Rajiv Kohli

Performance Impacts of Information Technology: Is Actual Usage the Missing Link?

The relationship between investment in information technology (IT) and its effect on organizational performance continues to interest academics and practitioners. In many cases, due to the nature of the research design employed, this stream of research has been unable to identify the impact of individual technologies on organizational performance. This study posits that the driver of IT impact is not the investment in the technology, but the actual usage of the technology. This proposition is tested in a longitudinal setting of a healthcare system comprising eight hospitals.Monthly data for a three-year period on various financial and nonfinancial measures of hospital performance and technology usage were analyzed. The data analysis provides evidence for the technology usage-performance link after controlling for various external factors. Technology usage was positively and significantly associated with measures of hospital revenue and quality, and this effect occurred after time lags. The analysis was triangulated using three measures of technology usage. The general support for the principal proposition of this paper that actual usage may be a key variable in explaining the impact of technology on performance suggests that omission of this variable may be a missing link in IT payoff analyses.

Antecedents of B2C Channel Satisfaction and Preference: Validating e-Commerce Metrics

Although electronic commerce (EC) has created new opportunities for businesses as well as consumers, questions about consumer attitudes toward Business-to-Consumer (B2C) e-commerce vis-a-vis the conventional shopping channels continue to persist. This paper reports results of a study that measured consumer satisfaction with the EC channel through constructs prescribed by three established frameworks, namely the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA), and Service Quality (SERVQUAL). Subjects purchased similar products through conventional as well as EC channels and reported their experiences in a survey after each transaction. Using constructs from the three frameworks, a model was constructed and tested to examine the determinants of the EC channel satisfaction and preference using the survey data.Structural equation model analyses indicate that metrics tested through each model provide a statistically significant explanation of the variation in the EC consumers satisfaction and channel preference. The study found that TAM components--perceived ease of use and usefulness--are important in forming consumer attitudes and satisfaction with the EC channel. Ease of use also was found to be a signi.cant determinant of satisfaction in TCA. The study found empirical support for the assurance dimension of SERVQUAL as determinant in EC channel satisfaction. Further, the study also found general support for consumer satisfaction as a determinant of channel preference.

Measuring Information Technology Payoff: A Meta-Analysis of Structural Variables in Firm-Level Empirical Research

Payoffs from information technology (IT) continue to generate interest and debate both among academicians and practitioners. The extant literature cites inadequate sample size, lack of process orientation, and analysis methods among the reasons some studies have shown mixed results in establishing a relationship between IT investment and firm performance.In this paper we examine the structural variables that affect IT payoff through a meta analysis of 66 firm-level empirical studies between 1990 and 2000. Employing logistic regression and discriminant analyses, we present statistical evidence of the characteristics that discriminate between IT payoff studies that observed a positive effect and those that did not. In addition, we conduct ordinary least squares (OLS) regression on a continuous measure of IT payoff to examine the influence of structural variables on the result of IT payoff studies.The results indicate that the sample size, data source (firm-level or secondary), and industry in which the study is conducted influence the likelihood of the study finding greater improvements on firm performance. The choice of the dependent variable(s) also appears to influence the outcome (although we did not find support for process-oriented measurement), the type of statistical analysis conducted, and whether the study adopted a cross-sectional or longitudinal design. Finally, we present implications of the findings and recommendations for future research.

Understanding Determinants of Online Consumer Satisfaction: A Decision Process Perspective

As business-to-consumer online shopping grows, e-commerce channel providers will need to explore ways to anticipate consumers needs to deliver an efficient shopping experience. Yet the consumers decision-making process and its relationship to the selection of the online channel are not well understood. Utilizing Simons decision-making model, we examined support for decision-making phases using 134 online consumers. We also extended the model to include consumers cost savings and time savings, as well as their satisfaction with the e-commerce channel. Structural equation modeling results indicate that the online shopping channel supported the overall decision-making process. In particular, we found strong support for the design and choice phases of online consumers decision-making process. Our results also indicate that support for the decision-making process was mediated by the cost savings and time savings gained by the online consumers and led to their greater channel satisfaction.

Managing customer relationships through E-business decision support applications: a case of hospital–physician collaboration

Abstract Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a valuable concept for hospitals to establish long-term physician relationships. Given predetermined reimbursement amounts, clinical interventions by physicians can significantly impact hospital profitability and quality. Therefore, disseminating quality and cost information to physicians can build lasting relationships, while insuring financial stability. This paper presents a CRM approach adopted by a hospital through a web-based Physician Profiling System (PPS). We discuss physician involvement in PPS development and present a high-level cost-benefit analysis. Post-deployment results indicate that PPS strengthened relationship with physicians, improved efficiency of clinical operations, while simultaneously improving patient satisfaction.

E-loyalty: elusive ideal or competitive edge?

