Magnus Mähring

Trojan actor‐networks and swift translation: Bringing actor‐network theory to IT project escalation studies

This study investigates the potential of actor‐network theory (ANT) for theory development on information technology project escalation, a pervasive problem in contemporary organizations. In so doing, the study aims to contribute to the current dialogue on the potential of ANT in the information systems field. While escalation theory has been used to study “runaway” IT projects, two distinct limitations suggest a potential of using ANT: First, there is a need for research that builds process theory on escalation of IT projects. Second, the role of technology as an important factor (or actor) in the shaping of escalation has not been examined. This paper examines a well‐known case study of an IT project disaster, the computerized baggage handling system at Denver International Airport, using both escalation theory and ANT. A theory‐comparative analysis then shows how each analysis contributes differently to our knowledge about dysfunctional IT projects and how the differences between the analyses mirror characteristics of the two theories. ANT is found to offer a fruitful theoretical addition to escalation research and several conceptual extensions of ANT in the context of IT project escalation are proposed: embedded actor‐networks, host actor‐networks, swift translation and Trojan actor‐networks.

Information Technology Project Escalation: A Process Model*

Information technology (IT) a common and costly problem. While much is known about the factors that promote escalation behavior, little is known about the actual escalation process. This article uses an in-depth case study to construct a process model of escalation, consisting of three phases: drift, unsuccessful incremental adaptation, and rationalized continuation. Each phase encompasses several within-phase escalation catalysts and the model also identifies triggering conditions that promote transition from one phase to the next: project framing (antecedent condition), problem emergence, increased problem visibility, and imminent threat to project continuation (triggering the outcome deescalation). The results show that escalation is not necessarily the result of collective belief in the infallibility of a project. Rather, escalation results from continued unsuccessful coping with problems that arise during a project. Furthermore, the results suggest that the seeds of escalation are sown early: the very manner in which a project is framed contributes to whether or not the project will become prone to escalation. As problems ensue, repeated mismatches between attempted remedies and underlying problems contribute to fueling the escalation process. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Reporting bad news on software projects: the effects of culturally constituted views of face‐saving

Abstract.  The reluctance to report bad news about a project and its status is a known problem in software project management that can contribute to project failure. The reluctance to report bad news is heightened when it bears personal risks. Oftentimes, those who report bad news end up losing face. In extreme cases, they not only lose face, but may end up on the unemployment line. The need to preserve face is a powerful influence on social behaviour. While universal, it manifests itself differently in different cultures. To date, there have been no empirical studies of the extent to which culturally constituted views of face‐saving affect reporting of bad news on software projects. This is a particularly important topic given the increased prevalence of global, dispersed software development teams and offshore outsourcing of software development. In this study, we conducted a role‐playing experiment in the USA and in South Korea, to investigate the effect of culturally constituted views of face‐saving on the willingness to report bad news regarding a software development project. A blame‐shifting opportunity was chosen as the means to operationalize face‐saving in a culturally sensitive fashion. The two countries were chosen because they differ markedly in their views of face‐saving and the relative importance ascribed to two important aspects of face: lian and mianzi. Results reveal that the presence of a blame‐shifting opportunity had a significant effect on US subjects’ willingness to report bad news, but the effect on Korean subjects was not found to be statistically significant. In the absence of a blame‐shifting opportunity, we did not observe any significant differences between US and Korean subjects in willingness to report bad news. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Effects of information technology failures on the market value of firms

IT failures abound but little is known about the financial impact that these failures have on a firms market value. Using the resource-based view of the firm and event study methodology, this study analyzes how firms are penalized by the market when they experience unforeseen operating or implementation-related IT failures. Our sample consists of 213 newspaper reports of IT failures by publicly traded firms, which occurred during a 10-year period. The findings show that IT failures result in a 2% average cumulative abnormal drop in stock prices over a 2-day event window. The results also reveal that the market responds more negatively to implementation failures affecting new systems than to operating failures involving current systems. Further, the study demonstrates that more severe IT failures result in a greater decline in firm value and that firms with a history of IT failures suffer a greater negative impact. The implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.

Visualizing institutional logics in sociomaterial practices

This paper aims to deepen our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the mutual constitution of competing institutional logics and sociomaterial entanglements by combining a sociomaterial lens with the institutional logics perspective. We present findings from an interpretive, longitudinal case study at the emergency general surgery ward of a Nordic university hospital. By focusing our analysis on how sociomaterial affordances emerge through the implementation, use and continued development of digital and physical visualization boards, we show how these artifacts constitute an integral part of the operational staffs sensemaking and enactment of a new institutional logic. We make two contributions. First, we show how the perceived affordances of a technology are created from the experience of using several different technologies and how the rejection of one technology can simultaneously constitute another. Second, we show how visualization artifacts, entangled in sociomaterial practices, can shape individual focus of attention and thus facilitate the integration of a new institutional logic in operational practice.

