Asia pacific journal of information systems

The Korea Society of Management Information Systems (한국경영정보학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

IT Manager Behavior in Crisis Response: Understanding Crisis Cases Using Recommendations from the Crisis Management Literature

  • Tommi Tapanainen (Department of Global Studies, Pusan National University) ;
  • Olivier Lisein (HEC Liege, University of Liege) ;
  • Ryuichi Hosoya (Graduate School of Commerce and Management, Hitotsubashi University) ;
  • Taro Kamioka (Graduate School of Business Administration, Hitotsubashi University)
  • Received : 2018.11.13
  • Accepted : 2019.03.01
  • Published : 2019.03.31
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

In their role as stewards of organizational information technology (IT), IT managers participate in crisis management activities. While much has been said about the power of technology in improving preparation for emergencies, the behavior of IT managers in crisis situations is not well understood. This paper addresses IT manager actions during the crisis response effort, when appropriate actions need to be taken at short notice. Recognizing that few guidelines exist for IT managers in these situations, we use recommendations from the crisis management literature in analyzing five earthquake cases from Japan and Taiwan. We identify several recommendations from this set for IT managers, which are related mainly to communications and leadership behaviors, suggesting that the IT manager role is a vital one in crisis response. The research additionally shows that recommendations from the crisis management literature have value also when applied to IT managers. Finally, we conclude on several ways that our understanding of IT manager crisis response could be developed by future research.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

We acknowledge the financial support of Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Canon Foundation, the University of Liege and the European Union in the context of the FP7-PEOPLE-COFUND-BeIPD project, and the 2-Year Research Grant of Pusan National University.

