Everyday power struggles: living in an IOIS project

Abstract

The broad aim of this interpretive study was to investigate the lived experiences of inter-organisational information system (IOIS) project members who worked in a 3-year-long IOIS project. The study presents an original longitudinal study of project member experiences. In this paper, we have described and analysed one core category, project power, which was derived from a grounded theory (GT) study. This study extends existing theories about power in organisational contexts, in particular the everyday use of power in projects. The paper shows how GT can be used to gain significant insights into a case study, and also generate new concepts. This paper gives detailed insights into the power issues as they played out in a complex IOIS project. This IOIS project spanned four user organisations, two suppliers, one national organisation, a research organisation and a government Ministry. One key finding is that, given the complexity of the project management structures in an IOIS project such as this, project members often resorted to formal authority as a means of getting things done, in the absence of informal links between organisations. The project history also had major ramifications on the use of power in this project.

Keywords:

• power
• IOIS projects
• grounded theory

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Riitta Hekkala

About the authors

Riitta Hekkala is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the School of Business at the Aalto University, Helsinki. She has worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher and a Lecturer in Information Systems at the Department of Information Processing Sciences at the University of Oulu. She has a Ph.D. in Information Systems from the University of Oulu (3/2011). She is also a Ph.D. student in Education at the University of Oulu, Finland. She graduated in Pedagogic (Master of Arts (Ed)) from Oulu University in 2000 and graduated in Information Processing Sciences (M.Sc.) from Oulu University in 2004. She has been a Teacher and a researcher both in Educational Sciences (1998–2000) and in Information Systems (since 2002) at the University of Oulu Finland. She worked as a Visiting Research Fellow in New Zealand during 3/2008–2/2009.

Cathy Urquhart

Cathy Urquhart is a Professor of Digital and Sustainable Enterprise at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. She is a past Senior Editor for MIS Quarterly and an Associate Editor for Information Technology and Development. She is a member of the AIS Special Interest Groups for Global Development (SIGGLOBDEV) and Grounded Theory Method (SIGGTM). Her research interests include Green IT, ICTs in developing countries, and also grounded theory. Her 2012 book on grounded theory, published by Sage, is called Grounded Theory for Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide. Her Website can be found here http://www2.business.mmu.ac.uk/staff/staffdetails.php?uref=430 and her e-mail address is [email protected]