Critical systemic thinking as a foundation for information systems research
Author
Summary, in English
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore a particular philosophical underpinning for
Information Systems (IS) research – critical systemic thinking (CST). Drawing upon previous work,
the authors highlight the principal features of CST within the tradition of critical research and attempt
to relate it to trends in the Italian school of IS research in recent years, as exemplified by the work of
Claudio Ciborra but also evident in work by, e.g. Resca, Jacucci and D’Atri.
Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper which explores CST, characterised
by a focus on individual uniqueness, and socially-constructed, individual worldviews as generators of
human knowing.
Findings – The paper draws on work by Heinz Klein in which he elaborated three constitutive stages
in critical research: interpretive, genealogical and constructive. The authors introduce a fourth,
reflective stage and discuss five categories of critical research, reflecting different perspectives on
emancipation, culminating in emergent expressionism, associated with Ciborra and the Italian school
more generally.
Research limitations/implications – This paper discusses approaches to CST and how they
might have practical implications in IS development. The distinction between approaches founded in
logical empiricism and those founded in hermeneutic dialectics are considered and the development of
critical and systems strands are discussed.
Practical implications – The paper addresses CST as an approach to development of information
systems. Such approaches enable users to explore their individually unique understandings and create
a constructive dialogue with one another, which emancipates and empowers users to own and control
their own development processes and hence build more productive and usable systems.
Social implications – A focus on research which is oriented towards emancipation in the tradition
of critical social theory.
Originality/value – The paper draws on extensive theoretical research carried out by the authors
over a period of more than ten years in CST and synthesises the practical implications.
Information Systems (IS) research – critical systemic thinking (CST). Drawing upon previous work,
the authors highlight the principal features of CST within the tradition of critical research and attempt
to relate it to trends in the Italian school of IS research in recent years, as exemplified by the work of
Claudio Ciborra but also evident in work by, e.g. Resca, Jacucci and D’Atri.
Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper which explores CST, characterised
by a focus on individual uniqueness, and socially-constructed, individual worldviews as generators of
human knowing.
Findings – The paper draws on work by Heinz Klein in which he elaborated three constitutive stages
in critical research: interpretive, genealogical and constructive. The authors introduce a fourth,
reflective stage and discuss five categories of critical research, reflecting different perspectives on
emancipation, culminating in emergent expressionism, associated with Ciborra and the Italian school
more generally.
Research limitations/implications – This paper discusses approaches to CST and how they
might have practical implications in IS development. The distinction between approaches founded in
logical empiricism and those founded in hermeneutic dialectics are considered and the development of
critical and systems strands are discussed.
Practical implications – The paper addresses CST as an approach to development of information
systems. Such approaches enable users to explore their individually unique understandings and create
a constructive dialogue with one another, which emancipates and empowers users to own and control
their own development processes and hence build more productive and usable systems.
Social implications – A focus on research which is oriented towards emancipation in the tradition
of critical social theory.
Originality/value – The paper draws on extensive theoretical research carried out by the authors
over a period of more than ten years in CST and synthesises the practical implications.
Department/s
Publishing year
2012
Language
English
Pages
144-155
Publication/Series
Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society
Volume
10
Issue
3
Full text
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Links
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Topic
- Information Systems, Social aspects
Keywords
- Critical systemic thinking
- Emergence
- Improvisation
- Information systems
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1758-8871