Developing a framework for examining systems development and its environmental context: The relationship between Giddens' structuration theory and Pettigrew's contextualist analysis

Giddens' structuration theory and Pettigrew's contextual analysis have both been influential frameworks for examining the close relationship between information systems initiatives and their organisational environment. Here the relationship between these two theories is examined and it will be argued that they are largely, but nor wholly equitable. This comparison has important implications for how the process of systems development can and should be perceived.