The use of ethnography and grounded theory in the development of a management information system

Abstract

This work presents new evidence on how ethnography and the grounded theory approach can be integrated within a participatory information system development process. We conducted an ethnography in a hospital unit, collecting data from observations, interviews, and documents. The discussion about emergent themes with the actors in their natural context and the development of a grounded model allowed us to identify widespread discomfort felt by personnel and to code it as process conflict, that is a particular type of conflict caused by inefficiencies in the organization of work activities. The grounded model was the starting point for conducting a series of focus groups during which the organizational actors were allowed to face process conflict while defining the requirements of a new management information system. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our study for IS researchers and practitioners.

Keywords:

• Information Systems Development (ISD)
• ethnography
• grounded theory approach
• process conflict

Acknowledgements

Research support from the Manodori Foundation is gratefully acknowledged.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elisa Mattarelli

About the authors

Elisa Mattarelli is Assistant Professor at the Department of Engineering Science and Methods of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy. She holds a Ph.D. in Management Engineering from the University of Padua, she did a post doc fellowship at the MIS Department of the Eller Business School at the University of Arizona, and she has been collaborating with the Department of Management of the University of Bologna. Her research interests include knowledge transfer in communities of practice, the use of collaborative technologies, collaboration between professional groups, and virtual teams. Among her recent publications are a book on virtual teams and articles on Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Journal of Information Technology & People, and Industry & Innovation.

Fabiola Bertolotti

Fabiola Bertolotti is Associate Professor of Organization Theory and Organizational Behavior at the School of Engineering, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. In 2000 she was a visiting scholar at the Management Department of the University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests focus on work teams, how people make meaning of their work, the sharing of knowledge among professional workers and the processes of identity creation and organizational identification. She has published on these subjects in journals such as Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, Journal of Organizational Change Management, Journal of Management Inquiry, and European Management Journal.

Diego Maria Macrì

Diego Maria Macrì is Full Professor of Management at the School of Engineering of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. His current major research interests focus on the interplay between technology and organizational choices, the effect of inter-organizational relationships on a firm's performance, and the design of performance management systems. He has published on these subjects in such journals as Journal of Cost Management, Technovation, Journal of Organizational Change Management, New Technology, Work and Employment. He is the founder of an academic spin-off devoted to the development of information management systems for Public Administrations.