Rules of the game: constructing norms of influence, subordination and constraint in IT planning

Abstract

This paper examines how norms develop and influence the planning of technological and organizational change. A case study highlights the influences of a broadly held management innovation as it is introduced into an existing organizational culture, demonstrating how norms play a role in attempts to introduce technical and management innovations. In the case, three sources of normative structuring—business process re-engineering, the consultant, and the target organization's business environment—converged to create new rules defining how to conceptualize the problem space, the appropriate ways to approach problems, who had actionable authority and how ideas were to be expressed. The emergent normative context trapped the group in a malfunctioning process and eliminated opportunities to question the process or to suggest alternative directions. This case highlights how analyzing normative systems holds promise to improve scholarly understanding of organizational technologies and to refine managerial tools for technological and organizational innovation.