COPING WITH DISCREPANT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EVENTS: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Coping theory has been used to explain and predict the behaviors of users facing discrepant information technology (IT) events, i.e., unexpected, negative events that occur due to problems and difficulties when using such technology. However, researchers have examined coping by using a vast array of conceptualizations, discrepant IT events, coping strategies, and behaviors, which have led to considerable heterogeneity in the existing literature. Therefore, the present paper demonstrates the results of a comprehensive literature review, identifying and analyzing 27 relevant investigations. The present literature review contributes to the literature by identify-ing six theoretical implications: (1) coping literature can subdivided into research streams on technostress, IT adoption and usage, and IT security, (2) the literature disagrees about the ante-cedents of coping strategies, (3) coping strategies are heterogeneous, (4) coping strategies show interdependences, (5) coping strategies show paradoxical effects, and (6) development of a framework of coping with discrepant IT events. In addition, the paper proposes new directions for future coping research for all three identified research streams

Decision Confidence and Purchase Intention in Software Trials: A Cognitive Stopping Rule Perspective

Organizations often offer software trials to potential buyers as a form of promotion. The trial experience provides first- hand information of the product, which contributes to prudent purchase decisions. Despite the popularity of software trials in consumer markets, we have yet to fully understand how individuals formulate purchase decisions throughout the trial process. This study proposes a novel perspective by focusing on 1) decision confidence that individuals establish when using a software trial based on the compatible cognitive stopping rules (CSRs) they apply and 2) the influence of decision confidence on purchase intention. We conducted a controlled lab experiment in which 204 participants tried an interior design software product. We found that the participants formed their decision confidence by applying compatible CSRs during the software trial. Decision confidence augmented the positive influence of product satisfaction on purchase decision. Interestingly, decision confidence attenuated the positive relationship between a user’s satisfactory trial experience and the decision to purchase the software. We provide detailed discussions on our findings, limitations, theoretical contributions, and implications for practice

Investigating Users’ IT Adaptation Behaviors: A Case of a Computerized Work System

IS research has shown that successful IT implementation projects rely on the extent to which IT users respond and adapt to the new technology and the changes the new technology comes with. Although the phenomenon of user IT adaptation has been studied previously in IS literature our understating of user IT adaptation is still limited. Drawing on the Coping Model of User Adaptation (CMUA) and the Approach vs. Avoidance model of coping, this study seeks to investigate how different user adaptation efforts evolve over time and subsequently influence IT use outcomes. Using a qualitative case study approach, 68 interviews were conducted at a medical center in Iran after the implementation of a Work System Computerization project. Our results indicate that emotions have a great influence on IT users’ adaptation efforts. Also, users’ IT appraisal might not necessarily happen in sequence as suggested by existing literature. Finally, our findings highlight the theoretical importance of preserving the distinction between approach- and avoidance-oriented emotion-focused adaptation efforts in exploring how emotion-focused efforts may influence system usage

THREE STUDIES ON INTERACTIVE AND SOCIAL E-COMMERCE: EMPOWERING CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Investigating user responses to mandatory IT-induced organisational changes: findings from a multiple-case study

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonMandatory IT-induced organisational changes often engender drastic alterations in business processes, employees’ skillsets, and the work environment in general. Reaping the benefits of mandatory IT-induced changes depend on how employees respond to, and use, the implemented IT systems for their work processes. Prior Information Systems research provides valuable insights into IT system usage in organisations, including when users accept and resist the introduced IT systems. However, there is still a need for a more nuanced perspective on the phenomenon of user responses to IT in organisations, as past studies have dichotomised IT acceptance and resistance research. This has led to fragmented findings that limit our understanding of the complex phenomenon of user responses to IT in organisations. In addition, existing studies do not provide an in-depth perspective on the changes in user responses over time and the factors that influence these changes in user responses. This study addresses these identified gaps by investigating how employees respond to mandatory IT-induced changes in their work environment, how user responses evolve over time, and the factors that trigger the changes in user responses. The study adopted a qualitative interpretive multiple case study method, with the use of semi-structured interviews as the primary data collection tool. Interviews were conducted with 29 participants in two organisations across two phases. The ‘coping theoretic model of user response to mandated IT use’ (Bhattacherjee et al., 2017) was adopted as a theoretical lens for the study. Data collected from the interviews were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. During the data analysis process, lower-level codes, sub-themes and themes were developed in order to answer the study’s research questions. The findings from the study reveal that users respond to mandatory IT-induced changes in three ways: engaged; compliant; and reluctant. The findings also indicate that the three identified user response types are influenced by individual-related, organisational and process-related, and IT system-related factors. The findings indicate that user responses can transition in a progressive or regressive manner, depending on the influence of three factors: training; social influence; and IT infrastructure. The findings of this study have theoretical and practical implications. From a theoretical perspective, this study extends Bhattacherjee et al.’s (2017) model and responds to multiple calls by Information Systems researchers for the need to integrate IT acceptance and IT resistance research. In addition, this study provides a richer and more accurate description of user behavioural reactions to new technologies in the work environment. From a practical perspective, this study can help organisations and managers involved in IT-induced change projects to design initiatives that lead to progressive transitions and continuous IT system usage by employees in organisations.Federal Republic of Nigeri