Brian J. Reithel

Gender Demography and Organization Performance: A Two-Study Investigation With Convergence

Considerable theoretical work has been published to date concerning the relationship between demographic composition of organizations and the performance of those firms. Indeed, under the topics of organization demography, substantial thought has been given to how demographic composition influences organization performance. Unfortunately, little empirical research has been conducted. The present research reports the results of two organization-level studies that investigated the relationship between gender diversity of organizations and their performance and hypothesized a nonlinear association. Study 1 results demonstrated support for an inverted U-shaped relationship between gender composition and organization performance, as hypothesized, and these results were constructively replicated in Study 2, thus increasing confidence in the validity of the findings. The results of Study 2 suggest that some industries might not be able to take advantage of this gender composition–firm performance relationship. Implications of these results for theory and research are discussed.

Determining the Intention to Use Biometric Devices: An Application and Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model

Protection of physical assets and digital information is of growing importance to society. As with any new technology, user acceptance of new software and hardware devices is often hard to gauge, and policies to introduce and ensure adequate and correct usage of such technologies are often lacking. Security technologies have widespread applicability to different organizational contexts that may present unusual and varied adoption considerations. This study adapts the technology acceptance model (TAM) and extends it to study the intention to use biometrics devices across a wide variety of organizational contexts. Due to the use of physiological characteristics, biometrics present unique adoption concerns. TAM is extended in this study to include constructs for perceived need for privacy, perceived need for security and perceived physical invasiveness of biometric devices as factors that influence intention to use. The model is shown to be a good predictor of intention to use biometric devices.

Impact of perceived technical protection on security behaviors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper based on compensation theory, is to incorporate perceived technical security protection into the theory of planned behavior and examined factors affecting end‐user security behaviors, specifically, compliance with security policies.Design/methodology/approach – An online survey is conducted to validate the proposed research model. The survey is sent out to an industrial panel. A total of 176 usable responses are received and used in the data analysis.Findings – The results show that both perceived behavioral control (PBC) and attitude have significant impact on intention to comply with security policy. Perceived technical protection affects behavioral intentions both indirectly, through PBC, and directly. The negative direct effect (i.e. perceived high technical protection leads to low intention to comply with security policy) suggests possible risk compensation effects in the information security context.Practical implications – This result should be of interest to pra...

Matching Personality and Organizational Culture: Effects of Recruitment Strategy and the Five-Factor Model on Subjective Person–Organization Fit

If the “people make the place,” what kinds of people (personalities) fit into what kinds of places (organizations), and how might the recruitment messages of the organization facilitate a better fit? The authors explored the extent to which recruitment strategy (realistic vs. traditional) and the Five-Factor model of personality (FFM) were related to subjective person–organization fit (P-O fit) with the four organizational cultures encompassed by Cameron and Quinn’s Competing Values model (CVM). Contrary to expectations, recruitment strategy did not have an effect on subjective P-O fit. Consistent with our hypotheses, (a) more agreeable and extraverted perceived greater fit with the clan culture, (b) more conscientious and less open persons perceived a better fit with a hierarchy culture, (c) less agreeable persons perceived a better fit with a market culture, and (d) persons who scored higher on openness perceived a better fit with an adhocracy culture.

Emerging information technologies: developing a timely IT strategy

A model for quickly sifting through emerging technologies to find the best organizational fit.

A model of user information satisfaction

Previous investigations of the User Information Satisfaction construct have approached the definition of satisfaction from a narrow perspective. The focus was primarily on the attributes of the system, with scant attention paid to the attributes of the user or of the organizational context in which system usage occurs. This article presents an alternative model of user information satisfaction that explains satisfaction as a consequence of the combination of user, organizational, and system characteristics. User and organizational characteristics combine to create a set of preimplementation expectations regarding the information system. After implementation, the gap between the actual system characteristics and the expected characteristics forms the basis for confirmation/disconfirmation of the expectations. It is the type and degree of confirmation/disconfirmation that forms the basis for User Information Satisfaction. The inclusion of user expectations in the model provides a new approach to understanding the variables and processes that lead to user information satisfaction.

Beyond the information center: an instrument to measure end-user computing support from multiple sources

Recent studies have shown that end-users may be dissatisfied with support received from the centralized information center. While this has been the predominant source of formal support in the past, contemporary studies have identified a more decentralized form of support: local MIS staff. A third popular support source for end-users is the informal network of friends and colleagues. The relative degree of support that end-users receive from each of these sources is not evident. The lack of a reliable instrument to measure end-user support may have contributed to this absence of evidence. This paper presents an instrument that was designed to measure support from a set of diverse sources, such as the information center, local MIS staff, and informal sources. The instrument was pre-tested and refined prior to collecting data from 108 middle-level managers. The construct and convergent validities of the instrument appear to be strong. This instrument will be useful to researchers and practitioners who would like to identify support functions best provided by a specific support source.

Attraction to Organizational Culture Profiles: Effects of Realistic Recruitment and Vertical and Horizontal Individualism–Collectivism

Todays organizations are challenged with attracting, developing, and retaining high-quality employees; thus, many firms seek to improve their recruitment and selection processes. One approach involves using realistic job previews (RJPs) to communicate a balanced view of the organization. The authors explored the effects of organizational culture (hierarchy, market, clan, and adhocracy), recruitment strategy (RJP vs. traditional), and personality (horizontal and vertical individualism—collectivism) on attraction to Web-based organizational profiles using a sample of 234 undergraduate students in a mixed two-factor experimental design. Results indicate that the clan culture is viewed as the most attractive. Traditional versus RJP recruitment produced higher levels of organizational attraction. Finally, predicted relationships between the personality framework of horizontal and vertical individualism— collectivism and organizational attraction were supported.

The value of certification: an empirical assessment of the perceptions of end-users of local area networks

Abstract. Certification is one criterion that employers seek when hiring network professionals. Many employers assume a certified network professional is better able to manage networked resources than is a non‐certified counterpart. Therefore, employers often offer a monetary premium to attract certified network professionals. By measuring end‐user perceptions, the current study empirically assesses the popular industry assumption that certified network professionals are more adept managers of network resources than those individuals who are not certified network professionals. Analyses of a data derived from 299 end‐users of 11 separate local area networks indicate no statistically significant difference exists between the capabilities of certified network professionals and non‐certified network professionals.

A model of end user attitudes and intentions toward alternative sources of support

End-user computing has been the focus of research for over a decade. Recent studies on end-user computing support concluded that end users are dissatisfied with the support provided by the information center. In addition to support from an information center, end users seek help from informal sources and local MIS staff. In this study we examine why end-users prefer one source of support (e.g. information center) to another (e.g. local MIS staff). In order to understand end user preferences, we study the factors that affect end user attitude toward a support source. Attitude is an important component in determining user behavior toward using a support source. In this study, a model of end user attitudes and intentions toward the source of support is presented. Analysis of data collected from 108 middle-level managers shows that respondents preferred the use of local MIS staff to both information centers and informal support sources. The results appear to reflect an emerging trend in EUC support and implications of these results are examined in the study.