Dynamics of Institutional Mechanisms in Enterprise-wide Information Systems Architecture
Type
fundamental research project
Start Date
June 1, 2016
End Date
May 31, 2019
Status
completed
Keywords
enterprise-wide information systems architecture
enterprise architecture
institutional theory
archetype theory
mixed methods
Description
Information systems (IS) architecture is an effort to make local, short-term IS investment decisions in line with enterprise-wide, long-term objectives. Even though existing theories on IS architecture dominantly promote a centralized decision making structure, this project takes a distinctive approach and spotlights the phenomenon of “effective collaboration” (no matter which structure is adopted). The latter examines how dynamically effective collaboration emerges over time in a longitudinal dyadic interplay among institutional mechanisms.
Due to existing merely deterministic and prescriptive approaches to IS architecture, this project sheds light on a need for a distinctive theorization that accounts for an “effective collaboration” among different local units. The phenomenon of effective collaboration aims to balance divergent, short-time local requirements to produce holistic, long-term solutions; a process which is contextual, emergent, and probabilistic in nature. To this end and through a mixed methods research design, this study examines effective collaboration from two distinctive, but inter-related perspectives. The first part of the project employs a static approach to explain which institutional factors determine the adoption of effective collaboration in enterprise-wide IS architecture (guided by institutional theory). The second part of the project, in turn, exploits a dynamic approach to explain how effective collaboration in enterprise-wide IS architecture emerges over time (guided by archetype theory). Finally, this project combines both static and dynamic explanations to triangulate the generated theory on effective collaboration in enterprise-wide IS architecture.
This project goes beyond existing conceptualizations of enterprise-wide IS architecture and uncovers its new aspects. Beyond the existing deterministic prescriptions, this study conceptualizes enterprise-wide IS architecture as an emergent process through which organizations continuously strive for achieving effective collaboration. As the proposed research project investigates one of the key priorities of IS managers, the results will be communicated with Swiss practitioners, in the structure of our existing regular gatherings with practitioners, and will be used to improve the database of case studies and eventually improve curriculum and pedagogical strategies in the relevant courses at the University of St. Gallen.
Due to existing merely deterministic and prescriptive approaches to IS architecture, this project sheds light on a need for a distinctive theorization that accounts for an “effective collaboration” among different local units. The phenomenon of effective collaboration aims to balance divergent, short-time local requirements to produce holistic, long-term solutions; a process which is contextual, emergent, and probabilistic in nature. To this end and through a mixed methods research design, this study examines effective collaboration from two distinctive, but inter-related perspectives. The first part of the project employs a static approach to explain which institutional factors determine the adoption of effective collaboration in enterprise-wide IS architecture (guided by institutional theory). The second part of the project, in turn, exploits a dynamic approach to explain how effective collaboration in enterprise-wide IS architecture emerges over time (guided by archetype theory). Finally, this project combines both static and dynamic explanations to triangulate the generated theory on effective collaboration in enterprise-wide IS architecture.
This project goes beyond existing conceptualizations of enterprise-wide IS architecture and uncovers its new aspects. Beyond the existing deterministic prescriptions, this study conceptualizes enterprise-wide IS architecture as an emergent process through which organizations continuously strive for achieving effective collaboration. As the proposed research project investigates one of the key priorities of IS managers, the results will be communicated with Swiss practitioners, in the structure of our existing regular gatherings with practitioners, and will be used to improve the database of case studies and eventually improve curriculum and pedagogical strategies in the relevant courses at the University of St. Gallen.
