This study frames antecedents of effective information use, outlining a nomological network that firms follow to achieve integrated information delivery and effective information use. Our focus is on senior business executives' assessment of information delivered by their organizations' information systems. We first clarify the definition of information as it relates to information delivery and effective use. Then, drawing from institutional theory and the resource-based view of the firm, we propose a research model consisting of external institutional pressure, internal information systems (IS) resources, integrated information delivery, and effective information use and empirically test it through a field survey of senior business executives and post hoc qualitative analysis. Our findings position information delivery as an important research construct leading to effective information use and value. Our study also highlights the important role of the IS function as a facilitator of effective information use and a nurturer of a strong information culture in organizations. Finally, we offer practical advice on how senior executives assess and improve integrated information delivery and effective use.
The expectation norm of Information Systems SERVQUAL has been challenged on both conceptual and empirical grounds, drawing into question the instrument's practical value. To address the criticism that the original IS SERVQUAL's expectation measure is ambiguous, we test a new set of scales that posits that service expectations exist at two levels that IS customers use as a basis to assess IS service quality: (1) desired service: the level of IS service desired, and (2) adequate service: the minimum level of IS service customers are willing to accept. Defining these two levels is a "zone of tolerance" (ZOT) that represents the range of IS service performance a customer would consider satisfactory. In other words, IS customer service expectations are characterized by a range of levels, rather than a single expectation point. This research note adapts the ZOT and the generic operational definition from marketing to the IS field, assessing its psychometric properties. Our findings conclude that the instrument shows validity of a four-dimension IS ZOT SERVQUAL measure for desired, adequate, and perceived service quality levels, identifying 18 commonly applicable question items. This measure addresses past criticism while offering a practical diagnostic tool.
Past literature recognizes the power of information technology (IT) to establish greater transparency and in turn the potential for greater control. Theoretical perspectives such as informating and agency theory describe situations whereby legitimized management authority can control goal divergence by implementing information systems to better monitor agents' behavior and outcomes. But what happens when the principal does not possess legitimacy to impose an agent's use of information and/or behavioral conformance? This study investigates this situation. Through an action research project, a physicians' profiling system (PPS) was used to monitor and benchmark physicians' clinical practices and outcomes resulting in changed practice behaviors in closer congruence with management's goals. The PPS project represents a successful attempt of a hospital's management (principal) to "informate the clan" of physicians (agents) to reduce clinical procedural costs and adopt practices benchmarked to produce better outcomes. This research moves beyond directly controlling informated workers through legitimized managerial authority to a better understanding of how to informate autonomous professionals. Emerging insights suggest that a clan can be informated if the principal can improve the perceived legitimacy of the information (the message), legitimize the technical messenger (customized user interface), legitimize the human messenger (boundary spanners and influential clan members), and facilitate an environment where clan-based discussion, using the information provided by the principal, is incorporated into the process of concertive control.
Many organizations have undertaken major business process change (BPC) initiatives over the past ten years. Earlier thinking on this topic indicated a significant role for information technology in these initiatives, while more recently the importance of change management has been emphasized. This paper examines a model that proposes various antecedents to successful BPC. Three case studies with varying degrees of BPC project success are described in the context of this model, with the specific goal of determining facilitators and inhibitors to the success of these change efforts. The results indicate that the successful project tended to have facilitators in all dimensions of the framework, including the change environment, process management, and change management. The least successful project exhibited inhibitors primarily in the area of cultural readiness and change management.
This article presents an executive overview of the article "Business Process Change: A Study of Methodologies, Techniques and Tools," by William J. Kettinger, James T. C. Tend and Subashiah Guha.
In this research note, we join the debate between Van Dyke, Kappelman, and Prybutok and Pitt, Watson, and Kavan pertaining to the conceptual and empirical relevance of SERVQUAL as a measure of IS service quality. Adopting arguments from marketing, Van Dyke et al. (1997) question the SERVQUAL gap measurement approach, the interpretation and operationalization of the SERVQUAL expectation construct, and the reliability and validity of SERVQUAL dimensionality. In a response to those arguments, Pitt et al. (1997) defend their previous work (1995) in a point-by-point counterargument that suggests that the marginal empirical benefit of a perceptual-based (SERVPERF) service quality measure does not justify the loss of managerial diagnostic capabilities found in a gap measure. While siding with many of the positions taken by Pitt et al. (1997), we attempt to add value to the debate by presenting discrepancies we have with the two other research teams and by suggesting alternative approaches to resolve, or at least alleviate, problems associated with SERVQUAL. We believe that the theoretical superiority of an alternative IS service quality measure should be backed by empirical evidence in the IS context, hence answering some of the criticism by Van Dyke at al. and offering a construct valid version of the IS-adapted SERVQUAL. From a pragmatic view-point, we believe that the justification of using SERVQUAL'S gap measure should be driven by more effective ways to utilize expectations in IS service management. To this end, we introduce the newer Parasuraman at al. (1994b) measures, the concept of a "zone of tolerance" for expectation management and an illustration of its practical use in an IS setting. Overall, we attempt to set the direction of where we think this debate should lead the IS field, namely, toward practical and timely IS service quality measures.
