���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Designing Organizational Systems_ An Interdisciplinary Discourse (Lecture Notes .

Lecture Notes in Information Systemsand OrganisationVolume 1Series EditorsRichard BaskervilleMarco De MarcoNancy PouloudiPaolo SpagnolettiDov Te’eniJan vom BrockeRobert WinterFor further volumes:http://www.springer.com/series/11237 Richard Baskerville • Marco De MarcoPaolo SpagnolettiEditors���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Designing OrganizationalSystemsAn Interdisciplinary Discourse123 EditorsRichard BaskervilleDepartment of ComputerInformation SystemsGeorgia State UniversityAtlanta, GAUSAMarco De MarcoGuglielmo Marconi UniversityRomeItalyPaolo SpagnolettiCeRSI, LUISS Guido CarliRomeItalyISBN 978-3-642-33370-5DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-33371-2Springer Heidelberg New York Dordrecht LondonISBN 978-3-642-33371-2(eBook)Library of Congress Control Number: 2012947860? Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013This work is subject to copyright. 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The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, withrespect to the material contained herein.Printed on acid-free paperSpringer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) Program CommitteeRichard BaskervilleMarco De MarcoOle HansethGiovan Francesco LanzaraKalle LyytinenMarcello MartinezNancy PouloudiFrantz RowePaolo SpagnolettiJan Vom BrockeRobert WinterJing Zhao ChinaGeorgia State UniversityGuglielmo Marconi UniversityUniversity of OsloUniversity of BolognaCase Western Reserve UniversitySecond University of NaplesUniversity of AthensUniversity of NantesLUISS Guido Carli UniversityUniversity of LiechtensteinUniversity of St. GallenUniversity of Geosciences Wuhanv ForewordThis book is dedicated to the memory of Sandro D’Atri, friend, colleague, anddriving force, who left us too soon, in 2011, at the age of 60. Sandro made a majorcontribution to Organization Studies. He brought his experience of InformationSystems and fused it organically with the other business studies disciplines, furtherexpanding and completing the academic horizon of business organization. ButSandro was more than a scholar. Among other things, he was an enthusiasticadvocate and promoter of IS initiatives with an inspiring ability to motivate theyoung, and a driving force in consolidating the management schools IS communityin Italy, raising its visibility and spurring it to participate in the wider internationalcommunity of IS scholars. Indeed, rarely do I attend an international IS conferencetoday without bumping into one of his students. This book is intended to be a tributeto Sandro from the people who loved and treasured him, both as a person and aprofessional,inthebeliefthatanacademiccontributiontothestudiesthathehimselfencouraged, nurtured, and enriched is what would have delighted him the most.Thank you Sandro.Marco De Marcovii ContentsThe Contributions of Alessandro D’Atri to Organizationand Information Systems Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Paolo Spagnoletti, Richard Baskerville and Marco De Marco1Part I���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Design Science Research Principles and Methods���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Design and Normative Claims in Organization Studies:A Methodological Proposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Francesca Ricciardi21���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Design Science Research as Movement Between Individualand Generic Situation-Problem–Solution Spaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ilia Bider, Paul Johannesson and Erik Perjons35Restructuring the ���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Design Science Research Knowledge Base. . . . . . . .Robert Winter and Antonia Albani63Dealing with Critical IS Research: Artifacts, Drifts,Electronic Panopticon and Illusions of Empowerment. . . . . . . . . . . . .Marcello Martinez and Mario Pezzillo Iacono83Part II���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Design and Evaluation of IT ArtifactsUser Centered Systems ���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Design: The Bridging Roleof Justificatory Knowledge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Paolo Spagnoletti and Laura Tarantino105ix A ���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Design Theory for Dynamic Competencies Mapping Systems . . . . .Luigi De Bernardis and Riccardo Maiolini123Open Innovation and Crowdsourcing Communities ���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Design:A