IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/orisre/v27y2016i2p324-346.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Facilitating the Transformational: An Exploration of Control in Cyberinfrastructure Projects and the Discovery of Field Control

Author

Listed:
  • Gregory D. Moody

    (Lee Business School, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada 89154)

  • Laurie J. Kirsch

    (Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260)

  • Sandra A. Slaughter

    (Scheller College of Business, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332)

  • Brian Kimball Dunn

    (Price College of Business, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73019)

  • Qin Weng

    (Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260)

Abstract

Emerging from rapid advances in digitization and technological capabilities is a new form of information systems development project: cyber projects. Cyber projects are complex, massive, and ambitious, often involving hundreds of academic, government, and industry professionals, requiring years of development, and costing millions of dollars. In our study, we examine how control is exercised in cyber projects. Based on a longitudinal study over eight years, we develop a process theory of the control of cyber projects. Initially we observe that project control is driven by the field, i.e., all of the individual or collective entities that subscribe to the general purpose of the project. This form of control is later replaced by a more bureaucratic form from government-sponsored entities to ensure that traditional project objectives are met. Once construction begins and the field understands the implications and promise of the project, we observe that control is again exerted by the primary project users in the field, complemented by authority-based control exerted by the government-sponsored entisty in the field.

Suggested Citation

  • Gregory D. Moody & Laurie J. Kirsch & Sandra A. Slaughter & Brian Kimball Dunn & Qin Weng, 2016. "Facilitating the Transformational: An Exploration of Control in Cyberinfrastructure Projects and the Discovery of Field Control," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 27(2), pages 324-346, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orisre:v:27:y:2016:i:2:p:324-346
    DOI: 10.1287/isre.2016.0619
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/isre.2016.0619
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/isre.2016.0619?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sandeep Rustagi & William R. King & Laurie J. Kirsch, 2008. "Predictors of Formal Control Usage in IT Outsourcing Partnerships," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 19(2), pages 126-143, June.
    2. Vivek Choudhury & Rajiv Sabherwal, 2003. "Portfolios of Control in Outsourced Software Development Projects," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 14(3), pages 291-314, September.
    3. Orlikowski, Wanda J. (Wanda Janina), 1993. "CASE tools as organizational change : investigating incremental and radical changes in systems development," Working papers WP 3579-93., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    4. Laurie J. Kirsch, 1996. "The Management of Complex Tasks in Organizations: Controlling the Systems Development Process," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(1), pages 1-21, February.
    5. Daniel Robey & Dana L. Farrow & Charles R. Franz, 1989. "Group Process and Conflict in System Development," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(10), pages 1172-1191, October.
    6. Ross Williams, 2013. "Introduction," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 46(4), pages 460-461, December.
    7. Likoebe M. Maruping & Viswanath Venkatesh & Ritu Agarwal, 2009. "A Control Theory Perspective on Agile Methodology Use and Changing User Requirements," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 20(3), pages 377-399, September.
    8. William G. Ouchi, 1979. "A Conceptual Framework for the Design of Organizational Control Mechanisms," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(9), pages 833-848, September.
    9. Laura B. Cardinal & Sim B. Sitkin & Chris P. Long, 2004. "Balancing and Rebalancing in the Creation and Evolution of Organizational Control," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(4), pages 411-431, August.
    10. Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, 1985. "Control: Organizational and Economic Approaches," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(2), pages 134-149, February.
    11. M. Markus, 2007. "The governance of free/open source software projects: monolithic, multidimensional, or configurational?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 11(2), pages 151-163, May.
    12. Laurie J. Kirsch & Dong-Gil Ko & Mark H. Haney, 2010. "Investigating the Antecedents of Team-Based Clan Control: Adding Social Capital as a Predictor," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(2), pages 469-489, April.
    13. Laurie S. Kirsch, 1997. "Portfolios of Control Modes and IS Project Management," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 8(3), pages 215-239, September.
    14. Daniel Robey & Dana Farrow, 1982. "User Involvement in Information System Development: A Conflict Model and Empirical Test," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(1), pages 73-85, January.
    15. Laura B. Cardinal, 2001. "Technological Innovation in the Pharmaceutical Industry: The Use of Organizational Control in Managing Research and Development," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(1), pages 19-36, February.
    16. Laurie J. Kirsch, 2004. "Deploying Common Systems Globally: The Dynamics of Control," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 15(4), pages 374-395, December.
    17. Scott Stern, 2004. "Do Scientists Pay to Be Scientists?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(6), pages 835-853, June.
    18. Ann Majchrzak & Lynne P. Cooper & Olivia E. Neece, 2004. "Knowledge Reuse for Innovation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(2), pages 174-188, February.
