The Sociotechnical Axis of Cohesion for the IS Discipline: Its Historical Legacy and its Continued Relevance

Sarker, Suprateek; Chatterjee, Sutirtha; Xiao, Xiao; Elbanna, Amany R.

doi:10.25300/misq/2019/13747

Cited by 301 publications

(273 citation statements)

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“…Contemporary approaches build upon this to focus on achievement of excellence and sustainable systems (Bednar and Welch 2016a). Sarker et al (2019) argue that interest in a socio-technical perspective has waned within Information Systems research community, but that it has the potential to draw together the dimensions of this 'diverse, distinctive, and yet unified discipline' for the future. Phenomena such as human use and engagement with mobile technologies, the Internet-of-Things, or social networking are all factors that have potential to promote or inhibit major changes in organizations and in society (Bednar and Welch 2017a).…”

Section: Contemporary Socio-technical Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socio-Technical Perspectives on Smart Working: Creating Meaningful and Sustainable Systems

2019

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Technological advances have made possible industrial and commercial applications of artificial intelligence, virtual reality and highly integrated manufacturing systems. It has also freed business activity from a focus on place, as both work activities and markets have been able to harness information and communication technologies in order to operate remotely. As a result, researchers have highlighted a phenomenon of 'smart' working. Some have pointed to a fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) in which 'smart' factories use robotics to achieve high performance. There is now a suggestion of progress towards Industry 5.0, in which technological and social systems work in harmony to deliver personalised mass customization of products and services. This paper examines these developments from the perspective of unique, individual understandings of work roles and sustainability, posing the questions 'Smart' from whose point of view? Do smart systems promote sustainable organizations? How should design of smart systems be approached? It suggests that contemporary socio-technical systems approaches to organizational analysis are the best way to support harnessing of smart technologies in organizations.

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Section: Contemporary Socio-technical Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socio-Technical Perspectives on Smart Working: Creating Meaningful and Sustainable Systems

2019

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“…That sociotechnical approaches and practices continue to be relevant in today's world is made clear in discussions by several researchers (e.g. Berniker, 2016;Kowalski et al, 2019;Sarker et al, 2019). A contemporary interpretivist sociotechnical approach to information security requires a critically informed mindset (e.g.…”

Section: Socio-technical Approach To Information Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

It is not my job: exploring the disconnect between corporate security policies and actual security practices in SMEs

Sadok

Alter

Bednár

2020

ICS

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Purpose This paper aims to present empirical results exemplifying challenges related to information security faced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It uses guidelines based on work system theory (WST) to frame the results, thereby illustrating why the mere existence of corporate security policies or general security training often is insufficient for establishing and maintaining information security. Design/methodology/approach This research was designed to produce a better appreciation and understanding of potential issues or gaps in security practices in SMEs. The research team interviewed 187 employees of 39 SMEs in the UK. All of those employees had access to sensitive information. Gathering information through interviews (instead of formal security documentation) made it possible to assess security practices from employees’ point of view. Findings Corporate policies that highlight information security are often disconnected from actual work practices and routines and often do not receive high priority in everyday work practices. A vast majority of the interviewed employees are not involved in risk assessment or in the development of security practices. Security practices remain an illusory activity in their real-world contexts. Research limitations/implications This paper focuses only on closed-ended questions related to the following topics: awareness of existing security policy; information security practices and management and information security involvement. Practical implications The empirical findings show that corporate information security policies in SMEs often are insufficient for maintaining security unless those policies are integrated with visible and recognized work practices in work systems that use or produce sensitive information. The interpretation based on WST provides guidelines for enhancing information system security. Originality/value Beyond merely reporting empirical results, this research uses WST to interpret the results in a way that has direct implications for practitioners and for researchers.

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“…However, the main problem may relate to lack of tools to carry socio-technical design principles into effect, or a perception among designers trained in more reductionist approaches that such methodologies are difficult and time-consuming to implement. There is clearly a need for more work in this area to bring a much-needed, socio-technical lens to issues of IS development and security for the future, with an appropriate armoury of methodologies, tools and techniques (Sarker, et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A socio-technical perspective to counter cyber-enabled industrial espionage

Sadok

Welch

Bednár

2019

Secur J

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The ubiquitous digitization of information and the pervasive connectivity of work systems have inevitably facilitated cyber-enabled industrial espionage. Security failures explain most of cyber industrial espionage incidents, and insider threats represent a significant pattern in many case examples. Insiders can inadvertently or purposefully pose serious threats to organisations by facilitating access to or misuse of proprietary sensitive data. This paper argues that technical security solutions have rather limited scope to tackle this problem, and that a socio-technical approach has potential to provide a better means to address the challenge of preventing and responding to insider threats. Such an approach could bridge the gap between the design and implementation of security solutions and creation of an organizational culture that is security aware.

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The Sociotechnical Axis of Cohesion for the IS Discipline: Its Historical Legacy and its Continued Relevance

Cited by 301 publications

References 1 publication

Socio-Technical Perspectives on Smart Working: Creating Meaningful and Sustainable Systems

Socio-Technical Perspectives on Smart Working: Creating Meaningful and Sustainable Systems

It is not my job: exploring the disconnect between corporate security policies and actual security practices in SMEs

A socio-technical perspective to counter cyber-enabled industrial espionage

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