Handbook of Critical Information Systems Research: Theory and Application

by Debra Howcroft, Eileen M. Trauth

Overview

This important Handbook provides a unique overview of information systems (IS) research by focusing on the increasing interest in critical-related issues. Representing a significant step forward in the development of critical perspectives on the IS field, the Handbook draws together original contributions from leading authors who offer alternatives to the current mainstream approaches to IS research.

In order to accommodate the various strands of critical understanding, a broad range of views and theoretical standpoints are encompassed, thereby combining theory with practical applications, and offering a valuable source of reference for this emerging area of research. Recent years have witnessed a more explicit focus on critical research and, continuing in that vein, the editors adopt an inclusive approach which considers alternative insights that can arise from critical IS research. Topics explored include, amongst others:

• management trends and IS


• flexibility, freedom and women's emancipation


• 'consuming passions' in the global knowledge economy


• critical discourse analysis for the study of information systems


• evaluation of e-governance projects in India


• rationalities and emotions in IS innovation
  • capital, information technology and enterprise development


• mediated work in global business organizations.

Reflecting on key themes and emergent issues in critical information systems research, this Handbook will be invaluable reading for both academics and practitioners with an interest in a critical understanding of information systems from a variety of perspectives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781843764786
Publisher:	Edward Elgar Publishing
Publication date:	11/28/2005
Series:	Research Handbooks in Business and Management series
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Edited by Debra Howcroft, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK and Eileen M. Trauth, Professor Emeritus, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, US

Table of Contents

Contents:
1. Choosing Critical IS Research
Debra Howcroft and Eileen M. Trauth
Part I: Theory
2. Basic Assumptions of the Critical Research Perspectives in Information Systems
Dubravka Cecez-Kecmanovic
3. Theoretical Approaches for Researching Power and Information Systems: The Benefit of a Machiavellian View
Leiser O. Silva
4. Are Social Constructivist Approaches Critical? The Case of IS Failure
Nathalie N. Mitev
5. Taking a Critical Linguistic Turn: Using Critical Discourse Analysis for the Study of Information Systems
Rosio Alvarez
6. Against Rules: The Ethical Turn in Information Systems
Alison Adam
7. Management Fashions and Information Systems
Chris Westrup
8. Flexibility, Freedom and Women’s Emancipation: A Marxist Critique of At-Home Telework
Anita Greenhill and Melanie Wilson
9. Critical Management Studies: Towards a More Mature Politics
Christopher Grey
10. The Wrong Trousers? Beyond the Design Fallacy: Social Learning and the User
James Stewart and Robin Williams
Part II: Theory and Application
11. Critical Engagement: Why, What and How?
Geoff Walsham
12. Towards Critical Interpretivism in IS Research
Bill Doolin and Laurie McLeod
13. Consuming Passions in the ‘Global Knowledge Economy’
Helen Richardson
14. Rationalities and Emotions in IS Innovation
Chrisanthi Avgerou and Kathy McGrath
15. Evaluating E-governance Projects in India: A Focus on Micro-Level Implementation
Shirin Madon
16. Rethinking Urban Poverty: Forms of Capital, Information Technology and Enterprise Development
Lynette Kvasny and Lakshman Yapa
17. ‘Global but Local’: Mediated Work in Global Business Organizations
Dagfinn Hertzberg and Eric Monteiro
18. Competing Rationalities: A Critical Study of Telehealth in the UK
Ela Klecun
Index

Editorial Reviews

'Although critical research represents a small portion of all IS research, it has always posed insightful challenges to more conventional approaches. This volume assembles a wide array of contributions by leading researchers in the field. The editors clarify the broad range of critical research beyond the seminal contributions that appeared early in IS research, making this an essential guide to contemporary approaches as well as a summation of prior contributions.'

Daniel Robey

'This indispensable book provides an excellent overview of the variety of perspectives that characterize critical research in the information systems field.'

Michael D. Myers