An investigation of user-led system design: rational and political perspectives
Communications of the ACM - Special section on management of information systems
Four paradigms of information systems development
Communications of the ACM
Power over users: its exercise by system professionals
Communications of the ACM
Change agentry—the next IS frontier
MIS Quarterly
Developing an historical tradition in MIS research
MIS Quarterly
Actor-network theory and IS research: current status and future prospects
Proceedings of the IFIP TC8 WG 8.2 international conference on Information systems and qualitative research
GIS for district-level administration in India: problems and opportunities
MIS Quarterly - Special issue on intensive research in information systems
Social Analyses of Computing: Theoretical Perspectives in Recent Empirical Research
ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR)
Power, politics, and MIS implementation
Communications of the ACM
The control of information systems developments after implementation
Communications of the ACM - Special section on management of information systems
Information systems and organizational change
Communications of the ACM
Making a World of Difference: It in a Global Context
Making a World of Difference: It in a Global Context
Information Technology in Context: Studies from the Perspective of Developing Countries
Information Technology in Context: Studies from the Perspective of Developing Countries
Managers Divided: Organisation Politics and Information Technology Management
Managers Divided: Organisation Politics and Information Technology Management
Corporation of the 1990s: Information Technology and Organizational Transformation
Corporation of the 1990s: Information Technology and Organizational Transformation
Globalization and IT: Agenda for Research
HOIT '00 Proceedings of the IFIP TC9 WG9.3 International Conference on Home Oriented Informatics and Telematics,: Information, Technology and Society
Electronic Trading and Work Transformation in the London Insurance Market
Information Systems Research
Generalizing Generalizability in Information Systems Research
Information Systems Research
The Social Study of Information and Communication Technology: Innovation, Actors, and Contexts
The Social Study of Information and Communication Technology: Innovation, Actors, and Contexts
Affection not affliction: The role of emotions in information systems and organizational change
Information and Organization
The Influence of Power in the Development of an Information Infrastructure
EGOV '08 Proceedings of the 7th international conference on Electronic Government
Caste Structures and E-Governance in a Developing Country
EGOV '09 Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Electronic Government
Editor's comments: perspectives on time
MIS Quarterly
Scarcity, exit, voice and violence: the state seen through egovernment
EGOV'11 Proceedings of the 10th IFIP WG 8.5 international conference on Electronic government
Expanding e-governance in India: a need for more research
Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance
Information and Organization
A framework for Chinese Power Games - Political tactics in information systems development processes
Computers in Human Behavior
International Journal of Strategic Information Technology and Applications
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Most information systems research takes for granted the assumption that IS practice and associated organizational change can be effectively understood as a process of technical reasoning and acting governed by a mix of concerns about software construction, administrative control, and economic gain. Its mission has been to empower managers, IS engineers, and information and communication technology users with knowledge and techniques for effective decision making. However, empirical research frequently encounters human activity that is at odds with the assumed pattern of rational behavior. Recent work tries to explain behavior in IS and organizational change in terms of social processes rather than as a consideration of rational techniques of professional practice. In this paper we address this ambivalence of the IS field with regard to technical/rational knowledge and practice. We draw from the theoretical work of Michel Foucault on power/knowledge and the aesthetics of existence to argue that the rational techniques of IS practice and the power dynamics of an organization and its social context are closely intertwined, requiring each other to be sustained. Furthermore, we develop a context-specific notion of rationality in IS innovation, through which interested parties judge the value of an innovation for their lives and consequently support or subvert its course. We demonstrate these ideas with a case study of a social security organization in Greece.