Hillol Bala

Bridging the qualitative-quantitative divide: guidelines for conducting mixed methods research in information systems

Mixed methods research is an approach that combines quantitative and qualitative research methods in the same research inquiry. Such work can help develop rich insights into various phenomena of interest that cannot be fully understood using only a quantitative or a qualitative method. Notwithstanding the benefits and repeated calls for such work, there is a dearth of mixed methods research in information systems. Building on the literature on recent methodological advances in mixed methods research, we develop a set of guidelines for conducting mixed methods research in IS. We particularly elaborate on three important aspects of conducting mixed methods research: (1) appropriateness of a mixed methods approach; (2) development of meta-inferences (i.e., substantive theory) from mixed methods research; and (3) assessment of the quality of meta-inferences (i.e., validation of mixed methods research). The applicability of these guidelines is illustrated using two published IS papers that used mixed methods.

Assimilation of Interorganizational Business Process Standards

Organizations have not fully realized the benefits of interorganizational relationships (IORs) due to the lack of cross-enterprise process integration capabilities. Recently, interorganizational business process standards (IBPS) enabled by information technology (IT) have been suggested as a solution to help organizations overcome this problem. Drawing on three theoretical perspectives, i.e., the relational view of the firm, institutional theory, and organizational inertia theory, we propose three mechanisms---relational, influence, and inertial---to explain the assimilation of IBPS in organizations. We theorize that these mechanisms will have differential effects on the assimilation of IBPS in dominant and nondominant firms. Using a cross-case analysis based on data from 11 firms in the high-tech industry, we found evidence to support our propositions that relational depth, relationship extendability, and normative pressure were important for dominant firms while relational specificity and influence mechanisms (coercive, mimetic, and normative pressures) were important for nondominant firms. Inertial mechanisms, i.e., ability and willingness to overcome resource and routine rigidities, were important for both dominant and nondominant firms.

Adoption and Impacts of Interorganizational Business Process Standards: Role of Partnering Synergy

Notwithstanding potential benefits, such as quality of interorganizational relationships and operational and strategic gains, adoption of information technology (IT)-enabled interorganizational business process standards (IBPS) is still limited. Given that these standards are designed for interorganizational business processes, we suggest that adoption of these standards depends not only on the factors pertinent to a focal firm but also on factors that represent synergies between a focal firm and its trading partners. In this paper, building on the technological, organizational, and environmental (TOE) framework and interorganizational theories, we propose a model that postulates that a set of TOE factors will have synergistic effects (i.e., interactions between a focal firms and its partners factors) on IBPS adoption. We tested our model in a study of 248 firms (124 dyads) in the high-tech industry implementing RosettaNet-based IBPS and found that three TOE factors (i.e., process compatibility, standards uncertainty, and technology readiness) had synergistic effects and two factors (i.e., expected benefits and relational trust) had direct effects on IBPS adoption. We also found that IBPS adoption led to greater relationship quality (i.e., partnering satisfaction) and operational efficiency (i.e., cycle time). Further, we found that IBPS adoption mediated the effect of TOE factors on partnering satisfaction and cycle time.

Household technology use: Integrating household life cycle and the model of adoption of technology in households

Recently, the model of adoption of technology in households (MATH) was developed and tested in the context of household personal computer (PC) adoption. In this study, we apply MATH to predict personal computer (PC) use. We conducted a nationwide survey including 370 households that owned at least one PC. Results indicate that attitudinal beliefs are extremely important in determining use of a PC in the household. In contrast to previous work examining adopters, normative and control beliefs were not significant in predicting use. Furthermore, several determinants of adoption that were important at different stages of the household life cycle were found nonsignificant in predicting use for the same stages of the household life cycle. Overall, the results demonstrate that the belief structure for household PC use is different from that of household PC adoption. Further, the results provide additional evidence regarding the importance of including household life cycle in studies of household technology adoption and use.

Are You Feeling Lonely? The Impact of Relationship Characteristics and Online Social Network Features on Loneliness

Abstract In contemporary society, many people move away from their personal networks for extended periods to reach professional and/or educational goals. This separation can often lead to feelings of loneliness, which can be stressful and sometimes debilitating for the individual. We seek to understand how a person’s use of online social networks (OSNs)—technology-enabled tools that assist users with creating and maintaining their relationships—might affect their perceptions of loneliness. Prior research has offered mixed results about how OSNs affect loneliness—reporting both positive and negative effects. We argue in this study that a clearer perspective can be gained by taking a closer look at how individuals approach their relationship management in OSNs. Building on theoretical works on loneliness, we develop a model to explain the effects of relationship characteristics (i.e., relationship orientation, self-disclosure, and networking ability) and OSN features (i.e., active or passive) on perceived loneliness. Our findings show that OSN can be linked to both more and less perceived loneliness, that is, individuals’ relationship orientation significantly affects their feelings of loneliness, which are further moderated by their degree of self-disclosure within the OSN. Furthermore, how users engage in the OSN (either actively or passively) influences their perceptions of loneliness. Practical implications regarding perceived loneliness include recommendations for firms to encourage mobile workers to utilize OSNs when separated from others, for education providers to connect with their new students before they arrive, and for users to utilize OSNs as a social bridge to others they feel close with.

