Hatami, Afsoun
(2008)
Information and knowledge in competitive strategizing: Towards an involved perspective.
PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Abstract
Current research indicates that global companies still struggle in integrating managerial know-how well. The academic literature addresses the importance of information technologies (ITs) and socio-cultural aspects in organizations. This research looks at the managerial level to explore the ways in which executives leverage management information and knowledge in strategizing activities with regards to information systems (IS). Two problems are identified: first, a predominant view on IS as ITs, and as separate entities from strategizing with a typical response being a call for 'strategic alignment'; second, a predominant rational view on the manager. Based on two qualitative case studies, the IS strategizing framework (Galliers & Newell 2003) will serve the sense-making process with specific consideration given to exploration and exploitation strategies, and socio-technical elements of an information infrastructure (II). Interpretivism and the hermeneutic circle guide the analysis of empirical findings from interviews and observation. Key findings reveal the prevalence of subsystems among senior managers with the ambidextrous use of deliberate and emergent IS to achieve efficiency and flexibility (Galliers 2007). The ontological assumptions of the 'involved manager' (Introna 1997) are used to explain the prevalence of subsystems and reveal attributes of ambidextrous managers (O'Reilly & Tushman 2004). The study implies that IS and strategic actors' involved mindsets are immanent to the strategizing process. Secondary findings show organizational implications of managerial subsystems to lead to widening cross-cultural gaps and political tensions. The study suggests conceptualizing IS as immanent to managerial knowledge work processes with deeper consideration to the human agent as the involved manager. Enhancements to the framework are proposed to include the ontological assumptions of the involved manager, which explain the use of IS as a result of an already involved IS mindset of the ambidextrous manager. Further research is suggested to test the findings across various cultural and organizational contexts.
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