Cross Case Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Francesca Cabiddu, Manuel Castriotta, Maria Chiara Di Guardoand Paola Floreddu143New Internet-Based Relationships Between Citizensand Governments in the Public Space: Challengesfor an Integrated System ���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alessio Maria Braccini and Tommaso Federici157Part III���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Design and Evaluation of Organizational Practices���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Designing Teams for Enhancing Individual Added-ValueUse of Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stefano Basaglia, Leonardo Caporarello, Massimo Magniand Ferdinando Pennarola183���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Design Principles at the Edge of the ���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Designable:Non-formal and Informal Learning in SMEs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nunzio Casalino201���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Designing Innovative Learning Spaces in Higher Educationat a Turning Point: Institutional Identities, PervasiveSmart Technologies and Organizational Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Chengzhi Peng217Performance Management Systems as Driver of PublicAdministration Improvement: A Dream?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Debora Tomasi, Stefano Scravaglieri and Maurizio Decastri245Part IV���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Design and Evaluation of Managerial Strategies���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Design on a Societal Scale: The Case of e-GovernmentStrategic Planning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Carlo Batini, Gianluigi Viscusi and Marco Castelli267Towards the Redesign of e-Business Maturity Models for SMEs . . . . .Paolo Depaoli and Stefano Za285xContents Offline and Online Communities: Great Differencesand Some Similarities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Andrea Resca and Maria Laura Tozzi301The Role of Network Governance Models in the ���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Designof Local eHealth Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Valentina Albano319Contentsxi ContributorsAntonia Albani Institute of Information Management, University of St. Gallen,Müller-Friedberg-Strasse 8, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland, e-mail: antonia.albani@unisg.chValentina AlbanoCaffè’’, Rome, Italy, e-mail: valentina.albano@uniroma3.itFaculty of Economics, University of Rome III, ‘‘FedericoStefano Basaglia Bergamo University, Bergamo, Italy, e-mail: stefano.basaglia@unibg.itRichard Baskerville Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA, e-mail:baskerville@acm.orgCarlo Batini Department of Informatics, Systems and Communication (DISCo),University of Milano-Bicocca, Viale Sarca 336-U14-20126, Milan, Italy, e-mail:batini@disco.unimib.itIlia Bider Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV), StockholmUniversity, Stockholm, Sweden, e-mail: ilia@dsv.su.seAlessio Maria Braccini Dipartimento di Economia e Impresa, Università degliStudi della Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy, e-mail: abraccini@unitus.itFrancesca Cabiddu University of Cagliari, Cagliari, ItalyLeonardo Caporarello Bocconi University, Milan, Italy, e-mail: leonardo.caporarello@unibocconi.itNunzio Casalino Dipartimento di Strategie di Impresa e Innovazione Tecno-logica, Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi, Via Plinio 44, 00193 Rome,Italy, e-mail: n.casalino@unimarconi.itMarco Castelli Department of Informatics, Systems and Communication(DISCo), University of Milano-Bicocca, Viale Sarca 336-U14-20126, Milan, Italy,e-mail: castelli@disco.unimib.itxiii Manuel Castriotta University of Cagliari, Cagliari, ItalyLuigi De Bernardis CeRSI-LUISS Guido Carli University, Rome, Italy, e-mail:ldebernardis@luiss.itMaurizio Decastri Faculty of Economics, University of Rome ‘‘Tor Vergata’’,Via Columbia 2, 00133 Rome, ItalyPaolo Depaoli CeRSI-LUISS Guido Carli University, Rome, Italy, e-mail:pdepaoli@luiss.itMarco De Marco Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy, e-mail:m.demarco@unimarconi.itMaria Chiara Di Guardo University of Cagliari, Cagliari, ItalyTommaso Federici Dipartimento di Economia e Impresa, Università degli Studidella Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy, e-mail: tfederici@unitus.itPaola Floreddu University of Cagliari, Cagliari, ItalyMario Pezzillo Iacono Department of Economics, Second