Information systems as a nexus of information technology systems: A new view of information systems practice

Abstract

The close relationship between the concepts of information systems and information technology creates issues for researchers. Usefully distinguishing between the concepts is problematic. We investigate the use of the systems concept in practice, finding a pragmatic distinction between an information system (IS) and an information technology system (IT system). In a practice view, an IS incorporates an emphasis on both a technical and a social subsystem, while an IT system predominantly emphasizes the technical elements. This distinction becomes useful in practice because contemporary IS practitioners are often involved in acquiring and integrating IT systems into an organizational IS. This involvement leads to a viewpoint on the organizational IS (including the social subsystem) as a nexus of multiple IT systems. This nexus creates issues in practice for not only integrating IT systems into the organizational IS, but also integrating multiple IT systems with each other in the context of the organizational IS. These issues lead to research opportunities such as the need for new methodologies for IT system acquisitions and new theories that accommodate the social integration of IT systems and IS.