A structurational analysis of the implementation of development management information systems in Malaysia

Implementation is a key issue for information systems (IS) practitioners but much of the literature has been based on inadequate underlying theories and approaches that are ahistorical, acontextual, aprocessual. Existing research therefore does not offer a solid foundation for prescriptive guidance. In this paper, IS implementation is conceived as a product of a complex and muddled social process, inseparable from its intra-organisational and environmental contexts rather than as discrete projects divorced from the historical, organisational and societal contexts in which they are embedded. A theoretical framework that emphasises context, process and their linkage, in addition to the content of IS implementation, is derived from structuration theory. A case study of the implementation of IS for development management in the Malaysian government is used to illustrate how the framework can be used to gain a better understanding of IS implementation. Finally, some implications for theory development and implementation practice which emerged from the use of structuration theory in guiding and analysing the case study are elucidated.