2004 BUSINESS SCHOOL The University of Auckland New Zealand 1 from 6 OASIS Workshop 2004, Washington D.C. Jiunn Chieh Lee, Information Systems and Operations Management Dept. Enterprise Integration: Challenges to Understanding the Phenomena

2004 BUSINESS SCHOOL The University of Auckland New Zealand 2 from 6 OASIS Workshop 2004, Washington D.C. Jiunn Chieh Lee, Information Systems and Operations Management Dept. Enterprise Integration  Supply Chain Management, ERP and CRM  Covers multiple time frames, levels, career paths, functions  Involves Hidden agendas, power centres inscribed into system  Historical Nature of enterprise system design, implementation and use

2004 BUSINESS SCHOOL The University of Auckland New Zealand 3 from 6 OASIS Workshop 2004, Washington D.C. Jiunn Chieh Lee, Information Systems and Operations Management Dept. Limitations with Current frameworks  Philosophically: –Interpretive hermeneutics does not account for extension of the model of the text (Ricoeur 1981) to the social sphere (Thompson, 1981) *1) Exercise of power to impede utterances *II) Structure of language does not change as much as social sphere *III) The lack of a social theory that accounts for changes in social structures within the model of the text –Lack of the recognition of an IT artefact –Solution adopted: combining critical hermeneutics and structuration theory = critical structuration

2004 BUSINESS SCHOOL The University of Auckland New Zealand 4 from 6 OASIS Workshop 2004, Washington D.C. Jiunn Chieh Lee, Information Systems and Operations Management Dept. Limitations of Current Frameworks  Theoretically: –No single theory can accommodate the scope and width of holistic research on enterprise integration –Options?  Methodology –Multi-level, multi-functional, longitudinal  Shifting Unit of Analysis –Shifted from Stark a business unit to the overall conglomerate –Then back to division and finally back to Stark in context of conglomerate  Reflexivity required at all levels –E.g., Cycles of integration, disintegration and reintegration found at multiple levels of the conglomerate (Lee and Myers 2004) at later stage of project

2004 BUSINESS SCHOOL The University of Auckland New Zealand 5 from 6 OASIS Workshop 2004, Washington D.C. Jiunn Chieh Lee, Information Systems and Operations Management Dept. Questions  Philosophically: –How do we restructure the way we fundamentally see the world to gain new insights upon discovery of interesting data? (Philosophical reflexivity)  Theoretically: –Theory creation, adaptation and revision –How do we integrate micro, macro and interaction perspectives? –How do we address problems of disconnection from context?  Methodology: –How do you structure or design or sensitive a study to take into account multi-level multi-functional longitudinal aspects of enterprise integration in a reflexive fashion?

2004 BUSINESS SCHOOL The University of Auckland New Zealand 6 from 6 OASIS Workshop 2004, Washington D.C. Jiunn Chieh Lee, Information Systems and Operations Management Dept. Selected References  LEE JC and MYERS MD (2004) The challenges of enterprise integration: Cycles of integration and disintegration over time. In International Conference on Information Systems, Washington D.C.  RICOEUR P (1981) Hermeneutics and the human sciences: Essays on language, action and interpretation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.  THOMPSON JB (1981) Critical hermeneutics: A study in the thought of paul ricoeur and jurgen habermas. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.