HORIZONTAL MECHANISMS UNDER DIFFERING IS ORGANIZATION CONTEXTS.

Author List: Brown, Carol V.;
MIS Quarterly, 1999, Volume 23, Issue 3, Page 421-454.
Horizontal mechanisms are structural overlays (such as roles and groups) and non-structural devices (such as physical colocation) that are designed to facilitate cross-unit collaboration. The objective of this study is to increase our cumulative knowledge about what top-down mechanisms are being used to promote the coordination of IS activities across corporate/division boundaries. Propositions about how mechanism usage differs under centralized versus federal IS organization contexts are developed based on a synthesis of prior organization science and empirical IS literature. Multiple methods are used to collect data from IS and non-IS senior managers from two case sites with theoretically different IS coordination needs. As predicted, multiple types of structural and non-structural mechanisms were implemented for business-IS coordination in the company with a centralized IS context, and for corporate IS-decentralized IS coordination in the company with a federal IS context. An unexpected finding was that mechanisms for both of these kinds of IS coordination were valued at each case site. The prediction that a formal group mechanism would be perceived as more effective for achieving cross-unit coordination than an integrator role mechanism was not supported. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for research and practice.
Keywords: IS management; IS staffing; Issues in organizing IS; organization design; steering committees
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#256 0.151 coordination mechanisms work contingencies boundaries temporal coordinating vertical associated activities different coordinate suggests dispersed coordinated horizontal relative demand spatial hours
#208 0.130 feedback mechanisms mechanism ratings efficiency role effective study economic design potential economics discuss profile recent component granularity turn compared using
#277 0.097 structure organization structures organizational centralized decentralized study organizations forms decentralization processing communication sharing cbis activities appropriate provide identify organizing communications
#150 0.088 issues management systems information key managers executives senior corporate important importance survey critical corporations multinational managing interviews study results concerns
#6 0.074 data used develop multiple approaches collection based research classes aspect single literature profiles means crowd collected trend accuracy databases accurate
#125 0.064 framework model used conceptual proposed given particular general concept frameworks literature developed develop providing paper developing guidelines concepts appropriate set
#220 0.059 research study different context findings types prior results focused studies empirical examine work previous little knowledge sources implications specifically provide
#270 0.055 design designs science principles research designers supporting forms provide designing improving address case little space criteria methods increasing synthesis designer