Using narrative networks to study enterprise systems and organizational change

Abstract

Current implementation and research approaches to enterprise systems (ES) implementation are often unable to account for the varied ways of organizational practices and how they evolve and change. As such, we propose a new methodological perspective, the Narrative Network (NN) perspective, which is grounded on Pentland and Feldman's (2007) narrative network lens. The NN's core concepts of “narrative fragments” and “narrative network” allow researchers to express, visualize and represent patterns of actions within an organizational form. It therefore provides a way for accounting and information systems researchers to a) visualize and understand existing organizational practices implicated in the new ES systems, b) compare and contrast patterns of existing organizational practices with those embedded in the ES and c) to trace and describe changes to organizational practices after an ES implementation. Practically, the NN perspective provides a methodological foundation for project and organizational planners to best leverage new technology platforms for strategic transformations.