Craig Van Slyke

Gender differences in perceptions of web-based shopping

Women have yet to welcome Web-based shopping as readily as men. A primary factor for this state is how men and women view shopping. Understanding those differences will help vendors address this vital pool of consumers.

Perceived critical mass and the adoption of a communication technology

Computer-based communication technologies are increasingly important to personal and organizational communication. One important factor related to the adoption and diffusion of communication innovations is critical mass. Critical mass influences the adoption and diffusion of interactive communication innovations, both through network externalities and through sustainability of the innovation. Unfortunately, critical mass is difficult to measure and is typically only demonstrable after the critical mass point has been reached. Potential adopters’ perceptions of critical mass also may be important to adoption decisions. In this paper, we extend this thinking using a synthesis of the Theory of Reasoned Action and Diffusion of Innovation theory by developing a research model. The model is empirically tested using survey data that are analyzed using partial least squares. The focal innovation is instant messaging. Results indicate that perceived critical mass influences use intentions directly and through perceptions of the characteristics of the innovation. The perceived innovation characteristics impact attitude toward use, which in turn impacts use intentions. The model predicts a sizable and significant portion of both attitudes and use intentions. Further, perceived critical mass is able to explain a significant portion of the variance in each perceived innovation characteristic. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

The Impact of Perceived Innovation Characteristics on Intention to Use Groupware

Information technologies that support groups of individuals have become increasingly visible. While some of these, such as electronic mail, have become almost ubiquitous in many organizations, other groupware applications have not enjoyed similar acceptance. This study uses diffusion of innovation theory to investigate factors that may influence intentions to use a specific groupware application, Lotus Domino discussion databases. Findings indicate that perceptions of relative advantage, complexity, compatibility and result demonstrability are significantly related to intentions to use Domino discussion databases. There was not a significant relationship between intentions to use and perceived trialability, visibility, or voluntariness. Those interested in increasing the use of groupware technologies may find these results helpful in guiding their efforts.

A Comparison of American and Indian Consumers' Perceptions of Electronic Commerce

Electronic commerce is often touted as a global phenomenon. However, most studies of e-commerce have focused on more developed countries. While it is important to understand e-commerce in the context of richer, more developed countries, it also impacts developing countries. Using diffusion of innovation theory, and literature on trustworthiness in e-commerce and dimensions of national culture as theoretical bases, this research investigates how consumers perceive e-commerce differently in India and the United States. Results indicate that Indian and American consumers perceive the relative advantage, ease of use, compatibility, and the demonstrability of results of e-commerce differently. Post hoc analyses reveal there is an association between perceptions of e-commerce and use intentions. This result holds across nationalities, although the pattern of influence differs according to country.

A Note on Interpersonal and Communication Skills for IS Professionals: Evidence of Positive Influence

A recent article by Byrd and Turner (2001) reported that interpersonal skills on the part of information systems personnel had a negative influence on the success of systems as measured by competitive advantage. Several reasons were forwarded to account for this unexpected result, including lack of richness in the measure of these skills, the use of strategic success measures, the true complexity of interpersonal relations within an organization, and the sample of CIOs who may have a bias in favor of technical skills. We address these concerns by incorporating a set of communication skills into the interpersonal skills set, sampling users for a different set of stakeholders, and employing a more complex model based on theories of expectation. The results indicate that the impacts of interpersonal skills on system success is not a simple function of the perceived level of the IS staffs skill proficiency but is also determined by the understood expectations of skill requirements.

Paper versus Electronic: Challenges Associated with Physicians - Usage of Electronic Medical Records

This study builds on the theory of planned behavior, institutional and diffusion theories to investigate physicians? attitudes and usage behaviors of electronic medical records (EMR). Interviews with seventeen physician-residents enrolled in a Family Practice residency program and eight attending physicians in the same clinic showed that most physicians held rather negative attitudes regarding the EMR system. EMR was often times seen as an intrusion in the patient-physician interaction. Other findings relate to the impacts EMR had on physicians? time, expertise, physicians? learning, the length (and sometimes the accuracy) of the clinical notes. Challenges associated with behavioral control issues such as availability of computers and the physical positioning of computers are shown to be very important in the context of this case. Physician-residents have to use EMR because of its mandatory nature, however, if they had a choice or the power, the majority of physicians would use the paper chart.

Implications of researcher assumptions about perceived relative advantage and compatibility

Although scale reuse is an important and efficient research practice, it may not always be the most appropriate practice. Mechanistically reusing scales developed for a particular context may lead to a variety of undesirable effects. One of the risks is that frequently reused scales can inadvertently begin to alter the definitions of related constructs. When this occurs, a full understanding of the constructs can be lost. Innovation diffusion is one area in which evidence suggests that this has occurred, specifically for relative advantage and compatibility. This article seeks to better understand the risks of mechanistic scale reuse within the information systems field, with a specific focus on the relative advantage and compatibility constructs. We review the information systems literature focusing on IT adoption and diffusion, examining the theoretical and empirical relationships between relative advantage and compatibility. Evidence from this review indicates that there may be both conceptual and empirical overlap between the two, which has led to inconsistent empirical and theoretical treatment of the constructs across studies. We also report an empirical examination of the domain coverage of the scales, which provides evidence that the scales a) exhibit a high degree of conceptual and empirical overlap and b) only represent a subset of their full conceptualization. We offer recommendations for researchers who wish to use these constructs in future work.

Challenges Associated with Physicians' Usage of Electronic Medical Records

Using the Theory of Planned Behavior, institutional and diffusion theories as theoretical foundations, this study investigates physicians’ attitudes towards and usage of electronic medical records (EMR). Interviews with seventeen physician-residents enrolled in a Family Practice residency program and eight attending physicians in the same clinic showed that most physicians held rather negative attitudes regarding the EMR system. EMR was often times seen as an intrusion in the patient-physician interaction. Other findings relate to how EMR impacts physicians’ time, expertise, and learning, as well as the length (and sometimes the accuracy) of clinical notes. Challenges associated with behavioral control issues such as availability of computers and the physical positioning of computers are shown to be very important in the context of this case. In this organization, physician-residents are required to use EMR because of its mandatory nature, however, if they had a choice or the power, the majority of them would use the paper chart.

A Behavioral Beliefs Model of Trustworthiness in Consumer-Oriented E-Commerce

For e-commerce to grow, customers must trust organizations with which they interact. In this article, we propose and test a theoretically-derived model of trustworthiness of Web merchants in general. Trustworthiness is influenced by behavioral, competence, and attitudinal beliefs. Findings indicate trustworthiness is strongly influenced by behavior-related beliefs, and less strongly by attitude-related beliefs. Trustworthiness beliefs impact intentions to purchase from Web merchants.

EXPERTS' ADVICE TO INFORMATION SYSTEMS DOCTORAL STUDENTS

This paper summarizes the results of a panel discussion offering advice to doctoral students in advancing through their programs and getting a start on their career. The panel was held at the 2003 Annual Conference of the Southern Association for Information Systems, and panelists included senior MIS faculty members who, combined, have chaired over 80 dissertations. Topics included choosing a dissertation topic, dealing with the dissertation committee, completing the dissertation, the job hunt, marketability, building a publication record, and advice for new faculty.