1. Information Technology and
System Implementations
A leadership perspective
Yvonne Forsyth
Department of Computer and Systems
Sciences
Degree project 30 HE credits
Degree subject (Computer and Systems Sciences or Man-Machine-
Interaction)
Degree project at the master level
Spring term 2015
Supervisor: Christer Magnusson
Reviewer: Matti Tedre
Swedish title: Not Applicable

2. Information Technology and
System Implementations
A leadership perspective
Yvonne Forsyth
Abstract
To become more efficient, many organisations today introduce information systems, (IS) using modern
and highly advanced information technology (IT). However, reseach has shown, system implementation
processes fail to high degree despite ample of research within IS/IT research. Often do these
introductions not manage to succeed in meeting the planned goals and objectives and intended change
strategies often do not get integrated in business processes and activities. Researchers report failure rates
of IS/IT implementations as high as 80 percent or more.
A too strong technical focus has been identified as a reason for failure and a more holistic approach is
required in understanding these complex processes. Hence it has been argued change management is
crucial with its consideration of organisational and human/people aspects of the process and addressing
and encompassing a multitude of perspectives. It has further been argued that attention has to a large
extent been on a formal, general level, however the informal level needs to be addressed. It is on an
individual level change happens. What ideas and meaning people ascribe internal as well as external
influences and how a collective interpretation and understanding of these influences create change in
everyday activities. This highlights the importance of focusing on a context in order to understand these
complex processes.
The importance of leadership has further been extensively debated. It has been argued a change
leadership is necessary to accomplish these complex change processes, however critical voices have
been raised towards this ‘heroic’ view and focus that change is achieved by one leader and a more
balanced view on leaderships is necessary. Change is a collective exercise and achievement and a
distributed, shared leadership required in order to achieve complex change. Change is a responsibility
of all people involved.
To better understand why implementation processes fail to such high degree despite ample of knowledge
and research, this research study investigated a case and the following research questions were proposed:
What are the main leadership challenges, knowledge of, and applications in system introduction and
implementation processes, perceived by leaders involved and in charge of a new system introduction at
a large, public organisation? And what role, responsibility and means do leaders in charge of these
change processes have in dealing with these complex processes? And thirdly; what are the users’
experience and perception of this introduction and implementation?

3. To try to answer these research questions, this study collected data from people involved in an
introduction process in a Swedish government organisation. Stockholm University was in the process
of implementing a digital recruitment system when the author started the data collection. Data was
collected from leaders involved in the introduction as well as from users of the system to learn from
their experiences and perceptions. The investigation approached the research from a number of topics;
what challenges they had encountered, what the critical success factors had been, what role and
responsibilities leaders have had, what resources and means had been available in using motivation and
participation to manage user acceptance and how job design, communication had been managed and
what the impact of culture had been.
During the investigation it became clear that there were no easy means of answering the research
questions. Hence this research report has tried to illustrate and emphasise there are no simple,
straightforward or an elementary list of factors to answer the research questions of this study. Rather it
has tried to show the complexity of introduction processes and the need to allow it to remain complex
and the importance of refraining from the temptation of reducing the complexity to a simple framework.
Implementation processes are complex and demands a multitude of perspectives and in order to
understand these processes focus has to be on the context. No generic list will ever answer these
questions, however the responses from the informants in this case study, has shed some light and to a
high degree confirmed recent research.
Keywords
System implementation, organisational change, change management, project management, leadership,
CSF, motivation, participation, user acceptance, communication, job design, culture.