Information Systems Theory or Application

¶ … Information Systems:

The last three decades have been characterized by huge organizational investments in Information Technology to foster work processes. As a result, both the intra-organizational and inter-organizational work systems in the modern working environments are increasingly IT-enabled. These organizations have increasingly dependent on IT-enabled value chains as the basis of their interactions with customers (Jasperson, Carter & Zmud, 2005, p.525). However, the functional potential of the mounted IT applications is largely underutilized. Generally, organizations face challenges in realizing the effective use of the IT applications and information systems, which results in under-utilization of functional potential. The increased under-utilization of IT applications and information systems has resulted in the publication of several articles to examine the problem and recommend ways for enhancing effective use. An example of these articles is a publication by Xuefei Deng and Lei Chi regarding a longitudinal assessment of system use problems in the context of business intelligence.

Article Summary:

Deng & Chi (2012) have published an article that focuses on understanding postadoptive behaviors in information systems use based on a longitudinal analysis of system use problems in the context of business intelligence (p.291). The article begins by recognizing the numerous challenges organizations face in accomplishing effective use of an information system like the under-utilization of system features. This is regardless of the common conceptualization and operation of information system use as the duration, rate, and use of various system features. The authors state that the ability of an organization to obtain maximum benefits from a new information system is dependent on the capability of individual users in the organization to use it effectively and widely.

In order to achieve the maximum gains, the individual users must overcome the various problems attributed to the system use during the process of integrating the information system into the work processes. Notably, the root causes of problems associated with system use, types of problems that users face, and the ability of users to cope with these problems is an area that requires extensive study and exploration. In order to understand these issues, Deng & Chi (2012) seek to create a comprehensive and dynamic perspective of problems associated with system use in organizations (p.292). They use a combined method of exposed casual mapping and in-depth network evaluation to examine systems use problem with a new business intelligence application in a large organization. The author's analysis demonstrated that system use problems and causes are attributed to data, reporting, users' lack of knowledge, user-system interaction, workflow, system error, and role authorization. In addition to these findings, the article recommends useful ways for organizations to effectively evaluate problems of systems use over a period of time and develop measures for promoting effective use of these systems.

Article Critique:

While the article identified seven emergent constructs that of system use problems and causes, it does not include one of the major causes of these problems i.e. user beliefs and attitudes. The beliefs and attitudes of users are major perceptions that drive the use of information system and IT applications (Bhattacherjee & Premkumar, 2004, p.229). The failure to examine user beliefs and attitudes when integrating information system into the daily work processes implies that these authors have omitted one of the most crucial causes of system use problems. Furthermore, these authors do not examine the impact of constant changes and revision of personal beliefs and attitudes by individual users on the ability of an organization to obtain maximum gains from information system use.

Secondly, he authors of the article seek to contribute to theoretical understanding of post-adoptive information use without an explanation of the phenomenon or concept of post-adoptive behavior. Actually, Deng & Chi has only focused on the problematic aspect of post-adoptive behavior in the use of information systems by an organization's individual users. Therefore, these authors do not review pertinent exploration of adoptive and post-adoptive behavior at an individual level. In essence, they have failed to incorporate one of the major components that could provide significant contributions to understanding post-adoptive information systems use.

Generally, there has been a constant evolution of research stream regarding the adoption and use of new information systems to an extent that these studies have become rich and mature within the Information Technology sector ("A Comprehensive Review," n.d.). This implies that a proper understanding of post-adoptive behaviors in information systems use require an evaluation of relevant existing research regarding post-adoptive behavior in the use of IT applications. Without such review, it is difficult for a researcher to effectively establish and develop an understanding of the cause of system use problems and appropriate organizational measures to address these causes and problems. The significance of reviewing relevant research is that it enables the researcher to examine findings in previous studies that have focused on individual post-adoptive behaviors across various technology contexts.