University of Naples,Capua, Italy, e-mail: mario.pezzilloiacono@unina2.itPaul Johannesson Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV),Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden, e-mail: pajo@dsv.su.seMassimo Magni Bocconi University, Milan, Italy, e-mail: massimo.magni@unibocconi.itRiccardo Maiolini LUISS Guido Carli University, Rome, Italy, e-mail:rmaiolini@luiss.itMarcello Martinez Department of Economics, Second University of Naples,Capua, Italy, e-mail: marcello.martinez@unina2.itChengzhi Peng School of Architecture, University of Sheffield, London, UK,e-mail: c.peng@sheffield.ac.ukFerdinando Pennarola Bocconi University, Milan, Italy, e-mail: ferdinando.pennarola@unibocconi.itErik Perjons Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV), StockholmUniversity, Stockholm, Sweden, e-mail: perjons@dsv.su.seAndrea Resca CeRSI-LUISS Guido Carli University, Rome, Italy, e-mail:aresca@luiss.itFrancesca Ricciardi Università Cattolica, Milan, Italy, e-mail: francesca.ricciardi@unicatt.itStefano Scravaglieri Faculty of Economics, University of Rome ‘‘Tor Vergata’’,Via Columbia 2, 00133 Rome, Italy, e-mail: stefano.scravaglieri@uniroma2.itxivContributors Paolo Spagnoletti CeRSI-LUISS Guido Carli University, Rome, Italy, e-mail:pspagnoletti@luiss.itLaura Tarantino University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy, e-mail: laura.tarantino@univaq.itDebora Tomasi Faculty of Economics, University of Rome ‘‘Tor Vergata’’, ViaColumbia 2, 00133 Rome, Italy, e-mail: debora.tomasi@uniroma2.itMaria Laura Tozzi CeRSI-LUISS Guido Carli University, Rome, Italy, e-mail:618071@luiss.itGianluigi Viscusi Department of Informatics, Systems and Communication(DISCo), University of Milano-Bicocca, Viale Sarca 336-U14-20126, Milan, Italy,e-mail: viscusi@disco.unimib.itRobert Winter Institute of Information Management, University of St. Gallen,Müller-Friedberg-Strasse 8, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland, e-mail: robert.winter@unisg.chStefano ZaCeRSI, LUISS Guido Carli, Rome, ItalyContributorsxv Editors BiographyRichard Baskerville is a Board of Advisors Professor of Information Systems (IS)at Georgia State University. His research regards security of IS, methods of ISdesign and development, and the interaction of IS and organizations. He is aChartered Engineer and holds a Ph.D. from The London School of Economics,University of London. He is the outgoing Editor-in-Chief of European Journal ofInformation Systems and member of the Editor panel.Marco De Marco after having served 30 years at the Catholic University of Milanup to the top of the academic career—today is full Professor of Organization andInformation Systems at the Guglielmo Marconi University in Rome. Marco DeMarco is the author of five books that discuss the development of informationsystems, the computer industry, and the impact of technology on organizations, aswell as the writer of several articles and essays. He is also a member of theeditorial board of a number of journals. His major interests are systems devel-opment, e-government, programme evaluation, banking information systems, ITand Organizations. For his contribution to the discipline he received in 2010 theaward of AIS Fellow.Paolo Spagnoletti is Assistant Professor of Business Information Systems atLUISS Guido Carli University in Rome, Italy. He coordinates the Research Centeron Information Systems of LUISS and serves as Vice President of the Italianchapter of AIS. He holds a Ph.D. from LUISS University, a Master degree inBusiness Engineering from Tor Vergata University and a M.Sc. degree in Engi-neering from La Sapienza University. He has been visiting fellow at the LondonSchool of Economics (UK), Georgia State University (USA) and INRIA-Loria(FR). His current research interests are interaction of IT and organizations, ISdesign of community oriented systems, and security of IS.xvii The Contributions of Alessandro D’Atrito Organization and Information SystemsStudiesPaolo Spagnoletti, Richard Baskerville and Marco De MarcoMany authors have contributed to defining the distinct subject matter of theInformation Systems (IS) field, and to clarify its relationships with other interre-lated disciplines [1]. In the view of Avison and Fitzgerald, the IS field concerns‘‘the effective design, delivery, use, and impact of information technology inorganizations and society’’ [2]. Gregor contrasts Webster and Watson’s view of ISbeing just another management field like organizational behavior [3] by observingthat a characteristic that distinguishes IS from these fields is that it concerns theuse of