Information Systems Investment and Evaluation: Mini-Track Introduction

Introduction The ubiquitous nature of Information Systems (IS) and its ever-changing underlying technology is demanding organisations to keep abreast of technological innovations. Yet, companies are becoming more aware that a competitive advantage cannot be achieved, or even maintained simply by utilizing the latest technology. Indeed, it is becoming more apparent that a strategic competitive advantage will not be achieved through embracing each new technology as it arrives but in the way companies exploit their technology assets. The management approach to evaluation is critical in this endeavour and needs to embrace the spectrum of human, organizational and technology based assets and infrastructure. The adoption of new technology remains a prime driver for organizations seeking to improve their short, medium and long-term performance. Yet, the adoption of all-embracing ISs that can be 'rolled-out' throughout the organization and adequately integrate functionally isolated activities often remains a management panacea. Much of the resistance to the adoption of new technology can be attributed to the legacy of failed intra-organisational (Irani and Love, 2001), and inter-organisational ISs (Sumner, 1999). Such failure is often evident through the inability of the new IS to deliver the business benefits that were used to justify its adoption in the first place. Organizations are also beginning to recognize the plague of indirect costs associated with the adoption of ISs (Irani et al., 1997; 1998; Ryan and Harrison 2000). Indeed, decision-makers and project managers once ignored such costs, often for political reasons that centred on the need to secure management support. Consequently, these costs were absorbed by the company as a whole and lost within the general overheads. However, increased accountability and robust project management techniques have together placed cost identification, management and control on the agenda of managers. Information systems evaluation has only been an explicit topic in the recent AMCIS mini-track organized by Irani et al., (2000;2001;2002), although isolated papers on IS evaluation have appeared in several AMCIS proceedings. These papers have been dotted across different mini-tracks, preventing the IS evaluation community and interested researchers from following developments in this dynamic and emerging field. The idea for organizing a mini-track on evaluation originated from a lack of forum to debate the issues associated with IS evaluation outside Europe. Much of the research community feels frustration with having to look through many conference programmes [including those of AMCIS] to find papers that relate to the evaluation area. We [the mini-track chairs] …