{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,3]],"date-time":"2026-04-03T05:10:14Z","timestamp":1775193014416,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MIS Quarterly","issue":"3","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>In times of accelerated digital transformation, many organizations still struggle to put enterprise systems to effective use quickly. While prior work suggests either system or task complexity as a source for these difficulties, this case study of a major system implementation at a European bank reveals the most important source to be the complexity arising from co-dependency between the system and the task. We conceptualize this codependency as inherent in system-enabled tasks by proposing system dependency (the extent to which a task is supported by a system) and semantic dependency (the degree to which semantic understanding is required for task completion). Together, these dependencies create representational complexity, which constrains users from achieving effective use in system-enabled tasks and can explain differences in achieving effective use through variations in learning effort. The concepts and insights emerging from this study provide researchers and practitioners with a deeper understanding of what complexity means and why, in some contexts, learning how to use systems effectively takes longer.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.25300\/misq\/2020\/14583","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,1,14]],"date-time":"2021-01-14T15:24:28Z","timestamp":1610637868000},"page":"1023-1048","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":26,"title":["Achieving Effective Use When Digitalizing Work: The Role Of Representational Complexity"],"prefix":"10.25300","volume":"44","author":[{"given":"Jens","family":"Lauterbach","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"effectivIS GmbH, Munich, Germany"}]},{"given":"Benjamin","family":"Mueller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Business and Economics (HEC), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland"}]},{"given":"Felix","family":"Kahrau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"KMU sicher digital, Venningen, Germany"}]},{"given":"Alexander","family":"Maedche","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Information Systems and Marketing, Department of Economics and Management, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany"}]}],"member":"10933","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025082212205819600_b1-02_14583_ra_lauterbachmueller","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9780511557675","volume-title":"Realist Social Theory: The Morphogenetic Approach","author":"Archer","year":"1995"},{"issue":"8","key":"2025082212205819600_b2-02_14583_ra_lauterbachmueller","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"399","DOI":"10.17705\/1jais.00341","article-title":"Social Mechanisms for Causal Explanation in Social Theory Based IS Research","volume":"14","author":"Avgerou","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of the Association for Information Systems"},{"key":"2025082212205819600_b3-02_14583_ra_lauterbachmueller","article-title":"Drivers and Effects of Information Systems Architecture Complexity: A Mixed-Methods Study","author":"Beese","year":"2016"},{"issue":"3","key":"2025082212205819600_b4-02_14583_ra_lauterbachmueller","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"144","DOI":"10.17705\/1jais.00391","article-title":"IT Feature Use over Time and Its Impact on Individual Task Performance","volume":"16","author":"Benlian","year":"2015","journal-title":"Journal of the Association for Information Systems"},{"key":"2025082212205819600_b5-02_14583_ra_lauterbachmueller","volume-title":"A Realist Theory of Science","author":"Bhaskar","year":"2008"},{"issue":"4","key":"2025082212205819600_b6-02_14583_ra_lauterbachmueller","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.1109\/MC.1987.1663532","article-title":"Essence and Accidents of Software Engineering","volume":"20","author":"Brooks","year":"1987","journal-title":"IEEE Computer"},{"key":"2025082212205819600_b7-02_14583_ra_lauterbachmueller","volume-title":"The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies","author":"Brynjolfsson","year":"2014"},{"issue":"3","key":"2025082212205819600_b8-02_14583_ra_lauterbachmueller","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"632","DOI":"10.1287\/isre.1120.0444","article-title":"From Use to Effective Use: A Representation Theory Perspective","volume":"24","author":"Burton-Jones","year":"2013","journal-title":"Information Systems Research"},{"issue":"4","key":"2025082212205819600_b9-02_14583_ra_lauterbachmueller","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1307","DOI":"10.25300\/MISQ\/2017\/41.4.13","article-title":"Assessing Representation Theory with a Framework for Pursuing Success and Failure","volume":"41","author":"Burton-Jones","year":"2017","journal-title":"MIS Quarterly"},{"issue":"3","key":"2025082212205819600_b10-02_14583_ra_lauterbachmueller","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"228","DOI":"10.1287\/isre.1060.0096","article-title":"Reconceptualizing System Usage: An Approach and Empirical Test","volume":"17","author":"Burton-Jones","year":"2006","journal-title":"Information Systems Research"},{"issue":"3","key":"2025082212205819600_b11-02_14583_ra_lauterbachmueller","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"468","DOI":"10.1287\/isre.2017.0702","article-title":"How Can We Develop Contextualized Theories of Effective Use? 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