References

  1. Andrews, W. C. (1990). Contingency Planning for Physical Disasters. Journal of Systems Management, 41(7), 28-32. 
  2. Aon Benfield (2012). 2011 Thailand Floods Event Recap Report, Aon Corporation. Retrieved from http://thoughtleadership.aonbenfield.com/Documents/20120314_impact_forecasting_thailand_flood_event_recap.pdf 
  3. Applegate, L. M. and Elam, J. J. (1992). New Information Systems Leaders: A Changing Role in a Changing World. MIS Quarterly, 16(4), 469-490.  https://doi.org/10.2307/249732
  4. Ashir, A. (2014). An Empirical Investigation of Task-Technology Fit: Context of RFID in Disaster Management. Asia Pacific Journal of Information Systems, 24(3), 345-370.  https://doi.org/10.14329/apjis.2014.24.3.345
  5. Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York, NY, USA: Free Press. 
  6. Benjamin, R. I., Dickinson, C., and Rockart, J. F. (1985). Changing Role of the Corporate Information Systems Officer. MIS Quarterly, 9(3), 177-188.  https://doi.org/10.2307/248947
  7. Benson, J. A. (1988). Crisis revisited: an analysis of strategies used by Tylenol in the second tampering episode. Central States Speech Journal, 39, 4-66.  https://doi.org/10.1080/10510978809363234
  8. Boin, A., Paul, H., Stern, E., and Sundelius, B. (2005). The Politics of Crisis Management: Public Leadership Under Pressure. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 
  9. Calloway, L. J., and Keen, P. G. W. (1996). Organizing for Crisis Response. Journal of Information Technology, 11, 13-26.  https://doi.org/10.1177/026839629601100102
  10. Chen, D. Q., Preston, D. S., and Xia, W. (2010). Antecedents and Effects of CIO Supply-Side and Demand-Side Leadership: A Staged Maturity Model. Journal of Management Information Systems, 27(1), 231-271.  https://doi.org/10.2753/MIS0742-1222270110
  11. Ciborra, C. U. (1992). From Thinking to tinkering: The grassroots of IT and strategy. Information Society, 8, 297-309.  https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.1992.9960124
  12. Cohen, M. J. (2003). State-level Emergency Response to the September 11 Incidents: the Role of New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 11(2), 78-85.  https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5973.1102004
  13. Comfort, L. K., and Haase, T. W. (2006). Communication, Coherence and Collective Action: The Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Infrastructure. Public Works Management and Policy, 10(4), 328-343.  https://doi.org/10.1177/1087724X06289052
  14. Comfort, L. K., Ko, K., and Zagorecki, A. (2004). Coordination in Rapidly Evolving Disaster Response Systems: The Role of Information. American Behavioral Scientist, 48(3), 295-313.  https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764204268987
  15. Comfort, L. K., Siciliano, M. D., and Okada, A. (2011). Resilience, Entropy, and Efficiency in Crisis Management : The January 12, 2010, Haiti Earthquake. Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy, 2(3), 1-25.  https://doi.org/10.2202/1944-4079.1089
  16. Coombs, T. (2007). Ongoing crisis communication: planning, managing and responding. Los Angeles, USA: Sage. 
  17. Day, J. M., Junglas, I., and Silva, L. (2009). Information Flow Impediments in Disaster Relief Supply Chains. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 10(8), 637-660.  https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00205
  18. Devadoss, P. R., and Pan, S. L. (2004). Leveraging e-Government Infrastructure for Crisis Management: Lessons From Managing SARS Outbreak in Singapore. Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application, 6(3), 25-40. 
  19. Devitt, K. R., and Borodzicz, E. P. (2008). Interwoven Leadership: The Missing Link in Multi-Agency Major Incident Response. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 16(4), 208-216.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5973.2008.00551.x
  20. Drabek, T. E., and McEntire, D. A. (2003). Emergent phenomena and the sociology of disaster: Lessons, trends and opportunities from the research literature. Disaster Prevention and Management, 12(2), 97-112.  https://doi.org/10.1108/09653560310474214
  21. Drennan, L. T., Stark, A., and McConnell, A. (2015). Risk and Crisis Management in the Public Sector. London, UK: Routledge. 
  22. Dube, L., and Pare, G. (2003). Rigor in Information Systems Positivist Case Research: Current Practices, Trends, and Recommendations. MIS Quarterly, 27(4), 597-636.  https://doi.org/10.2307/30036550
  23. George, A. L., and Stern, E. K. (2002). Harnessing conflict in foreign policy making: from devil's to multiple advocacy. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 32, 484-508.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5705.2002.tb00003.x
  24. Hankyoreh (2018). Disaster at S. Korean telecommunications giant exposes weakness of 'superconnected' society. Hankyoreh, November 26, 2018. Retrieved from http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/871848.html 
  25. Harnesk, D. (2013). Collective IT Artifacts: Toward Inclusive Crisis Infrastructures. Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application, 14(4), 27-48. 
  26. Hecht, J. A. (2002). Business Continuity Management. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 8, 443-451.  https://doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.00830
  27. Herbane, B., Elliott, D., and Swartz, E. M. (2004). Business continuity management: Time for a strategic role? Long Range Planning, 37(5), 435-457.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2004.07.011
  28. House, R. J., Hanges, P. J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P.W., and Gupta, V. (eds.) (2004). Culture, Leadership, and Organizations: The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies. Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage. 
