The causalities embedded in management practices follow Stacey's (2007, 2003, 2001, 2000) classification - efficient, rationalist, formative, and transformative. The search for understanding the causality in management practices has its roots in philosophical explanations of causality and the natural sciences which serve as a source domain for organizational theory and management sciences from which management practices develop. This embedded causality invisibly guides the practice, the desired effect of which may or may not be what management is intending. Management practices have a causality embedded in them. Knowing the cause, understanding the particular type of causality involved, tells you what kind of effects can occur. strategy execution.Д¬ausality is the relationship between cause and effect. This is especially pertinent in developing and applying thinking types for all aspects of strategic management, such as strategy formation vs. The types of thinking associated with the different types of causality, as we will see, are not right or wrong in general, but are better suited for some situations than others. If this is truly the case, then many common management and leadership activities must be based on illusory ideas about what these activities actually achieve (Stacey, 2000, pp 18)

With transformative causality, novelty arises in the present, making the future unpredictable. This science pegs organizations' primary causality as transformative. This belief infers that cause and effect, causal links, can be identified by managers and be used to predict and control the future.ДЄlternatively, complexity science is now providing insights into the characteristics of complex organizations. This belief is coupled with a belief in a predictable future, both for the organization and its related population of organizations. Management's view of causality, whether explicit or implicit, leads to particular approaches to leadership, management, and, of course, strategy.ДЇor example, most managers believe there will not be any coherent patterns in the development of an organization without a blueprint or plan. Causality addresses how and why organizations move into the future, becoming what they become. At the heart of understanding organization is causality. Understanding organization leads to understanding organizations. The better we understand organizations, the more effective their development can be. Strategy is about organizations, about developing organizations with sustainable advantage. See self-organization for a discussion of causality and emergence of new forms in organizations. See organizational theory for a discussion of causality and organizations.

See management science for a discussion of causality and management. See organization for a discussion of ways of thinking about causality and organization. See causal relationships for a discussion of cause and effect. See Aristotle on causality for a look into Aristotle's view on causality and teleology. See history of causality for a philosophical history of the development of views of causality. The framework aims to offer useful insights into the nature of IS theory and the conundrum of theoretical contribution.See teleology for a discussion of causality directed at management practice and organization theory. On each dimension, mutually exclusive alternative positions are described, backed by authoritative warrants, and illustrated with IS examples.

The three dimensions of the framework concern the theoristвЂ™s views about the reality and meaning of causation (causal ontology), about that which is changed in causation (causal trajectory), and about the role of humans and/or technology in bringing about the change (causal autonomy). This paper focuses on the concept of causal structure, defined by Markus and Robey (1988) as a theoristвЂ™s assumptions about causal influences in IS phenomena, and proposes a framework of causal structure, warranted by philosophy and social theory, specialized for the needs of Information Systems scholars. Causal reasoning is central to IS theorizing. Whatever answer one gives to the question вЂњIs information technology changing the world?,вЂќ the answer contains reasoning about causality.