Strategy, practice, and the dynamics of power

Abstract

The notion of strategy in general, and information system strategy (ISS) in particular, can be viewed as being fundamentally concerned with mechanisms of power. If studies of power in ISS formation are to be meaningful theoretically and useful practically, they must locate conceptions of power within the complex dynamics, or web of relations that reflect the practice of strategy. Within much of the literature concerned with information systems (IS) and strategy, authors who engage in discussions of power are relatively uncommon, and indeed substantive discussions of power are not all that prevalent in literature dealing with IS and information technology (IT) in general. We argue that an underlying problem in relation to IS and strategy has been the generally unacknowledged political nature of such activity, of which power relations are an implicit part. In order to address perceived deficiencies in the understanding of IS strategy formation, we draw upon theoretical work that reflects some of the development in thinking about concepts of power in organisational settings. Hardy [Power and politics in organisations. In: Hardy C, editor. Managing strategic action. London: Sage, 1994.] has developed a framework exploring power in terms of four dimensions, and this is presented as providing a ‘way of seeing’ in relation to organisational strategy development by “peeling back the layers of power” (p. 234). From a discussion of this work, we abstract implications for both theory and practice. We conclude by arguing that ISS formation is an inherently social activity that occurs within organisational settings, and that the very notion of strategy embodies mechanisms of power. Therefore, if we are to improve both theory and practice in relation to ISS formation, then this carries with it an implicit acknowledgement that some means of thinking through the varied dynamics of power is valuable.