Business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce has grown at a phenomenal rate and the best may be yet to come. The steady growth of B2C e-commerce over the last three holiday seasons is indicative of the remarkable potential of online retailing as an alternative to the traditional bricks-and-mortar mode of shopping. However, many consumers are hesitant to adopt this new way of doing business. Their satisfaction with and loyalty toward online shopping have been stalled by multiple episodes of frustration with online transactions, as illustrated by the following quote from an industry publication: “Last season’s troubles were many. Some retail sites buckled under the weight of traffic, resulting in pages that loaded slowly or not at all. Others couldn’t keep up with customer service requests. Still others were spotty in fulfilling orders on time—Toysrus.com had to issue gift certificates when toys weren’t delivered in time for Christmas” [7]. Thus, while there seems to be a surge in online traffic, there is also a general consumer wariness about electronic shopping. For businesses, the equation is further complicated by high customer acquisition costs, low customer retention, and negative cash flows in B2C electronic commerce—all of which highlight the need to better understand customer interactions. This article aims to provide insights into the critical factors that create online customer loyalty. Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, stated that creating a compelling online experience for cyber customers is the key to attaining competitive advantage on the Internet [11]. Our focus in this article is on consumer experience with online shopping. Using a paired sample approach in which customers’ online shopping experience is contrasted with their conventional shopping experience, we address the dimensions along which they perceive similarities and differences between the two modes of shopping. We aim to accomplish three objectives:

Special Section: Measuring Business Value of Information Technology in E-Business Environments

M. Adam Mahmood is a Professor of Computer Information Systems in the Department of Information and Decision Sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso. He also holds the Ellis and Susan Mayfield Professorship in the College of Business Administration. He was a visiting faculty at the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration in Finland and a visiting Erskine Scholar at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. He received his Ph.D. in Management Information Systems at Texas Tech University. Dr. Mahmoods research interest centers on economics of information systems, electronic commerce, strategic and competitive information systems, group decision support systems, and organizational and end-user computing. On this topic and others, he has published over 85 technical research papers in some of the leading journals and conference proceedings, including the Journal of Management Information Systems, MIS Quarterly, Decision Sciences, European Journal of information Systems, INFOR Canadian Journal of Operation Research and Information Processing, information and Management, Journal of Organizational and End User Computing, Data Base, and others. He has also presented papers in a number of regional, national, and international conferences. Dr. Mahmood presently serves as the editor of the Journal of Organizational and End User Computing. As a Governors appointee, he also serves as a member of the Texas Department of Information Resources Board of Directors. He has served as a guest editor of the Journal of Management Information Systems and the International Journal of Electronic Commerce. He has also served as president of the Information Resources Management Association.

Introduction to the Special Issue: Measuring the Business Value of Information Technology in e-Business Environments

There has been a significant investment in e-business initiatives in recent years. Leveraging the growth of the Internet, worldwide commerce on the Internet topped

Business process re-engineering concepts and tools effectiveness: a survey of practitioners

1.3 trillion in 2003. According to Nielsen/NetRatings, on-line spend ing was 35 percent higher during the 2003 holiday season than in 2002 [5]. Senior managers concerned about falling behind the technology curve are in terested in investing in information technology (IT) infrastructures to make their organizations e-business enabled. E-business initiatives, however, must compete with other business projects for funding. It is incumbent on the re search community to provide the business community with objective evidence that a well-planned and well-executed e-business initiative will provide ben efits to a business entity. Demonstrating the benefits of dynamic and unpre dictable e-business technology is, however, a challenging proposition. Research on the business value of IT investment has provided significant insights in the context of the traditional brick-and-mortar economy [1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7], but the e-business investment and performance area is still nascent, and more progress is needed, especially with regard to tools, techniques, and ap proaches for evaluating e-business initiatives. This Special Issue of I/EC, con sisting of seven papers, taken together with the Special Section of the Journal of Management Information Systems (JMIS, 21, 1 [summer 2004]), consisting of four papers, makes a significant contribution to the ongoing debate about the value of e-business investment by shedding new light on business experience with e-business initiatives. The research studies presented in these publica tions offer new insights that move this important research area to a new level of inquiry. They focus on critical dimensions of the e-business-investment payoff question. Selected from many manuscripts submitted by authors within and without the United States, these 11 papers collectively exemplify the study of this critical question. We believe that they will ignite further research in the area. We introduce below the research papers included in this Special Issue. Please also see the JMIS Special Section. Leading off the Special Issue is a paper by Mahmood, Bagchi, and Ford. As they observe, e-commerce is a worldwide phenomenon, but it is usually stud ied at the national level. Their research, they claim, is one of the first studies based on international data. Using data from 26 nations, they test the ways that on-line shopping behavior is affected by on-line shoppers trust, techno logical savvy, demographics, and lifestyle characteristics. The paper identi fies the factors that predict global on-line shopping behavior. A structural

Effectiveness of systems analysis and design education: an exploratory study

Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) has been embraced by business organizations as an approach to implement and manage change. Managers are being trained to apply several concepts and techniques to successfully manage the change process. However, there is little empirical evidence to support claims of the effectiveness of concepts and techniques in practice. n n n nThis paper reports results of a survey conducted to assess the perceived effectiveness of BPR concepts and tools among business practitioners. The survey also gathered data on demographic variables to investigate relationships between the nature of work and the duration of experience with the perceptions of BPR concepts and tools. The results indicate that surveyed practitioners perceived BPR concepts and tools as effective. Practitioners in financial and manufacturing fields of business in particular found benchmarking and use of customer data as effective techniques in BPR implementation.