Jonathan Liebenau

Information systems and qualitative research

Most mature social studies include both qualitative and quantitative methods in the normal course of research activities. Scholars may gain reputations based on one or the other, or in some cases on the combination of both. In fields such as sociology, psychology, history, political science, and even anthropology the balance has been struck; the rules are accepted. Business studies in general, and information systems in particular, have had a much harder time coming to terms with the balance. With so many colleagues using exclusively quantitative methods in business economics, in marketing, in accounting and even in organizational behavior, and other colleagues sticking strictly to formal methods in computer science and software engineering, we have had to fight an uphill battle at times. This volume is evidence of the maturing of information systems as a discipline which can recognize the place of qualitative along with quantitative research methods.

Temporal effects of information systems on business processes: focusing on the dimensions of temporality

This study investigates how information systems affect the temporality of business processes in organizations. It is first described how the dimensions of temporality were developed. Among the many dimensions based on other studies, eleven dimensions were selected for our purposes in investigating the external temporality in the first instance and tracing changes in temporality. We then identified six dimensions (duration, sequence, temporal location, deadline, cycle and rhythm) which could effectively assess the temporal effects of information systems. We used them to describe and analyse temporal changes which resulted from the implementation of Korea Trade Network in two case companies. Through the case study, this paper aims to provide a deeper understanding of information systems and temporality in organizational contexts. Differential cycles, polychronicity and changes in inter-personal or inter-departmental relations mediated by temporal shifts are presented for their implications on time, work and information systems.

On the discipline of information systems

Abstract. Although information systems is growing rapidly, it has little theoretical clarity. An article in the Times Higher Education Supplement of March 1989 by Liebenau and Backhouse sparked a debate on the character of information systems as a discipline. This paper reviews that debate, bringing out the main points of many of the discussants, and presents an analysis which is intended to carry the discussion further in order to help clarify and to galvanize opinion.

Paul Ehrlich as a commercial scientist and research administrator

Historians and biographers have studied Paul Ehrlich as a biochemist, a medical messiah, and an eccentric. 1 The links with industry of this Nobel Prize-winning pioneer of experimental therapeutics and immunology have, however, been largely neglected. Perhaps this was because commercial involvement was regarded as unseemly by historians, or because those ties were thought to be insignificant in relation to the major contributions Ehrlich made to therapeutic practice and theory. More recently, attitudes have changed: Ehrlichs resurrection as a company scientist is almost complete after a large commemorative exhibition mounted by Hoechst AG and that companys sponsorship of a major new biography,2 facilitating further analysis of Ehrlichs commercial work. This paper goes beyond biography to provide an analysis of an early example of medical science as a corporate activity.

Towards a taxonomy for regulatory issues in a digital business ecosystem in the EU

This article addresses the role of trust and regulation where small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union (EU) make use of e-business in a digital business ecosystem (DBE). We argue that in order for digital business to develop among entrepreneurs in the EU and within different industry sectors and geographical locations, trust and regulation are of critical importance. The article assesses the importance of this argument and focuses on the interplay of regulatory and trust-based issues that need to be accommodated before one can expect SMEs to engage in e-business supported within a DBE environment. It then presents a taxonomy that addresses key regulatory issues and fosters trust. The article proposes the taxonomy as the vehicle for the simplification of a bewildering array of laws, standards, norms and expectations, as well as for the elimination of regulatory overlap and conflict. The contribution of the taxonomy is demonstrated in the last section of the article, where it is empirically tested and applied to SMEs which participated in the EU-funded DBE project.

The UK's digital road to recovery

In this report, researchers from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) assess the employment impact in the United Kingdom of investments in three ICT infrastructures: broadband networks, intelligent transportation systems, and the smart power grid, that: (1) contribute to significant immediate direct and indirect job growth in the UK economy; (2) create a “network effect” throughout the economy that creates additional jobs; and (3) provide a foundation for longer term benefits, including government cost savings, economy-wide productivity, and improved quality of life for all.

Innovation in pharmaceuticals: Industrial R&D in the early twentieth century

An historical approach is used to describe and assess both the character of innovation in drug companies and the impact of new pharmaceuticals upon an industry increasingly important to medicine. British, German and American firms are described and the themes of regulation, corporate structure, and competition as well as technical development, are analysed. Industrial R&D was used for a variety of purposes by different firms and in contrasting ways among the three nations studied. This historical diversity calls into question suppositions about the narrowly conceived utility of R&D. British firms are shown to have lagged behind in establishing research facilities more because of the lack of legal and competitive stimuli, than on account of poor technical capabilities. German manufacturers were significantly aided by their ability to coordinate long-term development and production goals with the government, while in the U.S. laboratories were most effectively used as competitive tools.

Introduction to semiotics

Communication consists of elements which we can analyze in terms of a continuum from context through meaning, grammar and code. An act of communication has been successful when the intentions of the sender are understood by the receiver.

Information technology, transaction costs and governance structures: integrating an institutional approach

Transaction cost concepts have been deployed in information systems to analyze the impact of information technology on the organization of economic activity in markets and hierarchies. It has been widely observed that there is a general trend toward markets. It has also been observed that the transaction cost approach cannot explain empirical observations where the choice of governance has more to do with power and behavioral attributes of transacting actors than with minimizing transaction costs. Information systems researchers have overcome the shortcomings of the transaction cost approach to a limited extent by complementing it with political economy, resource-dependency and network theories. However, these complementary perspectives cannot easily analyze the interactions between power and efficiency and cannot handle the impact of the institutional environment on the choice of governance structure. This research exposes the shortcomings of these complementary perspectives in the light of a range of institutionalist studies drawn from economics, sociology and anthropology. The research points out that an institutional approach is essential for understanding and overcoming the complications that may arise as IT-enabled moves toward markets are launched in organizations that are situated in institutional environments that are at present not compatible with market-oriented exchange arrangements. We demonstrate this by the application of three ‘tools’ to an exemplary case where information systems in the British National Health Service were intended as a tool to move one aspect of the hierarchical structure toward a market structure.

Organizational reconciliation and its implications for organizational decision support systems: a semiotic approach

This paper describes the key problems with the core concepts behind ODSS, and provides a critique from a theoretical perspective that draws on organizational theory and semiotics. We argue that any distinction between organizational decision support systems (ODSS) and other related systems such as DSS or group decision support systems (GDSS) should be based on the difference between the characteristics of groups and organizations. Our approach uses characteristics of communication within organizations to model information in order to support organizational level decisions. We illustrate the usefulness of this approach by examining a decision-making problem in the context of a British hospital.