Adaptation to Information Technology: A Holistic Nomological Network from Implementation to Job Outcomes

Information technology (IT) implementation is a major organizational change event that substantially disrupts an employee’s work environment. We develop a model of technology adaptation behaviors that employees perform to cope with a new IT that causes such disruptions. Our model posits technology adaptation behaviors as a key linking mechanism between IT implementation and employee job outcomes, thus offering a holistic nomological network of technology adaptation behaviors. Two field studies conducted over a period of six months, with four waves of data collection each, in two organizations ( N = 211 and N = 181) implementing two different ITs, supported the model. We found that employees performed four different technology adaptation behaviors—exploration-to-innovate, exploitation, exploration-to-revert, and avoidance—based on whether they appraised an IT as an opportunity or a threat and whether they had perceptions of control over an IT. Employees’ experiential engagements (i.e., user participation and training effectiveness) and psychological engagements (i.e., user involvement and management support) during the implementation jointly determined their appraisal of an IT. Finally, we found that technology adaptation behaviors influenced changes in two key job outcomes, job performance and job satisfaction. This paper was accepted by Sandra Slaughter, information systems .

Going beyond intention: Integrating behavioral expectation into the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology

Research on information technology (IT) adoption and use, one of the most mature streams of research in the information science and information systems literature, is primarily based on the intentionality framework. Behavioral intention (BI) to use an IT is considered the sole proximal determinant of IT adoption and use. Recently, researchers have discussed the limitations of BI and argued that behavioral expectation (BE) would be a better predictor of IT use. However, without a theoretical and empirical understanding of the determinants of BE, we remain limited in our comprehension of what factors promote greater IT use in organizations. Using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology as the theoretical framework, we develop a model that posits 2 determinants (i.e., social influence and facilitating conditions) of BE and 4 moderators (i.e., gender, age, experience, and voluntariness of use) of the relationship between BE and its determinants. We argue that the cognitions underlying the formation of BI and BE differ. We found strong support for the proposed model in a longitudinal field study of 321 users of a new IT. We offer theoretical and practical IT implications of our findings.

Disaster response in health care: A design extension for enterprise data warehouse

August 29, 2005. HurricAne KAtrinA mAde lAndfAll and caused catastrophic damage along the coastlines of Alabama, mississippi, and louisiana killing at least 1,836 people.12 nearly 80% of the city of new Orleans and surrounding areas were ravaged. Katrina is estimated to be responsible for more than

Employees’ reactions to IT-enabled process innovations in the age of data analytics in healthcare

80 billion in damages, making it the costliest hurricane in the u.s. history.12 Katrina had a major impact on health care in the affected and surrounding areas. thousands of evacuees, including many who had chronic conditions, needed immediate medical care. The situation was perhaps the worst for those who left home without medical records, medications, and other criminal information. Clinicians and health care providers from the neighboring areas were forced to assess and treat unfamiliar patients without the help of electronic patients’ records. We believe that an enterprise data warehouse (EDW) is a solution to provide access to the information needed during the time of such disasters. An EDW is developed to meet the needs of strategic decision making that operational data sources and systems such as online transaction processing (OLTP), by design, cannot support. 8 Particularly, an EDW is considered a source of informational data to aid strategic decision making rather than operational data for supporting dayto-day business operations. 11 Over the last few years, EDW has become an important tool for most large organizations across different industries such as retail, health care, financial services, and manufacturing. While EDW is traditionally developed for strategic decision making, we present an architectural extension for EDW that can potentially help health care providers continue their services during and in the aftermath of large-scale disasters, such as Katrina, by providing operational data when and where it is needed. We develop this extension based on our study of the Veteran Health Administration’s (VHA) information technology (IT) systems and responses during Hurricane Katrina.

The Effects of Process Orientations on Collaboration Technology Use and Outcomes in Product Development

Purpose Interorganizational business process standards (IBPS) are IT-enabled process specifications that standardize, streamline, and improve business processes related to interorganizational relationships. There has been much interest in IBPS as organizations from different industries implement these process standards that lead to successful organizational outcomes by integrating and standardizing intra- and inter-organizational business processes. These process standards enable data analytics capabilities by facilitating new sources of interorganizational process data. The purpose of this paper is to unearth employees’ reactions to a new type of supply chain process innovations that involved an implementation of new IBPS, a supply chain management (SCM) system, and associated analytics capabilities. Design/methodology/approach The authors gathered and analyzed qualitative data for a year from the employees of a healthcare supplier, a high-tech manufacturing organization, during the implementation of a SCM system and RosettaNet-based IBPS. Findings In what the authors termed the initiation stage, there was quite a bit of confusion and unrest among employees regarding the relevance of the new process standards and associated analytics capabilities. With the passage of time, in the institutionalization stage, although the situation improved slightly, employees found workarounds that allowed them to appropriate just part of specific processes and the analytics capabilities. Finally, once routinized, employees felt comfortable in the situation but still did not appropriate the new supply chain processes faithfully. Overall, employees’ reactions toward the SCM system and associated analytics capabilities were different from their reactions toward the new business processes. Originality/value The paper contributes to the literature by offering novel insights on how employees react to and appropriate process innovations that change their work processes.