An Iterative Assessment Approach to Improve Technology Adoption and Implementation Decisions by Healthcare Managers

The User-in-Context Iterative Assessment (UCIA) approach allows decision makers to acquire rich knowledge about their users and the way technology is used in the context of their work. A case study involving the introduction of a handheld medication administration device for nurses on a medical-surgical ward is used to illustrate how a UCIA approach can help provide healthcare IT professionals and hospital administrators with the data that they need to choose and implement IT applications that have the potential to maximize cost savings, while improving the delivery of patient care.     

Exploring the perceived business value of the flexibility enabled by information technology infrastructure

We developed a multidimensional definition of IT infrastructure (ITI) and applied it in exploring the perceived strategic payoffs of ITI-enabled flexibility. We began by developing a typology of theoretical approaches that can be used to organize the literature and then developed a multidimensional model by conceptualizing how flexibility can be enabled through technical, human, and process elements of ITI and how these are interrelated. We used a resource-based view of the firm and a dynamic capabilities perspective to account for competitive impacts of the flexibility. Finally, we hypothesized on the moderating effects of organizational size and reporting level of the top IT executive. Data collected from 293 IT managers showed that the range of managerial ITI capabilities, which were positively affected by all areas of IT personnel knowledge and skills, was responsible for the competitive impacts of the ITI-enabled flexibility. Multigroup analyses showed that large organizational size or reporting to the CEO reduced the positive effects of the range of managerial ITI capabilities on competitive impacts.     

Opening the black box of system usage: user adaptation to disruptive IT

According to Benbasat and Barki (2007), systems usage has remained a black box in spite of the fact that the construct lies at the heart of a host of studies in the field. We know very little about how exactly users cope with information technology (IT), especially disruptive IT. To answer such questions, we grounded our current work in Beaudry and Pinsonneault's Coping Model of User Adaptation (2005; CMUA), a model that explains user strategies appraising an IT event. These strategies are a response to threats and opportunities embedded in the IT event and are impacted by the level of control users have over the situation. In the current study, following CMUA, we develop and test measures for a deeper understanding of systems usage and user adaptation to IT through a 2 × 2 laboratory experiment. Overall, we found strong support for the CMUA model.     

The Death of the Security Industry

The entire IT security industry is an accident: an artifact of how the computer industry developed. Computers are hard to use, and you need an IT department staffed with experts to make it work. IT security is critical, but there's no earthly reason why users need to know what an intrusion detection system with stateful protocol analysis is, or why it's helpful in spotting SQL injection attacks. As IT fades into the background and becomes just another utility, users will simply expect it to work. The details of how it works won't matter.     

From IT deployment capabilities to competitive advantage: An exploratory study in China

As more and more companies are deploying, or plan to deploy, information systems, the organizational capabilities to effectively deploy information technologies to support and shape businesses become increasingly important. While many studies have focused on how to acquire state-of-the-art information technologies and on how to effectively utilize implemented information technologies, more studies are still needed to investigate how a company can successfully deploy acquired information technologies to support and shape businesses strategies and value chain activities. IT deployment capabilities are defined as the organizational capabilities to configure and reconfigure a company’s information system by adding new IT components or by adapting the existing information systems in order to make the whole information system available to support and shape businesses. This study identifies and investigates the three building blocks of IT deployment capabilities: strategic IT flexibility, business–IT partnership, and business–IT alignment. Using the resource-based view, we propose a framework to explain the relationship between IT deployment capabilities and competitive advantage. The research model is tested on data collected in China. Results show that strategic IT flexibility and business–IT partnership have direct impacts on competitive advantage, while business–IT alignment has an indirect impact on competitive advantage. The effect of business–IT alignment on competitive advantage is fully mediated by strategic IT flexibility and business–IT partnership. The results provide support for the relationship between IT deployment capabilities and competitive advantage. The study presents implications for how to develop IT deployment capabilities and how to generate business value from IT investment.     

A Philosophy of Information Technology and Systems (IT & S) as Tools: Tool Development Context, Associated Skills and the Global Technology Transfer (GTT) Process

