Towards a Theory of IS Support-Related Activity

Information systems (IS) support department has become one major source of knowledge for organizational end-users (employees) as organizations increasingly adopt complex and integrated information technologies. Despite its significance to IS post-adoptive use, IS support-related activity remains under-studied. This study aims at developing an integrative conceptualization of IS support-related activity by drawing on IS use and adaptation theory. We conducted an in-depth qualitative study in the organizational support of a new procurement system and analyzed 591 service interactions between IS support personnel and end-users. Our data analysis suggests that IS support-related activity is a multifaceted phenomenon that comprises a set of increasingly complex behaviors, including technology-oriented behaviors, user-oriented behaviors, and activities that IS personnel undertake to adapt to the technology-user-business context. In particular, IS support personnel were found performing three major types of IS support activity -- informating, diagnosing, and boundary-spanning – which were associated with IS use behavior and required different types of knowledge in IS support context. This study contributes to IS literature by developing a comprehensive view of IS support-related activity, extending existing conceptualizations that exclusively focuses on technology or on human agency. The findings highlight the complexity and dynamics in IS post-implementation era, and present an urgent need to evaluate the challenges in and competence required for IS support work

Differentiating the Effect of Cumulative Experience and Learning: A Field Study of Help Desk Support

The phenomenon of learning curves has been widely accepted as a fundamental pattern in organizational behavior. However, few studies focused on understanding the learning curves in professional services. This paper attempted to examine the learning experiences of help desks. The quantitative data of twenty-five educational institutions over five-year period evidenced the learning curve presence in information technology (IT) services context, but failed to demonstrate the variation in learning rates across institutions as anticipated. Qualitative data from our subsequent case studies suggested that institutions adopted similar tools and procedures in their help desk operation, facilitating their learning from past experience. However, help desks differ in their learning from indirect experience. This study applied organizational learning theory to IT services, and contributed to literature by differentiating the effects of cumulative experience and learning from indirect experience. In addition, it provided industry practitioners insights into more effective management of help desk services

The Digital Divide in Online Education: A Study of Underserved College Students

Access to technology is essential to educational success in today’s digitized society, but disparities in access to technology can handicap students. This study examines to what extent this digital divide exists among underserved students in online instruction during COVID-19 and in their adoption of free Technology Loaner programs. Focusing on underserved students that are characterized by their generational status, minority background or low income, we predict that underserved college students will show lower levels of technology access and higher levels of free technology adoption than their counterparts. However, the quantitative analysis of survey data (n=258) collected from a U.S. minority-serving university provides mixed, surprising results. Follow-up analysis of qualitative data from 10 interviews offers us further insights and partial explanations for these unexpected results. Our study suggests that individual background should be considered in designing a policy to mitigate digital divide and enhance student learning in online education

Understanding Human Enactment of Technology on Digital Labor Platforms

This study examines gig workers’ interactions with digital platforms to reveal how workers see technology in relation to their conduct of work. Gig workers are paid labors who find short-term tasks or projects through a digital labor platform (DLP) that connects clients and workers. Workers are intertwined with technologies in gig work. On DLPs such as Uber, tensions arise between humans and algorithmic management. Yet, our understanding of worker perceptions of DLP technologies remains limited. This study focuses on place-based gig work of delivery and grocery shopping (e.g., Instacart, Postmates) and draws upon sociomateriality research to reveal workers’ perceptions. Analysis of worker narratives revealed three themes related to worker enactments of technology on DLPs (affording, constraining, and seeking alternatives) and two co-existing, contradictory identities of technology (aid vs. obstacle). The dual relations suggest new dimensions of sociomateriality on DLPs and offer practical implications on the digitalization of work

Understanding the Value of Social Media in the NBA’s Digital Communication: A Fan(s)’ Perspective

Social media (SM) has become sports organizations’ most preeminent vehicle to engage with fans and to enhance relationship marketing. Prior studies have mostly focused on the standpoints of sports organizations; less is known about fans’ SM experience and perspective. This study focuses on sports fans’ SM use during a game, and seeks to understand their popular SM uses and gratifications and the effect of individual characteristics. Informed by the uses and gratifications theory (UGT), we analyze survey data of 400 season-ticket holders of a professional NBA team. Our quantitative data analysis suggests that during a game the NBA sports fans use SM for posting on Twitter & Facebook, on Instagram & Snapchat, and checking emails. The less popular uses and gratifications include accessing teams’ website, downloading video, and accessing mobile Apps. These usage behaviors varied by individual age, gender and household income. Research contribution and implications are discussed

Knowledge Transfer in Information Systems Support Community: Network Effects of Bridging and Reaching

This study focuses on two network characteristics of an IS support community – bridging and reaching – and examines their effects on knowledge transfer and IS support professional\u27s productivity. Bridging is studied through Burt’s structural holes (constraint) measure; Reaching is studied through Valente and Foreman’s closeness centrality (radiality) measure. We posit that structural hole access and closeness centrality are positively related to IS support professional’s productivity. To test our hypotheses, we collected archival data comprising 11,409 system usage problem records reported by over 2,000 users during an 11-month post-implementation period of a new enterprise system, SAP/R3, in a large U.S. company. We analyzed the data using social network analysis and analysis of covariance. Our results provide strong support for our hypotheses. Our study offers new insight into traditional arguments on the path-dependency of experience learning and absorptive capacity and suggests several ways for IS professionals to improve their productivity

Learning in Enterprise System Support: Specialization, Task Type and Network Characteristics

In this paper, we introduce two contingency factors --task type and network characteristics—that examine how individuals learn from experience. We hypothesize that task specialization and variation have positive impacts on IS professionals’ learning from experience. We further hypothesize that this performance effect of learning is contingent upon task type and characteristics of domain-specific knowledge networks. In particular, specialized experience will be more beneficial to learning when a task is a locating task-type or when network centrality is high. In contrast, varied experience will be more beneficial when a task is a diagnosing task-type or when network betweenness is high. The research model will be validated in the context of postimplementation enterprise system support. The study incorporates a social network perspective to study learning by experience, and contributes to the knowledge management field. Findings will provide practical insights on managing IT human capital and improving IS support services