| 11. |
- Heumann, J, et al.
(författare)
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To coerce or to enable Exercising formal control in a large information systems project
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Information Technology. - : SAGE Publications (UK and US). - 1466-4437 .- 0268-3962. ; 30:4, s. 337-351
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In virtually every information systems (IS) project, control is exercised on multiple hierarchical project levels. For example, senior managers exercise control over project team leaders, who in turn exercise control over distinct groups of project team members. Most prior studies have exclusively focused on one specific controller-controllee dyad. As a result, there is little understanding of how IS project control is exercised across different hierarchical levels. To close this research gap, we conducted a case study of a large IS project at a major engineering firm. Our study helps enrich the traditional mode-based typology of control with the dimension of control style, that is, the distinction between enabling and coercive control. Our research contributes novel insights to the IS control literature in three ways: (1) we find that the senior management level and the project management level differ in the use of control style but not in the use of control modes, (2) we identify several factors that influence the choice of a particular control style, and (3) we find that senior managers can influence project activities on lower levels by implementing controls that can be readily emulated by project leaders as well as transmitted through hierarchical levels with little distortion.
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| 12. |
- Mähring, Magnus, et al.
(författare)
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Control configuration and control enactment in information systems projects: Review and expanded theoretical framework
- 2016
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Ingår i: MIS Quarterly. - : University of Minnesota, Management Information Systems Research Center. - 0276-7783. ; 40:3, s. 741-774
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The control of information systems (IS) projects is a key activity for deployment of information technology (IT) resources and ultimately for value creation through IT. For the last 20 years, research on IS project control has grown to cover a wide range of aspects and issues, including control modes, amounts, and portfolios, control in internal and outsourced settings, and control antecedents, consequences, and dynamics. There is an important theoretical and practical impetus for this research, since the nature of IS projects creates specific and challenging conditions for control, and since control research in neighboring disciplines often neglects temporary endeavors such as projects. In this study, we provide a systematic review and synthesis of the literature and develop an expanded theoretical framework for IS project control with supporting conjectures. Our review reveals that existing research primarily studies the contextual antecedents and performance consequences of control modes and amounts, and thus focuses on control portfolio configurations (what). In contrast, prior research largely neglects control enactment, that is, how the controller interacts with the controllee to put the portfolio of controls into practice. Our expanded framework points to the importance of studying control portfolio configurations and control enactment (in terms of control style and control congruence) in combination, in order to better understand IS project control effectiveness. Expanding the toolbox of concepts available to IS researchers, our framework helps resolve existing research gaps and inconsistencies, and opens up new avenues for future research on the control of IS projects.
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| 13. |
- Mähring, Magnus, et al.
(författare)
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Getting the control across: Control transmission in information systems offshoring projects
- 2017
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Ingår i: Information Systems Journal. - : Wiley: 12 months. - 1365-2575 .- 1350-1917. ; 28:4, s. 708-728
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Offshoring of information systems (IS) projects has become a widespread global practice. While prior research suggests that controlling, and communicating with, offshore vendors represent key managerial challenges, the topic of how control is communicated, or transmitted, from client to vendor has been widely neglected. Our study focuses on control transmission in the critical relationship between client and offshore vendor managers, and its impact on the performance of IS offshoring projects. Drawing on a matched-pair survey with 172 client and vendor managers from 86 projects, our results provide several new insights to the IS literature: First, we find that both behaviour and outcome control have the capacity to be transmitted consistently in lateral IS offshore project relationships. Second, our results show that consistent transmission translates into a performance effect only for outcome control. Third, we find that high-performing offshore projects are characterized by both greater control transmission consistency and greater use of outcome control compared to low-performing projects. In sum, our study extends theory on IS project control by highlighting that effective control of IS offshoring projects is not only about selecting proper controls but also about ensuring that, as a controller, you get the control across to the controllee.
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
- Remus, Ulrich, et al.
(författare)
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Control Modes Versus Control Styles: Investigating ISD Project Control Effects at the Individual Level
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Most previous research on ISD project control conceptualizes control activities in terms of control modes and focuses on performance effects at the project level. This seems to oversimplify the way controls ‘work’ by neglecting the multidimensionality of control activities and their effects at the individual level. In this paper, we adopt an expanded view of ISD project control, employing data from 92 ISD projects to analyze how different control modes (what?) and control styles (how?) relate to controllee task performance and job satisfaction. Importantly, our results suggest that control style is more important than control modes in explaining individual-level control effects. Moreover, as hypothesized, formal and informal controls positively affect task performance, while only informal controls have a positive effect on job satisfaction. Finally, we find significant interaction effects between control style and formal controls, suggesting a complex non-linear relationship between the two, which opens interesting avenues for future research.
