BulletinofAppliedComputingandInformationTechnology
Areviewofresearchonmanaginginformation
technologyinNewZealand
03:02
2005,Jul
ChristophGeorgi
UNITEC,NewZealand
StephanPauls
UNITEC,NewZealand
RomanRochel
UNITEC,NewZealand
AndreasWeth
UNITEC,NewZealand
KayFielden
UNITEC,NewZealand
kfielden@unitec.ac.nz
Georgi,C.,Pauls,S.,Rochel,R.,Weth,A.&Fielden,K.(2005).Areviewofresearchon
managinginformationtechnologyinNewZealand.BulletinofAppliedComputingand
InformationTechnology,3(2).RetrievedJune2,2015from
http://www.citrenz.ac.nz/bacit/0302/2005Georgi_Managing_IT.htm
Abstract
Thisliteraturereviewanalysesthestatusquo(March2005)ofacademicliterature
publishedinthefieldofresearchintomanaginginformationtechnologyinNewZealand.
ThedefinedfieldwasexploredinthemajordomainsofmanagingITinsmalland
mediumsizedenterprises,inlargeenterprisesandaspectsofmanagingITthatarenot
focusedonorganisationsize.Identifiedliteratureinthisfieldconsistedmainlyof
periodicalarticles(51%),conferencepapers,workshoppapersandbooks;theidentified
articlesweremainlybasedonqualitativeresearchmethodologies(81%).Atotalof47
articleswasidentifiedtoberelevantinthesubdomainsofsmallandmediumsized
enterprises(9articles),largeenterprises(6articles)andissuesnotfocusedon
organisationsize(32articles).Itwasalsodiscoveredthatorganisationsizewasnota
factorforMITresearchissuesparticularlysecurity-relatedfactors.
Keywords
Managinginformationtechnology,informationtechnologyresearch,NewZealand
1.Introduction
Inthisreviewpaperarticlesonresearchintomanaginginformationtechnology(MIT)in
NewZealandareanalysed.Thetimeperiodforthesearticleswasrestrictedtothe
period2000-2005.Thefocusinthispaperisfirstlyontheresearchmethodsadoptedin
conductingresearchinmanagingITinNewZealandandsecondlyinthedomainareas
ofMITresearch.Theliteraturereviewmethodisdiscussedincludingsourcesofarticles
andmethodsofretrievalutilised.Ananalysisofpossiblebiasfromdifficultiesinthe
retrievalprocessisalsodiscussed.Researchtypesandstrategiesandthetypesof
publicationsprocessedinthisreportaregiven.Specialattentionispaidtothenumber
ofpeerreviewedarticles,theyearpublishedandtheinquirystrategiesused.A
literaturemaphelpedplaceMITresearchconductedinNewZealandincontext.
2.SourcesandRetrievalofMaterial
FortysevenresearcharticlesonMITresearchweresourcedfrom:EBSCOandACMe-
databases;theinternetsearchenginesGoogleandGoogleScholar;UNITEC,Auckland
UniversityofTechnologyandAucklandUniversitylibraries(books,journalsand
magazines);andpersonalcollectionsofpublications.
Whilstmoretimewasspentsearchinge-databases,thiswasnotthemostfruitful
methodforfindingarticlesonMITresearchconductedinNewZealand.The
internationalsearchenginesdidnotofferanappropriatesearchfiltertolocateresearch
locatedinNewZealandoraboutNewZealand.Internetsearchengineswereusedwith
cautionbecausetherewasnowayofknowingwhethermaterialwaspeerreviewed
(evenalthoughthepeer-reviewedboxwastickedonthesearchenginepage).Libraries
atAuckland'stertiaryinstitutionsweresearchedforprintmaterialaswell.Journals
providedthebestsourceofpeerreviewedmaterial.
3.ResearchClassification
Researchmethodsutilisedinthe47articlesretrievedwereclassifiedfirstlyinto
quantitativemethods,qualitativemethodsandmixedmethods.
3.1QuantitativeResearch
Zikmund(1997)describesquantitativeresearchasresearch"conductedtoidentify
cause-and-effectrelationshipsamongvariables"(p.39).Onemainmethodof
quantitativeresearchisstatisticalanalysiswhichisvaluefreeandindependentof
context.Instatisticalanalysistheresearcherappearstobedetached(Neumann,2000).
