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23rd Australasian Conference on Information Systems 3-5 Dec 2012, Geelong
Feral Practices Thatte et al.
Feral Practices
Shubhankar Thatte Nick Grainger Judy McKay Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies Swinburne University of Technology Melbourne, Victoria Email: sthatte@swin.edu.au ngrainger@swin.edu.au jmckay@swin.edu.au
Abstract
In this paper we introduce the concept of feral practices which we define as the usage of information technology which deviates from the standard organizational norms and which exists beyond the control and/or knowledge of the organizational IT management. We argue towards using a ‘practice’ perspective in understanding noncompliant IT practices where we suggest a greater emphasis on usage of IT artifacts rather than the artifacts itself. We also outline a scope of feral practices by clarifying some of the concepts associated with the phenomenon. We propose a model based on the Merton’s Theory of Anomie, which seeks to explain why feral practices come about and what are the technological and social influences and supporting factors which lead to this phenomenon. This study thus intends to build a conceptual base for future studies on feral practices by providing a holistic view on the phenomenon and also identify directions for future research.
Keywords: Feral Practices, Feral Systems, Shadow Systems, Merton’s Theory of Anomie, Deviance
INTRODUCTION
Billy Blogs, a sales executive in HappySales, always carries his company’s iPad with him during his client meetings. He uses an online app to take orders from customers. The catch is that this application has not been sanctioned for use by the corporate IT department, who has laid down strict policies in terms of what software applications employees are allowed to use in the organization. What is more, the company Billy works for employs around ten sales professionals who use various different apps to take customer orders. The data gathered by
Feral Practices Thatte et al.
Feral Practices
Shubhankar Thatte Nick Grainger Judy McKay Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies Swinburne University of Technology Melbourne, Victoria Email: sthatte@swin.edu.au ngrainger@swin.edu.au jmckay@swin.edu.au
Abstract
In this paper we introduce the concept of feral practices which we define as the usage of information technology which deviates from the standard organizational norms and which exists beyond the control and/or knowledge of the organizational IT management. We argue towards using a ‘practice’ perspective in understanding noncompliant IT practices where we suggest a greater emphasis on usage of IT artifacts rather than the artifacts itself. We also outline a scope of feral practices by clarifying some of the concepts associated with the phenomenon. We propose a model based on the Merton’s Theory of Anomie, which seeks to explain why feral practices come about and what are the technological and social influences and supporting factors which lead to this phenomenon. This study thus intends to build a conceptual base for future studies on feral practices by providing a holistic view on the phenomenon and also identify directions for future research.
Keywords: Feral Practices, Feral Systems, Shadow Systems, Merton’s Theory of Anomie, Deviance
INTRODUCTION
Billy Blogs, a sales executive in HappySales, always carries his company’s iPad with him during his client meetings. He uses an online app to take orders from customers. The catch is that this application has not been sanctioned for use by the corporate IT department, who has laid down strict policies in terms of what software applications employees are allowed to use in the organization. What is more, the company Billy works for employs around ten sales professionals who use various different apps to take customer orders. The data gathered by