An Allegory on the Role of the Action Researcher to Enable User Engagement and Change Management in the Early Phases of Information Systems Implementation

摘要

Genres of communications significantly influence the evolution of a field of research. In the Information Systems (IS) domain, a debate has recently emerged on the chance to implement alternative genres to generate unconventional ways of looking at IS-related issues. This study hence proposes to apply allegory as an alternative genre to write publications accounting IS research. To exemplify the use of the allegory genre, the study tackles the role of the action researcher to enable user engagement and change management in the early phases of Information Systems implementation. The allegory is applied to the case of a Small-Medium-Enterprise undergoing ERP implementation. Reflecting on the allegory and its interpretation, it is argued that the action researcher can take a paramount role in IS change management as "user engagement enabler"; from a writing genre perspective, it is claimed that allegory is particularly suitable for writing action research accounts.