Using management objectives to specify management information systems : a contribution to MIS success

Data warehouse projects, today, are in an ambivalent situation. On the one hand, data warehouses are critical for a company’s success and various methodological and technological tools are sophisticatedly developed to implement them. On the other hand, a significant amount of data warehouse projects fails due to non-technical reasons such as insufficient management support or in-corporative employees. But management support and user participation can be increased dramatically with specification methods that are understandable to these user groups. This paper aims at overcoming possible non-technical failure reasons by introducing a user-adequate specification approach within the field of management information systems.

Project management under uncertainty

Morris' (1986) analysis of the factors affecting project success and failure is considered in relation to the psychology of judgement under uncertainty. A model is proposed whereby project managers may identify the specific circumstances in which human decision-making is prone to systematic error, and hence may apply a number of de-biasing techniques.

Social Media Sites as Online Information Grounds : An exploratory study of the ways in which Information Technology (IT) professionals experience social media

Social media tools are often the result of innovations in Information Technology and developed by IT professionals and innovators. Nevertheless, IT professionals, many of whom are responsible for designing and building social media technologies, have not been investigated on how they themselves use or experience social media for professional purposes. This study will use Information Grounds Theory (Pettigrew, 1998) as a framework to study IT professionals’ experience in using social media for professional purposes. Information grounds facilitates the opportunistic discovery of information within social settings created temporarily at a place where people gather for a specific purpose (e.g., doctors’ waiting rooms, office tea rooms etc.), but the social atmosphere stimulates spontaneous sharing of information (Pettigrew, 1999). This study proposes that social media has the qualities that make it a rich information grounds; people participate from separate “places” in cyberspace in a synchronous manner in real-time, making it almost as dynamic and unplanned as physical information grounds. There is limited research on how social media platforms are perceived as a “place,” (a place to go to, a place to gather, or a place to be seen in) that is comparable to physical spaces. There is also no empirical study on how IT professionals use or “experience” social media. The data for this study is being collected through a study of IT professionals who currently use Twitter. A digital ethnography approach is being taken wherein the researcher uses online observations and “follows” the participants online and observes their behaviours and interactions on social media. Next, a sub-set of participants will be interviewed on their experiences with and within social media and how social media compares with traditional methods of information grounds, information communication, and collaborative environments. An Evolved Grounded Theory (Glaser, 1992) approach will be used to analyse tweets data and interviews and to map the findings against the Information Ground Theory. Findings from this study will provide foundational understanding of IT professionals’ experiences within social media, and can help both professionals and researchers understand this fast-evolving method of communications.

Phenomenography in the Centre for Information Technology Innovation (CITI)

Phenomenography has its roots in educational research (Marton and Booth, 1997), but has since been adopted in other domains including business (Sandberg, 1994), health (Barnard, McCosker and Gerber, 1999), information science (Bruce, 1999a,b) and information technology (Bruce and Pham, 2001) as well as information systems. Emerging phenomenographic research in areas other than education, has been interdisciplinary, often bringing together technology, education and a host discipline such as health or business. In Australia, phenomenography has been used in information technology (IT) related research primarily in Victoria and Queensland. These studies have pursued the latter two of three established lines of phenomenographic research: 1) the study of conceptions of learning; 2) the study of conceptions in specific disciplines of study and 3) the study of how people conceive of various aspects of their everyday world that have not, for them, been the object of formal studies (Marton 1988, p.189). Information Technology researchers have predominantly pursued the latter two lines of research.

Project management office a knowledge broker in project-based organisations

Current research into project management offices (PMOs) has stressed the PMOs' potential to act as knowledge brokers between projects, and between project and top management. Nonetheless, the literature does not provide sufficient evidence of the brokering role of PMOs. The research reported here aims to examine PMO's functions from a knowledge sharing perspective and explore whether or not these functions reflect the knowledge sharing needs of project managers (PMs). These issues are investigated through a cross-case analysis of seven organisations. The main contribution is insight into how PMs share knowledge and awareness of the need to structure PMOs to align with PMs' nature, needs and expectations in order to improve knowledge sharing in PBOs. Finally, some practical steps for helping PMOs to better adapt their functions to the needs of PMs and their learning and knowledge sharing style are proposed.

The Relation between work motivation and project management success in case of temporary organizations : theoretical lenses

The purpose of this paper is to present theoretical lenses that explain the relation between work motivation and project management success in case of temporary organizations such as projects. This paper is a part of the larger research study that first empirically identifies the constructs of work motivation in case of temporary organizations, and then empirically determines the relation between work motivation, and project management success. In the current paper, we have briefly reviewed the theories of work motivation from the work design school. These theories are predominantly drawn from the industrial/ organizational psychology literature. Then, we have considered the recent research on Nine Schools of Project Management as a point of departure to review theory on project management success. These theoretical perspectives are drawn from project management literature. We then illustrate the points of overlap for the theories drawn from these two disciplines. This review helps us to position our research study within the industrial/ organizational psychology, and project management literature as a cross-discipline study.

Perspectives on research in project management : the nine schools

This paper demonstrates that project management is a developing field of academic study in management, of considerable diversity and richness, which can make a valuable contribution to the development of management knowledge, as well as being of considerable economic importance. The paper reviews the substantial progress and trends of research in the subject, which has been grouped into nine major schools of thought: optimization, modelling, governance, behaviour, success, decision, process, contingency, and marketing. The paper addresses interactions between the different schools and with other related management fields, and provides insights into current and potential research in each and across these schools.

