Izak Benbasat

The case research strategy in studies of information systems

This article defines and discusses one of these qualitative methods - the case research strategy. Suggestions are provided for researchers who wish to undertake research employing this approach. Criteria for the evaluation of case research are established and several characteristics useful for categorizing the studies are identified. A sample of papers drawn from information systems journals is reviewed. The paper concludes with examples of research areas that are particularly well-suited to investigation using the case research approach.

The identity crisis within the is discipline: defining and communicating the discipline's core properties

We are concerned that the IS research community is making the disciplines central identity ambiguous by, all too frequently, under-investigating phenomena intimately associated with IT-based systems and over-investigating phenomena distantly associated with IT-based systems. In this commentary, we begin by discussing why establishing an identity for the IS field is important. We then describe what such an identity may look like by proposing a core set of properties, i.e., concepts and phenomena, that define the IS field. Next, we discuss research by IS scholars that either fails to address this core set of properties (labeled as error of exclusion) or that addresses concepts/phenomena falling outside this core set (labeled as error of inclusion). We conclude by offering suggestions for redirecting IS scholarship toward the concepts and phenomena that we argue define the core of the IS discipline.

Predicting intention to adopt interorganizational linkages: an institutional perspective

This study used institutional theory as a lens to understand the factors that enable the adoption of interorganizational systems. It posits that mimetic, coercive, and normative pressures existing in an institutionalized environment could influence organizational predisposition toward an information technology-based interorganizational linkage. Survey-based research was carried out to test this theory. Following questionnaire development, validation, and pretest with a pilot study, data were collected from the CEO, the CFO, and the CIO to measure the institutional pressures they faced and their intentions to adopt financial electronic data interchange (FEDI). A firm-level structural model was developed based on the CEOs, the CFOs, and the CIOs data. LISREL and PLS were used for testing the measurement and structural models respectively. Results showed that all three institutional pressures-mimetic pressures, coercive pressures, and normative pressures-had a significant influence on organizational intention to adopt FEDI. Except for perceived extent of adoption among suppliers, all other subconstructs were significant in the model. These results provide strong support for institutional-based variables as predictors of adoption intention for interorganizational linkages. These findings indicate that organizations are embedded in institutional networks and call for greater attention to be directed at understanding institutional pressures when investigating information technology innovations adoption.

Empirical research in information systems: the practice of relevance

This commentary discusses why most IS acade- mic research today lacks relevance to practice and suggests tactics, procedures, and guidelines that the IS academic community might follow in their research efforts and articles to introduce rel- evance to practitioners. The commentary begins by defining what is meant by relevancy in the context of academic research. It then explains why there is a lack of attention to relevance with- in the IS scholarly literature. Next, actions that can be taken to make relevance a more central aspect of IS research and to communicate impli- cations of IS research more effectively to IS pro- fessionals are suggested.

Research Report: Empirical Test of an EDI Adoption Model

This paper is the first test of a parsimonious model that posits three factors as determinants of the adoption of electronic data interchange (EDI):readiness, perceived benefits, andexternal pressure. To construct the model, we identified and organized the factors that were found to be influential in prior EDI research. By testing all these factors together in one model, we are able to investigate their relative contributions to EDI adoption decisions. Senior purchasing managers, chosen for their experience with EDI and proximity to the EDI adoption decision, were surveyed and their responses analyzed using structural equation modeling. All three determinants were found to be significant predictors of intent to adopt EDI, with external pressure and readiness being considerably more important than perceived benefits. We show that the constructs in this model can be categorized into three levels:technological, organizational, andinterorganizational. We hypothesize that these categories of influence will also be determinants of the adoption of other emerging forms of interorganizational systems (IOS). 1

Business competence of information technology professionals: conceptual development and influence on it-business partnerships

