Control and emotions: Understanding the dynamics of controllee behaviours in a health care information systems project

Abstract

The control of information systems (IS) projects is important for organizations seeking to realize the value‐creating capabilities of information technology (IT). However, their achievement has proven complex and has triggered research on the unique challenges related to IS project control. The existing research focuses primarily on the contextual antecedents and performance effects of control‐mode choices but largely neglects the dynamics of control activities, and particularly the socio‐emotional aspects of such activities. We conducted longitudinal fieldwork to evaluate the dynamic interplay between control activities and emotions in the context of a large‐scale, health care IS project. Our case analysis provides empirical evidence for the link between controllers control styles and controllees emotions and subsequent behaviours. For instance, our analysis results point to “suppressed” effects of negative emotions on control effectiveness. We find that while controllees negative emotional appraisals of control activities do not necessarily translate into immediate resistance behaviours, they can give rise to delayed resistance behaviours triggered by shifting control styles.