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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/2451/14404
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| Title: | STUDYING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN ORGANIZATIONS: RESEARCH APPROACHES
AND ASSUMPTIONS |
| Authors: | Orlikowski, Wanda
Baroudi, Jack J. |
| Issue Date: | Feb-1990 |
| Publisher: | Stern School of Business, New York University |
| Series/Report no.: | IS-90-04 |
| Abstract: | We examined 155 behavioral information systems research articles
published from 1983-1988 and found that while this research is not
rooted in a single overarching theoretical perspective it does exhibit a
single set of philosophical assumptions about the nature of valid
evidence and the phenomena of interest to information systems
researchers. We argue in this paper that these philosophical assumptions
draw on the natural science tradition, and hence may not always be
appropriate for inquiry into the relationships between information
technology and people or organizations. In particular, we suggest that
the development and use of information technology within organizations
is inherently processual and contextual, and that these characteristics
are not always adequately captured by the philosophical assumptions
prevalent in information systems research. Positing social process as
central to information systems phenomena asserts the importance of
studying the ongoing interactions among people, information technology
and organizations, as these are situated historically and contextually.
We argue in this paper that the dominant research perspective in
information systems research is not well-equipped to deal with situated
interactions over time, and propose additional research philosophies to
augment the one currently favored by behavioral information systems
researchers. We outline the features of such additional research
perspectives, the interpretive and the critical, providing empirical
examples to illustrate how and when they may be useful. We conclude that
multiple research perspectives can usefully be employed within the
information systems community to enrich understanding of behavioral
information systems phenomena. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/2451/14404 |
| Appears in Collections: | IOMS: Information Systems Working Papers
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