Where academic tradition
meets the exciting future

You are here: TUCS > PUBLICATIONS > Publication Search > Contextual Factors Influencing...

Contextual Factors Influencing Strategic Information Systems Planning in a Network: Evaluation of Two Inter-Municipality Projects in Finland

Tijs van den Broek, Ton Spil, Timo Kestilä, Michel Ehrenhard, Hannu Salmela, Contextual Factors Influencing Strategic Information Systems Planning in a Network: Evaluation of Two Inter-Municipality Projects in Finland. In: The 2nd European Conference on Information Management and Evaluation, 67-76, Academic Publishing Limited Reading, 2008.

Abstract:

Abstract: Public services are increasingly transcending organizational borders. Yet, Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) is mostly studied within organizations. Recently, however, preliminary attempts are made to study SISP on a network level. As the network studies up to now focus on the planning process and its outcome, we choose to study contextual factors that give input to the process and effectiveness of networked SISP.

We aim to explore - by means of in-depth semi-structured interviews - how different contexts may lead to different SISP approaches among inter-organizational networks. By analyzing the transcriptions of our audio taped interviews we derive the factors that influence SISP in a network. As there is almost no previous research on contextual factors of IS planning in networks, SISP literature has been systematically reviewed to derive SISP factors on the organizational level. This literature review was then combined with seminal work in the field of network literature. From these literatures we derive four major contextual factors that influence SISP in a network: 1) the external environment, 2) the (inter)-organizational context, 3) the nature of the planned IS and 4) resources committed to the SISP process.

Two cases were conducted in Helsinki’s metropolitan area to empirically explore the factors found in the systematic literature review. The first case regarded the planning of an online identification and payment system that supports the public services of municipalities. The formulation of an inter-organizational IS plan in the capital area served as a second case study. Key stakeholders in the planning process of both networks were interviewed to evaluate the context, process and the effectiveness .These cases illustrate the importance of the context of the planning process and explain how a governmental context influences the way SISP is executed in networks. Pressure from national policy for merging municipalities, increasing importance of inter-organizational IS in the light of eGovernment and pre-existing inter-organizational structure are major factors that came forward in the cases.

Both researchers and practitioners in the field of inter-agency collaboration, particularly SISP, should take contextual factors, such as the complexity of the internal or external environment or the nature of the IOS, in account.

Files:

Abstract in PDF-format

BibTeX entry:

@INPROCEEDINGS{inpvaSpKeEhSa08a,
  title = {Contextual Factors Influencing Strategic Information Systems Planning in a Network: Evaluation of Two Inter-Municipality Projects in Finland},
  booktitle = {The 2nd European Conference on Information Management and Evaluation},
  author = {van den Broek, Tijs and Spil, Ton and Kestilä, Timo and Ehrenhard, Michel and Salmela, Hannu},
  publisher = {Academic Publishing Limited Reading},
  pages = {67-76},
  year = {2008},
  keywords = {Strategic Information Systems Planning, networks, inter-organizational Information Systems, inter-municipality cooperation, eGovernment},
}

Belongs to TUCS Research Unit(s): Network Economics Institute

Edit publication