Thepurposeofquantitativeresearchistodeduceareliabletheoryofacauseandeffect
relationshipwithbothindependentvariablesanddependentvariables.Theinstruments
usedtotestarelationshipvarywiththenatureofanarrowlydefinedproblem
(Creswell,2003,pp.6-8,13-14,20).Only3/40oftheresearcharticlesonMITinthis
sampleusedstatisticalresearch
3.2QualitativeResearch
Qualitativeresearchisbasedonthegoalofconstructingsocialrealityoracultural
meaning.Ithasastrongfocusoninteractiveprocessesorevents.Incontrasttoa
quantitativeresearchapproach,valuesarepresentandexplicitandqualitativeresearch
isconstrainedincertainsituations.Theanalysisofthecasesorsubjectsisnotof
statisticalnaturebutthematicandtheresearcherisinvolvedexplicitly(Neumann,
2003,p.16).Inqualitativeresearchactivitiesarecarriedoutinarealornatural
environment(incontrasttoexperimentalsettings)andtheseresearchactivitiesarenot
isolatedfromtheircontext.Therefore,thesettingscanchangeduringtheresearch,
resultinginunexpectedresults(Creswell,pp.14-21,p.181).InthiscollectionofMIT
researchpaperspublishedinNewZealand38/47papersusedsomeformofqualitative
research.
3.3MixedMethodsResearch
Mixedmethodsresearchisapragmaticapproachtoagivenproblem(Creswell,2003,
p18).Accordingly,theresearcherbasesthemethodsonhowtobestsolvetheproblem
andthereforedoesnotnecessarilyworkwithpredefinedresearchmethods.Therefore,
itispossibletocombineresearchmethods,asthenamemixedmethodimplies,and
usebothquantitativeandqualitativemethodsofresearch.Inthesefindings,sixarticles
wereidentifiedasutilizingamixedmethodsapproach.
3.4CaseStudies
Byusingadiversityofdatagatheringtechniques,casestudiesprovideanin-depthlook
intocertaineventsandprocesses-mostlyinordertoinvestigateentirecompanies
(Creswell,2003,p.15).Thisisadvantageouswhenorganisationalproblemsare
examinedastheresearcherisdependentontheclientwhoseoperationsareongoing.
Waysofcollectingdataaremostlythroughinterviewsanddocumentsprovidedbythe
client.12ofthe47researchpapersusedcasestudiestogathertheexamineddata.An
exampleofcasestudyresearchisseeninFielden(2004b)thatdescribedinnovation
acceptancefornewsoftwareproductdevelopment.
3.5FieldStudies
Fieldstudyresearchusesfieldworknotesandtheexperienceandknowledgeofpeople
withinthestudiedresearcharea.Furthermore,itcanalsoincludeanalysisofsecondary
statisticaldata.Threeresearcharticlesusedfieldstudyresearch.Bibby(2000)shows
theresultsoffieldstudyresearchinaconferencepaperontechnologyinfrastructure
planning.Parker'sbook"Thelittlestclue"(2002)andthejournalarticleabout
relationshipbuildinginboundarycrossingteamsbyPauleenandYoong(2001)drawon
fieldstudyresearchaswell.
3.6DiscussionPapers
Discussionpapersareusuallybasedonpriorresearchthathasbeenconducted.
Discussionpapersbringtogetherthepointofviewoftheresearcherandtheopinionof
otherexpertsinthefieldofresearchtoacombinednarrative(Creswell,2003,p.16).As
articleswithexpertopinionswerefound,theywereclassifiedas"discussion".These
articlesmadeup19%ofthetotalresearchidentified.Bland(2001)interviewed
implementersofERPsolutionsinSMEsandseveralvendorsinthatmarketsegmentto
condensetheirinformationtotenhazardsintheimplementationprocessandhowto
avoidthem.
3.7PilotStudies
Researchcarriedoutwiththeuseofpilotstudiesismostlyutilizedwithexplorative
researchproblems.Asitdoesnotapplymeticulousstandards,variousresearch
techniquesarebeusedandcanincludedifferentinterviewmethods.Onlytworesearch
articleswerefoundinthearticlesreviewedthatusedapilotstudyasaninquiry
strategy.
3.8SecondaryDataAnalysis
Alargeportionofthequalitativeresearchcarriedoutwasfoundtorestuponsecondary
research.Thismeansthatthedatawasalreadycollectedandreused.Secondary
researchcanbecombinedwithnewdevelopmentsortheoriesthatarethenappliedto
testtheminordertocometonewconclusionsortodetectlimitations.Furthermore,
secondaryresearchisusedtoapplyexistingtheoriestocasesnotrelatedtotheinitial
theorytocreatenewtheories.Beingthelargestinquirystrategyintheidentified
research,15ofthe47articlesbelongtothissubgroup.