The Interaction of lean and building information modeling in construction

Lean construction and building information modeling (BIM) are quite different initiatives, but both are having profound impacts on the construction industry. A rigorous analysis of the myriad specific interactions between them indicates that a synergy exists which, if properly understood in theoretical terms, can be exploited to improve construction processes beyond the degree to which it might be improved by application of either of these paradigms independently. Using a matrix that juxtaposes BIM functionalities with prescriptive lean construction principles, 56 interactions have been identified, all but four of which represent constructive interaction. Although evidence for the majority of these has been found, the matrix is not considered complete but rather a framework for research to explore the degree of validity of the interactions. Construction executives, managers, designers, and developers of information technology systems for construction can also benefit from the framework as an aid to recognizing the potential synergies when planning their lean and BIM adoption strategies.

A simulation modeling approach to understanding information technology value cocreation

The business value of information technology (IT) is increasingly being cocreated by multiple parties, opening opportunities for new research initiatives. Previous studies on IT value cocreation mainly focus on analyzing sources of cocreated IT value, yet inadequately accommodating the influence of competition relationships in IT value cocreation activities. To fill the gap, this in-progress paper suggests an agent-based modeling (also simulation) approach to investigating potential influences of the dynamic interplay between cooperation and competition relationships in IT value cocreation settings. In particular, the research proposes a high-level conceptual framework to position general IT value cocreation processes. A relational network view is offered, aiming at decomposing and systemizing several typical cooperation and competition scenarios in practical IT value cocreation settings. The application of a simulation approach to analytical insights and to theory building is illustrated.

Towards a multiple-goal pursuit and multilevel view of continuing information technology usage : a process model integration and a research agenda

The value of information technology (IT) is often realized when continuously being used after users’ initial acceptance. However, previous research on continuing IT usage is limited for dismissing the importance of mental goals in directing users’ behaviors and for inadequately accommodating the group context of users. This in-progress paper offers a synthesis of several literature to conceptualize continuing IT usage as multilevel constructs and to view IT usage behavior as directed and energized by a set of mental goals. Drawing from the self-regulation theory in the social psychology, this paper proposes a process model, positioning continuing IT usage as multiple-goal pursuit. An agent-based modeling approach is suggested to further explore causal and analytical implications of the proposed process model.

Ethics in project management : some Aristotelian insights

Purpose My aim is to introduce, in the project management field, an Aristotelian ethics lens moving beyond the classical deontological and consequentialism approaches underlying the current ethical practices and codes of ethics and professional conducts. In doing so, I wish to pose the premises of a debate on the implications of a conscious ethical perspective for the structure and agency relationship within the project management field Design/methodology/approach Project management is a knowledge field on its own right. However the current perspectives applied to make sense and develop the field (modernism vs. postmodernism) leads to dichotomous thinking rather than recognizing the merits and contextual validity of both sides. I call for Aristotelian Ethics as a way of moving beyond this dichotomous thinking. I introduce briefly Aristotelian Ethics and its consequences in term of relation theory – practice, means and ends, facts and values, and finally politics (i.e. being part of a community of practitioners). Then I illustrate some consequences for the field taking PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and APM Code of Professional Conduct as supports for discussion Findings I suggest a need for revisiting and/or redesigning the codes of ethics and professional conducts for project management according to an Aristotelian perspective, in order to move beyond the normative limitations of classical deontological (conflict between competing duties, exemplified by PMI Code) or consequentialism (focusing on the "right" outcome to the detriment of duties, exemplified by APM Code) approaches (both, in fact, leading to a disconnection means and ends, and facts and values). This implicates shifting our view from the question "what is my duty?" to the questions "why should I undertake my duty?" and "how ought I act in this situation?" Practical implications Raising Professional Bodies, Industry and Education institutions awareness and consciousness and leading them to rethink about codes of ethics and the implications for the way they conceive practice and research, bodies of knowledge, credentialing, education... Originality/value To the best of my knowledge, this kind of discussion has not yet been conducted within the project management field, and considering the implication of project management in our life and for the well being of the society, an ethical debate may present some value(s)

Toward a model for forming psychological safety climate in construction project management

The nature of construction projects and their delivery exposes participants to accidents and dangers. Safety climate serves as a frame of reference for employees to make sense of safety measures in the workplace and adapt their behaviors. Though safety climate research abounds, fewer efforts are made to investigate the formation of a safety climate. An effort to explore forming psychological safety climate, an operationalization of safety climate at the individual level, is an appropriate starting point. Taking the view that projects are social processes, this paper develops a conceptual framework of forming the psychological safety climate, and provides a preliminary validation. The model suggests that management can create the desired psychological safety climate by efforts from structural, perceptual, interactive, and cultural perspectives. Future empirical research can be built on the model to provide a more comprehensive and coherent picture of the determinants of safety climate.

An archival analysis of green information technology: The current state and future directions

This thesis provides a review of 199 papers published on Green IT/IS between 2007−2014, in order to present taxonomy of segments in Green IT/IS publications, where the segments are later used for multiple analyses to facilitate future research and to provide a retrospective analysis of existing knowledge and gaps thereof. This research also attempts to make a unique contribution to our understanding of Green IT/IS, by consolidating papers it observes current patterns of literature through approach analysis and segmentation, as well as allocating studies to the technology, process, or outcome (TPO) stage. Highlighting the necessity of a consolidated approach, these classification systems have been combined into a TPO matrix so that the studies could be arranged according to which stage of the Green IT/IS cycle they were focused on. We believe that these analyses will provide a solid platform from which future Green IT/IS research can be launched.