Despite the increasing pervasiveness of telecommunications technologies, very few studies have holistically attempted to examine their use in organizational contexts. This study approaches the use of these technologies from an innovation perspective. Literature on innovation is synthesized into a testable model and the results of a senior IS executive survey of 154 organizations is reported. Factors that enable initiation, adoption, and implementation of a set of 15 distinct telecommunications technologies are examined. Two factors in particular, environmental uncertainty and decentralization of decision making, show significant relationships with the usage of these technologies. The results provide useful insights into the usage of individual technologies and the contextual factors that enable diffusion of this important set of technologies in U.S. organizations.
Career research in the information systems (IS) field has primarily focused on external motivators associated with organizational factors and material incentives. IS empirical research investigating the internalized career orientations of practitioners is necessary to match individual expectations with corporate human resource planning. This study identifies several career anchors or orientations maintained by IS personnel. By administering the Career Orientations Inventory to 321 IS personnel, Managerial and Technical Competence, Identity, Service, Organizational Stability, and Variety career orientations are distinguished. These internal anchors significantly influence how IS and human resource management should (1) plan corporate IS career paths, (2) nurture IS employees during their careers, and (3) encourage appropriate communication about career advancement.
The transfer and management of information systems (IS) technology present a significant challenge to multinational corporations (MNCS). Very few studies have investigated the managerial concerns and issues that confront IS executives in an international context. This paper presents the empirical results of a two-phase study designed to identify arid prioritize important international information systems issues in U.S.-based MNCs. The findings are compared to those reported in the earlier domestic MIS issues studies. The study reported here (a) identifies a number of international IS issues unique to multinational corporations; (b) emphasizes that top-rated international Is concerns are a mixture of managerial and technical issues, much like the domestic issues studies of the 1980s; (c) concludes that multinational service and manufacturing firms perceive the importance of international IS issues differently; and (d) demonstrates, for manufacturing MNCs, that the level of international involvement does impact on how IS issues are perceived.