Paper Number
ECIS2026-1515
Paper Type
CRP
Abstract
In this paper, we build on existing research showing how initiatives that explicitly aim for information systems (IS) innovation in public sector contexts often drift toward incremental process improvement. We examine a public sector initiative seeking to foster innovation by supporting projects addressing complex organizational challenges in public organizations. Studying three projects and drawing on Argyris and Schön’s (1996) theory of organizational learning, we observe a tendency for the projects to diagnose and devise solutions for the surface manifestations - the symptoms - rather than the deeper etiology of the complex problems they seek to address. We refer to this tendency as a drift toward symptomatic inquiry, contrasting it with what we call etiological inquiry, and argue that it contributes to projects leaning toward incremental process improvement. We identify drivers and suggest that deliberate arrangements to counterbalance them are necessary and represent a promising avenue for further research.
Recommended Citation
Li, Magnus and Thomassen, Maja Lanestedt, "Drift Towards Symptomatic Inquiry In Public Sector Information Systems Innovation Initiatives" (2026). ECIS 2026 Proceedings. 5.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2026/govtrans/govtrans/5
Drift Towards Symptomatic Inquiry In Public Sector Information Systems Innovation Initiatives
In this paper, we build on existing research showing how initiatives that explicitly aim for information systems (IS) innovation in public sector contexts often drift toward incremental process improvement. We examine a public sector initiative seeking to foster innovation by supporting projects addressing complex organizational challenges in public organizations. Studying three projects and drawing on Argyris and Schön’s (1996) theory of organizational learning, we observe a tendency for the projects to diagnose and devise solutions for the surface manifestations - the symptoms - rather than the deeper etiology of the complex problems they seek to address. We refer to this tendency as a drift toward symptomatic inquiry, contrasting it with what we call etiological inquiry, and argue that it contributes to projects leaning toward incremental process improvement. We identify drivers and suggest that deliberate arrangements to counterbalance them are necessary and represent a promising avenue for further research.
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