Characteristics of IT artifacts: a systems thinking‐based framework for delineating and theorizing IT artifacts

Abstract

The information technology artifact (ITA) has been suggested as the core of information systems (IS) research, and the research community has been encouraged to deeply engage with the ITA. Various studies highlight, however, that the ITA continues to receive only limited attention and thus, little foundation exists for IS researchers to delineate and theorize about the ITAs studied. In this paper, we develop a framework that can be utilized as a language for articulating and theorizing the ITA in IS research. Our framework builds on the multi-faceted theoretical paradigm of systems thinking from which we derive several concepts and appropriate them to the context at hand, resulting in a seven-dimensional framework of characteristics for ITAs. In a literature survey of research on enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning systems in top IS journals, we show how ITA characteristics are currently included to present details of the relevant ITA instance and identify theoretical relationships between ITA characteristics and outcomes. We conclude the study by demonstrating the use of the ITA framework for delineating and theorizing the ITA in IS research.

Design Science Research Contributions: Finding a Balance between Artifact and Theory

“…A recent debate in the IS community has proposed the use of general systems theory (GST) as an overarching scientific theory to inform the design of information systems artifacts and their theorizing (Demetis & Lee, 2016;Matook & Brown, 2017). The responses to the use of GST as a foundational theory in IS have been immediate and intense (Robey & Mikhaeil, 2016;Mingers, 2017;Schultze, 2017;Demetis & Lee, 2017).…”

The Information Systems Artifact: A Conceptualization Based on General Systems Theory

“…The varied definition of the IT artifact is also illustrated by other scholars, who observe that such diverse conceptions create much confusion among IS academics [44]. Part of the problem is also related to how different research/professional groups and academic communities have understood differing ontologies and epistemologies underlying the IT artifact -for example, for some the IT artifact implies only technical artifacts, while for others it also includes social artifacts [5].…”

“…Constructs from the General Systems Theory (GST) are applied to support the development of a framework that suits the changing nature of IS and accounts for information as a constitutive part of IS [17]. Indeed, recent research has conceptualized a system-theoretic view of the "IT artifact" [44]. Our work is inspired by such research, but moves it forward to apply GST to formulate an IS 5718 artifact instead of an IT artifact.…”

“…In sum, therefore, recent developments clearly illustrate that what we mean by an IT artifact in unsettled and changing [44]. We contend therefore, that the time is ripe for us to try and form a conception of the IT artifact that, while being adaptable to contemporary trends, ensures that IS does not lose connection with its past traditions of research and intellectual development.…”

Understanding IT Artefacts with Language

“…Artefacts always reveal a story in the course of time and show technical features, which depend on a series of practical gestures, the creator's intention and the reasons why they have been created in order to perform a function. Matook & Brown 2016;Alter 2014;2015), where scholars are still trying to define whether the concept of an IT artefact is useful for their studies. A brief survey of IS researchers shows that an IT artefact could be an application, a design tool, a model, a method, or a combination of hardware and software.…”