This research aims at improving our understanding of the concept of business competence of information technology professionals and at exploring the contribution of this competence to the development of partnerships between IT professionals and their business clients. Business competence focuses on the areas of knowledge that are not specifically IT-related. At a broad level, it comprises the organization-specific knowledge and the interpersonal and management knowledge possessed by IT professionals. Each of these categories is in turn inclusive of more specific areas of knowledge. Organizational overview, organizational unit, organizational responsibility, and IT-business integration form the organization-specific knowledge, while interpersonal communication, leadership, and knowledge networking form the interpersonal and management knowledge. Such competence is hypothesized to be instrumental in increasing the intentions of IT professionals to develop and strengthen the relationship with their clients. The first step in the study was to develop a scale to measure business competence of IT professionals. The scale was validated, and then used to test the model that relates competence to intentions to form IT-business partnerships. The results support the suggested structure for business competence and indicate that business competence significantly influences the intentions of IT professionals to develop partnerships with their business clients.

Information Technology Competence of Business Managers: A Definition and Research Model

This research explores the concept of the information technology (IT) competence of business managers, defined as the set of IT-related explicit and tacit knowledge that a business manager possesses that enables him or her to exhibit IT leadership in his or her area of business. A managers knowledge of technologies, applications, systems development, and management of IT form his or her explicit IT knowledge. This domain further extends to include knowing who knows what, which enables the manager to leverage the knowledge of others. Tacit IT knowledge is conceptualized as a combination of experience and cognition. Experience relates to personal computing, IT projects, and overall management of IT. Cognition refers to two mental models: the managers process view and his or her vision for the role of IT. The outcomes expected from IT-competent business managers are chiefly two behaviors: an increased willingness to form partnerships with IT people and an increased propensity to lead and participate in IT projects.

Integrating Diffusion of Innovations and Theory of Reasoned Action models to predict utilization of information technology by end-users

This paper reports on a field study investigating the adoption of an information technology (IT) by end-users. First, based on theories and empirical findings from research into the Diffusion of Innovations and the Theory of Reasoned Action a model was developed of the factors influencing individual level decisions to use IT. The model was then field tested in a survey of 540 individuals in seven organizations. Results show that the model received good support and that it can be used for understanding the utilization of IT. Both one’s own attitude and the expectations of others influenced the degree to which one used IT after adoption. Consistent with results from diffusion research, the most significant perceptions that had an effect on degree of use were ease of use, relative advantage and compatibility.

The use of information in decision making: an experimental investigation of the impact of computer-based decision aids

The traditional assumption in the decision support systems (DSS) literature is that if decision makers are provided with expanded processing capabilities they will use them to analyze problems in more depth and, as a result, make better decisions. Empirical studies investigating the relationship between DSS and decision quality have not borne this out. The explanation for such outcomes could be found in behavioral decision-making theories. The literature on behavioral decision making indicates that the conservation of effort may be more important than increased decision quality in some cases. If ths is so, then the use of a decision aid may result in effort savings but not improved decision performance. The two experiments reported here use verbal protocol analysis to compare the extent of information use by unaided decision makers and users of a decision aid designed to support preferential choice problems. The results of the two studies indicate that subjects with a decision aid did not use more information than those without one. Overall, subjects behaved as if effort minimization was an important consideration. For DSS researchers these studies indicate that to understand the DSS-decision quality relationship, it is necessary to consider the decision makers tradeoff between improving decision quality and conserving effort. For DSS designers these results imply a need to focus on the moderating role that effort will play in determining DSS effectiveness.

The Effects of Group, Task,Context, and Technology Variables on the Usefulness of Group Support Systems A Meta-Analysis of Experimental Studies

Using meta-analytic procedures, this article quantitatively integrated the results of 31 experimental studies on the effects of Group Support System (GSS) use. A total of eight dependent variables representing performance, satisfaction, consensus, and equality of participation were investigated. The use of GSSs was found to have positive main effects on decision quality, number of alternatives generated, and equality of participation, but negative main effects in terms of time to reach decision, consensus, and satisfaction. Further analysis showed the effects to be moderated by task, group, context, and technology variables. For example, larger groups achieved betterperformance and greater satisfaction from the use of GSS than smaller groups. Groups with a formal hierarchy using GSS did worse in terms of both performance and satisfaction compared to groups without formal hierarchy. Also, the level of GSS support emerged as influential on almost all dependent variables. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for organizational use of GSS, design issues of GSS, andfuture research directions.