At the Center for Information Management the focus is on structures and processes related to the use of information technology by people in business processes. This definition highlights three phenomena of special interest in the field of information management: information technology, business processes, and people. Several fields study each of these phenomena separately, for instance, computer science, business administration, and cognitive psychology. In contrast, Information Management treats these phenomena as an integrated whole. The emphasis is not on information technology per se, but on its role in a larger context.
In the research efforts, three phases are combined: development of theories, hypotheses, models and frameworks; empirical testing of these in co-operation with business firms; and transferring knowledge to practitioners, students and scholars.
The research projects are in different ways expressions of a basic view of the relationships between people behavior, the business processes of the firm, and the use of information, information systems, and information technology. The focus, however, is different in different projects; some focus on use, while others focus on development and development approaches or on development processes and the interaction between different actors in these processes.