Yong-Mi Kim

Knowledge sharing and institutionalism in the healthcare industry

Purpose – Knowledge sharing is recognized as one of the most important ways to improve organizational performance. Organizations strive to facilitate knowledge sharing routines, yet these attempts often fail. Although the successful deployment of knowledge sharing practices has been a focus of knowledge management and organizational performance studies, little research has considered the impacts of institutional structures. As such, the purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which institutional structures facilitate knowledge sharing practices and their impacts on organizational performance.Design/methodology/approach – Based on 220 usable survey responses, the authors applied structural equation modeling (SEM) to observe the extent to which institutional structures enhance organizational performance through knowledge sharing, and other important knowledge sharing‐related constructs (i.e. leadership and punitive behavior). The healthcare industry was used as the research context as it is a ...

Gender role and the use of university library website resources: A social cognitive theory perspective

Existing studies have reported that significant gender differences exist in the use of technology. For example, males have higher levels of computer self-efficacy, which enable them to utilize technology more so than their counterparts. This difference could create a potential disparity in the benefits of the utilization of university library website resources (ULWR). The findings of this study show that male and female users’ computer self-efficacy is very different. Female users have lower levels of computer self-efficacy and subsequently, their intention to use ULWR is derived from a website’s ease-of-use. In contrast, male users’ intentions to use ULWR are derived from the subjective norm, a finding that challenges expectations based on social cognitive theory which posits that females are more likely than males to be influenced by others’ opinions. It is interpreted that males are much more goal- and performance-oriented than females. Detailed theoretical and managerial implications are offered.

Is seeking health information online different from seeking general information online

Increasing use of the Internet for health information delivery has created considerable discussion among digital divide scholars (i.e. how online information delivery benefits those individuals in higher socioeconomic brackets more than their counterparts). Because it is health information, we need to integrate how patients seek out online information. This study included patients’ information-seeking behaviour along with digital divide scholars’ constructs (i.e. literacy and computer skills). Using 1617 observations from the 2010 Pew Internet and American Life Project, this study found that individuals with a significant number of health problems, who are likely to be in a lower income bracket, are proactive online health information seekers; however, they are less likely to search general information. This finding adds value to existing research revealing that usefulness, which has been overlooked in online health information seeking, is important and should be a part of the research model.

The role of leadership in learning culture and patient safety

Patient safety improvement through management has been a prime issue since 2000, when the Institute of Medicine reported that preventable mismanagement was responsible for the majority of medical errors. Learning culture, interdisciplinary action teams, and punitive culture have been discussed as viable ways to address these errors. While these individual factors have been found to be significant, we have yet to understand the interactions of these elements. The role of leadership, which has been overlooked, is critical to facilitate or constrain these elements. The interactions of these three elements and the role of leadership were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Our finding revealed the three elements were closely knitted, and leadership roles had considerable impact in nurturing learning culture and constraining punitive culture, which in turn enhanced patient safety

Does Online Searching Cause or Enforce Health Information Disparity

A growing number of people are seeking health information on the Internet. To meet demands, healthcare providers are increasingly disseminating information online. While online health information has enhanced the dissemination of health information and improved peoples health-related knowledge, critics posit that such dissemination has widened knowledge disparities in health information and health benefits as a result. Drawing on existing studies, this study identified the main causes of such disparity, namely education, health literacy, computer self-efficacy (CSE) and usage of health-related social media. The finding showed that education resided at the centre of the disparity and impacted other elements. An interesting finding is although individuals possess high levels of CSE, the efficacy does not highly impact their health benefits, meaning that computer does not directly cause health information disparity but is the tool to promote health-related knowledge disparity.