Derrick J. Neufeld

Charismatic leadership and user acceptance of information technology

Although there is widespread agreement that leadership has important effects on information technology (IT) acceptance and use, relatively little empirical research to date has explored this phenomenon in detail. This paper integrates the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) with charismatic leadership theory, and examines the role of project champions influencing user adoption. PLS analysis of survey data collected from 209 employees in seven organizations that had engaged in a large-scale IT implementation revealed that project champion charisma was positively associated with increased performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating condition perceptions of users. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed, and suggestions for future research in this area are provided.

Top management support of enterprise systems implementations

Despite the general consensus regarding the critical role of top management in the information systems (ISs) implementation process, the literature has not yet provided a clear and compelling understanding of the top management support (TMS) concept. Applying metastructuring (Orlikowski et al., 1995) as a guiding framework for understanding TMS behaviors, this paper attempts to address the gap by focusing on two key questions: (1) What supportive actions do top managers engage in during IS implementations? (2) How do these actions affect IS implementation outcomes? Analyses of in-depth case studies at two Canadian universities that had implemented a large-scale enterprise system revealed three distinct types of TMS actions: TMS – resource provision (TMSR – actions related to supplying key resources such as funds, technologies, staff, and user training programs); TMS – change management (TMSC – actions related to fostering organizational receptivity of a new IS); and TMS – vision sharing (TMSV – actions related to ensuring that lower-level managers develop a common understanding of the core objectives and ideals for the new system). Results suggest that different support behaviors exercise different influences on implementation outcomes, and that top managers need to adjust their support actions to achieve the desired outcomes. In particular, TMSR affected project completion, TMSC impacted formation of user skills and attitudes, and TMSV influenced middle manager buy-in. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Predicting telecommuter productivity

Productivity of remote workers is of critical concern to organizations contemplating telecommuting work arrangements. This paper suggests a general theoretical framework for understanding telecommuter productivity. Based on semi-structured interviews with 32 telecommuters, we found that telecommuting productivity was positively associated with beliefs and attitudes, social factors, and situational factors, and unassociated with individual factors. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

An exploratory study of electronic mail as a rich communication medium in a global virtual organization

The paper explores how intra-organizational communication in a global virtual organization was impacted as the dominant communication mode, evolved from postal messages to facsimile to electronic mail, over a ten year period. Drawing on theories of communication media, we have proposed that changes in organizational communication mode will affect the nature and outcomes of organizational communication in terms of message frequency, message length, message cycle time, participation rate, idea generation, information gathering, social orientation, and decision-making speed. To test these propositions, we analyzed a dataset containing 907 written documents (187 regular post, 407 fax, and 312 email), collected from the archives of a global organization between 1989 and 1999. Results show support for email as a rich communication medium compared with other written media, particularly in terms of increased participation rates, idea generation, socially-oriented communication, and decision-making speed.

Communicating virtually in a global organization

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the extent to which changes in communication media are associated with changes in the nature of manager-expatriate employee communications. Using an affordance lens, the authors explore how hierarchical level and communication medium interact to influence status dynamics manifested in communication attributes. Design/methodology/approach – The hypothesis was tested with a 2 (hierarchical level)×3 (communication media) multivariate analysis of covariance (experience level) in a sample of 1,193 messages that were transmitted between managers and field employees in a global organization over a ten year period. Findings – The authors found significant interaction effects between communication media and hierarchical level on communication attributes such that changes in communication media intensified status differences between managers and their employees. Research limitations/implications – Communications media may be appropriated differently depending on on...

The IT Artifact and Telecommuting

Research on the concept of telecommuting or telework, as it is known in various areas of the world, has appeared in information systems (IS) and non-IS publications for more than 20 years. Research areas with respect to telecommuting are quite varied, from Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) use, to transportation, managerial control, work-life issues, and more. A significant number of these studies have taken into account the role of technology in enabling telecommuting. However, recent awareness of the IT artifact issue [1] has raised concerns for some authors, reviewers, and editors as to when the technology component is significant enough to consider some of the telecommuting research as IS research. Others, meanwhile, believe that by definition telecommuting addresses the IT artifact issue, and that this should not be a concern. In this panel, we explore the question of whether the IT artifact is an issue in IS-related telecommuting research by examining topics from multiple and sometimes competing perspectives.

Media Naturalness and the Ability to Predict Generosity in a Give-Some – Get-Some Interaction

Evolutionary psychologists believe the human mind evolved to solve adaptive problems present in our ancestral environment. Our hominid ancestors survived in face-to-face groups by assessing the cooperative intentions of other group members. Media naturalness theory postulates face-to-face is the most ‘natural’ communication medium. This paper reports results from a laboratory experiment examining the ability of student subjects to predict the generosity of a counter-party under two media conditions: Face-to-Face (FtF), the more natural condition; and Video-to-Video (VtV), the less natural, technology-mediated condition. After a five-minute interaction, subjects took part in a givesome – get-some exchange and then predicted the generosity of their counterparty. Consistent with media naturalness theory, FtF subjects predicted generosity at a frequency greater than chance. Surprisingly, generosity predictions for the VtV condition were not significantly different from chance. Generosity prediction relates to important organizational behaviors such as cooperativeness, trust, and teamwork. Implications and future research opportunities are discussed.