BESLUTSDILEMMAN – EN STUDIE AV TVÅ MYNDIGHETERS IT-INVESTERINGAR

by Eriksson, Mikael

Summary: The rapid progress of Information Technology (IT) continues. IT can make processes more cost-effective and be a tool when identifying alternative solutions to increase competitiveness. However, the rapid pace of development and the high costs attached, creates a genuine uncertainty when it comes to IT-investments. Eventually, the organization will be confronted with dilemmas such when decisions or their outcomes are unclear or contradictory, you have a dilemma.The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze balance acts (dilemmas) of IT-investments. The base of study is decision theory, from the traditional rational way of reasoning to more socially constructed models. The perspective varies with the contexts and actors. The company is a coalition of actors, all with a different perspective on a specific part of the business.The empirical data consist of two public authorities (case-studies), Swedish Tax Authority and Premium Pension Authority (PPM). I have collected data by conducting interviews, taking part of archived material and being an observant participator. PPM’s dilemma is whether to buy or to develop a system and Swedish Tax Authority’s dilemma is whether to use open source or a proprietary development tool.The analysis of the empiric material have resulted in a typology of dilemmas in conjunction with IT-investments. The typology consists of:(a) dilemma points - events where the dilemmas originate.(b) dilemma consequences – dilemmas that are hard to discern and thus associated with a great deal of risk.(c) balancing acts dilemmas - the decision maker must balance between multiple choices in order to reach a satisfying outcome. Each choice has its pros and cons.