Information systems development as emergent socio-technical change: a practice approach

  • Authors:
  • Luis F. Luna-Reyes;Jing Zhang;J. Ramón Gil-García;Anthony M. Cresswell

  • Affiliations:
  • Business School, Universidad de las Américas-Puebla, Sta. Catarina Mártir, Cholula, Puebla, 72820, Mexico;Graduate School of Management, Clark University, Worcester, MA;Center for Technology in Government, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, NY;Center for Technology in Government, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, NY

  • Venue:
  • European Journal of Information Systems - Special issue: From technical to socio-technical change: Tackling the human and organizational aspects of systems development projects
  • Year:
  • 2005

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Abstract

Many information systems development (ISD) initiatives fail to deliver the expected benefits. An important percentage of these are the result of social and organizational factors, not simply technical failures. This paper explores the dynamics of these social and organizational factors to better understand the causes of success and failure. Based on data from a detailed case analysis of an ISD project, the paper depicts the ISD process as an emergent and dynamic one, characterized by continuous local adaptations. The paper ends with a proposal of a feedback-rich framework, based on a practice view of sociotechnical change that offers theoretical insights and practical heuristics to system developers and project managers.