Title: Understanding the pre-evaluation process of information system investment: A case of the Jordanian banking sector
Abstract: The general purpose of this research is to close a gap in knowledge by generating new
knowledge and understanding of the pre-evaluation structures, procedures and practices
adopted by a large Jordanian bank in justifying information system (IS) investment
projects, since limited attention has been given to this topic, particularly in the
Jordanian banking sector (JBS). It investigates the organisational context and its
influence on the process of IS investment pre-evaluation within the JBS. It also seeks to
determine the level of formality of the evaluation techniques used.
The study extends the existing knowledge in IS evaluation research by drawing on the
interpretive case study approach and actor-network theory (ANT) combined with
content, context, process framework (CCP) also known as interpretive contextualism to
trace pre-evaluation practices in order to understand how IS proposals are developed
and assessed in Jordan, a developing country. It makes important contributions to
knowledge in the IS discipline, by applying existing theories to theorise IS pre-
evaluation in a more novel and sophisticated way than before, by providing rich insight
and by drawing specific implications. In combining ANT with CCP, the study offers a
novel theorisation of pre-evaluation practices. For this reason, it is argued that ANT can
be extended with CCP to offer explanations for contextual factors that are beyond the
scope of an actor network.
The findings show that there are important contextual factors in all development and
implementation activities that affect or frame the evaluation process. IS proposals come
into being and are made to work because of their characteristics, such as being dynamic
and relational. The IS proposal has thus been re-conceptualised to represent the vision
of future business activities and its functions associated with the IS in question. The
study also finds that more flexibility in pre-evaluation methodology would be
preferable, as it would allow the innovative capacity of the actors to play a significant
role in articulating the future of these practices in banking. Among other
recommendations, the study calls for research into evaluation throughout the IS
lifecycle.
Publication Year: 2011
Publication Date: 2011-01-01
Language: en
Type: dissertation
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