Despite the influence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on enhancing transparency and fairness, there is limited theoretical understanding of how ICT affects corruption. Adopting an institutional perspective, we conceptualize the mechanisms through which e-government influences corruption in a nation. Specifically, we theorize the relationship between e-government and corruption at two levels: (1) base corruption observed in national institutions (political, legal, and media institutions), and (2) permeated corruption in the national stakeholder service systems (business and citizen systems). Using panel data from 63 countries over a 4-year period, we test the direct and mediated effects of e-government on corruption in national institutions and stakeholder service systems, respectively. This exploratory study provides preliminary insights into the mechanisms through which corruption manifests in a nation and demonstrates how e-government can be helpful in alleviating it. In addition, the study offers important implications that we believe will be instrumental in stimulating future research on the subject.
Does a firm get any extra value from investing resources in sponsoring its own virtual community above and beyond the value that could be created for the firm, indirectly, via customer-initiated communities? If so, what explains the extra value derived from a firm-sponsored virtual community and how might this understanding inform managers about appropriate strategies for leveraging virtual communities as part of a value-creating strategy for the firm? We test two models of virtual community to help shed light on the answers to these questions. We hypothesize that in customer-initiated virtual communities, three attributes of member-generated information (MGI) drive value, while in firm-sponsored virtual communities, a sponsoring firm's efforts, as well as MGI, drive value. Drawing on information search and processing theories, and developing new measures of three attributes of MGI (consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness), we surveyed 465 consumers across numerous communities. We find that value can emerge via both models, but that in a firm-sponsored model, a sponsor's efforts are more powerful than MGI and have a positive, direct effect on the trust-building process. Our results suggest a continuum of value creation whereby firms extract greater value as they migrate toward the firm-sponsored model.
Despite the fact that about 90 percent of information transactions in hospitals are communications between patients, doctors, nurses, and other staff, little research has addressed the role that information technology (IT) plays in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of these communications-based transactions. Addressing this research gap is important considering that a substantial number of adverse hospital events stem from communication failures. Furthermore, effective communication is a major driver of patient satisfaction in hospitals. Using a structure-process-outcome (SPO) framework and guided by the strategic role of IT literature, we develop a model that includes "structure," operationalized as organizational characteristics and two different categories of IT; "process," two different communication-based processes; and "outcomes," quantified as case-mix adjusted mortality, patient loyalty, and patient ratings. Specifically, we hypothesize that a subset of clinical IT (cardiology IT) will affect technical protocols of patient care, which in turn affects mortality, while administrative IT will affect interpersonal patient care, which relates to patient loyalty and ratings. Thus, IT can serve as a double-edged sword affecting both technical and interpersonal processes of care, but possibly independently and differentially. We test our hypotheses on 2,179 hospitals using data collected and matched from three different sources. Our findings suggest that different types of IT differentially affect hospital processes and these same processes influence performance metrics such as mortality and patient satisfaction. For example, cardiology IT has a greater effect on objective patient health status through improvements in the technical protocols of care. Surprisingly, administrative IT was shown to adversely affect interpersonal care processes. It could be true that the IT is intrusive and interferes in the doctor-patient relationship; however, a post hoc analysis suggests the possibility of curvilinear impacts. Thus, managers should recognize that over- and underinvestment in IT can potentially have negative effects on performance and these results vary by IT type. Both technical and interpersonal processes yielded significant relationships to their respective outcomes and some cross-outcome effects were found, further suggesting that the mediating role of processes is an important link between IT and value.
Managers make informed information technology investment decisions when they are able to quantify how IT contributes to firm performance. While financial accounting measures inform IT's influence on retrospective firm performance, senior managers expect evidence of how IT influences prospective measures such as the firm's market value. We examine the efficacy of IT's influence on firm value combined with measures of financial performance for non-publicly traded (NPT) hospitals that lack conventional market-based measures. We gathered actual sale transactions for NPT hospitals in the United States to derive the q ratio, a measure of market value. Our findings indicate that the influence of IT investment on the firm is more pronounced and statistically significant on firm value than exclusively on the accounting performance measures. Specifically, we find that the impact of IT investment is not significant on return on assets (ROA) and operating income for the same set of hospitals. This research note contributes to research and practice by demonstrating that the overall impact of IT is better understood when accounting measures are complemented with the firm's market value. Such market valuation is also critical in merger and acquisition decisions, an activity that is likely to accelerate in the healthcare industry. Our findings provide hospitals, as well as other NPT firms, with insights into the impact of IT investment and a pragmatic approach to demonstrating IT's contribution to firm value.
