Methods for Understanding IS Failures

Abstract

Researchers with a keen interest in information systems failures are faced with a double challenge. Not only is it difficult to obtain intimate information about the circumstances surrounding such failures, but there is also a dearth of information about the type of methods and approaches that can be utilised in this context to support such information collection and dissemination. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight some of the available approaches and to clarify and enhance the methodological underpinning that is available to researchers interested in investigating and documenting phenomena in context-rich and dynamic environments. The chapter concludes by introducing a new range of antenarrative approaches that represent future developments in the study of IS failures.