artifacts in human-machine systems, so that ‘‘we have a discipline that is atthe intersection of knowledge of the properties of physical objects (machines) andknowledge of human behaviour’’ [4]. As Allen Lee describes it, ‘‘research in theinformation systems field examines more than just the technological system, orjust the social system, or even the two side by side; in addition, it investigates thephenomena that emerge when the two interact’’ [5].As to the relationships between IS and other disciplines, the initial view of theIS community is well represented by Keen, who in 1980 argued that IS, as an‘‘applied’’ discipline, has to borrow theories, methods and research best practicesfrom more mature ‘‘reference disciplines’’ upon which the field was drawn [6].The initial list of reference disciplines was quite restricted (including engineering,computer science, mathematics, management science, cybernetic systems theoryP. Spagnoletti (&)LUISS Guido Carli University, Rome, Italye-mail: pspagnoletti@luiss.itR. BaskervilleGeorgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USAe-mail: baskerville@acm.orgM. De MarcoGuglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italye-mail: m.demarco@unimarconi.itR. Baskerville et al. (eds.), ���Ͽ�3app���ٷ���ַ22270.COM—Designing Organizational Systems,Lecture Notes in Information Systems and Organisation 1,DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-33371-2_1, ? Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 20131 and behavioral decision theory). With the growth of the field the list expandedconsiderably, with, e.g., political science, psychology, sociology, accounting, andfinance included in the classification proposed by Culnan [7]. Gregor observes thatIS shows commonalities with architecture as well, which also concern people andartifacts, or with applied disciplines such as medicine, where the products ofscientific knowledge (e.g., drugs, treatments) are used by people [4].Notwithstanding this great bunch of relationships, the conventional view in the80’s and 90’s was to see IS as being near the end of an intellectual food chain,consuming theories and discovery from other disciplines, with a flow of knowl-edge and information entirely one way. Scholars then changed their position andstarted to recognize that the IS discipline had fully emerged as a discipline in itsown right. In 2000 Gorden Davis, in an analysis of bodies of concepts, theories,processes, and application systems unique (or somewhat unique) to IS, identifiedfive bodies of knowledge that had developed in the IS tradition [8]. In 2001 AllenLee observed that the field’s reference disciplines ‘‘are actually poor models forour own field. They focus on the behavioral or the technological, but not on theemergent socio-technological phenomena that set our field apart’’ and for thisreason suggests to refer to these disciplines as ‘‘contributing disciplines’’ [5]. Thisshift in perspective is then extended by Baskerville and Myers who suggested anew scenario in which not only did the IS field pose itself as independent fromtraditional reference disciplines (there is clear evidence that IS research can serveas a foundation for further IS research), but it could also issue a challenge tobecome itself a reference discipline for others, even for those fields that previouslyserved as reference disciplines for IS [9]. This opportunity arises because, giventhe growing impact of information technology in business and society as a whole,almost every other human discipline is now a potential consumer of IS researchdiscoveries. In this new model, the flow of knowledge and information amonginter-related fields become multidirectional, and IS scholars, instead of justimporting knowledge, should consider the possibility to cooperate with scholars inother fields to the benefit of those other fields. IS ceases to be the end of the chainand becomes ‘‘one of the many reference disciplines exchanging ideas in anintellectual discourse’’ [9].This interdisciplinary approach, along with a focus on design science, charac-terizes this book, which is dedicated to the memory of Professor Alessandro(Sandro) D’Atri, who passed away on April 22, 2011. Professor D’Atri started hiscareer as a brilliant scholar interested in theoretical computer science, databases,and more generally, information processing systems. These interests became ajourney through various applications, such as human–computer interaction,human-factors, ultimately arriving at business information systems and businessorganization. Among his many accomplishments, Sandro founded in 1998 