3.9Surveys
SurveysarethemostcommonquantitativeresearchmethodinMIT.Sixpapersmade
useofdatacollectedthroughquestionnairesandsurveys:Birkenkrahe(2002),Chan
(2001),Clark,BowdenandCorner(2003),French(2000),Greenwood(2004),TePuni
Kokiri,MinistryofMaoriDevelopment(2001).
4.Distribution
Secondarydataanalysiswasthedominantidentifiedinquirystrategywithinthefindings
withatotalof32%followedbycasestudy(26%)anddiscussion(20%).Survey(13%)
andpilotstudy(4%)werefoundouttoberelevantbutnotashighlyrelevantas
secondarydataanalysisandcasestudy.
4.1ClassificationofPublications
WhilstinformationontheInternetisthemosteasilyaccessible,researchisusually
madepublicinprintedjournalsinitially.Conferencesandworkshopstooareplaces
wherecurrentknowledgeispresentedinformofresearchpapers,discussed,and
eventuallypublishedinproceedings.Theseproceedingsaresometimesreleasedonthe
internet.Booksareprobablytheleastup-to-dateformofresearchpublication.Inthis
section,differentformsofpublicationwillbedefinedandtheresultoftheliterature
reviewconductedaccordingly,categorizedandanalysed.
4.2FormsofPublication
Thefollowingpublicationtypeswereidentifiedduringtheresearchproject:
Periodicalarticles
51%oftheliteraturefoundwascategorizedasperiodicalarticlesofwhich50%were
foundinjournals,hence,25.5%ofliteraturefoundwaspublishedinjournals.
Conferencepapers
Tenpapersfoundwerecategorizedasconferencepapersthatappearedinconference
proceedingsmaking21.3%ofallliteraturefound.
Workshoppapers
Workshopsweredifferentiatedfromconferencesanditwasfoundthat10.6%ofthe
literaturereviewedwasclassifiedasworkshoppapers.
Governmentpublications
Anyarticleorpaperthatispublishedthroughthegovernmentisclassifiedinthisreport
asgovernmentpublication.Thiscategoryaccountsfor8.5%ofallresearchfoundinthis
literaturereview
Books
8.5%ofresearchreviewedwaspublishedinformofbooks.
4.3PeerReview
Thequalityofaspecificpieceofliteraturecanbejudgedbybeingeitherpeerreviewed
ornot.Butthenotionof"peerreviewed"isnotastandardisedmeasureofquality.
Whetherajournalormagazineissaidtopublishpeerreviewedarticlesdependsonthe
existenceofacertain"barrierofentry"thateveryjournal/magazinecansetforitself.A
standardisedminimumrequirementforlabellinganarticleorratingajournal/magazine
"peerreviewed"doesnotexist.Still,peerreviewedarticlestendtobeofhigherquality
comparedtonon-peerreviewedonesasatleastsome"filterofpublishing"
(Hildebrand,SimmerandFielden,2003)isappliedalthoughtheactualqualityofan
articleshouldratherbejudgedaccordingtothereputationofthepublishing
journal/magazine.
Astheconceptofpeerreviewingsuggeststhatcolleaguesinsimilarprofessionsreview
andpossiblychallengethefindingsoftheresearchinquestion,conferencepapers,
workshoppapersandgovernmentalpublicationscanbecategorizedas"peerreviewed".
Concerningbooks,theresearchcanbeconsideredaspeerreviewedifthebookwas
edited.Inthisliteraturereview78%oftheliteraturefoundwasratedas"peer
reviewed".
4.4YearofPublication
Theyearofpublicationindicatesthetimelinessofresearchconducted.Nexttothe
qualityofresearchconducted,the'up-to-date-ness'oftheresearchisanimportant
considerationwhenreviewingandjudgingliterature.Inthisliteraturereview,36%of
researchfoundwaspublishedin2004,theleastrecentonesin2000(15%).Onlyone
articlewasfoundin2005asthisliteraturereviewwaswritteninthefirstquarterof
2005.
4.5InquiryStrategiesinPublications
Lookingattheinquirystrategiesusedindifferentformsofpublication,itcanbe
concludedthatdiscussionsandcasestudiesarepredominantlyfoundinperiodical
articles.Analysingtheinquirystrategyusedinperiodicalarticlesfurther,itwasfound
outthatdiscussionspredominateinmagazines,whereasinjournalscasestudiesand
secondarydataanalysisaremoreprevalent.Pilotstudieswereonlyfoundin
magazines.
