Showing papers in "Information Systems Research in 1999"

Information Technology Assimilation in Firms: the Influence of Senior Leadership and it Infrastructures

Abstract: assimilation is regarded as an important outcome in the efforts of firms to leverage the potential of information technologies in their business activities and strategies. Despite significant investments in information technology, considerable diversity exists in how well firms have been able to assimilate IT and leverage the business value of IT. This research draws upon the emerging knowledge-based and resource-based views of the firm to examine the influence of three factors on IT assimilation: (i) quality of senior leadership, (ii) sophisti- cation of IT infrastructures, and (iii) organizational size. Drawing upon a large-scale sample survey where responses were obtained from CIOs and senior business executives who were members of the firms' top management teams, the study examines a variety of mostly nor- mative prescriptions. The findings provide robust evidence about the impacts of CIOs' busi- ness and IT knowledge on IT assimilation. Further, we find that CIOs' membership in top management teams and their informal interactions with TMT members enhance their knowl- edge, particularly their business knowledge. We find that the intensity of the relationship between CIO's interactions with the top management team and their level of IT and business knowledge is much stronger in firms that articulate a transformational IT vision. The sophis- tication of IT infrastructures was also found to significantly impact IT assimilation. Surpris- ingly, the IT knowledge of senior business executives was not found to be a significant influ- ence on IT assimilation. The implications of these findings for evolving a deeper understanding of the dynamics underlying IT assimilation are presented.

Accounting for the Contradictory Organizational Consequences of Information Technology: Theoretical Directions and Methodological Implications

Abstract: Although much contemporary thought considers advanced information technologies as either determinants or enablers of radical organizational change, empirical studies have revealed inconsistent findings to support the deterministic logic implicit in such arguments. This paper reviews the contradictory empirical findings both across studies and within studies, and proposes the use of theories employing a logic of opposition to study the organizational consequences of information technology. In contrast to a logic of determination, a logic of opposition explains organizational change by identifying forces both promoting change and impeding change. Four specific theories are considered: organizational politics, organizational culture, institutional theory, and organizational learning. Each theory is briefly described to illustrate its usefulness to the problem of explaining information technology's role in organizational change. Four methodological implications of using these theories are also discussed: empirical identification of opposing forces, statement of opposing hypotheses, process research, and employing multiple interpretations.

The Illusory Diffusion of Innovation: An Examination of Assimilation Gaps

Abstract: Innovation researchers have known for sometime that a new information technology maybe widely acquired, but then only sparsely deployed among acquiring firms. When this happens, the observed pattern of cumulative adoptions will vary depending on which eventin the assimilation process (i.e., acquisition or deployment) is treated as the adoption event. Instead of mirroring one another, a widening gap-termed here an assimilation gap-will existbetween the cumulative adoption curves associated with the alternatively conceived adoption events. When a pronounced assimilation gap exists, the common practice of using cumulative purchases or acquisitions as the basis for diffusion modeling can present an illusory picture of the diffusion process-leading to potentially erroneous judgments about the robustness ofthe diffusion process already observed, and of the technology's future prospects. Researchers may draw inappropriate theoretical inferences about the forces driving diffusion. Practitioners may commit to a technology based on a belief that pervasive adoption is inevitable, when it is not. This study introduces the assimilation gap concept, and develops a general operational measure derived from the difference between the cumulative acquisition and deployment patterns. It describes how two characteristics-increasing returns to adoption and knowledge barriers impeding adoption-separately and in combination may serve to predispose a technology to exhibit a pronounced gap. It develops techniques for measuring assimilation gaps, for establishing whether two gaps are significantly different from each other, and for establishing whether a particular gap is absolutely large enough to be of substantive interest. Finally, it demonstrates these techniques in an analysis of adoption data for three prominent innovations in software process technology-relational database management systems (RDBs), general purpose fourth generation languages (4GLs), and computer aided software engineering tools (CASE). The analysis confirmed that assimilation gaps can be sensibly measured, and that their measured size is largely consistent with a priori expectations and recent research results. A very pronounced gap was found for CASE, while more moderate-though still significant-gaps were found for RDBs and 4GLs. These results have the immediate implication that, where the possibility of a substantial assimilation gap exists, the time of deployment should be captured instead of, or in addition to, time of acquisition as the basis for diffusion modeling. More generally, the results suggest that observers be guarded about concluding, based on sales data, that an innovation is destined to become widely used. In addition, by providing the ability to analyze and compare assimilation gaps, this study provides an analytic foundation for future research on why assimilation gaps occur, and what might be done to reduce them.