theResearch Centre for Information Systems (CeRSI) at LUISS University in Rome,1and he framed all of the research activities within the context of projects in applied1www.cersi.it2P. Spagnoletti et al. research founded by national and international institutions. In 2003, together withhis friends and colleagues Marco De Marco and Claudio Ciborra [10], he foundedItAIS,2the Italian Chapter of the International Association for InformationSystems. Through CeRSI and ItAIS, he pursued the development of an interdis-ciplinary culture that integrated social sciences, systems design, and humansciences. In 2011 D’Atri was honored posthumously as a Distinguished Member ofthe Association for Information Systems, an honor accorded to such luminaries asGerardine DeSanctis, Heinz Klein, Claudio Ciborra, and Charles Kreibel.Rather than memorializing D’Atri in a retrospective work, this book aims toadvance in the directions he was pursuing. It seeks to stimulate a debate about thenew potential of design research in the field of information systems and organi-zation studies as an interdisciplinary approach. Each chapter assumes a differentposition in the continuum between IT systems design on one extreme and orga-nization design on the other. A great variety of theories grounded in multipledisciplines inform novel design directions.1 Alessandro D’Atri’s LegacyThe work and career of Alessandro D’Atri epitomizes the evolution of the IS field.His progressive shift in perspective on the kind of mutual relationships between‘‘companion disciplines’’ is a defining characteristic of this evolution.D’Atri scholarly career began with his appointment as lecturer of ProgrammingTechniques at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Calabria (1977–1980). He later served as Associate Professor of Databases at the Faculty ofEngineering of the University ‘‘La Sapienza’’ of Rome (1983–1987) and Professorof Computer Engineering (1987–1997) and Dean of the School of Electronics(1993–1997) at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of L’Aquila. He wasappointed as Professor of Business Organization and of Information Systems at theLUISS Guido Carli University in 1997.We might be tempted to formally divide D’Atri’s career in two distinct ‘‘eras’’:the early era focused on Computer Science (1977–1997) and the late era focused onOrganization Science (1998–2011). But a deeper analysis within the two periodsreveals that what may look like a sharp change of focus and direction (from tech-nology-oriented to organization-oriented research) is actually just a step in a con-tinuous and smooth shift of interest. It is a steady progression from more abstractdisciplines towards more applied human-oriented and organization-oriented stud-ies. The focus shifts steadily from technical systems to wider socio-technicalsystems involving behavioral and institutional aspects. These evolutionary pathsare rather more of an unceasing enrichment of knowledge and methods than adiscrete series of distinct research lines or projects; throughout their deployment,they gave rise to worthwhile bilateral contaminations among related disciplines,2www.itais.orgThe Contributions of Alessandro D’Atri3 and contributed to the creation of diverse networks of cooperation. Sandro’s questfor contaminations is also reflected in his teaching activities that, after 1997,included delivery of technology-oriented courses in business-oriented schools onthe one side, and delivery of organization-oriented courses in technology-orientedschools on the other side. He helped his students understand and appreciate theincreasingly multidisciplinary nature of IS.1.1 Contributions to Computer ScienceIn 1977 D’Atri began working on computational complexity theory, a branch ofthe theory of computation in theoretical computer science and mathematics thatfocuses on classifying computational problems according to their inherent diffi-culty, and relating those classes to each other (i.e. [11–13]). Computationalcomplexity is a foundation discipline for the more applied studies in graph theory.Sandro shifted his focus in the beginning of the 80s to research on graph andhypergraph properties that were both at the level of abstract structures (i.e. [14–16]). He also used the context of graphs and hypergraphs as foundational structuresin database theory (i.e. [17–20]). In these years Sandro was actually working alsoon database theory problems, which both stimulated his research in graph theoryand also led him to new foundations for database theory research (i.e. [21, 22]).Inthesecondhalfofthe80s,D’Atri’sworkischaracterizedbyanewshifttowardmore