No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Purpose Although an increasing number of organisations implement the Information Technology Infrastructure Library® (ITIL®) with the aim to improve provision of information technology services to their customers, a significant number of ITIL implementations do not achieve the expected outcomes. The organisational change strategies of organisations during ITIL implementation initiatives may have an effect on success, but empirical research on this topic is scarce. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case study methodology comprising successful ITIL implementations in eight large Australian organisations is used. A socio-technical systems approach represented by Leavitt’s Diamond is adopted as a lens to shed light on the attributes of effective organisational change strategies for successful ITIL implementation. Findings This paper identifies organisational change strategies employed by organisations that have effected a successful ITIL implementation. The authors identified that the ITIL implementation required changes to the four components of the socio-technical work system (STS) identified in Leavitt’s Diamond. Changes to one STS component affected other STS components when implementing ITIL; and that effort applied to the STS components did not need to be equal, but appropriate to the requirements of the ITIL implementation and the organisation. Research limitations/implications The sample size of eight ITIL implementation cases studied may limit the generalisation of findings. Practical implications This research provides IT service management researchers and ITIL practitioners, for the first time, information about organisational change strategies as applied to successful ITIL implementations. Originality/value This research has developed novel insights into organisational change strategies and ITIL implementation that had not previously been explored.

Design science research (DSR) has gained popularity with doctoral students. In the information systems (IS) discipline, DSR is distinctive in that it creates knowledge through the design of novel or innovative artifacts and analyzes the artifacts' use or performance. We present an analysis of 40 DSR doctoral theses completed in Australia between 2006-2017. Our purpose is to understand how DSR is applied by the IS community, and one critical source of information is the work of doctoral candidates. How candidates are guided by the literature, the artifacts produced, and their evaluation of the artifacts provide a window into this understanding. We selected the theses from the Australian national repository and analyzed their content. The findings suggest: (1) DSR is evolving and maturing in this cohort, but most candidates fail to enunciate and understand the underlying philosophy of their research approach; (2) the use of relevant guidance is still developing; and (3) the capacity of candidates to theorize about their work remains a challenge, possibly due to problems of scoping DSR projects and ensuing time constraints. In spite of their recognition and appreciation of the need for evaluating DSR artifacts, it is questionable whether doctoral candidates understand that the designs also require evaluation. As in many other areas of IS research, nomenclature in DSR remains problematic and the whole IS community should aim to create better consistency in this regard. This paper contributes toward our understanding of the challenges and advantages of DSR as a research approach for postgraduate studies and offers recommendations to the DSR community.