Selfdestructive dynamics in largescale technochange and some ways of counteracting it

Purpose Seeks to raise the question of why largescale technochange is difficult and often failureprone and to attempt to answer this question by viewing technochange as an instance of institutional change and design in which selfdestructive mechanisms are inherently embedded. Designmethodologyapproach In order to explore the complex institutional dynamics of largescale technochange the paper uses the explorationexploitation framework originally developed by March and extended by Lanzara to the study of institutionbuilding processes in the political domain. The argument is that problems in implementing largescale technochange stem from learning dilemmas in the intertemporal and intergroup allocation of material and cognitive resources. The paper uses a case of largescale technology in a major US university system to illustrate the institutional perspective on technochange. Findings It is argued and illustrated that the development and redesign of largescale information systems involve both the exploration of alternative institutional arrangements and the exploitation of preexisting ones, such that a delicate balance must be struck to overcome incoherences and dilemmas between the two activities. Research limitationsimplications The proposed framework to understand largescale technochange is not examined empirically. The illustration of the framework relies on a single largescale system project of a nonprofit organization in the USA. Further empirical work and comparative research on multiple cases are needed. Practical implications The paper discusses some sources of the failures of largescale technochange and offers three interrelated mechanisms to counteract such failure sources, namely focal points, increasing returns, and bricolage. These counteracting mechanisms may help organizations to effectively deal with the dilemmas of exploration and exploitation in technochange. Originalityvalue This paper fills the gap in understanding the nature of largescale technochange, providing an explanation of why it is difficult and failureprone and offering some modest proposals for intervention in largescale system projects.