Leader contributor(s)
Member contributor(s)
Funder
Range
Institute/School
Range (De)
Institut/School
Division(s)
Eprints ID
247310
Funding code
100018_165607
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Item type:Publication, A Case Study of Stakeholder Concerns on EAM(IEEE Computer Society, 2017-10-10); ; - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Introducing a Coordination Perspective to Enterprise Architecture Management Research(IEEE Computer Society, 2017-10-10); ; ; - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Dynamics of Control Mechanisms in Enterprise Architecture Management: A Sensemaking Perspective(2018-12-13); ; Enterprise architecture management (EAM) has long been considered a governance means to impose enterprise-wide objectives to local information systems development projects. This perspective on EAM inevitably brings about formal control mechanisms with the aim of enforcing enterprise-wide objectives in a top-down fashion. This study takes a complementary perspective by investigating the portfolio of control mechanisms with and beyond formal control mechanisms. We examine control portfolios and their dynamics over time. We employ control theory to capture the portfolio of control mechanisms, and an organizational sensemaking perspective, to capture its dynamics. The longitudinal analysis of a financial service company over a decade reveals that EAM’s portfolio of control mechanisms emerges in an ongoing sensemaking process. In this process, various stakeholders continuously interpret cues in their environment and take actions in response to these cues. Further, we demonstrate that control portfolios are constantly (re)configured, through different combinations of formal and informal mechanisms.Type:conference paper - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, A Learning Perspective on Enterprise Architecture Management(Association for Information Systems, 2016-12-11); ; ; Enterprise architecture management (EAM) has long been propagated in research and practice as an approach for keeping local information systems projects in line with enterprise-wide, long-term objectives. EAM literature predominantly promotes strictly governed and centralized coordination mechanisms to achieve the promised alignment contributions. Notwithstanding the increasing maturity levels in practice, organizations still struggle with the successful establishment of EAM, mainly due to the inherent challenges of a firmly centralized approach in complex organizational settings. This study opts for cooperative learning as a theoretical lens to afford a distinctive, non-centralized conceptualization of EAM. We empirically demonstrate EAM as a stage-wise learning process in which knowledge acquisition and cooperative interactions among individuals contribute to project performance on the local level. Projects that benefit from this particular learning process, in turn, are found to significantly leverage enterprise-wide performance.Type:conference paper - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Design Science Research in Business Innovation(Springer Gabler, 2016); ; ; ; Business innovation research either aims at describing and understanding business innovation phenomena, or at changing a present world it into a better or preferred one. This article discusses the later approach, which has the goal to contribute new theories for design and action. Such design theories comprise useful business innovation artifacts such as products and services, business processes, or business models. In this article we advocate the opportunities that design-oriented business innovation research offers to researchers and to practice, we provide an overview on the relations of design-oriented business innovation research to other research paradigms in business research, we summarize and link to state-of-the-art guidance for conducting design-oriented business innovation research, and we present exemplars of design-oriented business innovation research and discuss their positioning in the field of design-oriented research.Type:book section - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Success Factors for Federated Enterprise Architecture Model Management(Springer, 2015-06-08); Scopus© Citations 3 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Simulation-Based Research in Information Systems: Epistemic Implications and a Review of the Status QuoSimulations provide a useful methodological approach for studying the behavior of complex socio-technical information systems (IS), in which humans and IT artifacts interact to process information. However, the use of simulations is relatively new in IS research and the current presence and impact of simulation-based studies is still limited. Furthermore, simulation-based research is quite different from other approaches, making it difficult to position and evaluate it adequately. Therefore, this paper first analyses the epistemic particularities of simulation-based IS research. Based on this analysis, a structured literature review of the status quo of simulation-based IS research was conducted, to understand how IS scholars currently employ simulation. A comparison of the epistemic particularities of simulation-based research with its status quo in IS literature allows to critically examine epistemic inferences in the respective research process. The results provide guidance for prospective simulation-based IS research through discussing the theory-based derivation of simulation models, as well as different simulation techniques, validation techniques, and simulation uses.Type:journal articleJournal:Business & information systems engineering : BISEVolume:61Issue:4Scopus© Citations 52 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Untangling EA’s Long Path of Becoming a Partner for Business Transformation: The Case of Swiss Federal Railways(IEEE Computer Society, 2016-09-05); ; ; Scopus© Citations 7 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Architectural Coordination of Enterprise TransformationArchitectural coordination of enterprise transformation (ACET) integrates and aggregates local information and provides different viewpoints, such as financial, structural, or skill perspectives to the respective stakeholder groups, with the aim of creating a consensus and shared understanding of an enterprise transformation among the stakeholders. Its core purpose is to inform decision-makers with both local and enterprise-wide concerns so that the overall transformation goals can be successfully pursued, i.e. reducing inconsistencies and including local decisions in the overarching goals. This book consists of three major parts, framed by an introduction and a summary. To enable readers to gain a better understanding of the issues involved in real-world enterprise transformations as well as the possible role of architectural coordination and the associated challenges, Part I provides an analysis of status quo of corporate ACET practice. Part II then continues with an exploration of the challenges facing ACET from a theoretical perspective. Based on these challenges, Part III then presents a collection of components for a possible design theory for ACET. Instead of an integrated method, this collection of components constitutes method fragments that can be arranged in different ways depending on the perspective taken, the actual enterprise architecture management approach, the enterprise transformation type and the transformation’s context.Type:book - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Implementing Architectural Thinking: A Case Study at Commerzbank AG(Springer, 2015-06-08); ; Scopus© Citations 15
