STAKEHOLDER ORIENTAION IN IS IMPLEMENTATION & DIFFUSION

This case-study reserach explores an existing Information System (IS) phenomenon of enterprise IS implementation through a novel perspective of stakeholder orientation and IS diffusion. Stakeholder engagement is an essential aspect for ISD project’s survival and long-term success. At the same time, the possibility of opportunistic stakeholder behaviour is a realistic threat to project’s objectives. Furthermore, traditional control mechanisms are often ineffective in a complex and outsourced IS implementation. An optimal stakeholder orientation requires managing of both the engagement and sensitivity of stakeholders, yet this aspect is often overlooked during ISD projects. Our analysis of stakeholder orientation from four distinct perspectives, strategic, responsibility, paternalism, and neoclassical, have found support for the existing notion of stakeholder integration in terms of demands, knowledge absorption, and improved performance. Furthermore, we found a positive correlation between optimal stakeholder orientations and favourable IS diffusion outcom