A Case for Using Real Options Pricing Analysis to Evaluate Information Technology Project Investment

Abstract: The application of fundamental option pricing models (OPMs), such as the binomial and the Black-Scholes models, to problems in information technology (IT) investment decision making have been the subject of some debate in the last few years. Prior research, for example, has made the case that pricing "real options" in real world operational and strategic settings offers the potential for useful insights in the evaluation of irreversible investments under uncertainty. However, most authors in the IS literature have made their cases using illustrative, rather than actual real world examples, and have always concluded with caveats and questions for future research about the applicability of such methods in practice. This paper makes three important contributions in this context: (1) it provides a formal theoretical grounding for the validity of the Black-Scholes option pricing model in the context of the spectrum of capital budgeting methods that might be employed to assess IT investments; (2) it shows why the assumptions of both the Black-Scholes and the binomial option pricing models place constraints on the range of IT investment situations that one can evaluate that are similar to those implied by traditional capital budgeting methods such as discounted cash flow analysis; and (3) it presents the first application of the Black-Scholes model that uses a real world business situation involving IT as its test bed. Our application focuses on an analysis of the timing of the deployment of point-of-sale (POS) debit services by the Yankee 24 shared electronic banking network of New England. This application enables us to make the case for the generalizability of the approach we discuss to four IT investment settings.

Evaluating the Impact of Dss, Cognitive Effort, and Incentives on Strategy Selection

Abstract: Decision support system (DSS) researcher- have long debated whether or not the provision of a DSS would lead to greater decision-making effectiveness, efficiency, or both. The work described in thi- paper examine- how DSS designer- can guide user- toward- employing more normative decision strategies. Working from notion- of restrictiveness and decisional guid- ance (Silver 1990) supplemented by the cost-benefit framework of cognition, we explain how DSS capabilitie- influence decision behavior and performance through the manipulation of effort. The result- of thi- work should assist DSS developer- to devise directed or nondirected approache- to effect desired behaviors.

Information Technology and Firm Boundaries: Evidence From Panel Data

Abstract: Previous literature has suggested that information technology (IT) can affect firm boundaries by changing the costs of coordinating economic activity within and between firms (internal and external coordination). This paper examines the empirical relationship between IT and firm structure and evaluates whether this structure is consistent with prior arguments about IT and coordination. We formulate an empirical model to relate the use of information technology capital to vertical integration and diversification. This model is tested using an 8-year panel data set of information technology capital stock, firm structure, and relevant control variables for 549 large firms. Overall, increased use of IT is found to be associated with substantial decreases in vertical integration and weak increases in diversification. In addition, firms that are less vertically integrated and more diversified have a higher demand for IT capital. While we cannot rule out all alternative explanations for these results, they are consistent with previous theoretical arguments that both internal and external coordination costs are reduced by IT.

Profiles of Strategic Information Systems Planning

Abstract: Improving strategic planning within the realm of information technology management is consistently identified by top corporate executives as a critical competitive issue. While relevant literature in the area is replete with descriptions of planning tools and methodologies, investigations that examine this activity from the perspective of process-based characteristics, or "profiles," are still in the formative stages. Through multivariate analysis of data gathered from 253 organizations, the findings of this study suggest that five distinct profiles of strategic planning can be identified based on dimensions of comprehensiveness (extent of solution search), formalization (existence of rules and procedures), focus (extent of innovation versus integration), flow (top-down, bottom-up), participation (number and variety of planners), and consistency (frequency of planning). While each profile exhibits strength across particular measures of planning effectiveness, the profile associated with all measures of planning effectiveness seems to incorporate elements of rationality (high comprehensiveness, high formalization, control focus, top-down flow) and adaptation (high participation, high consistency). Post-survey field study of selected firms suggests that the five approaches may represent distinct "schools" of thought that are reflective of deep-seated beliefs and attitudes about strategic planning. These schools (design, planning, positioning, learning, and political) are founded on very different assumptions and provide substantive interpretation for the empirical findings.

