article

Information system development agility as organizational learning

Authors:

Kalle Lyytinen,

Gregory M. RoseAuthors Info & Claims

European Journal of Information Systems, Volume 15, Issue 2

Pages 183 - 199

https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.ejis.3000604

Published: 01 April 2006 Publication History

Abstract

Information System Development (ISD) agility is concerned with why and how ISD organizations sense and respond swiftly as they develop and maintain Information System applications. We outline a theory of ISD agility that draws upon a model of IT innovation and organizational learning. The theory adopts March's concepts of exploration and exploitation to investigate agility in the context of ISD organizations. Depending on their learning focus, ISD organizations make choices as to what sensing and responding swiftly means. This is reflected in how they value speed in relation to other ISD process goals, including quality, cost, risk and innovative content. The paper examines two specific Research Propositions: (1) ISD organizations locate themselves into different innovation regimes with respect to their need for exploration and exploitation, and (2) their perceptions of agility differ in those regimes as reflected in their process goal priorities. We validate these propositions through an empirical investigation of changes in ISD organizations' process goals and innovation practices over a period of over 4 years (1999-2003), during which time they shied away from exploration to exploitation while innovating with Internet computing. These ISD organizations viewed agility differently during the studied time periods as reflected in how they traded innovative content or speed vis-à-vis the other process goals of cost, risk, and product quality. In conclusion, this paper discusses implications for future research on agility in ISD organizations.

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Cited By

Camargo‐Henríquez ISilva A(2023)Understanding Software‐centered Evolutive Ecosystems through Activity TheoryJournal of Software: Evolution and Process10.1002/smr.256035:12Online publication date: 16-Mar-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1002/smr.2560
Chengalur-Smith INevo SFitzgerald B(2021)Enhancing Hybrid OSS Development Through Agile Methods and High Media SynchronicityACM SIGMIS Database: the DATABASE for Advances in Information Systems10.1145/3508484.350849052:4(92-118)Online publication date: 29-Dec-2021
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3508484.3508490
Kumar RThakurta R(2021)Exfoliating decision support system: a synthesis of themes using text miningInformation Systems and e-Business Management10.1007/s10257-020-00490-419:1(247-279)Online publication date: 3-Jan-2021
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/s10257-020-00490-4
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Index Terms

Information system development agility as organizational learning
1. Information systems
2. Social and professional topics
  1. Professional topics
    1. Management of computing and information systems
      1. Project and people management
        Systems development
      2. Software management

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Published In

cover image European Journal of Information Systems

European Journal of Information Systems Volume 15, Issue 2

Including a special section on business agility and diffusion of information technology

April 2006

126 pages

ISSN:0960-085X

Issue’s Table of Contents

Publisher

Macmillan Press Ltd.

United Kingdom

Publication History

Published: 01 April 2006

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Cited By

Camargo‐Henríquez ISilva A(2023)Understanding Software‐centered Evolutive Ecosystems through Activity TheoryJournal of Software: Evolution and Process10.1002/smr.256035:12Online publication date: 16-Mar-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1002/smr.2560
Chengalur-Smith INevo SFitzgerald B(2021)Enhancing Hybrid OSS Development Through Agile Methods and High Media SynchronicityACM SIGMIS Database: the DATABASE for Advances in Information Systems10.1145/3508484.350849052:4(92-118)Online publication date: 29-Dec-2021
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3508484.3508490
Kumar RThakurta R(2021)Exfoliating decision support system: a synthesis of themes using text miningInformation Systems and e-Business Management10.1007/s10257-020-00490-419:1(247-279)Online publication date: 3-Jan-2021
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/s10257-020-00490-4
Park YPavlou PSaraf N(2020)Configurations for Achieving Organizational Ambidexterity with DigitizationInformation Systems Research10.1287/isre.2020.095031:4(1376-1397)Online publication date: 1-Dec-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1287/isre.2020.0950
Gerster DDremel CBrenner WKelker P(2020)How Enterprises Adopt Agile Forms of Organizational DesignACM SIGMIS Database: the DATABASE for Advances in Information Systems10.1145/3380799.338080751:1(84-103)Online publication date: 21-Jan-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3380799.3380807
Ravichandran T(2018)Exploring the relationships between IT competence, innovation capacity and organizational agilityThe Journal of Strategic Information Systems10.1016/j.jsis.2017.07.00227:1(22-42)Online publication date: 1-Mar-2018
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.jsis.2017.07.002
O'Connor MMorgan L(2017)It's About TimeProceedings of the 13th International Symposium on Open Collaboration Companion10.1145/3126673.3126682(1-8)Online publication date: 23-Aug-2017
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3126673.3126682
Rose JFurneaux B(2016)Innovation Drivers and Outputs for Software FirmsAdvances in Software Engineering10.1155/2016/51260692016Online publication date: 1-Apr-2016
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1155/2016/5126069
Gregory PBarroca LSharp HDeshpande ATaylor K(2016)The challenges that challengeInformation and Software Technology10.1016/j.infsof.2016.04.00677:C(92-104)Online publication date: 1-Sep-2016
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.infsof.2016.04.006
Alzoubi YGill AAl-Ani A(2016)Empirical studies of geographically distributed agile development communication challengesInformation and Management10.1016/j.im.2015.08.00353:1(22-37)Online publication date: 1-Jan-2016
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.im.2015.08.003
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