Information strategy and economics
Information strategy and economics
Information systems strategy formulation
Information and Management
Evaluation of strategic investments in information technology
Communications of the ACM
Strategic information systems: myths, reality and guidelines for successful implementation
European Journal of Information Systems
The inertial impact of culture on IT implementation
Information and Management
A multiple criteria decision model for information system project selection
Computers and Operations Research
Information technology and organizational transformation: innovation for the 21st century organization
Power, politics, and MIS implementation
Communications of the ACM
ICIS '00 Proceedings of the twenty first international conference on Information systems
The New Science of Management Decision
The New Science of Management Decision
Steps to the Future: Fresh Thinking on the Management of It-Based Organizational Transformation
Steps to the Future: Fresh Thinking on the Management of It-Based Organizational Transformation
Investing in Information Technology; Managing the Decision-Making Process
Investing in Information Technology; Managing the Decision-Making Process
Optimal Conflict in Preference Assessment
Management Science
Journal of Management Information Systems - Special section: Navigation in information-intensive environments
Key prescriptions for strategic information systems planning
Journal of Management Information Systems
Strategic aspirations for net-enabled business
European Journal of Information Systems
Collaborative IS decision-making: analyzing decision process characteristics and technology support
CRIWG'05 Proceedings of the 11th international conference on Groupware: design, Implementation, and Use
Analyzing inter-organizational systems from a power and interest perspective
International Journal of Information Management: The Journal for Information Professionals
International Journal of Strategic Information Technology and Applications
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Decisions to invest in information systems (IS) are made by many organisations on a very regular basis. Such decisions can vary from quickly identifying the problem, screening options and choosing a solution in a very straightforward way, to very extensive and repeated search, screen, design and negotiation activities that can take many years. There has been little explicit research into the process by which managers and organisations decide to develop IS applications. This research addresses this by analysing 20 IS decision-making processes, using a phase-based as well as an attribute-based approach. Mintzberg's typology is used to characterise seven types of IS decisions from a phase-based or process-based perspective. For the attribute approach, the decisions have been analysed on the basis of subjective/objective and offensive/ defensive contrasts and placed in one of the four following categories: innovative, rational, necessary or political. The paper concludes by identifying five factors that result in major differences in IS decision-making processes. These issues are: (1) whether there is scope to design a solution; (2) whether distinct alternatives have to be searched for; (3) the degree of urgency and necessity from the perspective of the decision-makers; (4) whether the decision can be subdivided in order to follow a gradual process path (planned vs incremental) and (5) the number and power of stakeholders involved in the process and the extent that their interests vary and contrast. The paper suggests that managers deciding on IS applications should be aware of these factors in order to design a process that fits best with the specific circumstances: no single process should be considered universally applicable. This conclusion is in contrast with many decision-making models rooted in the MIS-field, which suggest to use prescriptive and rational approaches to organise IS decision-making processes.