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| 16. |
- Remus, Ulrich, et al.
(författare)
-
The amount of control in offshore software development projects
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Global Information Management. - : IGI Global. - 1062-7375 .- 1533-7995. ; 20:4, s. 1-26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Prior research has focused on factors influencing the choice of controls in traditional project settings. Building on this research, this paper investigates the amount of control-defined as the variety and intensity of control mechanisms-in offshore software development projects. Using a comparative case study approach, the authors put forward eight propositions regarding the factors that influence the amount of control and its dynamics. Their results not only confirm existing findings, such as the predominance of formal controls and the negative effect of trust on the amount of formal control, but also contribute with new findings. For instance, they were able to identify particularly high levels of control in projects with high task complexity and/or high offshore team involvement as well as intensive use of formal outcome control in high volume and strategically important projects. The authors' empirical findings are integrated in a conceptual model that leads to a better understanding of the antecedents of the amount of both formal and informal controls. In contrast with previous studies, their findings do not support the notion that the amount of control is directly related to project success.
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| 17. |
- Remus, Ulrich, et al.
(författare)
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Why do you control? The concept of control purpose and its implications for is project control research
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Existing IS project control research primarily draws on agency theory to conceptualize control, relating control closely to aligning behaviors of self-interested controllees with organizational objectives. Recent studies in neighboring disciplines, however, suggest that the agency view of control is too narrow to fully understand control activities. Informed by these studies as well as drawing on stewardship and coordination theory, we introduce the concept of control purpose to the IS literature. We define this concept as the intentions underlying the controller's control activities, and distinguish between appropriation-And coordination-oriented controls. To evaluate the control purpose concept, we conduct a secondary analysis of 21 IS project control case studies. Results show that, despite their stated agency focus, most studies report on controls addressing both appropriation concerns and coordination requirements. On this basis, we discuss two potential research areas, knowledge management and control dynamics, where the control purpose concept can offer novel insights.
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
- Saunders, Carol S., et al.
(författare)
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The impact of control styles and control modes on individual-level outcomes: a first test of the integrated IS project control theory
- 2020
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Ingår i: European Journal of Information Systems. - : Taylor & Francis: STM, Behavioural Science and Public Health Titles. - 1476-9344 .- 0960-085X. ; 29:2, s. 134-152
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While IS development (ISD) projects are essential for deploying digital technologies in organisations, they are notoriously challenging to control and complete successfully. Prior ISD project control research mostly conceptualises control activities in terms of formal and informal control modes and frequently focuses on performance effects at the project level. We argue that new insight can be gained by moving beyond these conventions to include control enactment as well as individual-level control effects. In this study, we present new findings that could precipitate a change in how researchers think about, and practitioners exercise, control in ISD projects. Specifically, we provide a first test of the recently proposed Integrated IS Project Control Theory by analysing the impacts of control modes (what) and control styles (how) on project team members' task performance and job satisfaction. Employing data from 171 ISD projects, we find significant support for this theory by confirming the positive impact of an enabling control style on both task performance and job satisfaction, and by demonstrating that control style is more important than control modes in explaining individual-level control effects. Further, the results of a post-hoc analysis suggest complex interaction effects between an enabling control style and formal controls.
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| 20. |
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Sorption-induced deformation of microporous solids studied by in-situ dilatometry
- 2013
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Proceedings (redaktörskap) (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Microporous materials such as zeolites and amorphous carbons show a characteristic signature in terms of deformation as a result of micropore filling. Here we present analysis of synthetic microporous carbons with different annealing temperatures and consequently different average micropore sizes by gas adsorption combined with in-situ dilatometry. Measurements performed with N2 (77 K), Ar (77 K), CO2 (273 K) and H2O (298 K) all reveal the same general trends with respect to sorption-induced deformation, i.e. contraction of the samples at low micropore filling followed by a phase of monotonic expansion up to complete micropore filling. However, the extent and ranges in relative pressure related to contraction and expansion, respectively, are found to clearly differ for the specific combination of micropore size and analysis gas. Our results indicate that adsorption of different gases and vapors in slit shaped micropores with pore width below 0.9 nm yield a net expansion of the sample while adsorption in micropores with pore width above 0.9 nm results in contraction and expansion of similar extent. © 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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