The five-factor model (FFM) of personality has been used to great effect in management and psychology research to predict attitudes, cognitions, and behaviors, but has largely been ignored in the IS field. We demonstrate the potential utility of incorporating this model into IS research by using the FFM personality factors in the context of technology acceptance. We propose a dispositional perspective to understanding user attitudes and beliefs, and examine the effect of user personality—captured using the FFM's big five factors—on both the perceived usefulness of and subjective norms toward the acceptance and use of technology. Using logged usage data from 180 new users of a collaborative technology, we found general support for our hypotheses that the FFM personality dimensions can be useful predictors of users' attitudes and beliefs. We also found strong support for the relationships between intention to use and system use.
As business-to-consumer online shopping grows, e-commerce channel providers will need to explore ways to anticipate consumers' needs to deliver an efficient shopping experience. Yet the consumers' decision-making process and its relationship to the selection of the online channel are not well understood. Utilizing Simon's decision-making model, we examined support for decision-making phases using 134 online consumers. We also extended the model to include consumers' cost savings and time savings, as well as their satisfaction with the e-commerce channel. Structural equation modeling results indicate that the online shopping channel supported the overall decision-making process. In particular, we found strong support for the design and choice phases of online consumers' decision-making process. Our results also indicate that support for the decision-making process was mediated by the cost savings and time savings gained by the online consumers and led to their greater channel satisfaction.
Payoffs from information technology (IT) continue to generate interest and debate both among academicians and practitioners. The extant literature cites inadequate sample size, lack of process orientation, and analysis methods among the reasons some studies have shown mixed results in establishing a relationship between IT investment and firm performance. In this paper we examine the structural variables that affect IT payoff through a meta-analysis of 66 firm-level empirical studies between 1990 and 2000. Employing logistic regression and discriminant analyses, we present statistical evidence of the characteristics that discriminate between IT payoff studies that observed a positive effect and those that did not. In addition, we conduct ordinary least squares (OLS) regression on a continuous measure of IT payoff to examine the influence of structural variables on the result of IT payoff studies. The results indicate that the sample size, data source (firm-level or secondary), and industry in which the study is conducted influence the likelihood of the study finding greater improvements on firm performance. The choice of the dependent variable(s) also appears to influence the outcome (although we did not find support for process-oriented measurement), the type of statistical analysis conducted, and whether the study adopted a cross-sectional or longitudinal design. Finally, we present implications of the findings and recommendations for future research.
Although team-based work systems are pervasive in the workplace, the use of collaborative systems designed to facilitate and support ongoing teamwork is a relatively recent development. An understanding of how teams embrace and use such collaborative systems--and the relationship of that usage to teamwork quality and team performance--is critical for organizational success. We present a theoretical model in which usage of a collaborative system intervenes between teamwork quality and team performance for tasks that are supported by the system. We empirically validate the model in a setting where established teams voluntarily used a collaborative system over a four-month period to perform tasks with measurable outcomes. Our principal finding is that collaborative system use intervenes between teamwork quality and performance for tasks supported by the system but not for unsupported tasks.
Although electronic commerce (EC) has created new opportunities for businesses as well as consumers, questions about consumer attitudes toward Business-to-Consumer (B2C) e-commerce vis-a-vis the conventional shopping channels continue to persist. This paper reports results of a study that measured consumer satisfaction with the EC channel through constructs prescribed by three established frameworks, namely the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA), and Service Quality (SERVQUAL). Subjects purchased similar products through conventional as well as EC channels and reported their experiences in a survey after each transaction. Using constructs from the three frameworks, a model was constructed and tested to examine the determinants of the EC channel satisfaction and preference using the survey data. Structural equation model analyses indicate that metrics tested through each model provide a statistically significant explanation of the variation in the EC consumers' satisfaction and channel preference. The study found that TAM components--perceived ease of use and usefulness--are important in forming consumer attitudes and satisfaction with the EC channel. Ease of use also was found to be a significant determinant of satisfaction in TCA. The study found empirical support for the assurance dimension of SERVQUAL as determinant in EC channel satisfaction. Further, the study also found general support for consumer satisfaction as a determinant of channel preference.
With the enormous investments in Information Technology (IT), the question of payoffs from IT has become increasingly important. Organizations continue to question the benefits from IT investments especially in conjunction with corporate initiatives such as business process reengineering (BPR). Furthermore, the impact of technology on nonfinancial outcomes such as customer satisfaction and quality is gaining interest.