Understanding Formality and Informality in Information System Pre-evaluation (ISIE) Process: Examining Case Research from an Actor Network Theory ANT Perspective

Abstract

The degree of rigidity in the process of IS evaluation and the dependence on a specific method tends to vary among banks, depending on a combination of many factors. This research focuses on I.S. pre-evaluation as socio-technical process. Central to this is the notion of Request for proposals RFP (Business case) and the analytical toolkit of Actor Network Theory (Latour 1987). Specifically this study attempts to highlight on the level of formality/informality played in the evaluation process by the threads of ‘rigidity issues’ that manifested themselves on the journey throughout the ex ante I.S. business cases in the bank. The study contributes to the existing literature in IS evaluation research by drawing using this case study to infer how pre-evaluation practices are being affected by the developing country context of Jordan. Among the several findings drawn from this research, the informal use of intuition was accommodated within the formal process of IS evaluation demonstrated to be the most prominent. The study highlights the importance of informal evaluation that of “gut feeling” and experience of executives which plays a significant role in the IS evaluation process.