Harry C. Benham

Information technology adoption: evidence from a voice mail introduction

The theory of planned behavior was used to model voice mail adoption for empirical study. The theory of planned behavior postulates that adoption intentions are formed by a potential users attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavior control. The research focuses on the role of perceived behavioral control which has received relatively little attention in previous studies. A user support measure is introduced as one of the factors determining perceived behavioral control. Ease of use, typically thought to influence a users Attitude, is alternatively modeled as influencing a users perceived behavioral control. Empirical results indicated that both support and ease of use have a significant influence upon perceived behavioral control. As predicted by the theory of planned behavior, attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control were significant determinants of adoption intentions.

Learning To Manage while Learning about Management: A Transition to a Competency-Based Management Curriculum.

Abstract Traditional management education may not be preparing undergraduate students for employment as well as it could. Porter and McKibbin (1988) found that (a) employers were seeking hires with better leadership and interpersonal skills than most business school graduates had and (b) businesses were seeking employees who could “hit the ground running.” In this article, the authors describe how one institution revised its management curriculum to focus on applied, skill-based knowledge to prepare students for operational, tactical, and strategic levels of management. The authors discuss the current state of management education, the process of revising this institutions curriculum, the new courses, and general guidelines.

Ethical attitudes of business students and MIS personnel

This paper discusses attitudes toward ethical issues in information systems, Approximately 185 subjects were drawn from two populations: full-time undergraduate business students and full-time MIS employees who were also part-time studeuts studying for a masters in MIS. Both groups were enrolled in an MIS course at the time of the study. The subjects read twenty information systems-based scenarios and classified the 31 behaviors described in them as Unacceptable, Questionable, or Acceptable. The results

Training effectiveness, on-line delivery and the influence of learning style

This study compares the effectiveness of on-line training and traditional training of students in a computer literacy course. Scores on lab exercises and exams measured training effectiveness. Student learning style measures were included in the analysis. The analysis suggests that learning style does influence training effectiveness and that on-line training is significantly less effective for some learning styles.

Adoption and utilization of voice mail (abstract)

Understanding how to assure adoption continues to be a challenging issue in information systems. Information systems or technologies which are not used cannot be effective. Consequently it is important to understand how individuals decide to adopt or to not adopt a particular system and/or technological innovation. This research seeks to add to our understanding of the systemhechnology adoption process by studying the adoption and utilization of a recently introduced voice mail system. The projected contributions of this research are in three areas. First, this research provides a synthesis of the two competing theoretical foundations underlying previous information systemhechnology adoption studies. Second, a new construct of managerial and practical significance is introduced. Finally, the traditional binary adoption/non-adoption measure is fieplaced with a multinominal measure.

Research in progress (abstract): a comparative study of ethical attitudes

This research in progress describes a comparative study of business students’ attitudes toward ethical issues in information systems. In the present study, approximately 100 subjects were drawn from two populations: full-time business college juniors and seniors at a traditional state university and part-time students studying for a masters in information systems in an evening program at an urban university. Both groups were enrolled in an information qsterns course at the time of the study. The subjects read twelve information systems-based scenarios and were asked to classify the nineteen behaviors described in them as Unacceptable, Questionable, or Acceptable. The results of these classifications will be compared to each other, as well as to the results of prior studies using the same instrument. This study used the same instrument as studies by D.B. Paradice (“Ethical Attitudes of Entry-Level MIS Personnel”, Information and Management, 18, 1990, pp. 143-151) and A. Morris, G. Jones, and J. Rubinsztein (“Entry-Level Information Systems Personnel: A Comparative Study of Ethical Attitudes”, Proceedings of the 1993 ACM SIGCPR Conference, M.R. Tanniru (editor), pp. 8-17). The replication of their earlier work with somewhat different subject groups provides the foundation for the lpresent study. The prior studies, which compared South African and American undergraduate information systems majors, showed the South African students to be more “ethically lenient” than the corresponding Americans. It is hypothesized that the graduate students, who are older and have more work experience, will demonstrate a greater sensitivity to ethical issues in information systems than either the undergraduate business or information systems majors. Earlier researchers have used undergraduates as substitutes for information systems personnel in many ethics studies. These two population groups may, in fact, differ.

Research in progress: career paths in information systems: a longitudinal analysis

Using data provided by the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972, individual careers of 405 persons in information systems (IS) professions were studied for the 1972-1986 period. The focus of this research is on identifying factors which influence the tenure of IS professionals. It provides some descriptive statistics as well as a description of a suitable statistical model and its estimation. Analysis of IS tenure using a failure time model allows the adjustment for right censoring and determination of those factors which seem to influence tenure. Wage level, starting age, and field of study (college major) were found to be significantly related to the tenure of IS professionals.