Tim Jacks

A Framework for the Impact of IT on Organizational Performance

Purpose – Despite the constant stream of research investigating information technology (IT) business value, IT capabilities, and competitive advantage, researchers are calling for a more coherent understanding of the firm‐level impacts of IT, and how those firm‐level impacts can be measured. The purpose of this study is to investigate the multitude of organization‐level studies of the impact of IT.Design/methodology/approach – Meta‐analysis of IS literature from 2001‐2009.Findings – The findings are synthesized into an overarching framework of the impact of IT at the organization level. The framework categorizes measures of the impact of IT into productivity, profitability, and intangible benefits, while the antecedents of IT impact are categorized into IT resources, IT capabilities, IT/business alignment and external factors.Originality/value – The research framework proposed provides a comprehensive snapshot of IS studies on organizational performance.

Contextual constraints in media choice: Beyond information richness

In todays dynamic environment, managers and organizations are faced with varied choices in communicating information for enhanced decision making. In business, the selection of the appropriate media needs to be efficient and effective for decision making and can be crucial in certain circumstances. Recent studies have relied on numerous theories to explain media choice. This research work goes beyond the traditional task characteristics of equivocality and uncertainty from the media richness theory. It addresses additional contextual constraints including the needs for urgency, confidentiality, accountability, social interaction, and information integrity from the senders perspective and how these interact with equivocality and uncertainty in the choice of a medium for communication. Results demonstrate a significant change in media selection under all five contextual constraints, although not always in the direction predicted. Email was consistently the top preference, contrary to theoretical expectations. The study adds empirical support to the growing trend of moving beyond media and information richness in order to explain media choice in organizations.

Impact of Culture on Knowledge Management: A Meta-Analysis and Framework

Abstract Culture, both national and organizational, can have profound impacts on knowledge management. Yet the literature on exactly how culture impacts knowledge management is complex with no clear generalizable results. A meta-analysis was conducted on 52 articles from ten IS journals for the years 2000–2010 combining both quantitative and qualitative studies in a unique methodological approach. Key findings include a marked shift away from normative language towards more interpretive and critical discourse emphasizing the power issues inherent in the cultural context of knowledge management. Trust and openness are key organizational cultural dimensions that impact knowledge management processes, but these traits are achieved through effective business leadership, rather than a particular technological artifact. The most striking generalizable finding from the cross-case analysis is that organizational culture can overcome or mitigate differences in national culture. An overall framework is provided to illustrate the findings and to serve as an important guidepost for future research.

Measuring value dimensions of IT occupational culture: an exploratory analysis

Culture in information systems (IS) research has been an important area of study for over twenty-five years but has focused on two levels of analysis: national and organizational. However, research at the level of IT occupational culture has been minimal. Shared values are the core element of any cultural group and the IS literature has repeatedly called for measurable dimensions of IT culture. This study is an exploratory positivist investigation into scale creation and proposes a set of six value dimensions specific to the context of IT occupational culture based on a review of the relevant IS literature culture as well as interviews with IT professionals. These six dimensions are: Structure of Power, Control, Open Communication, Risk, Reverence for Knowledge, and Enjoyment (abbreviated as SCORRE). A preliminary instrument was prepared and tested with an empirical study. The instrument was found to have both high reliability and construct validity and is ready for further use in ongoing research. There was further evidence that SCORRE represents many core values that form the foundation of IT occupational culture.

Trekking the globe with the World IT Project

It is widely acknowledged that information systems/information technology (IS/IT) academic research is mostly Western centric (i.e., U.S. and Western Europe based). Several surveys have clearly pointed out that most of the publications are based in the West, the authors are from the West, the research itself is conducted in the West, and even the topic areas pertain to the needs and concerns of the West. Given that IS/IT has pervaded the entire globe, such a dominant Western bias does not do justice to the rest of the world as other nations do not find their particular topics investigated or have to rely on Western results, which may not be necessarily applicable to their context.

Institutional Logics: The Next Big Challenge for Information Systems Cross-Cultural Research?

ABSTRACT While there is continued interest in traditional culture studies in global IS research, the theoretical foundation of culture studies is shifting to the newer Theory of Institutional Logics. Institutional Logics are socially constructed, historical patterns of both symbolic systems (i.e., culture) and material practices that legitimize social order. Typical institutions include family, religion, the state, the market, professions, community, and the corporation. This article unpacks the definition of Institutional Logics in order to provide an introduction to the theory and provides methodological guidelines in pursuing this type of research. It also provides suggestions for areas of future global research in IS. A call is made for further research in IS using the Theory of Institutional Logics in order to address the predominantly Western-centric point of view in IS research.