Guest editorial Social and organizational aspects of internet‐based information systems

Internet technology has emerged as a powerful agent of change in organizations. In rapid succession, organizations have encountered opportunities presented by extranets, intranets, e-business, enterprise systems, peer-to-peer computing, wireless computing and a host of other technologies. It is clear that internet technologies are still in their early stage – they were not widely used on a commercial basis until around 1995. The latest data, however, show continued growth, despite the dot-com crash of 2000. The number of internet users worldwide is rising – by 48% in 2000 and 27% in 2001, to more than 500 million people by October 2002 (IDC, 2002). Even though venture funding of internet companies fell 71% in 2001, internet trade between businesses rose 73%, to $496 billion, and online retail spending rose 56%, to $112 billion, in the worst retail year in a decade. Even Amazon.com, the perennial cash incinerator, has recently been turning a net profit. As people, companies and governmental organizations have started to adapt their work and lives to take advantage of the new technologies, there has been an expansion of the types and numbers of information systems (IS) that apply such technologies in innovative ways for supporting work practices in organizations, transforming conventional information systems into interactive networks. Given the pervasive nature of internet-based IS, it is difficult to imagine that such an important technology transformation will have anything other than a profound social and organizational impact on companies (Castells, 2000). For example, the use of internet-based IS may have the potential to create new forms of action and interaction in organizations, new kinds of social relationships and new ways of relating to others and to oneself. While the growing significance of internet-based IS in organizations is widely recognized, we believe however, that a critical examination of the way in which these systems impact organizations has received little attention. Much of the existing research focuses on the technical/software features and components of internet-based IS, and disregards the influences of the different organizational and social contexts within which these systems evolve. Furthermore, there is no adequate theoretical framework to help us understand and assess the social and organizational impacts of these systems. The aim of this special issue of Information Systems Journal (ISJ) was, therefore, to stimulate empirical research into the social and organizational aspects of internet-based IS and to provide a forum for topics addressing such issues. The ‘Call for papers’ for this special issue attracted over 20 submissions on a diverse set of topics relating to the theme. Of these, 16 were chosen to be reviewed. Each paper went through three rounds of review and revision and, in the end, five were selected for publication. We are very pleased with the originality, diversity and quality of the five papers selected for this special issue – four are included in this issue and the last one will be published in the next issue of ISJ – and hope that the reader will feel the same. The selected papers reflect the diversity of IS research with respect to: research approaches, theoretical traditions, research subject and geographical focus. We have papers employing diverse research methods including case studies, content analysis on secondary case studies and experimental behavioural simulation; drawing on behavioural, institutional, social and management theories; and received from Europe, North America and the Middle East. The overarching research goal of Brian Detlor's paper is to explore patterns of internet-based IS use in organizations. Drawing on information behaviour theory, a conceptual framework is developed to better understand and assess the social and organizational impacts of internet-based IS. The framework describes the use of such systems as a dynamic cycle of information ‘needs-seeking-use’ activity, situated in the context of a firm's information environment. This framework is then used to examine how workers in a large telecommunications company use three different internet-based IS (an enterprise portal, a www and departmental intranets). Using quantitative and qualitative research methods, the study suggests that it is possible and valuable to identify scenarios of internet-based IS use dominant in an organizational setting. Aidan Duane & Pat Finnegan's paper draws on institutional theory to investigate intranet (internet technology within an organization) control activities and their effect on users’ perceptions of empowerment. By drawing on a case study of the evolution of an internet within an organization in Ireland, they argue that intranet is an empowering technology and intranet control systems must balance empowerment and control so as not to negate each other. Their study reveals the importance of balancing control strategies with empowerment initiatives in managing intranet environments. They conclude by outlining recommendations for the implementation of specific controls at particular stages in the evolution of an intranet, in order to achieve systems that balance empowerment and control. Mike Gallivan & Gordon Depledge's paper draws on social theory to develop a new theoretical conceptualization regarding the use of interorganizational systems in organizations. By drawing on 16 published case studies of electronic partnerships, they argue that in order for partnerships and interorganizational