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Information Infrastructure Development and Governance as Collective Action

Author

Listed:
  • Panos Constantinides

    (Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom)

  • Michael Barrett

    (Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1AG, United Kingdom)

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the challenges around the development and scalability of information infrastructures. We identify two possible solutions proposed in the literature, one emphasizing more top-down control and the need for a clear IT governance framework, and a second arguing for a more flexible approach since absolute control is impossible and only leads to drift and unintended outcomes. We suggest that there is a clear gap in the literature in better understanding how to govern the development of information infrastructures using a bottom-up approach. We build on research that approaches IS development as a collective action problem and focus on how different actors frame the infrastructure as a public and private good, and how the framing process is underpinned by actors’ different ideologies. We use our theoretical approach to examine the framing of the development of a regional health information infrastructure in Crete. Our analysis examines how different actors frame the infrastructure as a collective action good and explore their ideological positioning. We explore the struggle around meanings attributed to the good over time as being a public or private one in establishing or sustaining relations of power, and how legitimacy is challenged or reinforced. Finally, we develop contributions on the collective action challenges in infrastructure development and suggest how a polycentric approach to governance might be further developed to promote the ongoing cultivation of information infrastructures from the bottom up.

Suggested Citation

  • Panos Constantinides & Michael Barrett, 2015. "Information Infrastructure Development and Governance as Collective Action," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 26(1), pages 40-56, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:inm:orisre:v:26:y:2015:i:1:p:40-56
    DOI: 10.1287/isre.2014.0542
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    7. Oliver Thomas & Simon Hagen & Ulrich Frank & Jan Recker & Lauri Wessel & Friedemann Kammler & Novica Zarvic & Ingo Timm, 2020. "Global Crises and the Role of BISE," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 62(4), pages 385-396, August.
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