Electronic Brainstorming: the Illusion of Productivity

Abstract: Electronic brainstorming (EBS) has been proposed as a superior approach to both nominal brainstorming (working alone) and face-to-face brainstorming (verbal). However, existing empirical evidence regarding EBS's superiority over nominal brainstorming is weak. Through a comprehensive examination of the process gains and process losses inherent to different brainstorming approaches, this paper explains past results. The paper also suggests that the process gain versus process loss advantages of EBS technologies may not be large enough to enable EBS groups to outperform nominal groups. In an effort to find alternate ways of using EBS more productively, three conditions thought to increase EBS's process gains and decrease its process losses (thus improving its productivity) are identified. A laboratory experiment designed to compare the productivity of ad hoc and established groups using four brainstorming technologies (nominal, EBS-anonymous, EBS-nonanonymous, verbal), generating ideas on socially sensitive and less sensitive topics, in the presence and absence of contextual cues, is then described. The results of the experiment showed that overall, groups using nominal brainstorming significantly outperformed groups using the other three brainstorming approaches. Further, even under conditions thought to be favorable to EBS, nominal brainstorming groups were at least as productive as EBS groups. The paper explains these results by suggesting that the process gains of EBS may not be as large as expected and that the presence of four additional process losses inherent to EBS technologies impair its productivity. It is also argued that the prevailing popularity of group brainstorming (verbal or electronic) in organizations may be explained by the perceived productivity of those approaches. These perceptions, which are at odds with reality, create the illusion of productivity. A similar misperception may also cause an illusion of EBS productivity in the research community, especially when perceptual measures of group performance are used.

Electronic Trading and Work Transformation in the London Insurance Market

Abstract: The integration of information and communications technologies (IT) is playing a key role in transforming the nature of work. The link between IT and tra nsformation is poorly understood, and further theoretical developments are needed to advance our current knowledge of this relationship. In this paper, we develop a conceptual scheme by drawing on and extending Giddens' social theory of transformation that relates changes in modern institutions to shifts in self-identity. We illustrate the value of these ideas in making sense of the introduction of an electronic trading system, LIMNET EPS, across the London Insurance Market. Furthermore, our case analyses suggest some practical implications on electronic trading and work transformation.

Information and Communication: Alternative Uses of the Internet in Households

Abstract: the Internet a superhighway to information or a high-tech extension of the home tele- phone? We address this question by operationalizing information acquisition and enter- tainment as the use of the World Wide Web and interpersonal communication as the use of electronic mail (e-mail), and examine how 229 members of 110 households used these services during their first year on the Internet. The results show that e-mail drives people's use of the Internet. Participants used e-mail in more Internet sessions and more consistently than they used the World Wide Web, and they used e-mail first in sessions where they used both. Participants used the Internet more after they had used e-mail heavily, but they used the Internet less after they had used the Web heavily. While participants' use of both e-mail and the Web declined with time, the decline in Web use was steeper. Those who used e-mail more than they used the Web were also more likely to continue using the Internet over the course of a year. Our findings have implications for engineering and policies for the Internet and, more generally, for studies of the social impact of new technology.

Research Report. Can Edi Benefit Adopters

Abstract: Although the potential for EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) to improve performance of firms involved in industry value chain is widely known, little evidence regarding improved performance for the entire supply channel has been reported. Some researchers have found th at EDI networks can benefit EDI champion, but it remains largely unclear whether EDI adopters-who are often coerced to implement the electronic networks by the champion-gain similar payoffs from their EDI investments. To measure impacts of EDI investments for the EDI adopters, we have investigated the performance of 31 grocery retail chains (EDI adopters) that implemented EDI networks with Campbell (EDI champion) for a supply channel reengineering innovation known as "continuous replenishment process." Analysis of daily data on inventory and stockouts levels for the 31 retail chains demonstrates that these EDI adopters have achieved a significant increase in their inventory turns while simultaneously reducing stockouts as a result of this EDI-enabled supply channel reengineering. This paper thus provides empirical evidence that EDI adopters can achieve dramatic performance improvements if EDI networks are used for interfirm process reengineering.

Straight Talk: Delivering Bad News Through Electronic Communication

Abstract: Delivering bad news can be an unpleasant task, therefore people often either postpone it or mitigate its effect through positive distortion. However, delivering (and receiving) timely and accurate negative information can be critical for performance improvement and organizational learning. This paper investigates the possibility that computer-mediated communication can increase honesty and accuracy in delivering negative information that has personal consequences for the recipient. In a laboratory experiment, 117 participants delivered positive or negative personally-consequential information to a "student" (confederate) using one of three types of media: computer-mediated communication, telephone, or face-to-face conversation. Participants distorted negative information less, i.e., were more accurate and honest, when they used computer-mediated communication than face-to-face or telephone communication. There was no difference in distortion of positive information across media conditions. Participants also reported higher levels of satisfaction and comfort in the computer-mediated communication situation. The perceived quality of the relationship mediated the impact of medium on satisfaction, but not on distortion.

