Andy Weeger

It Consumerization: Byod-Program Acceptance and its Impact on Employer Attractiveness

Many firms are considering ‘bring-your-own-device’ (BYOD) programs, under which their employees are allowed to bring their own devices to work and use them for both private and business purposes. This study examines what factors determine an employees intention to participate in a corporate BYOD program and how such programs affect employer attractiveness. We approach our study of acceptance of corporate BYOD programs from the perspective of technology acceptance research. For this purpose, we propose a modified and extended UTAUT model. The model was tested by surveying students in their final term (n = 444). We show that performance expectancies have the strongest positive effect on intention, while perceived threats negatively impact intention. Finally, behavioural intention was positively associated with employer attractiveness, which leads to clear indications for companies considering establishing corporate BYOD programs. BYOD seems to play an increasingly important role in attracting and retaining future talent.

Acceptance and use of electronic medical records: An exploratory study of hospital physicians’ salient beliefs about HIT systems

If a hospital keeps electronic medical records (EMRs), the underlying health information system is the primary repository and source of patient-related data for hospital physicians. Even though the benefits and improvements attained through health information technology (HIT) are widely acknowledged, EMR adoption rates are surprisingly low in German hospitals. Since there is no ‘pull’ to use EMR systems, we theorize that low penetration of EMR systems could be in part explained by physicians’ antipathy towards computerized medical records. In order to examine physicians’ salient beliefs about EMRs and EMR usage and to identify the processes that form them, we conducted a multi-case study in German hospitals, drawing on concepts from Social Cognitive Theory and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to elicit beliefs and structure our analysis. This study sheds light on different types of beliefs and the belief-forming process and their impact on HIT acceptance and use. Our findings indicate that HIT acceptance and use is not solely impacted by cognitive behavioural and environmental factors, as proposed by UTAUT, but also by personal factors such as self-efficacy and emotions. Furthermore, our study provides evidence of continuous reciprocal causation across behavioural, personal and environmental beliefs. The findings indicate that existing technology acceptance models need to be modified for the specific health-care context by adapting the range, meaning and scope of constructs.

How Do Project-related Artefacts Qualify for Bridging Boundaries in IS Implementation Projects – An Activity Theoretical Perspective

Boundary objects were found to significantly impact the outcomes of IS implementation projects. Despite emphasizing their flexibility, however, prior research is no very precise on the attributes that qualifies project-related artefacts to become boundary objects. To identify the internal characteristics of artefacts that enable business and IT to synchronize IS and business needs, this research offers an activity theoretical view on boundary objects. The usefulness of the concept is demonstrated by means of an in-depth case study. The findings of this research emphasize that –in order to become boundary objects– project-related artefacts need to be part of the IS implementation and the business activity system. Moreover, they need to capture relevant knowledge of both activity systems and enable recognition of contradictions within and between. As to that, utilization of emerging project deliverables by means of internalization or externalization processes is found to facilitate the alignment between IS and business needs.

Organizational Structure vs. Capabilities: Examining Critical Success Factors for Managing IT Service Delivery

IT managers are under constant pressure to deliver IT services at low cost and high quality simultaneously in order to maximize benefits for their internal customers. However, research on IT service delivery (ITSD) is rare and little analysis is devoted to the question how organizational settings and specific capabilities impact the performance of ITSD. Addressing this gap, this paper identifies critical success factors for ITSD management. For this purpose, a research framework was developed and tested in an exploratory study using a multiple case study approach. The analysis was conducted using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). Findings show that a central organizational unit responsible for service delivery is neither a sufficient nor a necessary condition for high performing ITSD. Outstanding performance was only found in firms where adequate organizational structures are in place and specific capabilities for ITSD were cultivated.

How IT Management Profile and IT Business Value Correlate – Exploring Cross-Domain Alignment

Previous research hardly investigates how externally focused competitive strategies can be bridged with internal focused IT processes (i.e. cross-domain alignment). In view of this gap, we aim to shed light on the relationship between five archetypical IT management profiles and six IT business value domains that we derived from literature. Building on prior literature, we propose that each IT management profile delivers unique sources of value, thus, contributes to specific IT business value domains. In order to test our hypothesis, we conducted a quantitative matched-pair study across firms within the manufacturing industry. Our findings indicate that IT business value domains are linked to IT management approaches. The contribution of this paper is that we extent the existing theory of the contribution of the IT function. We present empirically findings that each IT management profile is associated with minimum one distinct IT business value domain.

