Assignment 1: Academic Paper Review

Hartnett, Daniel and Holtis article Client and consultant engagement in public sector IS projects was published in International Journal of Information Management(2012). The research proposed and validated a model of engagement between client and consultant based on reviewing literature related. Conceptual model The conceptual model of the research assumed that the engagement could be understood as the conditions and behaviours. Certain conditions would allow what could be described as engaged behaviours to emerge, and the behaviours, in return, had influences on the conditions. All the factors combined to form the conceptual model shown in fig1.

Fig 1.

Methodology To validate and extend the conceptual model, five cases of IT project in UK public sector were studied by interviewing a range of people involved in the projects including the CEO of both client and consultancy company, project manager and users. These interviews were guided by a semi-structured interview schedule on the basis of the proposed model. The researcher also collected internal documentary data (internal project briefs, implementation progress reports, internal memos), field notes and site observations as other sources of data. To provide analytical generalisation, there was variation in public sector organisations (see Table 1) included and the nature, size and duration of the projects studied(Hartnett, Daniel, & Holti, 2012). Findings and contribution The results of the five case study had provided empirical evidence to support the proposed model and also extend it.
Table 1

1) The conditions - environment, participants and expertise - allow certain engaged behaviours sharing, sense making and adapting to emerge. Similarly, the behaviours, particularly through adaption, will respond to the conditions and lead to a change them. 2) Three behaviours has been identified as interrelated and iterative. Among three behaviours, adapting seems to be a special behaviour that can not be influenced directly by the conditions and only emerges in consequence of the existence of sharing and sense making. 3) In terms of the interrelation among the factors, these factors build a cyclic and self-reinforcing cycle that can be either a virtuous or vicious.

Fig 2

Practical Implication

It is clear that the engagement model which suggests the engagement to be a dynamic and continual process with self-reinforcing cycle(Hartnett, Daniel, & Holti, 2012) carries important practical implications to practising managers and consultants. Three major steps should be followed to build and maintain a virtuous cycle of engagement. 1) Creating environment and culture for sharing. Boundary object, taking a forum as an example, is important for supporting sharing, since it provides consultants and staff with something to work on together. On the other hand, informal interaction and communication should be encouraged because of its fundamental role in sharing and importance in building up understanding and trust as well. 2) Building up background knowledge and common sense. Sense making, which is defined as a shared understanding of each other and cooperative expertise, relies on sharing. Participants share their ideas, negotiate meanings together, and then they reach an agreement. 3) Adapting continuously. Adapting is a special behaviour that can happen automatically and be conducted by the managers as well. Adapting is the only behaviour, according to the model, that can make a change in factors of conditions. And also, it is the only way for managers to control and improve the dynamic circulation of engagement. Adapting behaviours include creating a shared plan as a boundary object for sharing, persuading participants to increase their willingness in sharing and discussing, and improving the expertise complementation by transferring and co-producing knowledge. On the other handthe initiatives of adapting behaviour from staff should be highly encouraged by the manager. Creating culture for sharing, discussing and self-improving is a good way for encouraging adapting. The research provides new perspective on engagement theory and is of value for practitioners like consultancy project managers and consultants in diagnostic and prescriptive mode(Hartnett, Daniel, & Holti, 2012). 1) The model can play a diagnostic role when a project facing engagement problem due to the fact that it can help to identify the symptom by examining the conditions and behaviours identified in the model, and then find out the real source of the problem. 2) The model also contribute to the solutions by giving related factors that have an influence on the problem source. The model can be used as a prescription for both clients and consultants at the beginning of a project to provide elements that should be taken into consideration, which will accelerate the engagement cycle at the planning level from the starting point. Limitation As the research mentioned, the limitation of this research concerns the context of the case studies and the inclusion of a degree of convenience in the sampling strategy(Hartnett, Daniel, & Holti, 2012). All cases are IT-based and in UK public sector which means it may not be suitable for non-IT based project in business sector. The sampling for cases is biased that all cases are relatively successful. The model is not able to show what happens in projects that are considered failed.

Reference Hartnett, E. J., Daniel, E. M., & Holti, R. (2012). Client and consultant engagement in public sector IS projects. International Journal of Information Management, 32(4), 307-317.