    19. Henri Barki & Jon Hartwick, 1994. "User Participation, Conflict, and Conflict Resolution: The Mediating Roles of Influence," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 5(4), pages 422-438, December.
    20. John C. Henderson & Soonchul Lee, 1992. "Managing I/S Design Teams: A Control Theories Perspective," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 38(6), pages 757-777, June.
    21. Jeffrey A. Roberts & Il-Horn Hann & Sandra A. Slaughter, 2006. "Understanding the Motivations, Participation, and Performance of Open Source Software Developers: A Longitudinal Study of the Apache Projects," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(7), pages 984-999, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jeffrey D. Wall & Prashant Palvia & John D’Arcy, 2022. "Theorizing the Behavioral Effects of Control Complementarity in Security Control Portfolios," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 637-658, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Laurie J. Kirsch & Dong-Gil Ko & Mark H. Haney, 2010. "Investigating the Antecedents of Team-Based Clan Control: Adding Social Capital as a Predictor," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(2), pages 469-489, April.
    2. Alex Estevam & Denis Dennehy & Kieran Conboy, 2022. "Using Flow Tools to Enact Control in Software Development Projects: A Cross-case Analysis," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 287-304, February.
    3. Sandeep Rustagi & William R. King & Laurie J. Kirsch, 2008. "Predictors of Formal Control Usage in IT Outsourcing Partnerships," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 19(2), pages 126-143, June.
    4. Downes, Rebecca & Daellenbach, Urs & Donnelly, Noelle, 2023. "Remote control: Attitude monitoring and informal control in distributed teams," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    5. Donghwan Cho, 2019. "Exploring the Ambivalent Effects of Control Modes on Project Performance Dimensions in Software Development Outsourcing," International Journal of Business and Social Research, MIR Center for Socio-Economic Research, vol. 9(1), pages 1-7, January.
    6. Donghwan Cho, 2019. "Exploring the Ambivalent Effects of Control Modes on Project Performance Dimensions in Software Development Outsourcing," International Journal of Business and Social Research, LAR Center Press, vol. 9(1), pages 1-7, January.
    7. Chris P. Long & Sim B. Sitkin & Laura B. Cardinal & Richard M. Burton, 2015. "How controls influence organizational information processing: insights from a computational modeling investigation," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 406-436, December.
    8. Liu, Shan & Deng, Zhaohua, 2015. "How environment risks moderate the effect of control on performance in information technology projects: Perspectives of project managers and user liaisons," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 80-97.
    9. Bart A. De Jong & Katinka M. Bijlsma-Frankema & Laura B. Cardinal, 2014. "Stronger Than the Sum of Its Parts? The Performance Implications of Peer Control Combinations in Teams," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(6), pages 1703-1721, December.
    10. Rob Gleasure & Kieran Conboy & Lorraine Morgan, 2019. "Talking Up a Storm: How Backers Use Public Discourse to Exert Control in Crowdfunded Systems Development Projects," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 30(2), pages 447-465, June.
    11. Rauter, Romana & Globocnik, Dietfried & Baumgartner, Rupert J., 2023. "The role of organizational controls to advance sustainability innovation performance," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    12. Anandasivam Gopal & Sanjay Gosain, 2010. "Research Note ---The Role of Organizational Controls and Boundary Spanning in Software Development Outsourcing: Implications for Project Performance," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 960-982, December.
    13. Markus Kreutzer & Jorge Walter & Laura B. Cardinal, 2015. "Organizational control as antidote to politics in the pursuit of strategic initiatives," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(9), pages 1317-1337, September.
    14. repec:mth:ijafr8:v:8:y:2018:i:2:p:236-257 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Laurie J. Kirsch, 2004. "Deploying Common Systems Globally: The Dynamics of Control," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 15(4), pages 374-395, December.
    16. Alan R. Dennis & Lionel P. Robert & Aaron M. Curtis & Stacy T. Kowalczyk & Bryan K. Hasty, 2012. "Research Note ---Trust Is in the Eye of the Beholder: A Vignette Study of Postevent Behavioral Controls' Effects on Individual Trust in Virtual Teams," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 23(2), pages 546-558, June.
    17. Christian Jung-Gehling & Erik Strauss, 2018. "A Contemporary Concept of Organizational Control: Its Dependence on Shared Values and Impact on Motivation," Schmalenbach Business Review, Springer;Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft, vol. 70(4), pages 341-374, November.
    18. Pankaj Nagpal & Andreas I. Nicolaou & Kalle Lyytinen, 2014. "Outsourcing And Market Value Of The Firm: Toward A Comprehensive Model," Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(1), pages 19-38, January.
    19. Yang, Feifei & Shinkle, George A. & Goudsmit, Mirjam, 2022. "The efficacy of organizational control interactions: External environmental uncertainty as a critical contingency," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 855-868.
    20. Emil Inauen & Margit Osterloh & Bruno Frey & Fabian Homberg, 2015. "How a multiple orientation of control reduces governance failures: a focus on monastic auditing," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 19(4), pages 763-796, November.
    21. Huigang Liang & Yajiong Xue & Liansheng Wu, 2013. "Ensuring Employees' IT Compliance: Carrot or Stick?," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 24(2), pages 279-294, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:orisre:v:27:y:2016:i:2:p:324-346. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.