Göran Goldkuhl

Pragmatism vs interpretivism in qualitative information systems research

Qualitative research is often associated with interpretivism, but alternatives do exist. Besides critical research and sometimes positivism, qualitative research in information systems can be performed following a paradigm of pragmatism. This paradigm is associated with action, intervention and constructive knowledge. This paper has picked out interpretivism and pragmatism as two possible and important research paradigms for qualitative research in information systems. It clarifies each paradigm in an ideal-typical fashion and then conducts a comparison revealing commonalities and differences. It is stated that a qualitative researcher must either adopt an interpretive stance aiming towards an understanding that is appreciated for being interesting; or a pragmatist stance aiming for constructive knowledge that is appreciated for being useful in action. The possibilities of combining pragmatism and interpretivism in qualitative research in information systems are analysed. A research case (conducted through action research (AR) and design research (DR)) that combines interpretivism and pragmatism is used as an illustration. It is stated in the paper that pragmatism has influenced IS research to a fairly large extent, albeit in a rather implicit way. The paradigmatic foundations are seldom known and explicated. This paper contributes to a further clarification of pragmatism as an explicit research paradigm for qualitative research in information systems. Pragmatism is considered an appropriate paradigm for AR and DR.

Actability: a Way to Understand Information Systems Pragmatics

The many failures of IT-based information systems give rise to a strong imperative for researchers in information systems and neighbour disciplines to create a better understanding of the nature of such systems and their organizational use. Just viewing an information system (IS) as a technical black box having some social and organizational effects is not enough. We must understand information systems in a deeper sense than just as one kind of technical artefact. What special kind of artefact is an information system?

Adding Theoretical Grounding to Grounded Theory: Toward Multi-Grounded Theory

The purpose of this paper is to challenge some of the cornerstones of the grounded theory approach and propose an extended and alternative approach for data analysis and theory development, which the authors call multi-grounded theory (MGT). A multi-grounded theory is not only empirically grounded; it is also grounded in other ways. Three different grounding processes are acknowledged: theoretical, empirical, and internal grounding. The authors go beyond the pure inductivist approach in GT and add the explicit use of external theories. A working procedure of theory development in MGT is presented, which can be seen as an extension of the grounded theory approach.

Method integration: the need for a learning perspective

In many situations there is a need to integrate different methods. In such a method integration process learning aspects should be addressed explicitly. The paper presents procedure and experiences from a R&D project concerning integration of two development methods. Communication problems obstructed the integrative method redesign initially. These communication problems were resolved through the use of an explicit method theory for classification and reconstruction of the method candidates. During application of the integrated method further reconstruction of tacit method knowledge was performed. The method integration process also included meta learning: Formulation of the method integration as a learning process and modification of the applied method theory.

A multi-grounded design research process

There has been a growing interest in the philosophy and constituents of design research by a vast amount of IS-scholars There are several unresolved concerns and issues in design research (DR) Some examples are the outcomes of design research, the role of theorizing in DR, how to conduct evaluation and validation, and the need for different grounding processes to generate valid knowledge from design research endeavors This paper describes a multi-grounded approach for design research; consisting of three types of grounding processes (theoretical, empirical and internal grounding) The purpose is to investigate DR-based design knowledge and its roles during design research and design practice A key feature in this approach is the division between the meta-design (within design research) producing abstract design knowledge and the empirical design practice producing situational knowledge and artefacts The multi-grounding approach to design research will be illustrated by the support of two design cases.

Towards an integral understanding of organisations and information systems: Convergence of three theories

A need for an integrated theoretical understanding of organizations and information systems has been acknowledged. For this purpose three theories inspired by language action perspective are investigated. These three theories (Theory of Practice, Business Action Theory, Information Systems Actability Theory) deal with different but related subject matters. The theories have theoretical affinities but lack clear relations. The common theoretical thread of these theories is articulated in terms of socio-instrumental pragmatism. The different theories give substance and basis for steps towards development of an integral understanding of organizations and information systems. This includes the clarification, modification and convergence of the investigated theories.

Coordination and transformation in business processes : Towards an integrated view

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contrast two views, a transformative and a coordinative view, on business process management (BPM) in order to propose an integrated view. Design/methodology/approach: The investigation has been made with the purpose of developing a synthesis of these two views working as thesis and antithesis. The core of such dialectic approach is to create a synthesis that transcends contradictions of the thesis and antithesis. Pros and cons in the two perspectives have been identified and an integrated process view has been proposed, as well as operationalised into modelling methods. The integrated process view comprises a number of definitions of different process types (business process, assignment process, transformation process and provision process). Findings: The paper derives characteristics of the transformative as well as the coordinative view. These are used as the basis for pinpointing important characteristics of an integrative view. These characteristics put forward coordination in relation to transformation as well as assignment processes in relation to other types of processes (such as transformation processes and provision processes) Practical implications - The proposed integrated view has practical implications in the work of modelling, analysing and designing business processes. Originality/value: The value of the paper is that it presents a complementary view on business processes derived from two existing views. In the paper, coordination aspects are seen as superior to transformation.

A systematic approach to information systems development—I. Introduction

Abstract We shall in two articles describe the ISAC approach to information systems development. ISAC (Information Systems work and Analysis of Changes) is a research group at the department of Administrative Information Processing at the Royal Institute of Technology and the University of Stockholm, Sweden. Since 1971 research has been performed in the ISAC group around a new approach to information systems development with special emphasis on analysis and design of information systems. This work has been conducted in close contact with practical applications in different business companies and other organizations. The ISAC approach has now been developed so far that it represents an interesting alternative with great possibilities for many applications in different organizations. (Many large Swedish business companies have tried parts of the ISAC approach in one way or another. Some companies have decided that parts of the ISAC approach should be used within the company. An ISAC user group has been formed with representatives mainly from such companies. As to the other Scandinavian countries most ISAC applications are found in Norway, but also some in Denmark and Finland. Outside of Scandinavia, the ISAC approach has begun to be applied primarily in the Netherlands.) We hope that these two articles can help you to learn as much about the ISAC approach as you are interested in—e.g. in order to — be able to compare it with other approaches; —to find out if you could make use of it; —to find out if you want to learn more about it; or for other reasons that you may have.

Action and media in interorganizational interaction

Coordinating the role of IT with business processes.

Organisational ability: constituents and congruencies

During recent years there has been an upsurge of interest in knowledge management and organisational learning. But why focus on a subject that, at some level, has been around since the pre-Socratic philosophers? The answer to the question is manifold. One explanation is that knowledge and improvement of knowledge is considered to be crucial for the performance and development of organisations. It is also argued that in our contemporary society knowledge is an important asset in order to reach sustainable competitive advantage (see for example Drucker, 1993; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Quintas, Lefrere and Jones, 1997; Davenport and Prusak, 1998). One question of concern is what are the implications of seeing knowledge as an organisational asset? When comparing intangible assets, such as knowledge, with tangible assets, such as machines or land, they can hardly be treated as having the same properties. Another question is: how should we relate knowledge to the organisation’s total ability to perform actions and deliver value to its customers? Is knowledge the only constituent of organisational ability or are there other inherent parts? The purpose of this chapter is to investigate these questions and thereby develop the notion of organisational ability In order to do this the chapter begins by looking at some theories around the area of interest.