Annemette Kjærgaard

Using institutional theory with sensemaking theory: a case study of information system implementation in healthcare

Institutional theory has proven to be a central analytical perspective for investigating the role of social and historical structures of information systems (IS) implementation. However, it does not explicitly account for how organisational actors make sense of and enact technologies in their local context. We address this limitation by exploring the potential of using institutional theory with sensemaking theory to study IS implementation in organisations. We argue that each theoretical perspective has its own explanatory power and that a combination of the two facilitates a much richer interpretation of IS implementation by linking macro- and micro-levels of analysis. To illustrate this, we report from an empirical study of the implementation of an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system in a clinical setting. Using key constructs from the two theories, our findings address the phenomenon of implementing EPRs at three levels: the organisational field, the organisational/group, and the individual/socio-cognitive level. The study shows how a rationalised myth of an efficient EPR system has travelled from the organisational field to the hospital ward and on to individual doctors. The findings also provide evidence of a strong human agency by showing how doctors enact their work practices and shape the use of the EPR system. The study contributes to IS research by showing the need to address macro-level structures, as well as individual interpretations and practical use situations, in order to identify how and why information systems are adopted by users.

Who Do You Think You are? A Review of the Complex Interplay between Information Systems, Identification and Identity

This paper introduces the special issue on information systems, identity and identification. In addition to introducing the papers in the special issue, it provides a state-of-the-art review of research into identity and identification to contextualise the contributions of the special issue papers. The paper reviews research themes in personal and organisational identity as well as research challenges in identification before considering the interplay between these two strands.

Towards an Integrated Model of Knowledge Sharing in Software Development: Insights from a Case Study

This article adds to the discussion on knowledge management (KM) by focusing on the process of knowledge sharing as a vital part of KM. The article focuses on the relationship between knowledge, learning, communication, and participation in action, and the role of social inter-action and technical media in the knowledge sharing process. We develop an initial theoretical framework of knowledge sharing on the basis of a literature study. Drawing on an empirical study of knowledge sharing in a software development company, we discuss what supports and what hinders knowledge sharing in software development. Finally, we use this knowledge to improve the theoretical framework.

The role of theory adaptation in the making of a reference discipline

Information Systems (IS) scholars repeatedly debate the nature of the IS discipline. A series of articles have debated whether the IS field has become a reference discipline. While many scholars have argued this question from a perceptual point of view, we address it by examining the role of theory adaptation in the making of a reference discipline. Based on a review of how the sensemaking theory from organization studies is adapted and used in IS research, we show that papers that adapt and use sensemaking theory as a central construct in the theoretical framework - in other words - engaging in theory adaptation, have a higher probability of being referenced by other disciplines. Finally, we discuss the implications of the manner in which IS scholars borrow theory regarding the IS disciplines prospects of becoming a reference discipline. We examine how information systems scholars have adapted the theory of sensemaking.We examine if a particular way of adapting and using theory create more citation outside the IS discipline.We discuss the implications of the manner in which IS scholars adapt and use theory for IS to become a reference discipline.We suggest that more informed use of theory is important in being or becoming a reference discipline.

Strategic Auto-Communication in Identity—Image Interplay: The Dynamics of Mediatizing Organizational Identity

Through a longitudinal study, we explore how organizational identity change is influenced by external stakeholders. We analyze how a strategic auto-communicative process, in terms of a company’s stimulation of mass media attention, serves as a catalyst for identity construction within the organization. Our findings demonstrate the importance of mass media for influencing identity and for creating strong member identification. Moreover, they illustrate the process by which the mediatization of organizational identity, which at first sight might seem oriented towards external audiences, could have significant influence on internal audiences and their self-description. Our empirical data derive from a 10-year study of the Danish hearing instrument provider Oticon A/S, which has been celebrated by the media for its organizational transformation from a steep hierarchy to a matrix organization in a process that seemed to happen overnight. While Oticon’s overwhelmingly positive massive media attention is perhaps difficult to replicate, we suggest that it acts as a critical case through which to investigate how mediatization influences organizational identity dynamics in general.