Information Systems

The Plight With IS

Empirical studies over the past five decades provide strong evidence to support the assertion that underperformance and failure frequently mar the introduction of IS in large organizations. Unfortunately, the number [Page 441]of IS initiatives that actually deliver promised business value is in the order of 10 per cent, while the number of initiatives that fail or are abandoned completely is in the order of 50 per cent. The remaining 40 per cent of initiatives tend to be delivered late, over the budget and with significantly reduced functionality. The impermeable and enduring nature of this dilemma is of concern to organizational researchers and practitioners alike.

Such underperformance and failure are rarely explained by way of attending to economic and technical considerations alone, yet such criteria appear to dominate the introduction of IS in organizations. Executive management tend to view the introduction of IS as an economic imperative, while IS management tend to view it as a technical imperative. Alas, this narrow techno-economic bias, sustained over time by the coalescent behavioural patterns of the executive and IS communities, results in the human and organizational aspects of IS initiatives being marginalized and ignored.

Such an outcome is rarely inconsequential since failing to attend to the human and organizational aspects of change is said to be responsible for the high incidence of underperformance and failure. Indeed, researchers are increasingly of the opinion that the economic and technical aspects of IS account for less than 10 per cent of the underperformance and failure, while human and organizational factors account for more than 90 per cent. The nature of this dilemma is both obstinate and enduring.

This predicament is further compounded by an inability to effect integrated change due to the requisite knowledge, skill and expertise being widely dispersed in organizational settings. Organizational researchers and practitioners who understand the technology tend to have little appreciation for the human and organizational aspects of IS. Similarly, organizational researchers and practitioners who understand the human and organizational aspects of IS tend to have little appreciation for the range of increasingly complex technologies that underpin modern IS initiatives. Addressing this plight inevitably places a high premium on integrating different forms of knowledge, skill and expertise.

The Appeal of Action Research

Reflecting on the weaknesses in the dominant approaches to IS-related research and the associated enduring plight with IS, it appears that action research offers an unrivalled opportunity to develop a more holistic approach to inquiry. This assertion is based upon a number of important postulates.

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