Abstract for: Group Model Building to Support Interdisciplinary Theory Building

In this paper we describe the initial steps in the development of a theory of the impacts of governance principles such as completeness, openness, relevance and reliability on the adoption of a large-scale interorganizational system to increase supply chain transparency. The research presented here is in alignment with the use of system dynamics models to develop and test theories. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the project, Group Model Building was selected as the approach to build the theory. In this context, the system dynamics model, and other artifacts used during the modeling process work as boundary objects facilitate conversations among researchers from different disciplines.