It is the intent of this paper to discuss a philosophy of Information Technology and Systems (IT & S) as tools and the impact of this philosophy on the Global Technical Transfer (GTT) process of IT & S.It is argued that IT & S by definition, are artefacts, tools that have been made, used, inherited and studied within a cultural context which encompasses economic, historical, technical and social values and assumptions which are focussed in particular skill sets. It is assumed that these skill sets are mostly in evidence in any culture that receives the IT & S tool for use in a technical transfer process. It is argued, therefore, if we understand the cultural context in which a tool is made then we will understand the skills to transfer and use such tools in an effective manner. The issue we must face as makers, users, inheritors and scholars of IT & S tools, however, is that the tool context and inherent in-built values and skill sets, may not be in evidence across all cultures. This would make the effective use of IT & S, in a global sense, a difficult and complex (if not impossible) undertaking.From this position it is argued that IT & S tools reflect the IT & S discipline, as it is these tools which embody the assumptions of the discipline and hence, its paradigm. The Bunker and Dean (Bunker DJ, Dean RG. Philosophical Traditions in Information Systems: Challenger of an Interdisciplinary View, Faculty of Commerce Workshop, University of Wollongong, July 10--11, 1997) disciplinary model is highlighted as a means of understanding how tools are made within a cultural context and how they reflect the discipline in which they are created. This paper then goes on to explain the ramifications of IT & S as a discipline on the GTT process and proposes a skill-focussed approach, within a culture, to determining what IT & S may be appropriate for that particular cultural context.     

User involvement in the systems design process-a practical guide for users

Increasingly users find themselves 'involved' in IT design projects. This occurs because the organizational culture of the parent organization purports to promote participation, or because structured design methods are being used which require users to play a part. In either case users who find themselves required to participate in IT projects are frequently unclear about what this requires. In most organizations surprisingly little briefing on the users' role in design projects is provided. Users are therefore confused about their brief and concerned about their lack of expertise in computing. Although research reports on participatory design PD projects abound, little coherent guidance for the key stakeholders representing users' interests is available. The contents of this paper go some way towards filling the gap. Clear differentiation is made in the paper between the roles of the different players involved. Detailed guidance is provided for meeting the varied requirements of the different roles. For example, the roles of 'top' management and 'middle' management in supporting user involvement are explored, their special responsibilities specified and required actions listed. The need for an infrastructure to support user involvement and how to create one is discussed. Guidance is provided on, for example, the representation process and the factors to consider in selecting user representatives. The role of user representatives is particularly problematical and therefore receives particularly close attention. Finally guidance is given regarding the common pitfalls in Quality Assurance procedures and especially how to avoid the procedures becoming a meaningless 'rubber-stamping' exercise. The guidance presented is grounded in the extensive experience of the author in participative design processes in a wide variety of contexts including the footwear industry, a major UK government department and a telecommunications and broadcasting company.     

Valuing information technology infrastructures: a growth options approach

Decisions to invest in information technology (IT) infrastructure are often made based on an assessment of its immediate value to the organization. However, an important source of value comes from the fact that such technologies have the potential to be leveraged in the development of future applications. From a real options perspective, IT infrastructure investments create growth options that can be exercised if and when an organization decides to develop systems to provide new or enhanced IT capabilities. We present an analytical model based on real options that shows the process by which this potential is converted into business value, and discuss middleware as an example technology in this context. We derive managerial implications for the evaluation of IT infrastructure investments, and the main findings are: (1) the flexibility provided by IT infrastructure investment is more valuable when uncertainty is higher; (2) the cost advantage that IT infrastructure investment brings about is amplified by demand volatility for IT-supported products and services; (3) in duopoly competition, the value of IT infrastructure flexibility increases with the level of product or service substitutability; and (4) when demand volatility is high, inter-firm competition has a lower impact on the value of IT infrastructure.     

A re-conceptualization of the interpretive flexibility of information technologies: redressing the balance between the social and the technical

Interpretive flexibility – the capacity of a specific technology to sustain divergent opinions – has long been recognized as playing an important role in explaining how technical artefacts are socially constructed. What is less clear is how a system's technical characteristics might limit its ability to be interpreted flexibly. This gap in the literature has largely arisen because recent contributions to this debate have tended to be rather one-sided, focussing almost solely upon the role of the human agent in shaping the technical artefact, and in so doing either downplaying or ignoring the artefact's shaping potential. The broad aim of this study was to reappraise the nature and role of interpretive flexibility but giving as much consideration to how an information system's technical characteristics might limit its ability to be interpreted flexibly, as we do to its potential for social construction. In this paper, we use the results of two in-depth case studies, in order to propose a re-conceptualization of the role of interpretive flexibility. In short, this model helps explain how the initial interpretations of stakeholders are significantly influenced by the scope and adaptability of the system's functionality. Stakeholder interpretations will then, in turn, influence how the system's functionality is appropriated and exploited by users, to allow divergent interpretations to be realized and sustained.     

