Supporting the Information Technology Champion.

Author List: Beath, Cynthia Mathis;
MIS Quarterly, 1991, Volume 15, Issue 3, Page 355-372.
The literature on strategic uses of information technology suggests that "champions" are often a key to successful implementation. This article describes a field study of 15 information technology (IT) champions and their needs for support from their information systems units. Innovation research is used to hypothesize that IT champions, like other champions, need information, technical resources, and political support from their information systems department units. Interview findings suggest that IT champions strongly value (1) assistance in developing information to help sell their IT vision, (2) a flexible implementation process, and (3) legitimation of their ideas for using information technology. Moreover, IT champions do not want bureaucratic process or arm's length dealings with information systems departments. The way a firm should conduct its dealings with an IT champion depends in large part on a number of organizational factors, including the IS department's mission.
Keywords: Championship; IS development; IS implementation; IS management; partnership
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List of Topics

#159 0.201 systems information objectives organization organizational development variety needs need efforts technical organizations developing suggest given effective designing lack help recent
#127 0.129 systems information research theory implications practice discussed findings field paper practitioners role general important key grounded researchers domain new identified
#119 0.121 implementation systems article describes management successful approach lessons design learned technical staff used effort developed organization experiences large managing discusses
#68 0.108 business units study unit executives functional managers technology linkage need areas information long-term operations plans mission large understand knowledge current
#155 0.103 technology research information individual context acceptance use technologies suggests need better personality factors new traits telemedicine adoption examined does management
#59 0.082 capabilities capability firm firms performance resources business information technology firm's resource-based competitive it-enabled view study value infrastructure results organizational model