Balancing the Local and the Global in Infrastructural Information Systems

Abstract

A considerable body of literature has demonstratedempirically as well as analytically-that information systems need to be situated to the local context of use. Yet for infrastructural information systems that span numerous contexts spread out globally, this is literally prohibitive. For these systems to work, it is necessary to strike a balance between sensitiveness to local contexts and a need to standardize across contexts. We analyze a key element in this, namely, spelling out the (largely invisible) "costs" that the different actors pay to achieve working solutions. Empirically, we draw from an ongoing case study. We analyze the attempts of a maritime classi cation company with 5500 employees located in 300 sites in 100 countries to develop an infrastructural information system to support the surveying of ships globally. We elaborate design implications and concepts relevant to developing information infrastructures that also apply to the context of developing countries.

Grafting: Balancing Control and Cultivation in Information Infrastructure Innovation

“…Different actors shape, maintain, and extend information infrastructure "in modular increments, not all at once or globally" (Star, 1999). Managerial urges to curb complexity, mitigate risks, and facilitate interoperability across II parts are in constant tension with the need for local flexibility to accommodate situated practices Hanseth, Monteiro, & Hatling, 1996;Ives & Jarvenpaa, 1991;Rolland & Monteiro, 2002). This tension is strengthened by the diffusion of II capabilities (Hanseth et al, 1996) because situated practices and technology appropriations diverge rather than converge over time (Forster & King, 1995).…”

“…Similarly, tenderness is essential when "universal" ICTs or generic software packages are adapted and configured to local contingencies, or when practitioners are encouraged to embrace organization-wide information system acquisitions that potentially transform their work. Pollock, Williams, and D'adderio (2007) develop the term "generification work" to explore how software packages (e.g., CRM and ERP) are built to travel and work across different contexts (Rolland & Monteiro, 2002). Central to "generification work" are strategies for handling large amounts of functional requirements, of varying importance, from dispersed solution adopters (Pollock et al, 2007).…”

Infrastructure Time: Long-term Matters in Collaborative Development

“…Thus, software development associated with web delivery emphasizes shorter cycle times and introduces shorter than traditional temporal scales known as internet-speed or web-speed (Baskerville et al 2003). Infrastructure development has not yet received similar temporal interest, though related issues such as standardization vs. flexibility, global vs. local, and small-scale vs. large-scale (Hanseth et al 1996;Monteiro 1998;Rolland and Monteiro 2002), have been investigated.…”

ICTs and Global Working in a Non-Flat World

“…Secondly, and more subtly, the new system was aimed to provide better lateral information flows across the global organization, but the structured and hierarchical nature of the organization inhibited this form of global knowledge sharing. Rolland and Monteiro (2002) describe a case study of the global roll-out of an information system in a maritime classification company working in over a hundred countries. The IS was designed to support the surveying of ships in order to assess their condition, to be used, for example, for insurance purposes.…”