Conceptualizing Workarounds: Meanings and Manifestations in Information Systems Research

Abstract

We reviewed papers in core IS outlets that defined the term workaround or presented an example of a workaround. In the analysis, we used Ogden and Richard's triangle of reference as a theoretical framework to analyze the relationship between 1) the term workaround; 2) theories, definitions, and use of the term; and 3) their empirical basis and empirical workaround behavior that the papers describe. First, we summarize the existing theoretical insights regarding workarounds and investigate their validity. Second, we show that studies have defined and used the term workaround differently to the extent that they have not always applied it to the same empirical phenomena, which raises questions about some theoretical insights' validity. Third, we suggest a definition for workarounds that we inductively derived from empirical accounts of workaround behavior and, therefore, that adequately describes how researchers commonly use the term and makes it possible to distinguish workarounds from other similar phenomena.

Seeing the Signs of Workarounds: A Mixed-Methods Approach to the Detection of Nurses’ Process Deviations

“…The final major insight that can be drawn from this study is that different research methods are necessary to detect and understand the use of workarounds in practice, which confirms earlier studies on workarounds. As Ejnefjäll and Ågerfalk stated: "Since workaround behaviors can take different forms in different settings, we need to understand the context and phenomena before using quantitative data-collection methods, which makes studying workarounds ideal for multi-method research that combines qualitative and quantitative methods" [10]. Indeed, in order to detect workarounds, one must first learn what the designed paths are and what that behaviour looks like in the data, before one can start identifying workarounds.…”

“…In the Information Systems discipline, there is an ongoing debate on how workarounds need to be defined. In most studies, they have four characteristics ascribed to them [10]. The first is that there is a certain designed path, the norm on how work should be done.…”

“…Apart from a few exceptions, workarounds have only been identified using qualitative data collection methods, such as interviews, observations, and document analysis [10]. To the best of our knowledge, there are only four works that use quantitative methods to study workarounds.…”

“…This is of interest since healthcare is the domain that has been the focus of workarounds research, while it is also known for its complex processes involving many different actors. The question is relevant because the use of a mixedmethods approach to study workarounds in healthcare can enable a more complete identification of workarounds, and possibly provide new quantitative insights and theories [10].…”

“…Additionally, using quantitative methods, new types of workarounds may be found in addition to the ones established using qualitative methods. Therefore, there is a clear need to evaluate the suitability of a mixed-methods approach to detecting and analysing workarounds [8,10].…”