Accounting for the Contradictory Organizational Consequences of Information Technology: Theoretical Directions and Methodological Implications

Information Systems Research

Volumn 10, Issue 2, 1999, Pages 167-185

  Robey, Daniel ^a   Boudreau, Marie Claude ^a  

^a GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Impacts of technology; Organization theory; Organizational transformation; Research methodology

Indexed keywords

HARDWARE; INFORMATION SYSTEMS;

MULTIPLE INTERPRETATIONS; ORGANIZATION THEORY; ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE; ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES; ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING; ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS; ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION; RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES;

COMPUTER CIRCUITS;

EID: 0033422813     PISSN: 10477047     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1287/isre.10.2.167     Document Type: Article

References (132)

1. Alavi, M., E. A. Joachimsthaler. 1992. Revisiting DSS implementation research: a meta-analysis of the literature and suggestions for researchers. MIS Quarterly 16 95-116.
2. Ang, J., Pavri, F. 1994. A survey and critique of the impacts of information technology. Internat. J. Inform. Management 14 122-133.
3. Argyris, C. 1977. Organizational learning and management information systems. Accounting, Organizations and Society 2113-123.
4. _, D. Schön 1996. Organizational Learning II. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.
5. Astley, W. G., P. S. Sachdeva. 1984. Structural sources of intraorganizational power: a theoretical synthesis. Acad. Management Rev. 9 104-113.
6. Attewell, P., Rule, J. 1984. Computing and organizations: what we know and what we don't know. Comm. ACM 27 1184-1192.
7. Avison, D. E., M. D. Myers. 1995. Information systems and anthropology: an anthropological perspective on IT and organizational culture. Inform. Technology and People 8 43-56.
8. Bacharach, S. B., P. Bamberger, W. J. Sonnenstuhl. 1996. The organizational transformation process: the micropolitics of dissonance reduction and the alignment of logics of action. Admin. Sci. Quarterly 41 477-506.
9. Barley, S., 1986. Technology as an occasion for structuring: evidence from observation of CT scanners and the social order of radiology departments. Admin. Sci. Quarterly 31 78-108.
10. Baroudi, J. J., W. J. Orlikowski. 1989. The problem of statistical power in MIS research. MIS Quarterly 13 87-106.
11. Baskerville, R., S. Smithson. 1995. Information technology and new organizational forms: choosing chaos over panaceas, European J. Inform. Systems 4(2) 66-73.
12. Benson, J. K. 1977. Organizations: a dialectical view. Admin. Sci. Quarterly 22 2-21.
13. Bjørn-Anderson, N., K. Eason, D. Robey. 1986. Managing Computer Impact: An International Study of Management and Organizations. Ablex, Norwood, NJ.
14. _, J. Turner. 1998. The metamorphosis of oticon. Galliers, R. D. and W. R. J. Baets, eds. Information Technology and Organizational Transformation, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, U.K. 65-83.
15. Blau, P. M., C. M. Falbe, W. McKinley, P. K. Tracy. 1976. Technology and organization in manufacturing. Admin. Sci. Quarterly 21 20-81.
16. Bloomfield, B. P. 1995. Power, machines and social relations: delegating to information technology in the national health service. Organization 2 489-518.
17. _, R. Coombs, D. J. Cooper, D. Rea. 1992. Machines and manoeuvres: Responsibility accounting and the construction of hospital information systems. Accounting, Management Inform. Tech. 2 197-219.
18. Boland Jr., R. J., V. T. Ramkrishnan, D. Te'eni. 1994. Designing information technology to support distributed cognition. Organization Sci. 5 456-475.
19. Boudreau, M.-C., D. Robey. 1996. Coping with contradictions in business process re-engineering. Inform. Tech. & People 9 40-57.
20. Brynjolfsson, E., T. W. Malone, V. Gurbaxani, A. Kambil. 1994. Does information technology lead to smaller firms? Management Sci. 40(12) 1628-1644.
21. Buchanan, D. A., D. Boddy. 1983. Advanced technology and the quality of working life: the effects of computerized controls on biscuit-making operators. J. Occupational Psychology 56 109-119.
22. Burkhardt, M. E., D. J. Brass. 1990. Changing patterns or patterns of change: the effects of a change in technology on social network structure and power. Admin. Sci. Quarterly 35 104-127.
23. Cameron, K. S. 1986. Effectiveness as paradox: consensus and conflict in conceptions of organizational effectiveness. Management Sci. 32 539-553.
24. Campbell-Kelly, M. 1996. Information technology and organizational change in the British census, 1801-1911. Inform. Systems Res. 7(1) 22-36.
