Author:
Antonio Ghezzi
Affiliation:
Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Keyword(s):
Information Systems, Alternative Genre, Enterprise Resource Systems, Allegory, User Engagement, Change Management, Action Research.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Databases and Information Systems Integration
;
Enterprise Information Systems
;
Enterprise Resource Planning
;
Enterprise Software Technologies
;
Organisational Issues on Systems Integration
;
Simulation and Modeling
;
Simulation Tools and Platforms
;
Software Engineering
Abstract:
Genres of communications significantly influence the evolution of a field of research. In the Information
Systems (IS) domain, a debate has recently emerged on the chance to implement alternative genres to
generate unconventional ways of looking at IS-related issues. This study hence proposes to apply allegory
as an alternative genre to write publications accounting IS research. To exemplify the use of the allegory
genre, the study tackles the role of the action researcher to enable user engagement and change management
in the early phases of Information Systems implementation. The allegory is applied to the case of a Small-
Medium-Enterprise undergoing ERP implementation. Reflecting on the allegory and its interpretation, it is
argued that the action researcher can take a paramount role in IS change management as “user engagement
enabler”; from a writing genre perspective, it is claimed that allegory is particularly suitable for writing
action research accounts.