Tim Weitzel

Who influences whom? Analyzing workplace referents' social influence on IT adoption and non-adoption

Technology adoption research has long struggled to incorporate normative beliefs from sources in the social environment of adopters into adoption models. We study the role of social influence from different workplace referent groups, like superiors and colleagues from the same or the IT department, on the intention to adopt. An empirical analysis, using data from 152 firms, based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology and related approaches reveals that social influence on adoption significantly differs with regard to both source (peer groups) and sink (adopters and non-adopters) of the influence. The results imply that a single cumulative subjective norm measure might be too naïve and that future research might considerably improve our understanding of IT adoption and non-adoption by revealing the differential impact of various peer groups on adoption intention, and also on its antecedents.

The impact of process standardization on business process outsourcing success

What is the impact of business process standardization on business process outsourcing (BPO) success? This paper argues that there is a direct impact of process standardization on BPO success, due to production cost economies, and also an indirect effect via improved contractual and relational governance resulting from better monitoring opportunities and facilitated communication and coordination. This threefold impact of standardization on BPO success is empirically confirmed using data from 335 BPO ventures in 215 German banks.

A unified economic model of standard diffusion: the impact of standardization cost, network effects, and network topology

This paper is motivated by the following question: What drives the diffusion of a communication standard and what results can we expect? Past literature provides many instructive but mostly unrelated answers. Frequent findings are startup problems, penguin effects, and tendencies toward monopoly. But substantial problems in applying the models to concrete standardization problems reveal that the dynamics are probably more complex. Not all networks are ultimately conquered by a single standard once it has attracted a certain number of users. And not all diffusion results are either complete or no standardization. We address the question of the conditions of particular diffusion behaviors by developing a formal standardization model that captures all fragmented phenomena in a unified approach. Drawing from findings of other research, we incorporate the structure of the underlying user network as an important determinant for diffusion behaviors. The approach allows us to disclose varying conditions that generate frequently observed standardization behaviors as special parameter constellations of the model. Using equilibrium analysis and computer simulations we identify a standardization gap that reveals the magnitude of available standardization gains for individuals and the network as a whole. The analysis shows that network topology and density have a strong impact on standard diffusion and that the renowned tendency toward monopoly is far less common. We also report how the model can be used to solve corporate standardization problems.

Giving too much social support: social overload on social networking sites

As the number of messages and social relationships embedded in social networking sites (SNS) increases, the amount of social information demanding a reaction from individuals increases as well. We observe that, as a consequence, SNS users feel they are giving too much social support to other SNS users. Drawing on social support theory (SST), we call this negative association with SNS usage ‘social overload’ and develop a latent variable to measure it. We then identify the theoretical antecedents and consequences of social overload and evaluate the social overload model empirically using interviews with 12 and a survey of 571 Facebook users. The results show that extent of usage, number of friends, subjective social support norms, and type of relationship (online-only vs offline friends) are factors that directly contribute to social overload while age has only an indirect effect. The psychological and behavioral consequences of social overload include feelings of SNS exhaustion by users, low levels of user satisfaction, and a high intention to reduce or even stop using SNS. The resulting theoretical implications for SST and SNS acceptance research are discussed and practical implications for organizations, SNS providers, and SNS users are drawn.

Matching People and Jobs: A Bilateral Recommendation Approach

Recommendation systems are widely used on the Internet to assist customers in finding the products or services that best fit with their individual preferences. While current implementations successfully reduce information overload by generating personalized suggestions when searching for objects such as books or movies, recommendation systems so far cannot be found in another potential field of application: the personalized search for subjects such as applicants in a recruitment scenario. Theory shows that a good match between persons and jobs needs to consider both, the preferences of the recruiter and the preferences of the candidate. Based on this requirement for modeling bilateral selection decisions, we present an approach applying two distinct recommendation systems to the field in order to improve the match between people and jobs. Finally, we present first validation test runs from a student experiment showing promising results.

The effects of technostress and switching stress on discontinued use of social networking services: a study of Facebook use

Although much research has been performed on the adoption and usage phases of the information systems life cycle, the final phase, termination, has received little attention. This paper focuses on the development of discontinuous usage intentions, i.e. the behavioural intention in the termination phase, in the context of social networking services (SNSs), where it plays an especially crucial role. We argue that users stressed by using SNSs try to avoid the stress and develop discontinuous usage intentions, which we identify as a behavioural response to SNS‐stress creators and SNS‐exhaustion. Furthermore, as discontinuing the use of an SNS also takes effort and has costs, we theorize that switching‐stress creators and switching‐exhaustion reduce discontinuous usage intentions. We tested and validated these effects empirically in an experimental setting monitoring individuals who stopped using Facebook for a certain period and switched to alternatives. Our results show that SNS‐stress creators and SNS‐exhaustion cause discontinuous usage intentions, and switching‐stress creators and switching‐exhaustion reduce these intentions.

The performance impact of business process standardization: An empirical evaluation of the recruitment process

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show if business process standardization (BPS) has an impact on business process performance and should be considered as both a valid business process management (BPM) measure and a regular driver of process success.Design/methodology/approach – An empirical analysis based on data from 156 firms is used to evaluate the hypothesis that process standardization positively impacts business process time, cost, and quality.Findings – First, the paper proposes a model and empirical operationalization to analyze the impact of process standardization on process performance. Second, empirical analysis shows that BPS has a decisive impact on process performance (R2=61.9 percent). Precisely, there is a significant impact on process time, cost, and most notably on quality. The results indicate that the impact is strongest in services firms and varies subject to a firms strategy type.Practical implications – The results suggest that BPS should regularly be considered a prime a...

Analyzing the impact of HRIS implementations on HR personnel's job satisfaction and turnover intention

An in-depth case of an e-Recruiting system implementation is used while focusing on the level of Human Resource (HR) employees to research unintended consequences during the implementation of Human Resources Information Systems (HRISs). We develop a model that integrates the belief and attitude component of the technology acceptance literature with work-related consequences. We provide evidence for an indirect effect of attitudes toward the HRIS on turnover intention that is fully mediated by job satisfaction. Our results contribute to the literature on systems implementations and technology adoption by suggesting work-related outcomes as important additional success variables.

Decision support for team staffing: An automated relational recommendation approach

Selecting individuals for teams is only rarely supported by IS. Existing systems only consider whether a person has the required technical skills and abilities for a job. Another important aspect is neglected - the match between the person and the team members in terms of interpersonal compatibility. We present a decision support system based on a relational recommendation approach for providing an automated pre-selection of candidates that fit best with future team members. The relational recommender contributes to theory by proposing an IS-supported relational approach to team staffing and to practice by offering time and cost savings for HR professionals.

An Empirical Exploration of How Process Standardization Reduces Outsourcing Risks

Are standardized business processes less risky to outsource? Despite the importance, of both areas, neither the outsourcing nor standardization literature has so far offered a conclusive picture of the value of standards to outsourcing. We aim to provide an exploratory first step by suggesting that process standards have a positive impact on business process outsourcing (BPO) risk. Theoretically drawing from perceived risk theory and the theory of reasoned action we develop a model of BPO risk and empirically show that indeed risk perception is higher for less standardized processes. Using data from 126 German banks, it turns out that financial and performance risks significantly differ between high- and low-standardized processes and are consistently higher for low-standardized processes. While this work is very explanatory and the findings are quite preliminary, they are very encouraging as they indicate promising further research into the value of standards for business and outsourcing