25. Chamberlin, T. C. 1965. The method of multiple working hypotheses. Sci. 148 754-759.
26. Clark, E., A. Soulsby. 1995. Transforming former state enterprises in the Czech Republic. Organization Stud. 16 215-242.
27. Cobb, A. T. 1984. An episodic model of power: toward an integration of theory and research. Acad. Management Rev. 9 482-493.
28. Coombs, R., D. Knights, H. C. Willmott. 1992. Culture, control and competition: towards a conceptual framework for the study of information technology in organizations. Organization Stud. 13 51-72.
29. Cooper, R. B. 1994. The inertial impact of culture on IT implementation. Inform. Management 27 17-31.
30. Crowston, K., T. W. Malone, F. Lin. 1987. Cognitive science and organization design: a case study in computer conferencing. Human Computer Interaction 3 59-85.
31. Damsgaard, J., K. Lyytinen. 1997. Hong Kong's EDI bandwagon derailed or on the right track? T. McMaster, E. Mumford, B. Swanson, B. Warboys, D. Wastell, eds. Facilitating Technology Transfer Through Partnership: Learning from Practice and Research, Chapman and Hall, London U.K. 39-63.
32. Danziger, J. N., W. H. Dutton, R. Kling, K. L. Kraemer. 1982. Computers and Politics: High Technology in American Local Governments. Columbia University Press, New York.
33. Davis, M. S. 1971. That's interesting! Phil. Soc. Sci. 309-344.
34. Deal, T. E., A. A. Kennedy. 1982. Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.
35. Denison, D. R., R. Hooijberg, R. E. Quinn. 1995. Paradox and performance: toward a theory of behavioral complexity in managerial leadership. Organization Sci. 6 524-540.
36. DeSanctis, G., M. S. Poole. 1994. Capturing the complexity in advanced technology use: adaptive structuration theory. Organization Sci. 5(2) 121-147.
37. Dickson, G. W., G. DeSanctis, M. S. Poole, B. M. Jackson. 1997. Help or hindrance? The role of communication technologies in changing organizational form. Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings. Fifty-Seventh Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Boston, MA 303-307.
38. Dodgson, M. 1993. Organizational learning: a review of some literatures. Organization Stud. 14 375-394.
39. Dubé, L. 1995. The role of stories in understanding the cultural context surrounding information systems practices. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Florida International University, Miami, FL.
40. Eisenhardt, K. M. 1989. Building theories from case study research. Acad. Management Rev. 14(4) 532-550.
41. Farson, R. 1996. Management Of The Absurd: Paradoxes in Leadership. Simon & Shuster, New York.
42. Feldman, M. S., J. G. March. 1981. Information in organizations as signal and symbol. Admin. Sci. Quarterly 26 171-186.
43. Fiol, C. M., M. A. Lyles. 1985. Organizational learning. Acad. Management Rev. 10 803-813.
44. Ford, J. D., R. W. Backoff. 1988. Organizational change in and out of dualities and paradox. K. S. Cameron, R. E. Quinn eds. Paradox and Transformation: Toward a Theory of Change in Organization and Management. Ballinger, Cambridge, MA 81-121.
45. _, L. W. Ford. 1994. Logics of identity, contradiction, and attraction in change. Acad. Management Rev. 19 756-785.
46. Foucault, M. 1979. Discipline and Punish. Vintage Books, New York.
47. Foster, L. W., D. M. Flynn. 1984. Management information technology: its effects on organizational form and function. MIS Quarterly 8 229-235.
48. Franz, C. R., D. Robey, R. R. Koeblitz. 1986. User response to an online information system: a field experiment. MIS Quarterly 10 29-42.
49. French, J. R. P., B. Raven. 1959. The bases of social power. D. Cartwright, ed. Studies in Social Power. University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, Ann Arbor, MI. 150-167.
50. Fulk, J., G. DeSanctis. 1995. Electronic communication and changing organizational forms. Organization Sci. 6(4) 337-349.
51. Galliers, R. D., W. R. J. Baets, eds. 1998. Information Technology and Organizational Transformation. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, U.K.
52. Giddens, A. 1984. The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structure. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.
53. Gill, T. G. 1995. High-tech hidebound: case studies of information technologies that inhibited organizational learning. Accounting, Management Inform. Tech. 5(1) 41-60.
54. Hammer, M. 1996. Beyond Reengineering. Harper Business, New York.
55. Handy, C. 1994. The Age of Paradox. Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.
56. Hinings, C. R., D. J. Hickson, J. M. Pennings, R. E. Schneck. 1974. Structural conditions of intraorganizational power. Admin. Sci. Quarterly 19(1) 22-44.
57. Hirschheim, R. A. 1985. Office Automation: A Social and Organizational Perspective. Wiley, Chichester, U.K.