  29. Housel, T. J., El Sawy, O. A., and Donovan, P. F. (1986). Information Systems for Crisis Management: Lessons from Southern California Edison. MIS Quarterly, 10(4), 389-400.  https://doi.org/10.2307/249195
  30. Ives, B., and Olson, M. H. (1981). Manager or technician? The nature of the information systems manager's job. MIS Quarterly, 5(4), 49-63.  https://doi.org/10.2307/249327
  31. Janis, I. L. (1982). Groupthink. Boston, USA: Houghton Mifflin. 
  32. Jennex, M. E. (2004). Emergency Response Systems: The Utility Y2K Experience. Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application, 6(3), 85-102. 
  33. Kawamura, M. (2012). BCPからみた東日本大震災とタイ大洪水の教訓. Nippon Life Insurance Research Institute. Available at: https://www.nli-research.co.jp/files/topics/39783_ext_18_0.pdf 
  34. The Korea Herald (2018). KT chairman apologizes for chaos, scrambles to contain damage from fire. The Korea Herald, November 25, 2018. Retrieved from http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20181125000202 
  35. The Korea Herald (2018). KT's mobile phone subscribers down after fire disrupts services. The Korea Herald, November 27, 2018. Retrieved from http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20181127000663 
  36. Kotter, J. P. (1988). The Leadership Factor. New York, USA: Free Press. 
  37. Leidner, D. E., Pan, G., and Pan, S. L. (2009). The role of IT in crisis response: Lessons from the SARS and Asian Tsunami disasters. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 18, 80-99.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2009.05.001
  38. Lettieri, E., Masella, C., and Radaelli, G. (2009). "Disaster management: findings from a systematic review. Disaster Prevention and Management, 18(2), 117-136.  https://doi.org/10.1108/09653560910953207
  39. Lewis, G. (2006). Organizational Crisis Management: The Human Factor. Boca Raton, FL, USA: Taylor & Francis. 
  40. McKinney, E. H. (2008). Supporting Pre-existing Teams in Crisis with IT: A Preliminary Organizational-Team Collaboration Network. Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application, 9(3), 39-59. 
  41. Mintzberg, H. (1973). The Nature of Managerial Work. New York, NY, USA: Harper & Row. 
  42. Northouse, P. G. (2007). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage. 
  43. Pan, S. L., Pan, G., and Leidner, D. E. (2012). Crisis Response Information Networks. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 13(1), 31-56.  https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00283
  44. Pee, L. G., and Lee, J. (2016). Trust in User-Generated Information on Social Media During Crises: An Elaboration Likelihood Perspective. Asia Pacific Journal of Information Systems, 26(1), 1-21.  https://doi.org/10.14329/apjis.2016.26.1.1
  45. Perrow, C. (2007). The Next Catastrophe: Reducing Our Vulnerabilities to Natural, Industrial, and Terrorist Disasters. Princeton, NJ, USA: Princeton University Press. 
  46. Pina e Cunha, M., Vieira da Cunha, J., and Kamoche, K. (1999). Organizational Improvisation: What, When, How and Why. International Journal of Management Reviews, 1(3), 299-341.  https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2370.00017
  47. Quarantelli, E. L. (1997). Ten Criteria for Evaluating the Management of Community Disasters. Disasters, 21(1), 39-56.  https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7717.00043
  48. Smaltz, D. H., Sambamurthy, V., and Agarwal, R. (2006). The antecedents of CIO role effectiveness in Organizations: An empirical study in the healthcare sector. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 53(2), 207-222.  https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2006.872248
  49. Stephens, C. S., Ledbetter, W. N., Mitra, A., and Ford, F. N. (1992). Executive or Functional Manager? The Nature of the CIO's Job. MIS Quarterly, 16(4), 449-467.  https://doi.org/10.2307/249731
  50. Strauss, A., and Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of Qualitative Research. Newbury Park, USA: Sage. 
  51. Thomas, M, A., Andoh-Baidoo, F. K., Redmond, R., and Yoon, V. Y. (2009). Moving Beyond Traditional Emergency Response Notification with VoiceXML. Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application, 10(1), 28-40. 
  52. Turoff, M. (2002). Past and Future Emergency Response Information Systems. Communications of the ACM, 45(4), 29-33.  https://doi.org/10.1145/505248.505265
  53. Ulmer, R. R., Sellnow, T. L, and Seeger, M. W. (2007). Effective Crisis Communication: Moving from Crisis to Opportunity. Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage. 
  54. Wang, W. T., and Belardo, S. (2009). The Role of Knowledge Management in Achieving Effective Crisis Management: A Case Study. Journal of Information Science, 35(6), 635-659.  https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551509104234
  55. Weick, K. E. (1988). Enacted sense making in crisis situations. Journal of Management Studies, 25(4), 305-317.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.1988.tb00039.x
  56. Weick, K. E. (1990). The vulnerable system: An analysis of the Tenerife air disaster. Journal of Management, 16, 571-593.  https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639001600304
  57. Wu, J. H., Chen, Y. C., and Lin, H. H. (2004). Developing a Set of Management Needs for IS Managers: A Study of Necessary Managerial Activities and Skills. Information & Management, 41, 413-429.  https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-7206(03)00081-8
  58. Xue, Y. J., and Liang, H. G. (2004). IS-Driven Process Re-engineering: China's Public Health Emergency Response to the SARS Crisis. Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application, 6(3), 41-58. 
  59. Yin, R. (2009). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Beverly Hills, CA, USA: Sage.