The Situatedness of Work Practices and Organizational Culture: Implications for Information Systems Innovation Uptake

Abstract

This paper addresses work practices and organizational culture as situated actions and the implications for information systems innovation uptake. It reports research being conducted in Tanzania that brings an ethnographic research approach to understanding relations between local health care practices and health information systems development, by asking how health workers’ practices and everyday actions are influenced by the context of their specific situation. The research is being conducted in the context of a globally distributed open source software project to introduce and enhance health information systems in developing countries. Drawing on cultural historical activity theory, the study highlights the need for understanding each information system user's and each organization's specific and detailed work processes, and how situational and organizational factors may come together with the health information systems innovation processes in meeting the challenges discussed. In order to establish fully the potential of activity theory to innovation processes, situatedness of work practices focusing on the organization context is emphasized.

An integrated model of innovation drivers for smaller software firms

“…G. Cooper, 2011;Hanninen, 2007;Hung & Whittington, 2011;Napier et al, 2011;Romijn & Albaladejo, 2002;Yang & Hsiao, 2009) User Domain Understanding Using understandings of customers' business domain or specialised internal knowledge to drive innovation (Gray et al, 2011;Hanninen, 2007;Igira, 2008;Koc, 2007;Martin, 2011;Mich, Berry, Anesi, & M., 2005;Raasch, 2011;Weterings & Boschma, 2009;Yang & Hsiao, 2009) …”

“…Using open business models that partially or wholly share intellectual property (for example code) to promote innovation (M. Henkel, 2006;Lee & Cole, 2003;Leimeister et al, 2009;West & Gallagher, 2006) Open Source Exploiting open source code or co-operations to drive innovation (M. Henkel, 2006;Igira, 2008;Lamastra, 2009;Von Krogh, Spaeth, & Lakhani, 2003) Crowd Sourcing Inviting the wide-spread participation of potential users and customers to enhance innovation (de Jong & von Hippel, 2009;Leimeister et al, 2009) …”

Organizational culture and information systems adoption: A three-perspective approach

“…Some studies (Cabrera et al, 2001;DeLisi, 1990;Igira, 2008), for example, have been influenced by the work of Edgar Schein (Schein, 1985(Schein, , 1990. Schein (1985, p. 84) defines culture as "the pattern of basic assumptions that a given group have invested, discovered or developed in learning to cope with its problems of external adaptation and integration and that has worked well enough in the past to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems".…”

Challenges in Implementing Patient‐centred Information Systems in Tanzania: An Activity Theory Perspective

“…Conceptual Framework Activity Theory (AT) is a theoretical framework which can be used to understand practice and also for informing the design process (Kaptelinin et al, 1995, Korpela, et al, 2001Igira, 2008). For instance, Korpela et al (2001) used AT to understand work practices and used the insight to inform the design of the information system.…”

“…For instance, Korpela et al (2001) used AT to understand work practices and used the insight to inform the design of the information system. Activity theory has been used in information systems studies to understand the design process or its expansion (Cole, 1995;Igira, 2008;Igira, 2012). In AT, the minimal unit of analysis is the activity system (Kuutti, 1996).…”