The coordination of workarounds: Insights from responses to misfits between local realities and a mandated global enterprise system

Robert M. Davison; Louie H.M. Wong; Carol X.J. Ou; Steven Alter

doi:10.1016/j.im.2021.103530

Author(s)

Robert M. Davison
Louie H.M. Wong
Carol X.J. Ou
Steven Alter

Related Research Unit(s)

Department of Information Systems

Detail(s)

Original language	English
Article number	103530
Journal / Publication	Information & Management
Volume	58
Issue number	8
Online published	21 Sept 2021
Publication status	Published - Dec 2021

Link(s)

DOI	DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2021.103530 Final Published version
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Attachment(s)	Documents 83442840.pdf Final Published version, 2.04 MB, PDF Publisher's Copyright Statement This full text is made available under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Link to Scopus	https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85115893620&origin=recordpage
Permanent Link	https://scholars.cityu.edu.hk/en/publications/publication(239358ad-3ecc-480b-ba83-06636b0f2da4).html

Abstract

We investigate how employees react when confronted with an enterprise system (ES) that does not fit with work processes dictated by local realities. We draw on interview data (n = 31) from a multinational company to reveal how employees devised and coordinated workarounds that were not compliant with corporate IT policy, but enabled the completion of essential activities, thereby creating value for the firm and its customers. The coordination of these workarounds proved essential to their persistence. We discuss both the theoretical implications of our findings regarding workarounds and the practical contributions associated with the idea that non-compliance can be beneficial.

Research Area(s)

Coordination, Enterprise systems, Non-compliance, Persistence, Workarounds

Bibliographic Note

Full text of this publication does not contain sufficient affiliation information. With consent from the author(s) concerned, the Research Unit(s) information for this record is based on the existing academic department affiliation of the author(s).