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

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

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Information Systems

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

24 Citations (Scopus)

87 Downloads (CityUHK Scholars)

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.

Original language	English
Article number	103530
Journal	Information & Management
Volume	58
Issue number	8
Online published	21 Sept 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2021.103530
Publication status	Published - Dec 2021

Bibliographical 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).

Research Keywords

Coordination
Enterprise systems
Non-compliance
Persistence
Workarounds

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/

RGC Funding Information

RGC-funded

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10.1016/j.im.2021.103530

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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.",

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N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

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

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Research Keywords

Publisher's Copyright Statement

RGC Funding Information

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GRF: How Business Professionals Adapt to Inadequate Information Systems

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

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Research Keywords

Publisher's Copyright Statement

RGC Funding Information

Access Output

Other Access Options

Permanent Link

Other Files and Links

Fingerprint

Projects

GRF: How Business Professionals Adapt to Inadequate Information Systems

Cite this