Moving IS Project Control Research into the Digital Era: The "Why" of Control and the Concept of Control Purpose

In this research commentary, we argue that the current digital era compels a reconsideration and problematization of research on information systems (IS) project control. IS projects are key to the pursuit of digital innovation and transformation activities, and the control of IS projects is central to creating and capturing value from these activities. However, IS project control research has not kept pace with current developments in the digital era. Specifically, we find that existing research has been dominated by an underlying agency theory perspective, which is not attuned to salient aspects of current control settings, such as digital innovation initiatives, and thus restricts our understanding of IS project control. To address this shortcoming, we problematize core assumptions underlying existing IS project control research and draw on stewardship theory to present an alternative set of assumptions complementing the prevalent agency theory perspective; introduce the concept of control purpose (why); offer empirical support for its conceptual distinction between value-appropriation and value-creation control purposes; and develop a research agenda that helps move IS project control research into the digital era.