T. S. Ragu-Nathan

The Consequences of Technostress for End Users in Organizations: Conceptual Development and Empirical Validation

The research reported in this paper studies the phenomenon of technostress, that is, stress experienced by end users of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), and examines its influence on their job satisfaction, commitment to the organization, and intention to stay. Drawing from the Transaction-Based Model of stress and prior research on the effects of ICTs on end users, we first conceptually build a nomological net for technostress to understand the influence of technostress on three variables relating to end users of ICTs: job satisfaction, and organizational and continuance commitment. Because there are no prior instruments to measure constructs related to technostress, we develop and empirically validate two second order constructs: technostress creators (i.e., factors that create stress from the use of ICTs) and technostress inhibitors (i.e., organizational mechanisms that reduce stress from the use of ICTs). We test our conceptual model using data from the responses of 608 end users of ICTs from multiple organizations to a survey questionnaire. Our results, based on structural equation modeling (SEM), show that technostress creators decrease job satisfaction, leading to decreased organizational and continuance commitment, while Technostress inhibitors increase job satisfaction and organizational and continuance commitment. We also find that age, gender, education, and computer confidence influence technostress. The implications of these results and future research directions are discussed.

The Impact of Technostress on Role Stress and Productivity

Based on empirical survey data, this paper uses concepts from sociotechnical theory and role theory to explore the effects of stress created by information and computer technology (ICT)—that is, technostress—on role stress and on individual productivity. We first explain different ways in which ICTs can create stress in users and identify factors that create technostress. We next propose three hypotheses: (1) technostress is inversely related to individual productivity, (2) role stress is inversely related to individual productivity, and (3) technostress is directly related to role stress. We then use structural equation modeling on survey data from ICT users in 223 organizations to test the hypotheses. The results show support for them. Theoretically, the paper contributes in three ways. First, the different dimensions of technostress identified here add to existing concepts on stress experienced by individuals in organizations. Second, by showing that technostress inversely affects productivity, the paper reinforces that failure to manage the effects of ICT-induced stress can offset expected increases in productivity. Third, validation of the positive relationship between technostress and role stress adds a new conceptual thread to literature analyzing the relationship between technology and organizational roles and structure. In the practical domain, the paper proposes a diagnostic tool to evaluate the extent to which technostress is present in an organization and suggests that the adverse effects of technostress can be partly countered by strategies that reduce role conflict and role overload.

Crossing to the dark side: examining creators, outcomes, and inhibitors of technostress

Exploring the factors that may lead to the inability of professionals to adapt or cope with emerging IS in a healthy manner.

Technostress: negative effect on performance and possible mitigations

We investigate the effect of conditions that create technostress, on technology‐enabled innovation, technology‐enabled performance and overall performance. We further look at the role of technology self‐efficacy, organizational mechanisms that inhibit technostress and technology competence as possible mitigations to the effects of technostress creators. Our findings show a negative association between technostress creators and performance. We find that, while traditional effort‐based mechanisms such as building technology competence reduce the impact of technostress creators on technology‐enabled innovation and performance, more empowering mechanisms such as developing technology self‐efficacy and information systems (IS) literacy enhancement and involvement in IS initiatives are required to counter the decrease in overall performance because of technostress creators. Noting that the professional sales context offers increasingly high expectations for technology‐enabled performance in an inherently interpersonal‐oriented and relationship‐oriented environment with regard to overall performance, and high failure rates for IS acceptance/use, the study uses survey data collected from 237 institutional sales professionals.

Unpacking IT use and integration for mass customisation: a service-dominant logic view

Significant changes in customer demands for individualised offerings are causing firms to move away from mass production strategies toward customisation. Many firms struggle in this migration because the requirements for mass customisation (MC) differ greatly from those needed for mass production. As firms strive to optimise their interactions with customers and suppliers to produce highly customised offerings at near mass production prices, IT use along with customer and supply integration are important organisational competencies. Research studies explore many facets of MC but, in regard to IT use for customer and supplier integration, most focus on specific activities within the product design and development process. This study extends the IT-enabled organisational capabilities line of research, using data collected from 220 manufacturers, to explore IT use in a comprehensive sense for planning, infrastructural, and operational activities in various business processes intended to achieve MC. These findings suggest that comprehensive IT use can enhance a firms integration efforts with customers and suppliers. These factors, in turn, drive operational performance and MC, which lead to firm performance. Grounded in service-dominant logic (SDL) theory, these findings provide theoretical and empirical support to explain why customer integration may be a driving force in MC.

