The Organizational Impact of Implementing Information Systems in Higher Education Institutions: A Case Study from a UK University

• Author: Thuyuyen Nguyen‐Newby,Dimitra Skoumpopoulou
• Date: 01 September 2015
• Published date: 01 September 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/jsc.2022

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Strat. Change 24: 463–482 (2015)

Published online in Wiley Online Library

(wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/jsc.2022

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Strategic Change: Briengs in Entrepreneurial Finance

Strategic Change

DOI: 10.1002/jsc.2022

The Organizational Impact of Implementing

Information Systems in Higher Education

Institutions: A Case Study from a UK University1

Dimitra Skoumpopoulou

Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, UK

uyuyen Nguyen-Newby

Department of Information Systems and Decision Sciences, California State University, USA

The implementation of an integrated information system has become an agent and

an enforcer of strict instrumental policy and power of the university institutions.

e development and implementation of eective information systems (ISs) have

been goals for many organizations in their quest to provide more and better infor-

mation to compete in an increasingly global business environment. In general, the

IS includes hardware, software, data, procedures, and people (Kroenke, 2014).

e interactions among the ve components produce information that will provide

an opportunity for businesses to improve their eciency and eectiveness. ey

bring to organizations the promise of seamless information ows and ultimately

bring competitive advantage for the implementing organization (ong, 1999).

In higher education (HE) institutions, ISs started as separate in-house develop-

ments that tended to satisfy the immediate needs of the dierent departments and

schools (Pollock and Cornford, 2004). As universities grew to become interna-

tional organizations, enrolling students from all over the world, their requirements

changed and the need for information integration intensied (Magal and Word,

2012; Pollock and Williams, 2009).

Although there are a number of studies into IS implementation in HE (Table 1),

there are few studies that explicitly use an organizational lens to explore the inu-

ence that these systems have within the organization. From reviewing the litera-

ture, it can be seen that most studies focus on technical, strategic, and people

issues related to IS implementation, while organizational factors are under-explored

and are not aorded the attention they deserve (Cresswell and Sheikh, 2013;

Gajendran and Brewer, 2012).

1 JEL classication codes: D73, D80, M11, M15.

Through the use of interviews, the

research indicates that there has

been a growth of alternative

power bases within the university,

new roles and responsibilities for

administrative staff, and a

different working environment

for academics.

This has enabled a signicant

power shift to central non-

academic departments at the

expense of academics who

directly support the core

competence of the university,

teaching and research, without

which the university would

not exist.

Well-qualied and experienced

administrators ght on a daily

basis to enter data into a system

that is unfriendly and non-

intuitive, relying on an elite group

of staff (good housekeepers)

to solve their problems.

464 Dimitra Skoumpopoulou and Thuyuyen Nguyen-Newby

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Strategic Change

DOI: 10.1002/jsc

ere have been three major studies on IS implemen-

tation that explore organizational aspects in this sector

(Fowler and Gilllan, 2003; Gemmell and Pagano, 2003;

Pollock and Cornford, 2004). ese studies focused on

research-intensive organizations and took a strategic,

higher-level management view of the organizations under

investigation. Insights into organizational issues were

limited and did not provide empirical evidence into how

the organization changed over time or how the implemen-

tation impacted the individual sta. Hence, it is essential

to further investigate the organizational factors required

in order to gain a better understanding of their impor-

tance during the implementation of information systems

(Bryant et al., 2013; Mitev and De Vaujany, 2012). e

emphasis of this research is to further explore and under-

stand the organizational impact that IS implementation

have on HE institutions. Hence, our research question is:

To what extent does the implementation of an

integrated IS alter the organizational life and

employee relationships in the HE sector?

In order to satisfy its information requirements, a UK

university implemented an integrated information system

called Strategic Information Technology Services (SITS).

SITS is a student record management system used to

store, administer, and manage all aspects of student infor-

mation – from initial enquiry and application through to

graduation and alumni. Twenty two key participants in

the IS implementation process were interviewed to gain

an insight into how SITS aected the organization in

terms of cultural relationships between academics and

administration sta.

e second section of this article provides a brief

review of the pertinent literature relating to universities as

Table 1. Studies into information systems’ implementation in higher education

Author Research focus

Trowler (1998) How academic sta at one British university responded to a period of intensive

change,including rapid expansion in the number of students, with new systems

andstructures.

Fowler and

Gilllan (2003)

A proposal of a framework for improving the likelihood of success, when undertaking

university-based IS projects.

Gemmell and

Pagano (2003)

Post-implementation evaluation of a business-critical IT system at a UK university.

Pollock and

Cornford (2004)

Analysis of the rollout of an ERP system in an HE institution in the UK, with particular

focus on how the development, implementation, and use of both generic and university-

specic functionality is mediated and shaped by a fundamental and long-standing

tension within the institution.

Cramer (2006) Issues surrounding how a campus can be attentive to the needs of its members, and

maintain a vision that translates into a shared commitment to successfully work through

the challenges of implementing a student information system.

Wagner et al. (2006) How a best-practice ERP system was actually created, illuminated through the presentation

of an intensive case study in which the creation of the ERP product destined to be

marketed as a best-practice solution for HE institutions is explored.

Mutch (2008) e nature and place of knowledge in contemporary organizations, with particular

attention being paid to the management of information and data, and to the crucial

enabling role played by information.

Sabau et al. (2009) A proposal of a comparison framework of ERP solutions for HE management using

the requirements of a Romanian university as a starting point.

Pollock and

Williams (2009)

A study of ISs, primarily from one that is focused on ‘implementation studies’ to one

that follows software as it evolves, matures, and crosses organizational boundaries.