58. _. 1986. The effects of a priori views on the social implications of computing: the case of office automation. Computing Surveys 18 165-195.
59. Huber, G. P. 1991. Organizational learning: the contributing processes and the literatures. Organization Sci. 2 88-115.
60. _, A. H. Van de Ven, eds. 1995. Longitudinal Field Research Methods. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
61. Jarvenpaa, S. L., G. W. Dickson, G. DeSanctis. 1985. Methodological issues in experimental research: experiences and recommendations. MIS Quarterly 9 141-156.
62. Johnson, B., R. Rice. 1987. Managing Organizational Innovation. Columbia University Press, New York.
63. Jones, M. R. 1995. Organisational learning: collective mind or cognitivist metaphor? Accounting, Management Inform. Tech. 5(1) 61-77.
64. Karsten, H. 1995. "It's like everyone working around the same desk": organisational readings of Lotus notes. Scand. J. Inform. Systems 7(1) 3-32.
65. King, J. L., V. Gurbaxani, K. L. Kraemer, F. W. McFarlan, K. S. Raman, C. S. Yap. 1994. Institutional factors in information technology innovation. Inform. Systems Res. 5 139-169.
66. Kling, R. 1974. Computers and social power. Computers Soc. 5 6-11.
67. _. 1980. Social analyses of computing: theoretical perspectives in recent empirical research. Computing Surveys 12 61-110.
68. _, S. Iacono. 1989. The institutional character of computerized information systems. Office: Tech. People 5 7-28.
69. Kraut, R., S. Dumais, S. Koch. 1989. Computerization, productivity, and quality of work-life. Comm. ACM 32 220-238.
70. Laudon, K. C. 1974. Computers and Bureaucratic Reform. Wiley, New York.
71. _. 1985. Environmental and institutional models of system development: a national criminal history system. Comm. ACM 28 728-740.
72. Leavitt, H. J., T. L. Whisler. 1958. Management in the 1980s. Harvard Business Rev. Nov-Dec 41-48.
73. Levitt, B., J. G. March. 1988. Organizational learning. Annual Rev. Sociology 319-340.
74. Lucas, H. C. Jr. 1996. The T-Form Organization. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
75. Manning, P. D. 1996. Information technology in the police context: the "sailor" phone. Inform. Systems Res. 7(1) 52-62.
76. March, J. G. 1995. The future, disposable organizations and the rigidities of imagination. Organization 2(3/4) 427-440.
77. Markus, M. L. 1983. Power, politics, and MIS implementation. Comm. ACM 26 430-444.
78. _. 1994. Finding a happy medium: explaining the negative effects of electronic communication on social life at work. ACM Trans. Inform. Systems 12 119-149.
79. _, R. I. Benjamin. 1997. The magic bullet theory in IT-enabled transformation. Sloan Management Rev. 38(2) 55-68.
80. _, D. Robey. 1988. Information technology and organizational change: causal structure in theory and research. Management Sci. 34 583-598.
81. Martin, J. 1992. Cultures in Organization: Three Perspectives. Oxford University Press, Oxford UK.
82. McClelland, D. C. 1970. The two faces of power. J. Internat. Affairs 24.
83. Meyer, J. W., B. Rowan. 1977. Institutionalized organizations: formal structure as myth and ceremony. Am. J. Sociology 83 340-363.
84. Meyerson, D., J. Martin. 1987. Cultural change: an integration of three different views. J. Management Stud. 24 623-647.
85. Miller, D. 1993. The architecture of simplicity. Acad. Management Rev. 18(1) 116-138.
86. Miner, A. S., S. J. Mezias. 1996. Ugly Duckling no more: pasts and futures of organizational learning research. Organization Sci. 7(1) 88-99.
87. Mintzberg, H. 1983. Power In and Around Organizations. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
88. Mowshowitz, A. 1981. On approaches to the study of social issues in computing. Comm. ACM 24 146-155.
89. Naisbitt, J. 1994. Global Paradox. Avon Books, New York.
90. Nelson, D. L. 1990. Individual adjustment to information-driven technologies: a critical review. MIS Quarterly 14 79-98.
91. Oliver, C. 1991. Strategic responses to institutional processes. Acad. Management Rev. 16 145-179.
92. Orlikowski, W. J. 1991. Integrated information environment or matrix of control? The contradictory implications of information technology. Accounting, Management Inform. Tech. 1 9-42.
93. _. 1993. CASE tools as organizational change: investigating incremental and radical changes in systems development. MIS Quarterly 17 309-340.
94. _, D. C. Gash. 1994. Technological frames: making sense of information technology in organizations. ACM Trans. Inform. Systems 12 174-207.
95. _, D. Robey. 1991. Information technology and the structuring of organizations. Inform. Systems Res. 2 143-169.
96. _, J. Yates. 1994. Genre repertoire: the structuring of communicative practices in organizations. Admin. Sci. Quarterly 39 541-574.