Workarounds as generative mechanisms for bottom-up process innovation—Insights from a multiple case study

Workarounds are goal-driven deviations from the standard operating procedures performed to overcome obstacles constraining day-to-day work. Despite starting as temporary fixes, they can become established across an organisation and trigger the innovation of processes and IT artefacts that can resolve misfits permanently. Although prior research has elicited antecedents and types of workarounds, it is not known how workarounds diffuse in an organisation and, thereby, innovating co-workers' activities, IT artefacts, and organisational structures. The results of our multiple two-year case study provide unique empirical insights into the diffusion of workarounds and how they can act as generative mechanisms for bottom-up process innovation.     

User involvement in the systems design process-a practical guide for users

Increasingly users find themselves 'involved' in IT design projects. This occurs because the organizational culture of the parent organization purports to promote participation, or because structured design methods are being used which require users to play a part. In either case users who find themselves required to participate in IT projects are frequently unclear about what this requires. In most organizations surprisingly little briefing on the users' role in design projects is provided. Users are therefore confused about their brief and concerned about their lack of expertise in computing. Although research reports on participatory design PD projects abound, little coherent guidance for the key stakeholders representing users' interests is available. The contents of this paper go some way towards filling the gap. Clear differentiation is made in the paper between the roles of the different players involved. Detailed guidance is provided for meeting the varied requirements of the different roles. For example, the roles of 'top' management and 'middle' management in supporting user involvement are explored, their special responsibilities specified and required actions listed. The need for an infrastructure to support user involvement and how to create one is discussed. Guidance is provided on, for example, the representation process and the factors to consider in selecting user representatives. The role of user representatives is particularly problematical and therefore receives particularly close attention. Finally guidance is given regarding the common pitfalls in Quality Assurance procedures and especially how to avoid the procedures becoming a meaningless 'rubber-stamping' exercise. The guidance presented is grounded in the extensive experience of the author in participative design processes in a wide variety of contexts including the footwear industry, a major UK government department and a telecommunications and broadcasting company.     

How information technology influences opportunity exploration and exploitation firm’s capabilities

Understanding how and why some firms have proficiency in exploring and exploiting opportunities is a cutting-edge research problem. Our central thesis is that information technology (IT) performs a key role in firms’ opportunity exploration and exploitation. We test the proposed theory using partial least squares path modeling on a combination of survey and secondary data from 203 Spanish firms. We find that: (1) IT infrastructure provides the foundation to build business experimentation and the flexibility to sense and explore business opportunities; and (2) IT-enabled business flexibility helps firms to develop the operational proficiency to exploit opportunities and increase their performance.     

Creating convivial affordances: A study of virtual world social movements

The study of technology and societal challenges is a growing area in information systems research. This paper explores how social movements can use virtual worlds to raise awareness or create safe spaces for their members. As social movements move into virtual worlds, the technical environment becomes more important. This paper presents an interpretive field study using netnographic research and empirical data from a study of a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender social movement in World of Warcraft. This paper takes the position that an understanding of affordances is required for users to be able to create convivial outcomes to shape the use of virtual worlds for their own goals and intentions. The paper presents the concept of convivial affordances, which brings together the theories of affordances and conviviality, and suggests that social users can shape IT artefacts through a creative combination of affordances for their specific goals, and with community involvement.     

Understanding the design of information technologies for knowledge management in organizations: a pragmatic perspective

Abstract.  Researchers report mixed findings on the successful application of information technologies (IT) for knowledge management (KM). The primary difficulty is argued to be the use of information management techniques and concepts to design and develop KM Tools. Also problematic is the existence of a multiplicity of KM technologies, the application and use of which differs across organizations. This paper argues that these problems stem, in part, from the information system field's over-reliance on design concepts from the functionalist paradigm. Hence, our contention that alternative perspectives, which bring into focus issues of ontology and epistemology, need to be brought to bear in order to understand the challenges involved in the design and deployment of IT artefacts in knowledge management systems (KMS). The philosophy of technology, with its emphasis on the primacy of praxis, and which incorporates ontological and epistemological concepts from phenomenology and hermeneutics, is applied to the findings of a participative action research study to illustrate how social actors interpret and understand worldly phenomena and subsequently share their knowledge of the life-world using IT. The outcome of this marriage of situated practical theory and philosophy is a set of design principles to guide the development of a core KM Tool for KMS.     

