Expanding Social IMC: A Territorial Development Observatory Case

Authors

Rafael Alfonso Brinkhues, Federal Institute of Education Science and Technology of Rio Grande do SulFollow
José Carlos da Silva Freitas Junior, unisinosFollow
Ana Cristina Belomo da Silva, IFRSFollow
Maira Bae Baladao Vieira, IFRS – Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do SulFollow
Sergio Kapron, Federal Institute of Education Science and Technology of Rio Grande do SulFollow
Danilo Mattes Navarro, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do SulFollow

Abstract

Information Management Capability (IMC) is the firms’ ability to utilize its IT infrastructure to deliver accurate, timely, secured and reliable data, and information, to users in the organization in order to meet its business needs (Mithas et al. 2011). This capability has been usually studied in a corporate competitive context (e.g. Maçada et al. 2019; Kettinger et al. 2019). However, IMC can also play an important role in the social sector, as information is a critical component of all kinds of organizations. It includes those created to deliver social value by providing services that improve the quality of life in communities, as the Viamão Territorial Development Observatory (VTDO). Viamão is a Brazilian town in Rio Grande do Sul state. Despite being one of the state's capital bordering towns, Viamão has only the 488th GDP per capita (around 2,550 USD) among 497 state municipalities. Considering the town’s economic and social difficulties, Federal Institute of Education Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Sul (IFRS) has ideate VTDO. The observatory's aim is to aggregate and to disseminate official information and data to subside private and governmental initiatives that positively impact local communities’ income, welfare and environmental preservation. This research aims to expand IMC to a social context by means of an interventionist method applied into VTDO. Considering Maçada’s et al. (2019) IMC dimensions, we applied them in this study as corresponding to the organization’s set of abilities that articulate information infrastructure, the architecture of information, distribution and access to information. Furthermore, this interventionist research also seeks to develop Social IMC on other local organizations by aligned to the observatory propose setting up workshops with the community for training the interpretation, search, and use of data. From a practical perspective, it is expected to develop VTDO’s abilities to use IT resources delivering more accurate, timelier, secure and more reliable data and information to the local community addressing their social needs. On the other hand, the research field’s contribution is to tailor the IMC concept to social organizations’ information management necessities, thus expanding the current IMC scope to a Social IMC approach.

Recommended Citation

Brinkhues, Rafael Alfonso; Freitas Junior, José Carlos da Silva; Silva, Ana Cristina Belomo da; Vieira, Maira Bae Baladao; Kapron, Sergio; and Navarro, Danilo Mattes, "Expanding Social IMC: A Territorial Development Observatory Case" (2020). AMCIS 2020 TREOs. 68.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/treos_amcis2020/68