Information Systems Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach

Ela Klecun‐Dabrowska (Brunel University, Middlesex, UK)

Information Technology & People

ISSN: 0959-3845

Article publication date: 1 December 2001

440

Citation

Klecun‐Dabrowska, E. (2001), "Information Systems Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach", Information Technology & People, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 406-419. https://doi.org/10.1108/itp.2001.14.4.406.4

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited


Steve Clarke’s book attempts to go beyond a standard textbook mould and includes ideas, particularly the critical approach, that are less prominent in business and IS (IS) domains. Does it achieve its aim? Overall, yes, it does, although critical perspective could have been developed further. This is not an IS strategy (ISS) book written purely from the critical perspective. Rather, it is an overview of different perspectives, with critical thinking flavouring some of the chapters, and culminating in the last chapter. This is exactly what the author says he set out to do, i.e. to provide a theoretically and empirically grounded approach to ISS, and to do justice to all strategic developments considered relevant to the IS domain, ranging from the planned and political to the totally participative and emancipatory.

The main argument of the book is that IS are a mixture of social and technical aspects that must be seen within a broader organisational context, and that the IS strategic management (ISSM) should reflect this. This is a point of view that I share, thus I will not attempt to dispute it here. The question is – are the arguments in support of it well developed? The answer is yes, within limitations of a textbook.

This is a textbook written for masters and undergraduate students. Thus, this review will look at the merits of the book’s ideas as well as its usefulness for teaching purposes.

With its very first page the book attempts to grab the student’s attention – and introduces a short case study that illustrates the main points of the chapter. This is an interesting approach that should appeal to students. Case studies pop up throughout the book. Unfortunately, they are extremely short, as their aim is to demonstrate a particular argument. This leads to over‐simplifications, and does not allow for alternative interpretations. Overall, however, the book structure lends itself well to teaching purposes, with clear introductions to chapters, summaries, learning objectives, as well as different exercises. Written in a concise, clear way, the book’s message is pitched at an appropriate level for its target audience.

The book is divided into three parts, with the first one devoted to strategic management and IS. Curiously, there is no definition of IS, and no discussion of the implications of different types of systems (e.g. organisational, inter‐organisational or global) for the development of strategies. The chapter immediately focuses on IS development (ISD). Although Steve Clarke presumes that the reader has some knowledge of IS andcorporate strategy, a brief introduction to IS might have been useful. Nevertheless, the main trends in ISD are well covered. Equally, the corporate strategy is given a thorough overview.

What, perhaps, differentiates this work from other textbooks in this area is that not only it brings together IS and corporate strategy, but that it also grounds them in social theory concepts. These concepts are successfully introduced in chapter three. Where the chapter disappoints is in its treatment of critical theory. Somehow, the clarity with which the book has been written so far slightly fails the author. A number of concepts touched upon beg further explanations. These, thankfully, are delivered in the last chapter of thebook. I was also disappointed with the focus on Habermas’ theory of knowledge constitutive interests. So many authors in IS seem to follow it indiscriminately. However, again, the last chapter dispelled my disappointment. Clarke introduces and uses other strands of critical theory and he considers the narrow focus on some of Habermas’ ideas as needlessly limiting. It is so good to see a different approach to critical theory. It would have been even better if Clarke presented his ideas in greater depth. However, this is a textbook which aims to introduce different perspectives, not just one. What perhaps might have given the book an additional interest, is a longer case study (real or fictional) that would have illustrated the ideas in practice. Failing this, more references to books that offer a practical approach to critical theory, for example; Alvesson and Willmott, and Alvesson and Deetz (2000), might have been beneficial.

Part two of the book critically reviews key issues in the strategic management of IS. Clarke sees IS as embedded in organisational structures and cultures, and points out that the overemphasis on technical aspects of IS often leads to projects’ failures. He offers a refreshing point of view on strategic alignment and competitive advantage, demonstrating that sustainable advantage from IS comes not from the technology but through its use in the organisational context. Furthermore, he argues that IS strategic management should be based upon information requirements not IT or even IS. He promotes a view that it is difficult to plan for competitive advantage from information, and thus it is better to try to strategically manage information more effectively and accept the advantage it gives. Discussing IS change management ideas, he emphasises the importance of understanding and matching the organisational structure and culture to the change management style, and calls for human activity factors to be given more weight.

These ideas are then taken further in the third and key part of the book. Drawing on works of Mintzberg (1987) and Orlikowski and Hofman (1997), Clarke suggests that people talk about strategies in one way, i.e. as a plan with fixed steps to achieve a known goal, while implementing them in another, more ad hoc way, to accommodate unforeseen circumstances. Since the technologies to be implemented and their organisational “impact” cannot be predicted, therefore a flexible approach to IS strategy is preferable to a planned one. Strategy must be able to deal not only with routine, foreseeable events, but also to react to “discontinuities”, once they are identified. A key issue for ISSM is the choice between strategy as discovery (emergent, based on patterns of activity) and strategy as a plan (or design). Clarke concludes that ISSM should include both approaches to fit organisational form and context. He points out that strategies are not objective products of scientific planning, but they emerge through a subjective understanding of realities and organisational goals, and thus they should be forged in a strongly participative way. The concept of participation is the key to Clarke’s vision of critically‐led ISSM. Through (critical) participation of all those involved and affected by the system, boundaries of the system may be established, normative content of the system “design” can be exposed, and fixed patterns of thinking and taken for granted assumptions might be revealed. How this can be achieved, Clarke does not elaborate upon (beyond offering yet another framework), but refers the reader to other texts. Despite this, he does highlight important issues and poses questions that should be considered in strategic management of IS.

Overall, the book offers a good synthesis of IS domain and corporate strategy, giving them a distinct critical flavour. What is more, it does not shy away from addressing important and often controversial issues in ISSM. It is well structured and written in an accessible language. It should prove to be an informative source for undergraduate and postgraduate students.

References

Alvesson, M. and Deetz, S. (2000), Doing Critical Management Research, Sage Publications, London.

Alvesson, M. and Willmott, H. (1996), Making Sense of Management: A Critical Introduction, Sage Publications, London.

Mintzberg, H. (1987), “Crafting strategy”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 65 No. 4, pp. 66‐75.

Orlikowski, W.J. and Hofman, J.D. (1997), “An improvisational model for change management: the case of groupware technologies”, Sloan Management Review, Vol. 38 No. 2, pp. 11‐21.

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