applied research problems at the intersection between database systems andHuman–ComputerInteraction(orman–machineinterfaces,asHCIwastermedatthetime). His results became more and more oriented to the end-users rather than thedesigners (i.e. [23–25]). The shift towards human–machine systems brought a newresearch model that constitutes the common traits of all subsequent Sandro’s work:thecreationofknowledgefromthedesign,theimplementation,andtheevaluationofnew IT artifacts in the context of innovative projects. The genre of these projectsreflects Sandro’s growing interest in organizational issues. There are early techno-centric projects, focused on general database and knowledge base systems initially(i.e. [26, 27]). Later there are more specific geographical information systems (i.e.[28]). Later still are more organization-centered and multidisciplinary projects inmedical informatics in the 90s (i.e. [29]). Medical informatics is an excellentexample of his engagement in a multidisciplinary field, relying, among others, ondata and knowledge base systems, human–computer interaction, computer-basedmedical records, clinical decision support systems, strategic information systems,etc. Sandro’s approach did not just ‘‘import knowledge’’ from these fields toimplementnewsystems,butincludedprojects’activitiesthatgainedresultstoenrichthe referring disciplines.Medical informatics and e-health will remain among D’Atri’s areas of interestalso after his move to the LUISS Guido Carli University in 1997. Papers in theseareas serve as a lens on his gradual shift offocus from technology issues (i.e. [30])to organizational (i.e. [31–33]) and strategic issues (i.e. [34]).4P. Spagnoletti et al. 1.2 Contributions to Organization ScienceThe second half of the 90s is characterized by D’Atri touching down in theinformation system area. His vision with respect to the research on informationsystems can be summarized with a claim taken from an email message exchangedwith his team in 2010: ‘‘we finalize the research to the design of an IT artifact or asocial or organizational system, and we evaluate its possible organizationalimpacts’’. He envisioned a way of working in which research addresses relevantproblems, engaged in national and international cooperation with other universitiesand research institutions, and gained insights from the construction, intervention,and evaluation phases of innovative IT projects. In Sandro’s view, the expectedoutcomes of the research activities were embedded in the overall project plans.These outcomes mainly related to the generalized characteristics of the artifacts, tothe methodological aspects of system design and implementation, and to theorganizational effects that can be captured during the pilot evaluation.Another important aspect that characterizes this second ‘‘era’’ of D’Atri’s careeris the influence and stimulus that Claudio Ciborra’s work exerted on Sandro’sapproach to IS research. As Sandro claims in the EJIS special issue in memory ofClaudio Ciborra ‘‘I found his metaphors, such as bricolage, improvisation, tin-kering, hospitality and care illuminating when I was investigating the conceptualrelationship of ICT and human activity in phenomena such as the developmentprocess of an Information System or new forms of cooperation among organisa-tions’’ [35]. It is quite surprising the extent to which these concepts are reflected inalmost all the activities carried out by Sandro in the last 10 years of his work.In 1998 D’Atri founded the research center on information systems (CeRSI,www.cersi.it), which he directed until his death in 2011. Under his leadership, thecenter became one of the leading research centers on information systems in Italy,and gained a distinctive international reputation (in 2010 CeRSI joined the ERCISnetwork [www.ercis.org] as its Italian representative). Under Sandro’s leadership,the center conducted its research within the framework of more than 30 researchprojects funded by the European Commission and/or by Italian institutions andprivate companies. Such a conspicuous portfolio of projects has matured into awide array of areas such as e-government, e-business, e-care, e-learning, enterpriseinteroperability, besides the already mentioned e-health. A selection of theseprojects is provided in Table 1.Two main aspects emerge from an overview of these projects. First, the tem-poral link between project initiatives in the same area shows how D’Atri’s newprojects either evolve from a local to a national and European scale or evolve byexploiting the outcomes of previous EU projects to solve local field