Lost and Gained in Translation: Adoption of Open Source Software Development at Hewlett-Packard

What happens when an organization form that has emerged in one context is brought into a different context? In this paper, a longitudinal field study approach is used to explore how Hewlett-Packard (HP) molded open source software development (OSSD) into a proprietary software development approach called “Progressive Open Source” (POS). With the help of actornetwork theory, we understand this as a process of translation and find that some central characteristics of OSSD where lost in the translation into POS while other characteristics were gained.

De-escalating IT projects: the DMM model

Introduction Taming runaway Information Technology (IT) projects is a challenge that most organizations have faced and that managers continue to wrestle with. These are projects that grossly exceed their planned budgets and schedules, often by a factor of 2--3 fold or greater. Many end in failure; failure not only in the sense of budget or schedule, but in terms of delivered functionality as well. Runaway projects are frequently the result of escalating commitment to a failing course of action, a phenomenon that occurs when investments fail to work out as envisioned and decision-makers compound the problem by persisting irrationally. Keil, Mann, and Rai reported that 30--40% of IT projects exhibit some degree of escalation. To break the escalation cycle, de-escalation of commitment to the failing course of action must occur so that valuable resources can be channeled into more productive use. But, making de-escalation happen is neither easy nor intuitive. This article briefly examines three approaches that have been suggested for managing de-escalation. By combining elements from the three approaches, we introduce a de-escalation management maturity (DMM) model that provides a useful framework for improving practice.

Control Configuration and Control Enactment in Information Systems Projects: Review and Expanded Theoretical Framework

The control of information systems (IS) projects is a key activity for deployment of information technology (IT) resources and ultimately for value creation through IT. For the last 20 years, research on IS project control has grown to cover a wide range of aspects and issues, including control modes, amounts, and portfolios, control in internal and outsourced settings, and control antecedents, consequences, and dynamics. There is an important theoretical and practical impetus for this research, since the nature of IS projects creates specific and challenging conditions for control, and since control research in neighboring disciplines often neglects temporary endeavors such as projects. In this study, we provide a systematic review and synthesis of the literature and develop an expanded theoretical framework for IS project control with supporting conjectures. Our review reveals that existing research primarily studies the contextual antecedents and performance consequences of control modes and amounts, and thus focuses on control portfolio configurations (what). In contrast, prior research largely neglects control enactment, that is, how the controller interacts with the controllee to put the portfolio of controls into practice. Our expanded framework points to the importance of studying control portfolio configurations and control enactment (in terms of control style and control congruence) in combination, in order to better understand IS project control effectiveness. Expanding the toolbox of concepts available to IS researchers, our framework helps resolve existing research gaps and inconsistencies, and opens up new avenues for future research on the control of IS projects.

The Effective Promotion of Informal Control in Information Systems Offshoring Projects

As firms increasingly engage in interorganizational information systems (IS) projects, including IS offshoring projects, the challenge for client firms of effectively exercising control across organizational boundaries becomes critical. Although the importance of informal controls (clan and self-control) in this context has been recognized, prior research has focused primarily on formal controls. Consequently, our understanding of the use of clan and self-control in interorganizational IS projects is scarce, and partly inconsistent or contradictory. This study focuses the client’s role in promoting informal controls in interorganizational projects involving distant client–vendor relationships as well as the effectiveness of such controls. We use matched-pair survey data from 86 IS offshoring projects involving client and vendor relationship managers. Our results show an interesting pattern: while clan control is considerably more difficult to promote than self-control in client–vendor project relationships, only clan control has a direct positive impact on project performance. Moreover, formal control modes, national cultural values, and project context factors moderate both the promotion and the effectiveness of informal controls. Our study’s main contributions lie in establishing the relevance of the distinction between informal control given and received, and the importance of the client’s role in promoting informal controls.

To coerce or to enable? Exercising formal control in a large information systems project

In virtually every information systems (IS) project, control is exercised on multiple hierarchical project levels. For example, senior managers exercise control over project team leaders, who in turn exercise control over distinct groups of project team members. Most prior studies have exclusively focused on one specific controller-controllee dyad. As a result, there is little understanding of how IS project control is exercised across different hierarchical levels. To close this research gap, we conducted a case study of a large IS project at a major engineering firm. Our study helps enrich the traditional mode-based typology of control with the dimension of control style, that is, the distinction between enabling and coercive control. Our research contributes novel insights to the IS control literature in three ways: (1) we find that the senior management level and the project management level differ in the use of control style but not in the use of control modes, (2) we identify several factors that influence the choice of a particular control style, and (3) we find that senior managers can influence project activities on lower levels by implementing controls that can be readily emulated by project leaders as well as transmitted through hierarchical levels with little distortion.