Power, politics, and MIS implementation

TLDR

Theories of resistance to management information systems explain why users oppose MIS, attributing resistance to internal factors, poor system design, or the interaction between design features and organizational context, and they differ in assumptions, predictions, and implementation implications. The study begins to evaluate these differing theories by comparing their assumptions and predictions. The authors use a case study to illustrate the theories and assess their practical relevance. The case study shows that the interaction theory is superior for implementors, offering better guidance for MIS implementation.

Abstract

Theories of resistance to management information systems (MIS) are important because they guide the implementation strategies and tactics chosen by implementors. Three basic theories of the causes of resistance underlie many prescriptions and rules for MIS implementation. Simply stated, people resist MIS because of their own internal factors, because of poor system design, and because of the interaction of specific system design features with aspects of the organizational context of system use. These theories differ in their basic assumptions about systems, organizations, and resistance; they also differ in predictions that can be derived from them and in their implications for the implementation process. These differences are described and the task of evaluating the theories on the bases of the differences is begun. Data from a case study are used to illustrate the theories and to demonstrate the superiority, for implementors, of the interaction theory.