Taking up Three Challenges to Business-IT Alignment Research by the Use of Activity Theory

This paper offers a novel view on the business-IT alignment that takes on the three major challenges of prior research: theory, process and applicability. The theoretical deliberations and empirical data of a single in-depth case study shows that taking an activity theoretical lens offers a way to conceptualize the mechanisms, triggers and complexities of business-IT alignment that enhance our understanding of the alignment process and reveal important implications for practice. Building on activity theory and the notion of interrelated activity systems, the authors propose to view business and IT as two distinct, yet related activity systems that co-evolve over time. Moreover, they show that business-IT alignment can be understood as a process of continuous adjustments between the two collective, pragmatic, contested and situated activity systems of business and IT. Examining data spanning six years of transformation processes, the authors systematically increase their understanding of the processes and underlying mechanisms of aligning business and IT. These insights are facilitated via the conceptualization of the alignment as a process aimed to reduce contradictions and tensions within and between the linked activity systems of business and IT. The theoretical deliberations and empirical evidence show that AT provides a strong theoretical foundation and a robust framework that is able to facilitate rigorous process-oriented studies, whose findings can guide endeavors of detecting and approaching misalignments in practice.

Operational Alignment in Hospitals - The Role of Social Capital between IT and Medical Departments

This research examines how business-IT alignment at the operational level in hospitals is constituted and how operational business-IT alignment facilitates value creation. A conceptual model of operational alignment is developed and empirically tested in German hospitals. Conceptualized as cross-functional interconnectedness enabling purposeful collaborative processes between business and IT, it is shown that operational alignment is particularly constituted by strong relations between business and IT, mutual trust and cognitive linkages. Results show a strong impact of cross-functional cooperation on IT business value. Cross-functional cooperation is found to influence value both directly and mediated through the degree to which information systems fit with requirements, working processes, and existing practices of medical de-partments. Overall, it is demonstrated that social capital between business and IT unfolding in effective collaboration at the operational level facilitate the creation of IT business value. The results may motivate practitioners to take measures in order to strengthen social capital and, hence, blur boundaries between business and IT, particularly in hospitals.

IT Capabilities and Organizational Utilization of Public Cloud Computing

Cloud computing (CC) as an emerging phenomenon promises multiple business-related advantages such as faster time to market, scalability, and lowered barriers to innovation. In order to achieve potential advantages from CC investments, firms must be able to utilize CC resources. Literature suggests that in order to gain advantages from IT, firms are required to possess a bundle of IT capabilities. However, until now it is not clear if these capabilities also apply for CC. Along prior IT capability research and studies on CC, this research, therefore, aims to deductively derive technical, human, and organizational capabilities related to CC. It is argued that these capabilities facilitate organizational CC usage. To test these propositions, quantitative research has been conducted among midsized ICT firms in Germany. The results demonstrate that especially capabilities of the organizational dimension, namely strategic thinking and planning, contribute to CC usage. In contrast, we found no effect of capabilities related to the human dimension (technical integration and sourcing skills of the IT staff) on CC usage. Interestingly, the flexibility of existing IT infrastructure is negatively related to the utilization of CC resources.

Disruptions of the Tripartite Structure of System Usage: Exploring Factors Influencing the Effective Usage of Information Systems in German Hospitals

As the employment of health information technology steadily increases the quality of care as well as the safety of patients increasingly depends on if and how information systems (IS) are used in clinical contexts. Still little insight exists in IS research about what determines and hinders the effective use of IS, especially in hospital contexts. By conducting comparative case-studies in two German hospitals, this research investigates how disruptions of the interaction between the three dimensions of usage (user, system, and task) impede the effective use of clinical systems. Although the results indicate that the impact on effective use varies across different disrupting factors, it is also shown that high degrees of effective use can only be reached when all dimensions of usage smoothly interact. This study, there-fore, shows that characteristics of user, systems, and tasks have to be simultaneously aligned in order to improve outcomes of clinical IS usage.