Organizational Metaphors as Lenses for Analyzing the Roles of Middleware in Practice

Mithu Bhattacharya and Louis-Marie Ngamassi Tchouakeu
Additional contact information
Mithu Bhattacharya: College of Business Administration, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, MI, USA
Louis-Marie Ngamassi Tchouakeu: College of Business, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX, USA

International Journal of Information Systems and Social Change (IJISSC), 2014, vol. 5, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: The ability to provide integration between business functions supported across multiple applications is a critical need for modern organizations. Middleware connects people, processes, systems, and technologies to ensure that the right person and processes get the right information at the right time to ensure optimal performance. However, problems often emerge from inadequate plan for integrating different legacy systems or otherwise. The purpose of this paper is to analyze middleware based on contemporary organizational theory for better understanding of this technology in organizational context. The paper attempts to identify the possible socially constructed metaphoric roles middleware plays in an organization, created by its users who are influenced and affected by its use. The newly conceptualized metaphors for middleware are used to analyze four case studies. The findings enhance the understanding of middleware in the context of its users and organizations and call for research directions that encompass a broader view of middleware.

Date: 2014
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://services.igi-global.com/resolvedoi/resolve. ... 18/ijissc.2014100101 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:igg:jissc0:v:5:y:2014:i:4:p:1-17

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Information Systems and Social Change (IJISSC) is currently edited by John Wang

More articles in International Journal of Information Systems and Social Change (IJISSC) from IGI Global
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Journal Editor ().