Understanding the human factor: the key to information systems implementation in service operations

This paper is grounded in the service science approach and attempts to, by presenting an illustrative pharmacy case study, highlight the difficulties of introducing new control systems, whereby often the human dimension involved in the introduction is forgotten. The paper supports other academic literature in the field of operations management, that an early link between the systems introduced and those who will be introduced to the new system be made; this seems to apply to management control systems also. This link requires commitment not only from the parties involved in the use of the new technology but also all other types of actors involved in the process. The paper concludes by proposing a generic framework for control systems implementation in service operations.