Morality and Computers: Attitudes and Differences in Judgments

Abstract: Business ethics is an emerging area of research in many subfields of management, including information systems (IS). Empirical IS research has studied differences in users' attitudes and in moral judgments regarding ethical computer-related behavior. This study applied the "domains of morality" approach to determine how users felt about certain computer-related behaviors. Vignettes describing ethical dilemmas involving computer technology (e.g., up-loading a computer virus on an electronic network/bulletin board system) were presented to a sample of Internet users. The research findings offered several interesting and, in some cases, unexpected results. The empirical results indicated that older computer users have a less permissive sense of what is right and wrong for an illegal game. When computers were used to test a banned game, men and women differed in their assessment of its appropriateness. A surprising finding was that participants were not likely to endorse civil liberties, and were more concerned about the harm to, and violations of, social norms when the scenario described a situation involving a computer virus. How users perceive, prejudge, and discriminate computer ethics and abusive computer actions raises numerous questions and implications for IS researchers, IS practitioners, and policy makers. The results of this study foster a better understanding of Internet users' moral categorization of specific computer behaviors and, hopefully, help to further reduce risks and vulnerabilities of systems by identifying computer actions deemed ethically acceptable by users. Opportunities for IS researchers to further explore this timely issue are also discussed.

Research Commentary. Academic Rewards for Teaching, Research, and Service: Data and Discourse

Abstract: In most institutions faculty members are expected to teach, research, and perform community service. The emphasis placed on each activity is expected to vary considerably between institutions and departments. To examine this expectation, a nationwide survey was made of both American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) institutions and nonAACSB institutions. participants rated 80 publications for their value in reviews of research performance, and responded to a series of questions pertaining to the importance of publication types on the merit compensation, promotion, and tenure processes. These results were made available to the IS community, and approximately 150 comments were obtained. The survey results and the comments suggest that there might be some convergence in expectations of academic performance a cross institutions, as research-oriented institutions require better performance on teaching, teaching-oriented institutions require better performance in research, and all institutions impose greater service demands on IS faculty.

Dimensionality of the Strategic Grid Framework: the Construct and its Measurement

Abstract: The recent dramatic impact of information technology (IT) on organizational performance has necessitated appropriate strategies for managing this organizational resource. IT im- pacts firms in different ways, and management needs a clear and systematic understanding of both the current and future relevance and impact of its IT before selecting management tools and approaches. The strategic grid framework, developed for the purpose of helping man- agement gain this understanding, is one of the most highly recognized and quoted conceptual frameworks in information systems literature. Despite such recognition, valid operational measures of this construct are not available for use in empirical research studies. The research reported in this paper is an attempt to develop and validate operational measures for the dimensions of the strategic grid, with the understanding that the availability of such measures will promote future empirical studies. Data for this study consist of the responses of 231 IS executives to a survey instrument. Operational models of the grid dimensions are specified and the measurement properties of the models are assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) within the LISREL framework. Measures resulting from the analysis are shown to meet the requirements of rigorous tests of measurement properties. The CFA results also show that the current portfolio dimension of the strategic grid is unidimensional, while the future port- folio dimension has three factors: management support, differentiation, and enhancement.

Research Note: Electronic Brainstorming: Illusions and Patterns of Productivity

Abstract: In a recent article in Information Systems Research,Pinsonneault et al. (1999) present a thorough and compelling summary of theoretical factors that act to enhance and impair productivity in electronic brain- storming (EBS) groups as contrasted with traditional verbal brainstorming groups and nominal group brainstorming. They assume that all theoretical factors are equally important and remain constant, and there- fore add the factors together to conclude that, from a theoretical standpoint, there should be no difference in idea generation performance between EBS and nomi- nal groups.They also present an equally thorough summary of previous empirical research comparing EBS and nom- inal group brainstorming to which they add additional empirical data from their own study. Their analysis suggests that there have been no clear patterns in the empirical research because nominal groups outper- form EBS groups as often as EBS groups outperform nominal groups.1 They then conclude that group par- ticipants and "many researchers may also be under theillusion that EBS is superior to all other brainstorming approaches, when in fact this is not supported by em- pirical evidence" (Pinsonneault et al. 1999, pp. 127- 128). They end by suggesting that more research is needed to understand the conditions under which EBS groups may outperform nominal groups.We agree that EBS is not superior to all other brain- storming approaches--nominal group brainstorming in particular--under all conditions. Thus the goal of this research note is to extend Pinsonneault et al. (1999) by helping to clarify the empirical evidence and theo- retical factors to better understand when EBS groups may be expected to perform more poorly than nominal groups and when EBS groups may be expected to per- form better than nominal groups.We agree with Pinsonneault et al. (1999) that most theoretical factors are likely constant and that sum- ming them is appropriate. However, we disagree that all factors are constant and can therefore be summed. We have argued elsewhere that one of the most im- portant differences between EBS and nominal group brainstorming is the synergy or cognitive stimulation that EBS participants receive from reading the ideas of other participants, and that this synergy is not constant

