Incorporating polarity of relationships in ISM and TISM for theory building in information and organization management

Abstract Some mapping methods are used for the conceptualization of theories in information and organization management which may help in modeling both feedback and hierarchical structures. Total Interpretive Structural Modelling (TISM) is an enhancement of interpretive structural modeling (ISM) to explore hierarchical models that aid in theory building in information and organization management. It is based on pair comparison method to generate a hierarchical digraph, which is then translated into the interpretive model by interpreting both nodes and links in the digraph. The relationships in both ISM and TISM could be binary or fuzzy. However, a missing dimension of these structural models is the polarity or direction of relationships. A relationship between a pair of elements could be having positive or negative polarity. This aspect has been widely used in the feedback structures as causal influence diagrams (CIDs) in system dynamics methodology. This paper is using the learning from CIDs to introduce polarity of relationships in ISM and TISM. The polarity of relationships will further refine ISM/TISM as a more explanatory model for theory building. This enhanced model not only provides hypothesis formulation simply as a driver-dependence relationship but also addresses whether the driving variable(s) will influence the dependent variable positively or negatively. The paper illustrates modified TISM process incorporating polarity with an example in the context of information and organizational change management and discusses the nuances of such an enhanced model.