We examined 155 information systems research articles published from 1983 to 1988 and found that although this research is not rooted in a single overarching theoretical perspective, it does exhibit a single set of philosophical assumptions regarding the nature of the phenomena studied by information systems researchers, and what constitutes valid knowledge about those phenomena. We believe that a single research perspective for studying information systems phenomena is unnecessarily restrictive, and argue that there exist other philosophical assumptions that can inform studies of the relationships between information technology, people, and organizations. In this paper, we present two additional research philosophies for consideration-the interpretive and the critical-and for each we provide empirical examples to illustrate how they are used. We conclude by suggesting that much can be gained if a plurality of research perspectives is effectively employed to investigate information systems phenomena. Philosophical assumptions—Research approaches—Positivist research—Interpretivist research—Critical research

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This paper presents some results of a detailed empirical study of routine computer use in several organizations. We present a theoretical account of computing work and use it to explain a number of observed phenomena, such as: --How people knowingly use "false" data to obtain desired analytical results by tricking their systems. --How organizations come to rely upon complex, critical computer systems despite significant, recurrent, known errors and inaccurate data

Computer Science is hard pressed in the US to show broad utility to help justify billion dollar research programs and the value of educating well over 40,000 Bachelor of Science and Master of Science specialists annually in the U.S. The Computer Science and Telecommunications

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the ability of firms to reduce costs and increase the responsiveness of their supply chain. This paper develops an empirically supported model of the organizational capabilities enabled by SCM IS. The model integrates and enriches theoretical and empirical studies of competitive strategy, supply chain management, and interorganizational information systems. Evidence from an exploratory case study of three large firms in the electronics manufacturing industry is examined to build a better-supported theory of SCM IS capabilities. The findings suggest the organizational capabilities enabled by SCM IS can be conceptualized as the level of support provided for: operational efficiency; operational flexibility; internal analysis; and external analysis. The theoretical model furthers an understanding of SCM IS capabilities and is sufficiently developed to permit operationalization for future studies evaluating the effectiveness of SCM IS.

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This study empirically examines the acceptance of new information systems in a commercial bank environment. The modified technology acceptance model is used to examine organizational acceptance, staff satisfaction, superior satisfaction, customer satisfaction, system reliability, user friendliness, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use. The results show perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have a significant effect. However, perceived usefulness was found to be a more important determinant on information technology acceptance than perceived ease of use. The results also confirm staff satisfaction and system reliability as significant variables representing perceived usefulness and ease of use.

Computer Science is hard pressed in the US to show broad utility to help justify billion dollar research programs and the value of educating well over 40,000 Bachelor of Science and Master of Science specialists annually in the U.S. The Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the U.S. National Research Council has recently issued a report, "Computing the Future (Hartmanis and Lin, 1992)" which sets a new agenda for Computer Science. The report recommends that Computer Scientists broaden their conceptions of the discipline to include computing applications and domains to help understand them. This short paper argues that many Computer Science graduates need some skills in analyzing human organizations to help develop appropriate systems requirements since they are trying to develop high performance computing applications that effectively support higher performance human organizations. It is time for academic Computer Science to embrace organizational analysis (the field of Organizational Informatics) as a key area of research and instruction.

The paper examines software risk management in a novel way in which managers address risks through sequential attention shaping and intervention. These risks represent incongruent states within and between the four components of Leavitt's model: task, structure, technology, and actors. Such a state can in the extreme case lead to a failure of developing or implementing the software, and thus to a major loss.