Neil F. Doherty

Improving the impact of IT development projects: the benefits realization capability model

The return that organizations derive from investments in information systems and technology continues to disappoint. While there are many theoretical prescriptions as to how the planned benefits from an information technology (IT) project might best be realized, there is very little empirical evidence, as to whether such advice is being heeded in practice. Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm, a conceptual model of a benefits realization capability is presented and developed. In this model, the benefits realization capability is operationalized through four distinct competences, each of which is underpinned by a variety of socially defined practices. The model was populated by using a thorough review of the literature to identify and categorize those specific practices that have the potential to contribute to the effective achievement of benefits from IT investment projects. These practices are then studied in an empirical examination of 25 IT projects. The analysis finds no evidence of benefits realization practices being adopted in any consistent, comprehensive or coherent manner. Effective benefits realization requires an ongoing commitment to, and focus upon, the benefits, rather than the technology, throughout a systems development, implementation and operation.

Retailer adoption of the Internet – Implications for retail marketing

To date, most of the commentary on the impact of the Internet on retail marketing has been anecdotal, offering exaggerated speculative forecasts of its future potential. One view contends that the Internet will become a major new retail format, replacing the traditional dominance of fixed location stores. However, little academic research exists to either disprove or support the claims of Internet penetration by retailers. Seeks to redress the balance by presenting a comprehensive and rigorous review of UK retailer Internet activities. A sampling frame of 1,099 UK retail multiples was used, and each Web site individually inspected to categorise the range of marketing functions and services offered. The findings indicated that, despite the hype, the majority of retail organisations surveyed have not yet registered a Web site address. Moreover, of those retail organisations that have developed a Web site, the vast majority are using it primarily as a communication tool to promote corporate or product information to Internet users, rather than to support direct sales. In conclusion, summarises the implications of these current levels of Internet activity for the future of retail marketing.

Cyber retailing in the UK: the potential of the Internet as a retail channel

A myriad opinions have been propounded to explain how “cyberspace” can be exploited by commercial organisations. For the most part they are speculative, visionary or promotional. This work seeks to redress the balance by focusing on the utilisation of the Internet within the UK retail sector and examining its potential as a new retail channel. The paper presents an exploratory study using qualitative and quantitative methods: an on‐line survey of retail Web activities followed by in‐depth interviews. This approach provides a framework of current retail usage of the Internet and explores retailers’ perceptions of the inhibitors and facilitators to its development. It concludes with an emerging model that explains why current levels of retailing on the Internet are low and provides guidance for retailers wishing to increase their level of Internet activity.

The relative success of alternative approaches to strategic information systems planning: an empirical analysis

Abstract Strategic information systems planning (SISP) is an exercise or ongoing activity that enables organisations to develop priorities for information systems development. It has been suggested that the ‘SISP approach’, a combination of method, process and implementation, is the most complete way of describing SISP activity. Based upon questionnaire responses from 267 IT Directors, four distinct approaches to SISP have been derived using cluster analysis. A comparison of these four approaches with five approaches of Earl, M.J., 1993. Experiences in SISP, MIS Quarterly, (March), 1–24, indicates that three bear strong similarities to the ‘organisational’, ‘business-led’, and ‘administrative’ approaches, whilst the fourth cluster is related to both Earls ‘method-driven’ and ‘technological’ approaches. An analysis of the relationship between SISP approach and SISP success demonstrates that the ‘organisational approach’ is significantly more successful than the other three approaches.

Internet retailing: the past, the present and the future

Purpose – The primary aim of this paper is to critically review the literature that explicitly addresses the adoption, application and impact of internet technologies, by retailers, for the promotion and sale of merchanidise. In particular, this paper seeks to present a holistic and critical review of the early predictions, with regard to the uptake and impact of internet retailing; critically reappraise these claims in light of current trends in internet retailing; and explore where e‐tailing may be heading in the coming years.Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts an extensive and critical review of the literature, with regard to the adoption, uptake and impact of internet retailing, as published in the academic literature over the past 20 years.Findings – In hindsight, it can be seen that many of the original predictions, made at the dawn of the internet era, have not become a reality: retailers are not cannibalising their own custom, virtual merchants are not dominating the market‐place, and t...

Aligning the information security policy with the strategic information systems plan

Two of the most important documents for ensuring the effective deployment of information systems and technologies within the modern business enterprise are the strategic information systems plan (SISP) and the information security policy. The strategic information systems plan ensures that new systems and technologies are deployed in a way that will support an organisations strategic goals whilst the information security policy provides a framework to ensure that systems are developed and operated in a secure manner. To date, the literature with regard to the formulation of the information security policy has tended to ignore its important relationship with the strategic information systems plan, and vice versa. In this paper we argue that these two important policy documents should be explicitly and carefully aligned to ensure that the outcomes of strategically important information system initiatives are not compromised by problems with their security.