problems.Second, the project areas (the field problem space) are not independent; activitiesin one area trigger new initiatives in different areas. This interdependence appliesto the solution space in which the nature of the IT artifact can be the same fordifferent areas. For instance, a former e-health initiative at EU level (TACIT)triggers a new e-health projects at a local level (C4BIOT) and then subsequently aThe Contributions of Alessandro D’Atri5 Table 1 CeRSI’s selected projectsProject areaProject nameFunding agencye-governmentOK-eG: Organizing knowledge in e-government (2003–2005)Italian Ministry of researchLD-CAST: Local development cooperation actions enabled by semantic technology (2006–2008)EU commission, VIframework programmee-careHOPES: Help and social interaction for elderly On a multimedia platform with E-social best practices(2010–2013)EU commission, AAL jointprogrammee-learningAUTOMATIC: Development of curricula and innovative training tools for industrial automationsystems for people employed in SMEs (2009–2011)EU commission—LdVprogrammeEARNFILE: Evaluation and recognition of non-formal and informal learning (2009–2011)OTIS: On-line training for investment on securities (2005–2008)VIRTUOSE Virtual Online System for Education on Quality (2004–2007)LiVES: Learning in virtual extended spaces (2010–2012)Lazio regionEnterpriseinteroperabilityMID-BLUE: Multimedia information distribution using bluetooth (2010–2012)Lazio regionINTEROP-NoE: Interoperability research for networked enterprise applications and software (2005–2007)EU commission, VIframework programmee-healthC4BIOIT: Campus for bioinformation technology (2006–2008)Lazio regionTACIT: Technologies augmenting clinical insight (2004–2006)EU commission, VIframework programmee-businessFAIRWIS: Trade fair web-based information services (2002–2004)EU commission, Vframework Programme6P. Spagnoletti et al. new project in the e-care area (HOPES). Moreover the same technological artifactcan be applied to solve field problems in different domains. This knowledge reuseis exemplified by the development of semantic technologies in an e-governmentproject (LD-CAST) and its subsequent re-application in e-care areas (HOPES).A systemic view of CeRSI activities shows how these projects materialize asintertwined subsystems with many interactions at different levels. D’Atri master-fully orchestrated these interactions by guiding the evolution of this complexsystem, taking into account the dynamics of both inner capabilities and externalenvironmental opportunities. In this context the research center has never espouseda single theoretical approach to ground the design and evaluation processes. Quitethe contrary, it has always privileged the adoption of multiple perspectives,methods and techniques in order to be actually context- and problem-driveninstead of being technology-driven. This same variety of perspectives is reflectedin the way the project team members identified an impressive number of topics andadopted diverse research approaches yet always remained within the frame ofSandro’s initiatives. A few examples are: virtual enterprises and supply chainmanagement in the e-business area [36, 37], business models, trust and informationsecurity in the e-government and in the enterprise interoperability areas [38–40],studies on e-learning [41], project and innovation management [42, 43] and aspreviously mentioned, e-health [31].The research dissemination activities have seen CeRSI and its members con-stantly active in major national and international conferences (just to name a few,ECIS, MCIS and ALPIS in the area of information systems, and WOA, Egos,EURAM, Academy of Management, and AIDEA for the areas of management andorganization studies). In the 2001–2011 period, CeRSI group members publishedmore than 200 research papers in conference proceedings, book chapters, andinternational journals. Such works yield a dense publication co-authoring network(illustrated in Fig. 1) that manifests the role of Alessandro D’Atri in catalyzingcooperation with other scholars.2 Content of the VolumeThe evolutionary progression of D’Atri’s research suggests that design science isthe next ground for advancing both Sandro’s systemic view of technical and socialphenomena and his continuous search for innovative solutions for managing thecomplexity of emergent problems. Although Sandro had not contributed directly tothe discourse on design science research, the design orientation of his workemerges from almost all of his research contributions. In keeping with the aim ofthe book to continue Sandro’s advances, and recognizin...