A Virtual Experiment in a Multi-Agent System Pierce Hopkins Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected]
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2009 Structural influences in information systems projects: a virtual experiment in a multi-agent system Pierce Hopkins Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Business Commons Recommended Citation Hopkins, Pierce, "Structural influences in information systems projects: a virtual experiment in a multi-agent system" (2009). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 3580. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/3580 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. STRUCTURAL INFLUENCES IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS PROJECTS: A VIRTUAL EXPERIMENT IN A MULTI-AGENT SYSTEM A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Interdepartmental Program in Business Administration (Information Systems and Decision Sciences) by Pierce Hopkins B.S., University of Florida, 1984 M.B.A., Palm Beach Atlantic University, 1997 August 2009 1 ©Copyright 2009 Pierce Hopkins All rights reserved ii Dedication I dedicate this to all my family and friends as well as to all the idealists, romantics, iconoclasts and heretics from the past, present and future. Especially important in this work and my life has been my renaissance muse, Guinevere. iii Acknowledgements I thank my chairs and committee members (Suzanne Pawlowski, Edward Watson, Helmut Schneider, and Rudy Hirshheim) for their patience and confidence in my quest of my chosen topic. Special thanks are due Suzanne Pawlowski for her valuable feedback and editorial assistance with my writing, to Helmut Schneider for providing me with the opportunity to pursue this work at Louisiana State University, and Julliana Richard, who helped me navigate the administrative process. Additional acknowledgement is due my grandmother, Frances Poh and my uncle Ronald Poh for their dinner table discussions of theology and philosophy when I was young; as well as instilling in me a love of discovery, creativity and knowledge. I am also indebted to the heated discussions comparing phenomenology and logical positivism over a pot of French coffee and a game of chess with Julie Tersigni at Café Espresso during my days in Gainesville. Thanks also to Jay Zeeman and the philosophy department at the University of Florida for laying the foundation that has finally come to some degree of fruition in this work. iv Table of Contents Dedication.................................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements.................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. ix List of Figures..............................................................................................................................x Abstract..................................................................................................................................... xii Chapter 1 -- Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 Research Questions................................................................................................................. 1 Literature Overview................................................................................................................ 2 Approach............................................................................................................................. 2 Limitations of the Social Perspective on IS Development ................................................. 2 Contribution ............................................................................................................................ 3 Data Source and Method......................................................................................................... 4 Chapter Summaries................................................................................................................. 4 Chapter 2 - Philosophical Foundation................................................................................. 4 Chapter 3 - Social Theoretical Framework......................................................................... 5 Chapter 4 - Information Systems Literature ....................................................................... 5 Chapter 5 - Social Networks............................................................................................... 5 Chapter 6 - Methodology.................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 7 - Analysis and Results........................................................................................ 5 Chapter 8 - Implications, Limitations and Future Direction............................................... 5 Chapter 2 -- Philosophical Foundation ....................................................................................... 6 Introduction............................................................................................................................. 6 Ontology ................................................................................................................................. 7 Orthodox Dichotomy .......................................................................................................... 7 Trikaya ................................................................................................................................8 Epistemology .......................................................................................................................... 9 Continuity of Meaning........................................................................................................ 9 Inquiry............................................................................................................................... 10 Axiology ............................................................................................................................... 10 Summary............................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 3 -- Social Theoretical Framework.............................................................................. 12 Cultural Materialism and an Integrated Approach to Social Science................................... 12 The Integrated Capital Ensemble Model .............................................................................. 16 The Conceptual Model...................................................................................................... 17 Capital............................................................................................................................... 17 Resource Capital ............................................................................................................... 17 v Human Capital .................................................................................................................. 18 Cultural Capital................................................................................................................. 20 Social Capital.................................................................................................................... 21 An Example of Capital Exchange and Conversion........................................................... 23 Agency vs. Structure......................................................................................................... 24 Analogy of Social and Physical Forces ............................................................................ 24 Summary............................................................................................................................... 25 Chapter 4 -- Information Systems Literature............................................................................ 27 Introduction........................................................................................................................... 27 User Involvement.............................................................................................................. 27 Social................................................................................................................................. 27 User Involvement and Project Success................................................................................. 28 Components of Project Success........................................................................................ 30 Culture................................................................................................................................... 31 Approaches to the Social in Information Systems................................................................ 33 Socio-Technical Design...................................................................................................