Summary

Contains critical contributions by seventeen scholars, each writing on a different issue of major importance to information systems research. The book is divided into two sections. In Part I, chapters present a broad view of practice, including its sociology of knowledge, the responsibility of its professionals, and the effectiveness of its tools and procedures. In Part II, chapters focus on the social context of information systems. Contributors address the way we think about and research the organizational antecedents and consequences of information systems, their diffusion, and our ability to understand their repercussions in the wider network of changing social relations. Topics covered include semantics, systems analysis, system design, software engineering models, managerial expert systems, information systems in organization theory, a research agenda for a transaction cost approach to information systems, and much more.