Jane Klobas

User Developed Applications and Information Systems Success: A Test of DeLone and McLean's Model

DeLone and McLean’s (1992) model of information systems success has received much attention amongst researchers. This study provides the first empirical test of an adaptation of DeLone and McLean’s model in the user-developed application domain. The model tested was only partially supported by the data. Of the nine hypothesized relationships tested, four were found to be significant and the remainder not significant. The model provided strong support for the relationships between perceived system quality and user satisfaction, perceived information quality and user satisfaction, user satisfaction and intended use, and user satisfaction and perceived individual impact. This study indicates that user perceptions of information systems success play a significant role in the user-developed application domain. There was, however, no relationship between user developers’ perceptions of system quality and independent experts’ evaluations, and user ratings of individual impact were not associated with organizational impact measured as company performance in a business simulation. Further research is required to understand the relationship between user perceptions of IS success and objective measures of success, and to provide a model of IS success appropriate to end user development.

Knowledge management in small enterprises

This paper investigates the extent to which six factors drawn from the theory and practice of knowledge management can be applied in small organisations. The factors are: balance between need and cost of knowledge acquisition; the extent to which knowledge originates in the external environment; internal knowledge processing; internal knowledge storage; use and deployment of knowledge within the organisation; and attention to human resources. Three cases demonstrate that the fundamental concepts and principles of knowledge management are similar for small and large organisations. Differences include the value placed on systematic knowledge management practices such as formalised environmental scanning and computer‐based knowledge sharing systems. Consultants, and library and information professionals, are advised to understand the organisation’s management and communication culture; emphasise simple and inexpensive systems integrated into everyday practice; and establish and monitor adherence to tools suc...

Transactive memory systems in organizations: Implications for knowledge directories

This article describes a detailed case study in which the authors observed organizational Transactive Memory Systems (TMS). The concept of TMS was originally used to describe sets of directories that are used to locate, allocate and retrieve knowledge in pairs and small groups. Our case study of head office and distributed knowledge workers revealed that the basic TMS processes and directories appear to be present at an organizational level as well. The results imply that an organization can indeed be seen as a TMS and suggest that information systems which are intended to support TMS should be approached as a component within a complex and multi-dimensional information retrieval ecology.

Technologies of the self: virtual work and the inner panopticon

Purpose – This paper seeks to develop insights into control, power, consent and commitment with virtual knowledge workers who are removed from the immediate sphere of influence of management and co‐workers.Design/methodology/approach – This research is a detailed case study of a highly successful Scandinavian engineering company. A post‐structuralist approach is used to understand how the modes of influence on knowledge worker productivity within the organisation come into being and operate across boundaries of time, space and organisational structure. The notion of the panopticon is used to identify and characterise forms of control and undertake interpretive and critical analysis of interview data and staff behaviour.Findings – It was found that the totality of the modes of power relations operating upon virtual knowledge workers in this case study comprises a complex and sophisticated ensemble of control and constraint. Whilst initial observations indicate that control is restricted to a small set of d...

User developed application success: sources and effects of involvement

User participation and involvement have long been associated with system success. This paper reports on a study to investigate the role of involvement in user developed application success. The experimental study explored the chain of influences between involvement and the different forms of information systems success and clarified how these influences differ for participants and non-participants in the development process. While participation was shown to result in greater success on all the measures included in the study, the effect of participation is mediated by involvement. In this study, involvement was derived from one of two sources, depending on participation: for participants in development, involvement was derived from their participation but was unaffected by system quality, while for non-participants, involvement was derived partially from system quality. Involvement also acted differently: involvement derived from system quality directly affected both perceived system quality and user satisfaction, while involvement derived from participation directly affected only perceived system quality.

Identification of technological gatekeepers in the information technology profession

Business organizations have become interested in recognizing gatekeepers who may improve business prospects through informal external communication. Past research has identified gatekeepers within organizations, but no technique existed for identifying gatekeepers among groups of people working in an industry, profession, or other external group. This paper develops and tests a simple rule for identifying gatekeepers among members of a profession with a common group of potential interpersonal communication channels. The rule is used to classify gatekeepers among information technology professionals, based on self-reported information dissemination behavior. The rule passes five tests that compare the characteristics and information-seeking strategies of individuals classified using this rule with other members of the profession. The results of the study confirm that self-reported information dissemination behavior can be used to identify gatekeepers among individuals with diverse information-gathering behaviors, but a common group of potential interpersonal communication channels.

Social influence and Internet use

Examines social influences on Internet use and training based primarily on the results of longitudinal research with adult Internet trainees in Iceland. The authors briefly discuss the theoretical context before outlining the research and its findings. Social influences included the effect of family and friends, employers, professional colleagues, the media, and a general sense that, increasingly, “everybody” is expected to be able to use the Internet. In this context, librarians and the managers of libraries and information services are experts who are best placed to exert their influence on attitudes to the Internet by providing recommendations, demonstrations, and training about the Internet as a source of information and knowledge.

Networked information resources: Electronic opportunities for users and librarians

Many of the activities people perform with the Internet are new, and possibly could not have been conceived before the network became available. Describes innovative uses of the Internet by staff of two Australian universities. While the Internet provides opportunities for communication among its users, it poses challenges to the computing and information systems professionals who support them. It also presents librarians with the opportunity to apply their established skills as educators, information managers, custodians, information providers, and change agents in their work with Internet users.

Reproductive Decision-Making in a Macro-Micro Perspective

This book provides new insights into the significant gap that currently exists between desired and actual fertility in Europe. It examines how people make decisions about having children and demonstrates how the macro-level environment affects micro-level decision-making. Written by an international team of leading demographers and psychologists, the book presents the theoretical and methodological developments of a three-year, European Commission-funded project named REPRO (Reproductive Decision- Making in a Macro-Micro Perspective). It also provides an overview of the research conducted by REPRO researchers both during and after the project. The book examines fertility intentions from quantitative and qualitative perspectives, demonstrates how the macro-level environment affects micro-level decision-making, and offers a multi-level analysis of fertility-related norms across Europe. Overall, this book offers insight into how people make decisions to have children, when they are most likely to act on their decisions, and how different social and policy settings affect their decisions and actions. It will appeal to researchers, graduate students, and policy advisors with an interest in fertility, demography, and life-course decision making.

The underlying social identities of a nation's brand

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to draw on self‐categorisation theory and nation branding to investigate the social identities and influences which underpin consumer preferences for national brands.Design/methodology/approach – A survey in Mozambique, an underdeveloped African country, compared a domestic mobile phone company whose brand contains the country name against a European brand. Consumer ethnocentrism might arise identifying with the national brand or with Mozambican personalities endorsing the brand. Value‐expressiveness might arise from consumers associating with celebrity endorsers. A dichotomy of youth versus older consumers moderated the relationships between social identities and brand preference. Bayesian structural equation modelling using Monte Carlo simulations estimated the path coefficients from a sample of 611.Findings – Across age groups, ethnocentrism is stronger than value‐expressiveness in determining preference for national brands. Moreover, ethnocentrism is stronger wit...