Abstract:

This paper introduces a framework for analyzing technology-based organizational action. It presents the concept of 'value programs', to represent the complex, pluralistic nature of organizational action around the application of IT systems. The nature of IT based organizational functioning and transformation is usefully distinguished in terms of multiple courses of action, driven by dissimilar and sometimes conflicting interests. An example of the use of this analysis approach is presented through a case study analysis of IT-based customer service operations. The framework’s utility is seen to lie in capturing the social complexity of IT based organizational functioning from an inter-relational, integrative standpoint. This research advances the application of systems thinking to organizational analysis in the IS field.