Orchestrating programs of organizational transformation that result in sustained process improvement represents a difficult managerial challenge. Yet, ever-changing customer requirements, electronic partnerships, and increasingly complex intraorganizational arrangements are forcing many well-established firms to transform themselves from function-based forms of organization into process-based systems of managerial, task, and evaluative arrangements. Through a program of managed transformation, the In formation Services (IS) function at Bose Corporation has realized dramatic improvements in the delivery of information products/services and is now "charting the course" for a sustained process management view that will define and measure business relationships well into the next century. In contrast to many well-publicized programs of change, the drive toward sustained process improvement and innovation by Bose IS resembles an evolutionary model of organizational learning and information sharing rather than a revolutionary model of immediate and drastic transformation. This study describes the defining stages, key events, and obstacles of the road traveled by Bose IS in transforming itself from a corporate utility into an enterprise-wide source of process innovation and improvement.
As more organizations undertake business process reengineering (BPR), issues in implementing BPR projects become a major concern. This field research seeks empirically to explore the problems of implementing reengineering projects and how the severity of these problems relates to BPR project success. Based on past theories and research related to the implementation of organizational change as well as field experience of reengineering experts, a comprehensive list of sixty-four BPR implementation problems was identified. The severity of each problem was then rated by those who have participated in reengineering in 105 organizations. Analysis of the results clearly demonstrates the central importance of change management in BPR implementation success. Resolutions of problems in other areas such as technological competence and project planning were also determined to be necessary, but not sufficient, conditions for reengineering success. Further, problems that are more directly related to the conduct of a project such as process delineation, project management, and tactical planning were perceived as less difficult, yet highly related to project success. This situation was also true for human resource problems such as training personnel for the redesigned process. These findings suggest that reengineering project implementation is complex, involving many factors. To succeed, it is essential that change be managed and that balanced attention be paid to all identified factors, including those that are more contextual (e.g., management support and technological competence) as well as factors that pertain directly to the conduct of the project (e.g., project management and process delineation). As one of the first pieces of empirical evidence based on a field study, this research emphasizes the importance of addressing BPR implementation within the broader context of organizational change in a complex sociotechnical environment.
Sustainability of competitive advantage may be achieved by leveraging unique firm attributes with information technology to realize long-term performance gains. Information systems that cannot sustain competitive impact have only transient strategic value or may offer negative value if matched by a superior response by competitors. A research review of sustainability was conducted that resulted in the development of a framework depicting factors effecting sustainable competitive advantage. This study evaluates longitudinal changes in performance measures of 30 firms that have been cited as "classic" cases of strategic use of information technology. The results of this analysis indicate that not all of these classic cases can be touted as "sustained winners." Differences among strategic "sustainers" and "non-sustainers" were formally tested to determine those firm and/or industry factors that may be antecedents to sustained IT competitive advantage. Results indicate that managers must do more than simply assess the uniqueness or availability of emerging technological innovations in developing strategic IT plans. Specifically, the establishment of technological base along with substantial capital availability seem to be important prerequisites for "technologically derived" sustainability. Recognizing the need for a stronger prescriptive orientation to strategic IS, future research is outlined in an effort to develop a comprehensive framework that would link combinations of sustainability factors to actual performance.
This study investigates the managerial roles of the chief information officer (CIO) based on Mintzberg's classic managerial role model. Our findings indicate that CIOs differ from manufacturing and sales executives in the relative importance they place on managerial roles. This difference does not exist between CIOs and finance executives or between CIOs and information systems (IS) middle managers. As IS management matures, the spokesman and liaison role of the ClO becomes more important. Surprisingly, as IS matures, the strategic responsibilities entitled in the monitor and entrepreneur roles of the ClO do not become more important. However, it was found that the more centralized the IS resource, the greater the CIO's role in acting as a spokesman, environmental monitor, and resource allocator. The results of this study have implications for management development, training, and the career planning of IS management.