Shadow Systems, Risk, and Shifting Power Relations in Organizations

Abstract

Abstract:Drawing on notions of power and the social construction of risk, we build new theory to understand the persistence of shadow systems in organizations. From a single case study in a mid-sized savings bank, we derive two feedback cycles that concern shifting power relations between business units and central IT associated with shadow systems. A distant business-IT relationship and changing business needs can create repeated cost and time pressures that make business units draw on shadow systems. The perception of risk can trigger an opposing power shift back through the decommissioning and recentralization of shadow systems. However, empirical findings suggest that the weakening tendency of formal risk-management programs may not be sufficient to stop the shadow systems cycle spinning if they fail to address the underlying causes for the emergence of shadow systems. These findings highlight long-term dynamics associated with shadow systems and pose "risk" as a power-shifting construct.

Shadow IT and Business-Managed IT

“…This allows BUs to become more independent from the IT department in cases where it is perceived as too slow, too expensive, or too restrictive (Kopper, 2017). This power shift (Furstenau et al, 2017) undermines the control an IT department can exert in its organization. Thus, the phenomenon can potentially lead to inefficiencies due to heterogeneous systems and uncoordinated efforts, or security-related risks with a high impact on the organization (Gozman and Willcocks, 2015).…”

Leaving the Shadow: A Configurational Approach to Explain Post-identification Outcomes of Shadow IT Systems

“…Trust is an important dimension of the partnership between business and IT (Luftman 2003) and its social capital component (Schlosser et al 2015). A trust relationship between business and IT units is likely to reduce the overall amount of shadow IT systems, because less subversive and hidden action is commensurate (Furstenau et al 2017). A trust relationship can be a prerequisite for cooperation that enables its centralization (Wilkin and Chenhall 2010;Nwankpa and Roumani 2014).…”

“…introduce redundancies and higher costs (Kopper 2017), as well as undermine control possibilities for IT management (Zimmermann et al 2014) and violate companies' compliance rules (Panko 2006;Gozman and Willcocks 2015). In the face of power dynamics (Furstenau et al 2017), interdepartmental conflicts (Walton and Dutton 1969), and political games (Behrens 2009), effective and functional governance plays a particularly important role in shadow IT (Winkler and Brown 2014;Zimmermann et al 2016). Given the contradictory advantages and disadvantages of shadow IT, discussions on its management have come to the fore in recent years (Kopper et al 2018).…”

Shedding Light on Shadow IT: Definition, Related Concepts, and Consequences

“…A partir de 2012, destacam-se os estudos que abordam a shadow IT ao nível organizacional, com foco em mecanismos de governança de TI para lidar com o uso de shadow IT nas organizações, minimizando os riscos de segurança (e.g., Györy et al, 2012;Furstenau et al, 2017;Zimmermann et al, 2017). A partir de 2014, alguns estudos preocuparam-se em investigar shadow IT enquanto um comportamento de uso de TI que desvia das políticas da empresa, por exemplo, investigando as motivações ou antecedentes que levam ao uso de shadow IT da perspectiva dos funcionários, bem como a relação entre o uso de shadow IT e o desempenho individual (e.g., Haag & Eckhardt, 2014;.…”

“…No nível individual, consequentes como produtividade e desempenho se destacam em pesquisas recentes como benefícios do uso de shadow IT (e.g., Silic & Back, 2014;Haag & Eckhardt, 2014;Haag, 2015;Furstenau et al, 2017 colaborar no trabalho (e.g., Shumarova & Swatman, 2008;Silic & Back, 2014), bem como para compartilhar informações e conhecimento entre colegas, clientes e parceiros externos (e.g, Steinhueser et al, 2017). Dessa maneira, a melhoria na comunicação e na colaboração é um dos requisitos que pode levar a um aumento da produtividade e do desempenho individual dos usuários de TI.…”