Toward an ‘IT Conflict-Resistance Theory’: action research during IT pre-implementation

Most empirical research on users’ resistance toward Information Technology (IT) has been conducted after implementation of IT in organisations. Little research has been done on the way individual and group resistance emerges and evolves during prior stages of projects. This focus on pre-implementation phases is important since Information Systems (IS) managers need to anticipate potential conflicts and users’ resistance that can involve project failure. While IS literature has separately developed theories on resistance and conflicts, we conceptualise a whole theoretic-system we call ‘IT Conflict-Resistance Theory’ (IT-CRT). This theory is used as driver for a 2-year action research project conducted at Netia Corporation (a worldwide leader in video and audio broadcasting) during preliminary phases of its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation project. According to our findings, while conflicts toward IT implementation are often considered to have negative effects and require being actively managed by top managers, the case study delivers an alternative observation: a passive-like attitude of managers during the IT pre-implantation phase does not prevent the resolution of a socio-political oriented conflict between two groups of employees. Our observations illustrate how the avoidance management style invites team members to cope with conflict situations and to express tacit causes of resistance. While most Management Information System methods tend naturally to maximise users’ satisfaction and to reduce potential resistance, the IT-CRT theory developed in this article supports an alternative approach: enhancing resistance in order to anticipate and resolve latent conflicts that are directly or indirectly related to the project. The underlying message of this article for researchers and practitioners is to consider users’ resistance toward IT as a key process embedded into IT choices and IS design.     

Sometimes it’s hard to be a robot: A call for action on the ethics of abusing artificial agents

This is a call for informed debate on the ethical issues raised by the forthcoming widespread use of robots, particularly in domestic settings. Research shows that humans can sometimes become very abusive towards computers and robots particularly when they are seen as human-like and this raises important ethical issues.

The designers of robotic systems need to take an ethical stance on at least three specific questions. Firstly is it acceptable to treat artefacts – particularly human-like artefacts – in ways that we would consider it morally unacceptable to treat humans? Second, if so, just how much sexual or violent ‘abuse’ of an artificial agent should we allow before we censure the behaviour of the abuser? Thirdly is it ethical for designers to attempt to ‘design out’ abusive behaviour by users?

Conclusions on these and related issues should be used to modify professional codes as a matter of urgency.     

A methodology of constructing a decision path for IT investment

Information Technology (IT) may be used for organizational efficiency, but should also be flexible to adapt to the rapidly changing competitive business environment. In competitive business circumstances, management continually asks: (1) How flexible must the firm be in investing in IT in order to meet unknown business needs in the future? At the same time, how efficient must the firm be in order to meet current business needs?; (2) How well must the firm align its business strategy with IT investment in order for it to support its strategic goals?; (3) how to construct a decision path for IT investments with respect to flexibility, efficiency and alignment between business strategy and IT investments?Although many researchers have struggled to answer these questions, they generally provide no means for incorporating these factors into the IT investment decision process.This paper suggests a method that identifies the degree of flexibility required (α-value), and accounts for and incorporates the α-value in making IT investments. The proposed method is based on a product development method called Quality Function Deployment (QFD). It will be applied to a real case of the “H-company” in Korea to validate and evaluate the proposed methodology.     

IT architecture meets the real (legal) world

Unfortunately for IT professionals, e-mail represents only the tip of the iceberg in how legal and regulatory duties will impact IT operations. In addition to privacy issues, regulators and other legal officials have already expressed interest in intruding into data center operations for audits of digital rights management (distribution of copyrighted materials) and taxes. They also want to determine whether e-commerce personalization engines have the impact of illegally redlining users. (Redlining is the illegal practices of a lending institution that denies loans or restricts the number of loans for certain areas of a community. There have also been redlining problems in the insurance industry.) Data centers house information, and information is of critical interest to legal and regulatory authorities. The net result is that IT architecture isn't just about technology any more. The last year's market realities made it clear that everyone must worry about the fiduciary realities of return on investment and total cost of ownership. Now that the rest of the world is catching up, IT architects need to deal with the legal realities imposed by governments and regulatory agencies. It is argued that companies that host e-mail should prepare to cooperate with law enforcement authorities and comply with search warrants or risk having their systems seized and carted away     

The contingent effect of personal IT innovativeness and IT self-efficacy on innovative use of complex IT

While organisational investment in complex information technologies (IT) keeps growing, these technologies are often applied at a superficial level and fail to attain the promised benefits. To further extract the value potential of complex IT, this study investigates employee users' innovate with IT (IwIT), which is a post-acceptance behaviour that refers to individual users applying IT in novel ways to support their task performance. Drawing on the information system continuance (ISC) model, we propose a research framework with perceived usefulness (PU) and satisfaction (SAT) as the antecedents of IwIT. We further emphasise the contingent role of personal characteristics and include personal innovativeness with IT (PIIT) and IT self-efficacy (ITSE) as the moderators of the framework. We validate the model with data from users of two complex ITs: enterprise resource planning and business intelligence technologies. The results suggest that positioning personal factors as moderators significantly increases the explanatory power of the ISC model and offers a more comprehensive understanding about IwIT. Specifically, ITSE positively moderates the effect of PU and negatively moderates the effect of SAT on IwIT. The moderating role of PIIT, however, is subject to the specific type of IT of investigation.