No abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyse the interaction between the dynamic information environment (IE) and the operational environment to promote the cooperation of the higher education institution with business life and enhance the external impact of the institution on its environment. The dynamic IEs are analysed to manage the information systems and internal processes in an educational institution and their cooperating partners. This article is organised as follows: The article introduces the approach of IEs and operational environments. Then the concept of a dynamic IE is used to analyse the information systems used in the core internal processes of the higher education institution. The study also describes the partnership in a dynamic IE. Thereafter, a short case study is presented about partnership using the electronic Optima platform at the Turku University of Applied Sciences (TUAS). Finally, the results of the study are summarised in the concluding section.

No abstract

The importance of middle managers is frequently noted in the context of strategic management and other key decisions (Floyd & Wooldridge, 1996; Gold, 1998; Kettunen, 2002). The role of the middle managers can, however, be much greater because they are responsible with other creative individuals for the innovations of their subunits. They assume the responsibility for developing many information systems to serve the processes of the organisation. There has been some criticism of the limited scope of information system innovation research (Lyytinen & Rose, 2003a, 2003b). The purpose of this article is to show that the information systems of an education institution can be classified according to the information environments (IEs) and other characteristics such as the organisational levels. The analysis reveals the creative class of a higher education institution (HEI) which assumes responsibility for developing the information systems in cooperation with the other units of the institution and networks. The empirical case of this article illustrates the information environments and information systems of the Turku University of Applied Sciences (TUAS). It is argued that technology and behaviour are not dichotomous in an information environment; they are inseparable. The analysis helps education management to develop the institution’s information systems in an innovative way.

No abstract