A Path Analytic Study of the Antecedents of Organizational Commitment of IS Managers

Information systems IS technology has become a strategic resource for most organizations to compete successfully in todays highly uncertain marketplace. One critical component of this strategic resource is the IS human resource. Unlike many other professions, the IS professionals historically displayed a much higher rate of turnover due to rapid technological changes, job stress and emerging employment opportunities. Such excessive turnover can be very costly to the organization in terms of costs of recruiting and re-training, and the loss of systems development productivity. Therefore, maintaining a qualified and stable body of IS staff has been continually ranked among the most important issues for the successful functioning of IS departments. However, these important IS human resource management issues have not received enough empirical research attention within the IS management literature. The current study attempts to fill this gap by empirically examining the relationships among a set of organizational and psychological factors i.e., management support, degree of IS control, IS strategic significance, role stressors and the organizational commitment of IS managers. Empirical data was collected through large-scale questionnaire survey. The rigorous statistical method of LISREL path analysis was used. Results show that these variables are closely related to each other, which provides valuable insights for organizations to more effectively manage their IS human resource.

Examining alignment between supplier management practices and information systems strategy

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine alignment between supplier management practices and information systems (IS) strategies (i.e. particular IS applications portfolios), and its effects on supply chain integration and supply chain flexibility.Design/methodology/approach – The paper develops a model and hypotheses suggesting that “lean” supplier practices, when aligned with the “IS for Efficiency” IS strategy, have a positive association with supply chain integration. Similarly, “agile” supplier practices when aligned with the “IS for Flexibility” IS strategy, have a positive association with supply chain flexibility. The paper empirically validates the model using survey data from directors and senior managers in purchasing and supply chain functions from 205 manufacturing firms in the USA. Factor analysis was conducted to test convergent and discriminant validity. Hypotheses testing was done via structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis using SMART Partial Least Square (PLS) software.Find...

Examining impacts of technostress on the professional salesperson's behavioural performance

This paper examines the concept of technostress in the professional sales area and shows it to be a possible reason for low technology-enabled behavioural performance of professionals in the sales function. Integrating literature from sales, technostress and social cognitive theory, we examine relationships between technostress creators, role stress, technology-enabled innovation and technology-enabled performance. We hypothesize that technostress adversely affects the technology-enabled performance of the salesperson through two distinct paths, one by increasing role stress and two, by decreasing technology-enabled innovation. We further examine the role of factors that mitigate these adverse effects. We find that organizational technostress-inhibiting mechanisms negatively moderate the positive relationship between technostress creators and role stress, and technology self-efficacy dampens the negative association of technostress and technology-enabled innovation. We also find that technology-enabled innovation enhances technology-enabled performance. Our results are based on survey data collected from 237 institutional sales professionals. Theoretical contributions and practice-based implications of findings are discussed.

Trust‐driven Joint Operational Activities to Achieve Mass Customization: A Culture Perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify relationships among buyer‐supplier trust, joint operational activities, and the degree of mass customization as well as the interactions between cultural factors (i.e. long‐term strategic alignment and autonomy) and trust in the context of supply chain management.Design/methodology/approach – The model of trust is based on joint operational activities and mass customization using theories of social capital and the resource‐based view of the firm. Also, culture‐related antecedents of trust are identified. Based on 208 responses from suppliers in the USA and China, this study uses structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses.Findings – This study empirically supports the notion that trust positively drives manufacturer‐supplier activities in operations. It also supports the claim that joint operational activities contribute to mass customization capabilities in a significant way. Moreover, two culture‐related antecedents are found to be significantly...

Proprietary technologies: building a manufacturer’s flexibility and competitive advantage

When barriers to entry are limited, technologies often contribute little to a firm’s long-term competitive advantage (CA). This research argues that a manufacturing firm’s proprietary technologies can overcome this limitation because they are rare, inimitable, valuable and non-substitutable. Technologies, which are dedicated by suppliers to meet a manufacturer’s needs, are also a part of a firm’s strategic assets. Based on 201 responses from senior managers and executives at US manufacturers, results show that proprietary technologies positively influence suppliers’ dedicated technologies. In addition, these two types of technologies influence differently a manufacturing firm’s flexibility and CA. Proprietary technologies indirectly impact flexibility and directly impact CA, while suppliers’ dedicated technologies directly impact flexibility and indirectly impact CA. The combination of the two technology resources creates the overall success for manufacturer.