The Research Process: Neverending and Essential

1. IS6000 – Seminar 5 The Research Process

2. Research Never Stops – It is a Neverending Process! • Why? Perhaps because we can never know all the answers and we always seek improvements. • There are new technologies, new situations, new problems constantly appearing. • They are all eligible for research • The questions we ask today we could not ask yesterday.

3. Research Process Activities • A research project might take weeks, months, years, a life time. • There are many different activities – some occur in sequence, some in parallel. • As research progresses, the research problem may change and so too may the methods • It can be a messy process

4. Why Do We Need a Process? • So as to ensure that we • Are systematic and therefore produce better quality research • Organise what we do – and so ensure that we do not miss anything out • Don’t rush to find a solution. We need to be careful and thorough in our planning, data collecting, analysing and writing

5. Attributes of Good Research • Purposeful – For a good reason • Rigorous – Following principles • Testable – Can use empirical data • Replicable – Can be repeated (by others) • Precise – Accurate, not redundant • Objective – Impartial, neutral not biased • Generalizable – Applicable to other contexts • Parsimonious – Tight, focused not woolly or fuzzy

6. Sequence of Research Activities • Choose research topic • Identify research problem • Justify why this problem matters to some stakeholders • Specify the research question(s) • Literature review and theory • Create a research design • Consider ethics, data sources, methods • Consider measurement issues, data subjects • Collect, analyse and discuss data • Write up the research project & present • Take actions if necessary in the organisational context

7. Global but not Local: A Story of Workarounds, Compliance and ERP Today’s class draws on my own recent research experiences with a Hong Kong company I will use this to illustrate the research process

8. Global or Local Information Systems? • Global organisations find value in standardisation, centralisation and control • Global CEOs/CIOs may have a grand and global vision, but local actors think in a very different way and have different needs • What works locally tends to be what satisfies customers • But what happens if employees reject the global vision and the global Information System?

9. ERP in Hong Kong: A Case Study • This is a story about non-compliant employees who are successful in their work because they resist the global ERP, and remain true to their local working practices and customers • It is also a story about why global visions may be inappropriate locally if those global visions do not map onto local realities • If there are local practices that are essentially unchangeable, these will cause major headaches for systems analysts if they cannot be reflected in the software and if the software cannot be modified

10. Motivation • In all but the smallest (or most flexible) organisations, standardization and efficiency outweigh individual preferences • As a result, corporate IS, including ERP, is often mandatory for employees • But what is the value that the IS brings to the organisation andits employees? • And what if the corporate systems inadequately support working practices and so bring no value?! • Employees also have access to spreadsheets, social media and other tools which have the capability to facilitate localized ‘shadow systems’ • Paradoxically, shadow systems may create greater value than corporate systems

11. Case Context - Scatex • Scatex is a Europe-HQed, global retailer of home textiles, with ~200,000 employees globally • In Hong Kong, they operate four retail stores and one warehouse • A global ERP (Microsoft Navision) is installed … but often ignored! • In theory, the ERP controls all aspects of employee behaviour in retail and warehouse locations • In practice, the story is very different • Employees work around the ERP, in acts of non-compliance with corporate expectations that nevertheless lead to better work performance!

12. Research Gap? Knowledge Gap? • We aim to develop a deeper and more dynamic understanding of workarounds and non-compliant behaviour in the context of IS innovation, adoption and diffusion. • We do not assume that innovation is always good or that IS implementation = IS adoption • RQ: How do warehouse employees engage in actions that are not compliant with corporate IS in the course of their daily work? • RQ: How do these actions (workarounds) help them attain desired business results and create value for customers?

13. Relevant Literature • Most of the literature on IS adoption ignores situations where employees find the IS to be inadequate • There is some literature about resistance, and the suggestion is that resistance is quite common, even if not much studied • Reactions to resistance vary from positive to negative • Many factors contribute to resistance, including: • Inadequate systems, inappropriate managerial expectations, disillusioned employees • If systems are badly designed, employees may resist • This is where workarounds are encountered, as employees create their own shadow or feral systems to get work done

14. Compliance • The Corporate Governance literature addresses matters of compliance • Compliance is usually seen as essential to good governance • At least from the perspective of the CIO, CSO, … • But compliance can also be harmful if it obstructs natural work processes, and so non-compliance might be beneficial • Some non-compliant workarounds may be temporary fixes while others may be more permanent, and even enter organisational routines • ERP workarounds often involve the use of Excel, which may be a better application for data analysis and consolidation

