Institutional Pressures as Sources of Improvisations: A Case Study from a Developing Country Context

Abstract

This article applies concepts and ideas from institutional theory to study improvisations in IT and organizational change. Within the information systems (IS) discipline, IT and organizational change models have evolved from early teleological models to more dynamic models which consider the role of IT in organizational change as emergent based on improvisations. Improvisations are regarded as unexpected actions aimed at solving crises and/or exploiting opportunities. However, the sources of these crises or opportunities have not been adequately accounted for - leaving it a fruitful area for research. Applying institutional ideas, we suggest in this article that the sources of these crises/opportunities are the normative, mimetic and coercive prescriptions found within the institutional context of the organization. A major implication of applying institutional ideas to the study of improvisations is that the sources of improvisations are extended to include established norms of practice from within the environment of organizations.