Implementation strategies for integrated office information systems.

This thesis is an investigation into the implementation of computer-based office information systems in organizations. The research methods employed are both qualitative and quantitative, and include fifteen case studies and a postal survey. A review of the literature and the case study research indicated that organizations are taking advantage of the integrative capacity of new technology in order to implement integrated office systems, but generally with little strategic focus or organizational change. A framework for the identification of strategic uses, based on information-processing theory, is presented, together with a discussion of their implications for organizational change.Implementation is both a rational and a political process. The thesis covers both aspects, reviewing the literature on the relationship between information technology and organizations to show that many of the consequences of implementation for the organization are non-deterministic and emerge fromn the process itself. Structuration theory is shown to be a means of unifying rational and interpretative perspectives on implementation. This analysis indicates the nature of the managerial problem and forms the basis for assessing prescriptive approaches to implementing office systems and managing change. An implementation strategy for integrated office systems is outlined, and the use of IT and office systems to design new organizations and the use of new approaches to implementing second- and third-order change are flagged up as areas requiring further empirical research.