open Source Software and the "Private-Collective" Innovation Model: Issues for Organization Science," Organization Science (14:2) 2003, p 209-

Supplementary:

Finholt, T. and L. Sproull.  1990.  Electronic groups at work.  Organization Science, 1: 41-64. 

Moon, Jae Yun and Lee Sproull.  2000.  Essence of distributed work: The case of the Linux kernel group.  http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_11/moon/           

 

SESSION 10: Knowledge Management: Foundations (April 7th)

Readings for Session 10:

Required:

Kogut, B., and Zander, U. "Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology," Organization Science (3:3), August 1992, pp 383-397.

Alavi, M. and D.E. Leidner.  2002.  Review: Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: Conceptual foundations and research issues.  MISQ, 25: 107-136

Boland, R.J., Jr., and Tenkasi, R.V. "Perspective making and perspective taking in communities of knowing," Organization Science (6:4) 1995, pp 350-372.

Supplementary:

Grant, R.M. "Prospering in dynamically-competitive environments: Organizational capability as knowledge integration," Organization Science (7:4) 1996, pp 375-387.

Nonaka, I. "A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation," Organization Science (5:1) 1994, pp 14-37.

Orlikowski, W.J. "Knowing in practice:  Enacting a collective capability in distributed organizing," Organization Science (13:3), May/Jun 2002, p 249.

Brown, J.S., and Duguid, P. "Organizational Learning and Communities-of-Practice:  Toward a Unified View of Working, Learning, and Innovation," Organization Science (2:1) 1991, pp 40-57.

 

SESSION 11 Knowledge Management: Empirical Studies (April 14^th)

Readings for Session 11:

Required:

Thomas, J.B., Sussman, S.W. and Henderson, J.C. “Understanding ‘Strategic Learning’: Linking Organizational Learning, Knowledge Management, and Sensemaking,” Organization Science, 12, 3, 2001: 331-345.

Pentland, B. T. (1992). Organizing moves in software support hot lines. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37(4), 527-548.

Constant, David, Sara Kiesler, and Lee Sproull.  1996.  The kindness of strangers:  On the usefulness of weak ties for technical advice.  Organization Science, 7: 119-135.

Supplementary:

Hargadon, A., and Sutton, R.I. "Technology brokering and innovation in a product development firm," Administrative Science Quarterly (42:4) 1997, pp 716-749.

Star, S.L., and Griesemer, J.R. "Institutional Ecology, 'Translations' and Boundary Objects:  Amateurs and Professionals in Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology 1907-39," Social Studies of Science (19) 1989, pp 387-420.

Star, S.L. "The Structure of Ill-Structured Solutions:  Boundary Objects and Heterogeneous Distributed Problem Solving," in: Readings in Distributed Artificial Intelligence, M. Huhn and L. Gasser (eds.), Morgan Kaufman, Menlo Park, CA, 1989, pp. 37-54.

Goodman, P.S., and Darr, E.D. "Computer-aided systems and communities: Mechanisms for organizational learning in distributed environments," MIS Quarterly; management information systems (22:4) 1998, pp 417-440.

Inkpen, A.C., and Dinur, A. "Knowledge management processes and international joint ventures," Organization Science (9:4) 1998, pp 454-468.

Watts Sussman, Stephanie and Wendy Siegal. 2003 “Information Influence in Organizations: An Integrated Approach to Knowledge Adoption,” ISR, (14:1), March 2003: 47-65.

 

PART IV:  IT Impact on Work and Organizations

SESSION 12: Organizational Change (April 21^st)

Readings for Session 12:

Required:

Markus, M.L. and D. Robey.  1988.  Information technology and organizational change: Causal structure in theory and research.  Management Science 34: 583-598.

Barley, S.R. "Technology as an Occasion for Structuring - Evidence from Observations of Ct Scanners and the Social-Order of Radiology Departments," Administrative Science Quarterly (31:1), Mar 1986, pp 78-108.

