About the Book
Exploring Information Systems Research Approaches is intended for supervisors and research students in the information systems and related fields. This collection of thought-provoking articles, arranged in sections that reflect the broadening nature of the field, provides examples of a range of research approaches. This book focuses on different research approaches – their strengths, limitations, and the conclusions which can be drawn from them – and explores the impact of information and communication technologies on groups, on organizations, between organizations, on markets, and on society worldwide.
The articles selected have been chosen to represent an approach to research, or an alternative design within an approach (e.g., single case versus multiple cases; survey within industry versus survey across industries). Each section is preceded by an editorial introduction that places the chosen articles in context of other, similar research, and provides a summary of the articles in terms of the:
research method employed
focus and perspective of the research
technology being employed
findings and overall contribution of the work.
Each introduction also highlights various issues and factors that the reader should consider when studying each of the articles in the section and includes ideas for further reading and discussion questions suitable for doctoral research seminars.
Table of Contents:
Preface, Part 1: The impact of group support systems on decision-making and group creativity, Introduction, 1. Group communications and computer-mediated communication, 2. Group support systems in Hong Kong: an action research project, 3. Understanding computer mediated decisions, 4. Participation in groupware-mediated communities of practice: a socio-political analysis of knowledge working, Part 2: The impact of IT on organizations, Introduction, 5. Paradox lost? Firm level evidence on the returns to information systems spending 6. Information technology and the nature of work: From the productivity paradox to the Icarus paradox, 7. The great divide between qualitative and quantitative and individual and organizational measures, 8. The impact of IT investment on enterprise performance: a case study, Part 3: Inter-organizational systems and process improvements, Introduction, 9. Competing though EDI at Brun Passot: achievements in France and ambitions for the Single European Market, 10. Business value of information technology: a study of electronic data interchange, 11. The performance impacts of quick response and strategic alignment in specialty retailing, 12. Coordination and virtualization: the role of electronic networks and personal relationships, Part 4: IT Impact on markets, Introduction, 13. Do electronic marketplaces lower the price of goods? 14. Next-generation trading in futures markets: a comparison of Open Outcry and Order Matching systems, 15. Trust, technology and transaction costs: can theories transcend culture in a globalized world? 16. Reengineering the Dutch flower auctions: a framework for analyzing exchange organizations, Part 5: Global and societal issues, Introduction, 17. Cross-cultural software production and use: a structuration analysis, 18. Key issues in information systems management: an international perspective, 19. The global digital divide: a sociological assessment of trends and causes , 20. Information technology and transitions in the public service: a comparison of Scandinavia and the United States, Author index, Subject index.
About the Author :
Bentley College, US Royal Holloway, University of London
Review :
"Exploring Information Systems (IS) Research does a wonderful job of exposing doctoral students to a variety of research approaches and methods, in the context of examining current IS research phenomena. What is most exciting about this forthcoming text is not that it illustrates via published articles a variety of methods (which it does) but rather that it forces the reader (through both the nature of the articles selected and the very probing questions raised by the authors) to compare and contrast how these methods can be applied to reveal distinctive aspects of the phenomena explored. As a result, the reader comes away with much deeper understandings of … and fresh insights regarding … how a variety of research methods are to be applied and how the evidence then produced is to be interpreted. I highly recommend it."
--Robert W. Zmud, Michael F. Price Chair in MIS, Price College of Business, University of Oklahoma
"This is, without a doubt, one of the most comprehensive collections of readings illustrating the wide range of approaches that might be adopted by information systems researchers today. It is ideal for supervisors and their research students who wish to explore the various research approaches that can be used in information systems research. The book looks at the impact of information and communications technology on groups, organizations, between organizations, on markets and on society as a whole."
--Michael D. Myers, President, Association for Information Systems, Professor of Information Systems and Associate Dean (Postgraduate and Research) University of Auckland Business School
"The book stimulates provoking discussion on the fundamental research issues and how different information systems research methodologies yield different yet valuable insight. The book is particularly valuable to researchers interested in opening the black box of information technology and enriching the field’s understanding of the strategic implications of information technology to key contemporary business, organizational, and policy challenges."
--Sirkka Jarvenpaa, University of Texas at Austin