systems to be successful, both trust and control are needed. Their conceptualization identifies a complex, dialectic relationship between trust and control, wherein these constructs function neither as simple substitutes nor as complements to each other. Information sharing is one of the potential benefits of using the internet that is very often raised. Information communication, particularly through the use of email, enables new ways, and larger amounts, of information flow in workplace arrangements and supply chain topologies. Sheizaf Rafaeli's and Gilad Ravid's paper illustrates the relationship between information sharing, made possible via the introduction of email, and team performance. Using a variation of the well-known ‘Beer Game’ role-playing computer simulation game, this paper reports on the role of email in information sharing behaviour of teams involved in the operation of supply chains. The main finding in this study is a positive, high correlation between the amount of appropriate information sharing within teams, and team performance. When online technology allows information flow, teams that share information appropriately perform better. The paper by Tom Butler, which will be published in the next issue of ISJ (13:3), draws upon institutional theory to describe, explain and understand institutional influences on the development of web-based IS at Analog Devices, Inc. The paper first establishes a theoretical baseline or benchmark by examining the web of conditions and factors that influence the successful development and implementation of traditional IS. Then, it draws on the case study's empirical findings to highlight the similarities between the problems that arose in the development and implementation of intranet- and internet-based IS at Analog Devices, and those that characterize the development of implementation of traditional IS. The paper posits that the key factors in the successful development, implementation and use of web-based IS are (1) to effectively manage the socially constructed commitments of developers and users in an organization's communities-of-practice; and (2) to successfully align such commitments with organizational imperatives. We hope that the papers in this special issue provide a deeper understanding and appreciation of the social dimension of internet-based IS, and thereby stimulate further research and discussions in this area. Joe Nandhakumar is a Senior Lecturer in Information Systems at the University of Bath, School of Management, United Kingdom. Previously he was a Lecturer in the Department of Management at the University of Southampton where he was Director of the Masters Programme in Information Systems. He gained his PhD in Information Systems from the University of Cambridge, Department of Engineering. He has held Visiting Faculty Positions at the University of California Irvine and Georgia State University. Prior to becoming an academic he worked for several years in software development and accounting projects in multinational companies. He is a fully qualified Chartered Management Accountant. Dr Nandhakumar's research focuses on the social and organizational aspects of the development and use of information systems, information systems and organizational transformation, and theoretical and methodological issues in information systems research. His work has appeared in journals such as Accounting Organization and Society, Information Technology and People, Information Systems Journal, The Information Society, British Journal of Management, European Journal of Information Systems, Journal of Information Technology and Qualitative Research. His papers received many awards including the ‘Best Research Paper’ award at the 18th International Conference in Information Systems in 1997 and 10th European Conference on Information Systems in 2002. Ramiro Montealegre is an Associate Professor of Information Systems at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a Visiting Professor at Instituto de Empresa in Madrid. He received his doctorate in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School in the area of Management Information Systems. His masters degree in Computer Science is from Carleton University, Canada. He holds a Bachelor in Engineering degree from the Francisco Marroqun University, Guatemala. He has also been Invited Lecturer at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, IAE Business School in Argentina, Instituto de Centro America de Administracin de Empresas in Costa Rica, and the Instituto Tecnol gicoy de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Mexico. Professor Montealegre's research focuses on the interplay between information technology and organization transformation in highly uncertain environments. He has been involved in studying projects of organizational change in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Central and South American regions. His research has been published in MIS Quarterly, Organization Science, Sloan Management Review, Thunderbird International Business Review, Journal of Management Information Systems, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, IEEE Transactions on Communications, Information & Management, Information Technology & People and other journals. In 1997, he received MCB University Press’ Award for the ‘Most Outstanding’ paper published in the journal of Information Technology & People. In 1998, he received the ‘Best Paper’ Award of the Organizational Communication and Information Systems Division of the Academy of Management.

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