Orlikowski, W.J. "The Duality of Technology: Rethinking the Concept of Technology in Organizations," Organization Science (3:3), August 1992, pp 398-427.

Brynjolfsson, E., Renshaw, A.A., and Van Alstyne, M. "The Matrix of Change," Sloan Management Review (38:2), Winter 1997.

Supplementary:

Robey, D., and Sahay, S. "Transforming work through information technology: A comparative case study of geographic information systems in county government," Information Systems Research (7:1), Mar 1996, p 93.

Barrett, M. & Walsham, G. (1999). Electronic trading and work transformation in the London Insurance market. Information Systems Research, 10(1), 1-22.

Huber, G.P. “A Theory of the Effects of Advanced Information Technologies on Organizational Design, Intelligence, and Decision Making,” Academy of Management Review, 15, 1990: 47-71.

Kraut, R., Koch, S., & Dumais, S. (1989). Computerization, productivity and quality of work-life. Communications of the ACM, 32, 220-238.

Pfeffer, J. and Leblebici, H. “Information Technology and Organizational Structure, Pacific Sociological Review, 20, 2: 1977: 241-261.

Orlikowski, W.J. "Improvising organizational transformation over time: A situated change perspective," Information Systems Research (7:1), March 1996, pp 63-92.

Pollalis, Y.A. "A systemic approach to change management: Integrating IS planning, BPR, and TQM," Information Systems Management (13:2), Spring 1996, p 19.

Prasad, P. “Symbolic Processes in the Implementation of Technological Change: A Symbolic Interactionist Study of Work Computerization,” Academy of Management Journal, 36, 1993: 1400-1429.

Zuboff, S. In the age of the smart machine: the future of work and power Basic Books, New York, 1988, pp. xix, 468.

 

SESSION 13: Organizational Design / Structure (April 28^th)

Readings for Session 13:

Required:

Galbraith, J. “Organization Design: An Information Processing View,” Interfaces, 4(3): 28-36.

Malone, T., Benajamin, Yates J,   1987.  “Electronic markets and electronic hierarchies.”  Communications of the ACM.

Argyres, Nicholas S. (1999). The impact of information technology on coordination: Evidence from the B-2 'Stealth' bomber. Organizational Science, 10(2), 162-180.

Sambamurthy, V., Bharadwaj, A., and Grover, V. "Shaping agility through digital options: Reconceptualizing the role of information technology in contemporary Firms1," MIS Quarterly (27:2), Jun 2003, p 237.

Supplementary:

Brynjolfsson et al.  1994.  Does information technology lead to smaller firms?  Management Science, 40: 1628-1645.

Mendelson, H. & Pillai, H. (1998). Clockspeed and informational response: Evidence from the information technology industry. Information Systems Research, 9(4), 415-433.

Arvind Malhotra, Ann Majchrzak, Robert Carman and Vern Lott (2001). Radical innovation without collocation: A case study at Boeing-Rocketdyne. MIS Quarterly, 25(2).

 

SESSION 14: Organizational Transformation, Reflection and Wrap-Up (May 5^th)

Readings for Session 14:

Required:

Deetz, S. “Describing Differences in Approaches to Organization Science: Rethinking Burrell and Morgan and their Legacy,” Organization Science, 7, 2, 1996: 191-207.

Orlikowski, W. J. and C. S. Iacono (2001). Research commentary: Desperately seeking "IT" in IT research - A call to theorizing the IT artifact. Information Systems Research 12(2): 121.

Supplementary:

Benbasat, I., and Zmud, R.W. "The identity crisis within the IS discipline: Defining and communicating the discipline's core properties1," MIS Quarterly (27:2), Jun 2003, p 183

Schultze, U., and Leidner, D.E. "Studying knowledge management in information systems research:  Discourses and theoretical assumptions," MIS Quarterly (26:3), Sep 2002, p 213.