Paul J. Ambrose

Neo-tribes: the power and potential of online communities in health care

Online communities deserve better than their current treatment---where they are largely relegated to the fringes of health care.

Internet usage for information provisioning: theoretical construct development and empirical validation in the clinical decision-making context

Despite substantial discussion of the Internets impact on individual activities, there is an absence of a theoretically grounded measure of Internet usage for the provisioning of information required by decision-makers. Our research addresses this void in the literature. We conceptualize Internet Usage for Information Provisioning (IUIP) as the degree to which the Internet is used to meet information requirements of individual decision-makers engaged in diagnostic decision-making tasks. Drawing on the information processing theoretical framework, three dimensions (usage for breadth of content, usage for depth of content, and usage for interaction dynamism) of IUIP are identified. The construct was validated through a two-phase empirical study conducted in the physician clinical decision-making context. The first phase involved interviewing physicians to establish face validity of the dimensions and to generate multi-item measures for each dimension. The second phase consisted of surveying physicians to evaluate measurement properties and nomological validity. Principal components analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and partial least squares analysis were the primary statistical techniques used to analyze the data and evaluate construct validity. Our results suggest that decision-makers operating in uncertain and equivocal decision contexts use the Internet to a greater degree for their content needs and selective attention requirements. Our results also suggest that a fit between the users information processing requirements and technology, and selected social norms, lead to higher levels of IUIP. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Information systems, knowledge work and the IS professional: implications for human resources management

1. ABSTRACT This paper proposes that information systems (IS) designed for managing knowledge rather than just information are essential to help organizations develop competitive advantage in the next millenimn. A framework for IS design to manage knowledge by focusing on the semiotics of information processing is developed with theoretical backing from the resource based theory. The impact of this information systems design on the IS organization and on the skill requirements of the IS workforce in particular is then envisioned. Broad guidelines are drawn for human resources management practices for maintaining such an IS organization. 1.1

Managing thin and thinly distributed knowledge in medical genetics using the Internet

In this paper we examine how Internet technologies are useful in managing thin (amount of knowledge is low) and thinly distributed (density of expertise is low) medical knowledge. Our specific focus is to highlight the usefulness of the Internet in managing such knowledge, and that the nature of the “basket of Internet technologies” used to manage knowledge varies based on whether knowledge is thick or thin, and thickly or thinly distributed. We also draw attention to the need to examine the semiotic process management while designing Internet‐enabled solutions for managing thin and thinly distributed knowledge. Our study used medical genetics as the research context and collected data from physicians in the US Midwest through semi‐structured interviews.

Why Not Let IT Fail? The IT Project Success Paradox

Is a focus on information systems or information technology success a myopic view of evaluating IT success and failure? Are success and failure the opposite ends of a continuum for evaluating IT projects? Conventional measures of success such as meeting cost, time, budgets, and user needs do not address positives that can emerge from failures. We contend that a focus on success and failing to factor the possibility of failure actually hamper IT projects. An organizational mandate that does not allow for failure does not promote risk taking and innovation. It can also foster a project climate fraught with undesirable or unethical behavior and stress among developers, while failing to capture positive lessons that could emerge from IT project failure.

Investigating the effects of downsizing on software professionals' self-efficacy and its consequences on software development quality

This study primarily examines the effects of downsizing on the self-efficacy of software professionals. We argue that downsizing results in a realignment of social networks, thereby affecting the self-efficacy and the outcome expectations of a software professional, which in turn affects software development quality. We synthesize relevant literature from self-efficacy, outcome expectations, downsizing and software quality research streams and develop a conceptual model linking these variables of interest.