Secondarydataanalysisappearstobethemajorinquirystrategyforliteraturefoundin
thisreview.
4.6ContentAnalysis
ThisliteraturereviewpresentsthecurrentdevelopmentofNewZealand'squalitative,
quantitativeandmixedmethodsresearchactivitiesinthedomainmanaginginformation
technologyandthesubdomains:SMEs;largeenterprisesandresearchthatisnot
focusedonorganisationsize.Foradetailedcontentpresentation,theliteraturemap
(Figure1)showseachpublicationandrelevantcategories.Manyofthepublicationsdid
notfocusonorganizationalsize(Figure1).Amajorfindingfromthisliteraturereview
wastheconcentrationofresearchone-commerceinNewZealand.
5.Discussion
Themajorcategoryheadingsadoptedforthisliteraturereviewwerebasedon
organisationalsize.Howeveritwasdiscoveredthat32/47ofthearticlesrevieweddid
notregardorganisationalsizeasanissue(Figure1).Securitywasamajorresearch
issue(11papers).Securityissuesexploredincluded:establishingframeworksfor
enterprisesecuritymanagement(BradleyandJosang,2004);thedesignandusability
ofsecuresystemsClear(2002);securityservicesforelectronictendering(DU,Foo,
BoydandFitzgerald,2004);andalayeredapproachtonetworksecurity(Sathu,2002).
E-commerce(9papers)wasalsoanimportantresearchtopicandincludedthe
following:issuesforSMEs(Al-Qirim,2003);theimpactofe-commerceonIS
professionals(Cash,YoongandHuff,2004);e-businessinNewZealand(Clark,Bowden
andCorner,2003);internetstrategiesforretailers(Doolin,McLeod,McQueenand
Watton,2003);ande-commercestrategicdirection(Swain,2001).Technology
infrastructure(9papers)coveredthetopicsof:Investmentinphysicalinfrastructure
(Devine,2000);andplanningNewZealand'sscienceandtechnologyinfrastructure
(Simpson,2000).OthercategoriesofresearchintoMITincludinghumanresource
management(PauleenandYoong,2001),knowledgemanagement(Shibl,Fieldenand
Pain,2004),stakeholderanalysis(Fielden,2004a),decisionsupportsystems(Shibl,
FieldenandPain,2004)andeducationmanagement(McSporranandKing,2001;
Skelton,2003)wereallrelevantinthisparticularsampleofpaperonresearchintoMIT.
Figure1.LiteratureMap-ManagingITinNewZealand
BasedonpriorknowledgeofMITresearchinEurope(particularlyGermany)andthe
expenditureonresearchactivityinlargercountriestheamountofresearchbeing
conductedinasmallcountrygeographicallydistantfromotherregionsisimpressive.
6.Conclusion
ItisevidentthatthereisadynamicMITresearchcultureinNewZealandconsidering
thetotalresearchbudgetcomparedtotheUSorEurope.Therefore,itisimpressive
howmuchhighqualityresearchisrealizedinsuchasmallcountry.Thepredominance
ofqualitativeresearch(andtheconsequentmultiplicityofresearchmethods)underlines
thediversityofNewZealandMITresearch.BesidestheapplicationofNewZealand's
researchinitsowncountry,theAsiaPacificRegionandlargecountrieslikeChinaorthe
UnitedStates,NewZealand'sresearchisespeciallyvitalformanysmallcountries
aroundtheglobe,inparticularfortheAsiaPacificregionbutalsoforsmallAsian
countrieslikeSingapore.Inadditiontothat,smallEuropeancountrieslikeSwitzerland
arealsorequiredtodealwithsimilarconditions-especiallytechnologyinfrastructure,a
highnumberofSMEsandarelativelysmallpopulation.Therefore,theinternational
importanceofNewZealand'sITresearchactivitiesshouldnotbeunderestimated.
ThearticlesreviewedshowalsoastrongfocusonthepracticalapplicationofMIT
research,whichisgenerallyimportantintheITsectorbutespeciallyimportantinthe
fieldofsecurity,e-commerceandtechnologyinfrastructure.Thesedisciplineswere
identifiedasthefieldswiththehighestresearchactivity.
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Copyright©2005Georgi,C.,Pauls,S.,Rochel,R.,Weth,A.&Fielden,K.
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