15. ERP, Innovation and Post-Adoption • Much of the literature examines issues of initial and stand-alone ERP adoption and use in organisations, focusing on the bright side • Longitudinal studies are rarely encountered • Studies of problematic adoption/use are rarer still, as organisations are usually reluctant to have their dirty washing seen in public • But post-adoption behaviour (including the problems) is critical to long-term success • Models like TAM/UTAUT are premised on usefulness and ease-of-use, but we must also look at (sustained) business value and issues like whether employees need, want and understand the new IS

16. The Nature of ERP, Systems … and Work • ERP (or other IS) is only useful when embedded into work practices • The ERP is only one of many components in the work practice • Other components include: • Employees and Customers • Data, Processes and other Software/Systems • Products and Services • Corporate Strategy, Infrastructure, Environment • The ERP must fit well with the other components • But, if global standardization is the priority, the ERP may not fit well

17. Scatex’s History • Before 2010, each Scatex location could use whatever software it liked for enterprise, communication, CRM, SCM, etc. purposes • In 2010, global HQ decided that global standardization was required • The Hong Kong offices resisted fiercely • They repeatedly explained that some local practices cannot be modified to fit the software • HQ refused to modify the software to fit the local practices • In late 2016, the HK operations were forced to comply: the old ERP was removed and the new one (Navision) was installed.

18. Scatex’s ERP installations in Hong Kong • There are five installations in HK: • One warehouse • Four retail sites

19. Methods • This is a qualitative study • We interviewed 29 employees out of the 199 who work in the warehouse (all levels and functions) • Interviews were conducted in Cantonese, lasting 30 mins on average • The interview transcripts were translated to English and then analysed following the principles of data coding so as to identify key themes of specific interest given our research question • Our presentation is oriented around the key local practices that do not fit the ERP arrangements

20. Areas of Process-Software Incompatibility 1 • The ERP process logic assumes that when a customer buys a product, it is removed from the warehouse and either taken directly by the customer or shipped by an in-house delivery team • In Hong Kong this is impossible because there is inadequate storage space in the warehouse & the outsourced delivery teams cannot do instant delivery • Instead, goods may wait up to 9 days before delivery can be arranged • Therefore, goods are left on the warehouse shelf before being delivered • The retail store updates its database to reflect the sale, but the warehouse does not update its database until the item is delivered, causing database discrepancies

21. Global vs Local • Global Assumptions • Spacious store • Each store manages it’s own warehouse • “Instant picking” is normal • The majority of customers pick up their purchased products by themselves Retail Area Warehouse Area Customer Pickup Area An instance of how the ERP system ‘thinks’ about the local organisation

22. Global vs Local • Local Reality • Less spacious stores • Each store has limited storage space for small items and needs to coordinate deliveries with the consolidated warehouse • The majority of customers request delivery services • 3rd party contractors are involved in delivery services • “Delay picking” is required

24. Areas of Process-Software Incompatibility 2 • There is no automatic (real-time) updating of databases • If there are 10 items in the warehouse and someone places an order for 5 at one retail outlet, the databases of the other retail outlets will not be updated until several hours later • Potentially more than 5 items could be ordered by other customers before the update happens • The ERP has very little capability for data analysis functions such as: sorting, forecasting, delivery management, report generation, etc. • This makes it very hard for employees to complete their work tasks

25. Areas of Process-Software Incompatibility 3 • A more serious problem relates to delivery rescheduling. • An extreme weather event in Hong Kong, such as a typhoon, causes all deliveries for several hours or days to be cancelled and rescheduled. • Since the ERP does not permit batch rescheduling, each delivery must be rescheduled individually for each customer, which is very time consuming if there are hundreds of orders. • With the old ERP this could be done in 2-3 hours but with the new system it takes more than 3 days.

26. Workarounds 1 • We identified a variety of problems in Scatex, but remarkably there is a single solution to all of them: Microsoft Excel. • “Navision is unable to support local work practices that are necessitated by local circumstances” • “Basically 100% of my work requires workarounds” • “We use Excel to manage deliveries. Excel enables us to acquire the data for delivery that is sent to the delivery contractor. … After gathering and sorting delivery information in Excel, we can determine the number of delivery vans required, the number of items to be delivered, the places to go, the payment to the drivers. Excel is used to handle all these arrangements. Without Excel there is no way to undertake the delivery of goods” • “We tried to explain the situation to the boss, but he doesn’t understand and suggests that we should not use workarounds. We ignore this and insist to use workarounds because we just want to get the job done”