A re-conceptualization of the interpretive flexibility of information technologies: redressing the balance between the social and the technical

Interpretive flexibility – the capacity of a specific technology to sustain divergent opinions – has long been recognized as playing an important role in explaining how technical artefacts are socially constructed. What is less clear is how a systems technical characteristics might limit its ability to be interpreted flexibly. This gap in the literature has largely arisen because recent contributions to this debate have tended to be rather one-sided, focussing almost solely upon the role of the human agent in shaping the technical artefact, and in so doing either downplaying or ignoring the artefacts shaping potential. The broad aim of this study was to reappraise the nature and role of interpretive flexibility but giving as much consideration to how an information systems technical characteristics might limit its ability to be interpreted flexibly, as we do to its potential for social construction. In this paper, we use the results of two in-depth case studies, in order to propose a re-conceptualization of the role of interpretive flexibility. In short, this model helps explain how the initial interpretations of stakeholders are significantly influenced by the scope and adaptability of the systems functionality. Stakeholder interpretations will then, in turn, influence how the systems functionality is appropriated and exploited by users, to allow divergent interpretations to be realized and sustained.

From technical to socio-technical change: tackling the human and organizational aspects of systems development projects

European Journal of Information Systems (2005) 14, 1–5. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ejis.3000517 Because of its critical role in support of the day-to-day operations and strategic positioning of the modern business enterprise, information technology has become a ubiquitous and increasingly significant part of the fabric of most organizations. Consequently, the implementation of information technology within organizations almost invariably results in a wide variety of, often very significant, impacts upon the design of the business, its economic performance and the working conditions of members of staff (Markus & Robey, 1983; Clegg et al., 1997; Doherty & King, 1998; Robey & Boudreau, 1999); technical change is the catalyst for organizational change. For example, the introduction of a highly integrated, enterprise resource planning system (ERP), within a manufacturing company, is likely to have a significant impact on that organization’s business processes, structure, culture and enterprise level performance, as well as the motivation, job specifications and performance of individual employees (Markus, 2004). Information technology cannot, however, be viewed as a deterministic artefact, as it does not generally behave in a well ordered and predictable manner (Grint & Woolgar, 1997). Organizational stakeholders have the potential to interpret, appropriate and ultimately shape their information systems in a wide variety of ways (Orlikowski, 1992). This view – typically termed ‘social constructivism’ (Bijker, 1995) – is supported by the wide variety of evidence that shows how the application of identical technologies, in very similar organizational contexts, can often result in radically different organizational impacts (e.g. Barley, 1986, Orlikowski, 1993). For example, Sahay & Robey (1996) have demonstrated how the implementation of a particular geographical information system, in two very similar governmental agencies, resulted in two very different organizational outcomes: a significant impact on working practices in one county government organization, as opposed to very limited change in another. Consequently, a significant problem facing the systems developer and the systems sponsor, is that the impacts and outcomes of introducing a new information system, cannot generally be predicted at the project’s outset, as the system may be interpreted and appropriated in multifarious ways, during the development period, as well as throughout its operational life (Orlikoski et al., 1995). Perhaps, an even bigger problem facing the systems developer and the systems sponsor, is that too often the organizational impacts resulting from the implementation of information systems are undesirable. As Martinsons & Chong (1999) note, IT-induced organizational change often results in user resistance and, in extreme cases, possibly even system rejection. Indeed, the incidence of negative impacts is increasingly common, to the extent that there is a growing consensus that the European Journal of Information Systems (2005) 14, 1–5 & 2005 Operational Research Society Ltd. All rights reserved 0960-085X/05

An investigation of the factors affecting the successful treatment of organisational issues in systems development projects

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Do Information Security Policies Reduce the Incidence of Security Breaches: An Exploratory Analysis

A review of the relevant literature confirms the importance of treating organisational issues in order to avoid information systems development failures. To investigate how such issues are treated in practice and the factors associated with their successful treatment, a large-scale survey was conducted. A questionnaire was mailed to senior IS executives and over 600 responses were received. A majority of the respondents (60%) perceived that organisational issues were more important than technical issues and a similar proportion reported treating these issues explicitly, although there was noticeable variation in the frequency with which specific types of issues were treated. However, only 50% felt that organisational issues were successfully dealt with in more than 30% of the projects for which they were responsible. This proportion seems to be independent of the type of organisation or the general development approach adopted, but the results also indicate that using an approach to treating organisational issues which is explicit, frequent and covers a wide range of specific issues is associated with higher levels of success. These results suggest that senior IT executives need to go further in ensuring that the treatment of organisational issues is given greater time, resource and level of priority.