Management of enterprise-wide Geographic Information Systems implementation : exploration of five case studies

Abstract

The existing research has confirmed that the implementation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) requires management support. The content and process of this management support is not yet fully known. This dissertation addresses the latter gap through five (5) detailed case studies of local government jurisdictions that have implemented enterprise-wide GIS. The research framework is based on the diffusion of innovations model. However, it goes beyond the "adopt/not adopt" characterization of the implementation process. The recognition of this process complexity during implementation is based on three potential distinct characteristics of enterprise-wide GIS projects: (a) existence of a series of management actions and activities during implementation which are observed in practice and go beyond the "adopt/not adopt" formulation; (b) management complexities of enterprise-wide GIS which are distinct from single-project GIS: and (c) certainty of problems and setbacks occurring given the inevitable organizational and technological challenges of enterprise-wide GIS. It is proposed that these characteristics can be better understood and captured through a model of GIS implementation which incorporates the following five (5) management processes: (i) the influence of organizational environment and context; (ii) the emergent process of planning; (iii) the vision building process; (iv) the process of acquiring and managing resources; and (v) the process of coping with setbacks and problems. The empiric,/ data to analyze these processes was based on five (5) cases. The selected cases, although presumed to be from a pool of successful cites, proved otherwise. This shortcoming, however, was turned into a useful analytical device by performing comparative analysis of the five (5) processes across the five cases on the basis of different levels of success. The analysis provided preliminary confirmation of the existence of the five (5) processes. It also gave insights in terms of details of what, how and why certain management actions and activities were taken in support of GIS implementation. However, conclusive confirmatory test remains a task of further research. Most significantly, the quality of the management process regarding "coping with setbacks and problems" during implementation appeared to be higher in the cases that were assessed to be experiencing a higher level of success with enterprise-wide GIS. The recommendations for further research include further refinements of the process of "coping with setbacks and problems'' as well as its testing through more case studies and survey research.