The Quest for Underpinning Theory of Enterprise Architecture  - General Systems Theory

Syynimaa, Nestori

doi:10.5220/0006314904000408

Cited by 9 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…More recent analyses of the EA discipline also came to analogous conclusions (Al-Kharusi et al, 2017; Syynimaa, 2017; Weiss et al, 2012). Specifically, Weiss et al (2012) notice that “a theoretical foundation for [EA management] seems to be lacking” (p. 461).…”

Section: Current Theoretical Views Of Eamentioning

confidence: 67%

“…Specifically, Weiss et al (2012) notice that “a theoretical foundation for [EA management] seems to be lacking” (p. 461). Syynimaa (2017) reports that “despite its popularity and 30 years of age, the literature review conducted on top information and management science journals revealed that EA is still lacking the sound theoretical foundation” (p. 400). Likewise, Al-Kharusi et al (2017) report that “one of the main findings of [our literature review] is the lack of theory utilization in EA studies” (p. 7).…”

Section: Current Theoretical Views Of Eamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unsurprisingly, as a discipline highly influenced by the publications of consultancies, the stream of EA research has been mostly atheoretical in nature (Al-Kharusi et al, 2017; Langenberg and Wegmann, 2004; Schoenherr, 2008; Weiss et al, 2012). Although some theories, including the general systems theory (GST; Hoyland, 2011; Kloeckner and Birkmeier, 2009; Syynimaa, 2017) and institutional theory (Brosius et al, 2018; Dang, 2017; Hjort-Madsen, 2007; Weiss et al, 2013), have been leveraged relatively widely by EA researchers as theoretical lenses for analyzing EA practices, these theories do not address the core meaning of an EA practice, that is, creation and usage of EA artifacts by various organizational actors for communication and decision-making purposes. In other words, these theories fail to explain the regularities driving the practical usage of EA artifacts and how this usage helps improve business and IT alignment in organizations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The theoretical basis of enterprise architecture: A critical review and taxonomy of relevant theories

Kotusev

Kurnia

2020

Journal of Information Technology

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Enterprise architecture is a collection of artifacts describing various aspects of an organization from an integrated business and IT perspective. Practicing enterprise architecture in organizations implies using these artifacts to facilitate information systems planning and improve business and IT alignment. Despite its long history, the enterprise architecture discipline still remains largely atheoretical and lacks a solid theoretical basis. Based on our previous empirical studies of the practical usage of enterprise architecture artifacts in multiple organizations and broad literature analysis, this conceptual article identifies and discusses in detail 10 theories that can be considered key for understanding how an enterprise architecture practice works: actor-network theory, boundary objects theory, cognitive fit theory, communities of practice theory, decision-making theories, information processing theory, knowledge management theory, management fashion theory, media richness theory, and uncertainty principle. Taken together, these theories offer a comprehensive theoretical view of an enterprise architecture practice explaining the role of enterprise architecture artifacts, their usability, and participation of stakeholders and, therefore, may constitute a theoretical basis of the entire enterprise architecture discipline. Although this article does not elaborate on any of these theories, it brings these theories to light, establishes their critical importance for comprehending an enterprise architecture practice, and positions them as central to the enterprise architecture discourse. Each of these theories can be leveraged by enterprise architecture scholars in their future studies for analyzing enterprise architecture practices through respective theoretical lenses. This article intends to provide fresh theoretical insights on enterprise architecture, spark new waves of theoretical enterprise architecture research, and contribute to the development of a sound theoretical foundation for the enterprise architecture discipline.

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Section: Current Theoretical Views Of Eamentioning

confidence: 67%

Section: Current Theoretical Views Of Eamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The theoretical basis of enterprise architecture: A critical review and taxonomy of relevant theories

Kotusev

Kurnia

2020

Journal of Information Technology

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“…Besides, Behrouz and Fathollah [6] defined EA as the process of translating and converting strategic requirements to processes, data, and technology by providing the organization with a big picture in detail. EA is also able to handle change management as it acts as a management tool between business and IT [5,7]. There is no doubt that EA plays an essential role in facilitating the evolution to higher level capabilities at the organizational level [8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enterprise architecture adoption issues and challenges: a systematic literature review

Ahmad

Drus

Bakar

2019

IJEECS

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<p>This article on Systematic Literature Review (SLR) provides the issues and challenges faced by organizations when adopting EA. Firstly, a review of literature that discusses the problems and challenges was undertaken. Methods and theories adopted were reviewed to identify the existing approach and perspective on resulting factors that influenced EA adoption. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria defined in the review process, 16 articles were selected. A total of 19 challenges and problems were identified such as EA misconceptions, overlapping organizational rules, unclear leadership as well as lack of business and IT alignment. A sum of 15 factors from multidimensional contexts that influenced the EA adoption in the organization were also discussed, such as top management support, governance, communication as well as EA knowledge and skill. This SLR also reflected that there were relatively little empirical studies conducted on EA adoption studies. The existing studies tend to apply single and multiple theories from the organization and management domains in one study. By understanding such issues and challenges, risks can be reduced and avoided when introducing EA to organizations, and subsequently ease the deployment process. Thus, this article may shed light on understanding the organizational-related factors and the underlying relationships of EA adoption. As a result, an effective adoption of EA can be facilitated in the organizations.</p>

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“…Hence, various definitions of EA are found. EA acts as a management tool between business and IT strategies, whereby facilitating the evolution to higher level capabilities at the organisation level [3,4] and managing changes from current state to future state [5,6]. EA provides governance and a roadmap for business and IT alignment as well as an investment [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review of Enterprise Architecture Adoption Models

Ahmad

Drus²,

Bakar

et al. 2018

IJET

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This article provides a systematic review of the Enterprise Architecture (EA) adoption model. Firstly, an analysis of the literature discussing the current EA adoption models was undertaken. The EA adoption models were reviewed to identify which adoption phase can be connected. This paper also discusses the limitations of the models. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria defined in the review process, 13 articles were reviewed. There are 13 different EA adoption models across the number of adoption phases which were selected from 13 articles. A total of 11 adoption models were designed for the post-adoption phase and applicable for the EA implementation phase and two (2) adoption models were formulated for adoption phase. This SLR reflected that there was relatively little research conducted in the adoption phase. Previous scholars had adopted one or a combination of different underpinning theories in their studies to identify the existing approach and perspective formulating EA adoption model. The finding also revealed the limitation of previous studies such as generalizability and fragmented perspective. Therefore, this review will provide further investigation into the potential development of EA adoption model at an early stage that could provide wide-ranging and rational views of business, information, and technology for the organisation.

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The Quest for Underpinning Theory of Enterprise Architecture - General Systems Theory

Cited by 9 publications

References 19 publications

The theoretical basis of enterprise architecture: A critical review and taxonomy of relevant theories

The theoretical basis of enterprise architecture: A critical review and taxonomy of relevant theories

Enterprise architecture adoption issues and challenges: a systematic literature review

A Systematic Review of Enterprise Architecture Adoption Models

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