97. _. 1996. Improvising organizational transformation over time: a situated change perspective. Inform. Systems Res. 7(1) 63-92.
98. Pentland, B. T. 1995. Information systems and organizational learning: the social epistemology of organizational knowledge systems. Accounting, Management Inform. Tech. 5 1-21.
99. Peters, T. J., R. H. Waterman, Jr. 1982. In Search of Excellence. Harper & Row, New York.
100. Pfeffer, J. 1981. Power in Organizations. Pitman, Marshfield, MA.
101. Pinsonneault, A., K. L. Kraemer. 1997. Middle management downsizing: an empirical investigation of the impact of information technology. Management Sci. 43 659-679.
102. Pliskin, N., T. Romm, A. Lee, Y. Weber. 1993. Presumed versus actual organizational culture: managerial implications for implementation of information systems. Computer J. 36(2) 143-152.
103. Poole, M. S., A. H. Van de Ven. 1989. Using paradox to build management and organization theories. Acad. Management Rev. 14 562-578.
104. Price Waterhouse Change Integration Team. 1996. Richard D. Irwin The Paradox Principles, Chicago, IL.
105. Quinn, R. E., J. Rohrbaugh. 1983. A spatial model of effectiveness criteria: towards a competing values approach to organizational effectiveness. Management Sci. 29 363-377.
106. Robey, D. 1977. Computers and management structure: some empirical findings re-examined. Human Relations 30 963-976.
107. _. 1981. Computer information systems and organization structure. Comm. ACM 24 679-687.
108. _, A. Azevedo. 1994. Cultural analysis of the organizational consequences of information technology. Accounting, Management Inform. Tech. 4 23-37.
109. _, A. Rodriguez-Diaz. 1989. The organizational and cultural context of systems implementation: case experience from Latin America. Inform. Management 17 229-239.
110. _, S. Sahay. 1996. Transforming work through information technology: a comparative case study of geographic information systems in county government. Inform. Systems Res. 7(1) 93-110.
111. Romm, T., N. Pliskin, Y. Weber, A. S. Lee. 1991. Identifying organizational culture clash in MIS implementation: when is it worth the effort? Inform. Management 21 99-109.
112. Sauer, C., P. W. Yetton and Associates. 1997. Steps to the Future: Fresh Thinking on The Management of IT-Based Organizational Transformation. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
113. Saunders, C. S., D. Robey, K. A. Vaverek. 1994. The persistence of status differentials in computer conferencing. Human Comm. Res. 20 443-472.
114. Schaubroeck, J., K. Muralidhar. 1991. A meta-analysis of the relative effects of tabular and graphical display formats on decision making performance. Human Performance 4 127-145.
115. Schein, E. H. 1985. Organizational Culture and Leadership. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
116. Scott, W. R. 1995. Institutions and Organizations. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
117. Scott Morton, M. S., ed. 1991. The Corporation of the 1990s: Information Technology and Organizational Transformation. Basic Books, New York, 3-23.
118. Senge, P. M. 1990. The Fifth Discipline. Currency Doubleday, New York.
119. Smircich, L. 1983. Concepts of culture and organizational analysis. Admin. Sci. Quarterly 28 339-358.
120. Sproull, L. S., S. Kiesler, D. Zubrow. 1984. Encountering an alien culture. J. Social Issues 40(3) 31-48.
121. Star, S. L., K. Ruhleder. 1996. Steps toward an ecology of infrastructure: design and access for large information spaces. Inform. Systems Res. 7111-134.
122. Stein, E. W., V. Zwass. 1995. Actualizing organizational memory with information systems. Inform. Systems Res. 6 85-117.
123. Straub, D. W. 1989. Validating instruments in MIS research. MIS Quarterly 13 147-169.
124. Suchman, M. C. 1995. Managing legitimacy: strategic and institutional approaches. Acad. Management Rev. 20 571-610.
125. Teo, H., B. C. Y. Tan, K. Wei. 1997. Organizational transformation using electronic data interchange: the case of TradeNet in Singapore. J. Management Inform. Systems 13(4) 139-165.
126. Van de Ven, A. H., M. S. Poole. 1995. Explaining development and change in organizations. Acad. Management Rev. 20 510-540.
127. Walsh, J. R., G. R. Ungson. 1991. Organizational memory. Acad. Management Rev. 16 57-91.
128. Walsham, G. 1993. Interpreting Information Systems in Organizations. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, U.K.
129. Whisler, T. L. 1970. The Impact of Computers on Organizations. Praeger, New York.
130. Wilson, F. 1996. The socio-cybernetic paradox of the networked firm. Inform. Tech. & People 9 3-23.
131. Zuboff, S. 1988. In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power. Basic Books, New York.
132. Zucker, L. G. 1987. Institutional theories of organizations. Annual Rev. Sociology 13 443-464.