There is a widespread and growing concern in organizations and senior management that investment in information systems (IS) improves both the efficiency and the effectiveness of the organizations. However, a recent study revealed frustrating results in that many IS projects did not improve the value of organizations while meeting business objectives. IS expenditure was regarded as both costly and risky. Yet many IS investments appear to go ahead without the use of formal investment appraisal and risk management techniques. Often the implementation is left to the IS professionals alone and organizations find themselves in an impasse wrestling with the problem of how to recoup the investment. This paper uses a case of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority which was seeking to implement ICT initiatives to consolidate and integrate many, often disparate, internal systems that had envolved over the recent past. It examines how ICT-based initiatives shaped management's 'perception' that the ICT initiatives would achieve the organizations' objectives.