27. Workarounds 2 • “Every day we do our work in Excel rather than using Navision. We use Excel to integrate the information from Navision. We download the data from Navision to Excel, where we do the analysis. Most of the daily job routines involve Excel. … this workaround has become part of the regular work routine” • The ERP only allows data export in xml, so employees export, clean in xls and then analyse as they need • But when they finish analysing, they cannot upload the results to ERP • So they share the analyses by email, by USB drive, by Whatsapp • For global managers, this local analysis is invisible • All the Excel analysis is non-compliant yet essential

28. Discussion • Although Navision is an ERP software, the role it plays in Scatex is so central to people and business processes that it is better to see it as a component of a socio-technical system • Since Navision does not adequately support employees in their local work, they feel empowered to ignore Navision and create their own local solutions, adopting other technologies in a form of bricolage • In this way, they can complete their work and satisfy their customers

29. IS Innovations and Work • In the Hong Kong warehouse, there is a well-developed set of working practices • These are not supported by the new IS innovation: Navision • Clearly the intended impact of the innovation was not realised in the way intended by the Global Innovation Team • It is thus apparent that the local characteristics of work are quite distinct, and require appropriate IS support, even within the same global organisation and among people doing the same work

30. Drivers and Obstacles to IT-related Change • In Scatex’s Hong Kong operations, we could not identify any drivers of the IT change! • No one we talked to had anything good to say about Navision • Navision did not make anyone’s life easier or improve their job satisfaction • However, we found lots of barriers! • Everyone was unhappy and told us how the new software made it more difficult for them to complete their work • We find it significant that the innovation was externally motivated, experienced problematic implementation, required employees to accept a new and impoverished working environment, and consequently led to the development of workarounds that became institutionalised

31. Catalysts and Compliance • The extent to which an innovation is needed, understood and liked is critical to that innovation’s success • In Scatex, Navision was not needed; the rationale for its adoption was not understood; it was universally disliked • Although it could be used in certain job functions (sales, procurement, stock management, accounting) it did not improve the work here • So the rejection by employees is hardly surprising • Employees spoke as though their primary duty was to their customers, not to their managers or Scatex-Global • Employees demonstrated a desire to comply with local work norms rather than comply with corporate expectations regarding the ERP

32. Implications for IS Research I • We were puzzled why Scatex’s HQ paid so little attention to local value considerations • It is well recognised that the ‘business value of IT’ is important • Value is achieved when people work effectively and efficiently • We thus perceive a disconnect between global HQ and local employees • Different stakeholders clearly have different needs • Innovations are only meaningful in the context where they apply • Thus, innovation makes sense only if it adds value in the local context • Innovation has to be much more than initial adoption: long-term value-adding use is also essential

33. Implications for IS Research II • Compliance is not a topic that has attracted much attention in the IS literature. • We suspect that there are many instances where employees are not compliant with corporate expectations regarding technology usage • We need to find ways to bring compliance and non-compliance into the technology adoption discourse • We need to recognise that non-compliance can be beneficial and that this can be a legitimate topic for research • There may not be a single ‘truth’ operating in the organisation • We don’t have to assume that the (global) CIO is right! • A global best practice can be a local disaster

34. Implications for IS Research III • There are theoretical opportunities here relating to IS adoption, workarounds and beneficial non-compliance with IT governance expectations • We need to decide whose interests we want to focus on: • The corporate perspective (effectiveness, efficiency, profit) • The employee perspective (getting the job done) • The customer perspective (being satisfied with services rendered) • The security perspective (protecting the organisation from harm) • Non-compliance can benefit all stakeholders (except the CSO)

35. Future Work – Theoretical • Our next step is to develop theoretical propositions from our rich case data • I anticipate that we will seek to theorise the relationships between • The adequacy of corporate systems to support work • The extent to which work practices are controlled by governance • The extent to which employees are motivated to be successful in their work • The extent to which employees actively create workarounds • The extent to which these workarounds contribute to organisational performance

36. A Very Simple Model Work Control H3- H1- Inadequacy of Work Systems Work-Focused Workaround Behaviours Organisational Performance H5+ H2+ Fear of Failure H4+

37. Future Work - Practical • Does this model make sense in other contexts? • We need to test it with empirical data, from case studies, surveys, even action research, so as to see if it can be replicated across other contexts. • There are likely to be moderators of some of the relationships • Some cultural factors may also be important, but these remain to be identified

38. Lessons Learned from this Study? • The IS innovation prevented employees from completing their work, achieving business objectives, creating value or satisfying their customers • Employees had no choice but to develop shadow systems and workarounds • As IS researchers, we can learn from this if we want to • Future research can explore shadow systems, workarounds and non-compliance in • Focus on how workarounds create value that the ERP cannot create • We should never assume that IS innovations always add value • They are seldom perfect when first adopted • They can disrupt working processes • They often need modification