Nonlinear and Noncompensatory Models in User Information Satisfaction Measurement

Abstract: This study applies nonlinear and noncompensatory models to examine how users evaluate their satisfaction with their information systems (IS) environment. Several instruments have been developed in the literature to measure user information satisfaction (UIS). These instruments measure user satisfaction by asking respondents to rate their satisfaction/dissatisfaction with a variety of IS attributes; e.g., EDP services, EDP staff, information product, and involvement in IS development. These responses are then combined linearly to develop a surrogate measure for UIS satisfaction. This linear model is derived from Anderson's information theory (Anderson 1981) and based on the assumption that each attribute judgment has a conditionally monotone relationship with the UIS evaluation. However, the literature on attitude formation and decision making suggests that other nonlinear and noncompensatory models are available to decision makers for combining information and are used frequently in attitude formation. In this study, we use two sets of data to examine the linear model and five nonlinear models of decision making to evaluate whether nonlinear models are more effective in predicting a user's overall satisfaction with information systems. First, responses from faculty members at an academic institution were used to test each model. All the nonlinear models were more efficient predictors than the linear models. In addition, two nonlinear models-the multiplicative and the scatter models-best represented the data with square multiple correlations of 0.69 and 0.68, as compared to the linear model which had an R2 of 0.61. Second, data from a previous study (Galletta and Lederer 1989) were analyzed to examine whether nonlinear models were more efficient. Data for this study were collected using the short version of the Bailey and Pearson (1983) UIS instrument. Results of the analysis from the full and cross-validation samples show that nonlinear, noncompensatory models performed at par or better than the linear model.

Designing Workflow Coordination: Centralized Versus Market-Based Mechanisms

Abstract: As - result of the increasing diffusion of decision-making within and between organiza- tions, distributed scheduling methods have been proposed as alternatives to centralized, hierarchical, top-down production control schemes. While distributed scheduling methodol- ogies are appealing, one must first address the fundamental questions of when and where such methods are appropriate. This paper seeks to provide answers to these questions. Using generalized workflow framework, this paper models and compares the total expected costs of using decentralized and centralized organizational designs to coordinate the flows of infor- mation and work. This comparison allows one to define the characteristics of work environ- ments where distributed scheduling methods are more suitable than hierarchical, top-down production approaches. Finally, from this analysis, one can conclude that distributed sched- uling methods work well for systems where information technology is inexpensive relative to production cost, processing times are relatively long, and where the number of agents in the system is not too large.

Research Note. the Illusion of Electronic Brainstorming Productivity: Theoretical and Empirical Issues

Abstract: After discussing how group size might affect the effectiveness of electronic brainstorming (EBS) as an idea generating tool, Dennis and Valacich (1999) conclude that EBS is not likely to surpass nominal brainstorming for small groups, but that for large groups (i.e., nine or more members), “EBS offers clear performance benefits over nominal group brainstorming, as well as verbal brainstorming.” However, in our view, the existing theoretical and empirical evidence does not provide sufficient justification to clearly establish EBS' superiority over nominal brainstorming for large groups.

Research Report. Learning From Goal-Directed Error Recovery Strategy

Abstract: Research on training has traditionally viewed errors made by trainees as detrimental to learning. A great deal of effort has been devoted to finding effective ways of preventing errors from occurring during training. Recently, some researchers have adopted a different perspective: that errors may provide a learning opportunity for trainees. What has been investigated less is the specific mechanism through which errors can foster learning. The objective of our research was to investigate and possibly reconcile these differing viewpoints by examining the error recovery process. We found that, in some situations, errors enhance learning when the trainee adopts an error recovery process that emphasizes the goal structure of the task. We suggest several ways of coaching trainees in training sessions to adopt such error recovery strategies.

Depicting the Use and Purpose of Documents to Improve Information Retrieval

Abstract: In this paper we discuss a new kind of information system that helps people be ready for information work and locate documents. This system differs from a traditional information retrieval system by relying extensively on descriptions of both how a document is used and the purposes it is used for. These descriptions are gathered as the document is electronically used and manipulated (e.g., by a word processor or e-mail system). A formal language represents this information.