An Examination of Factors for the Strategic Use of Information Systems in the Healthcare Industry

The potential use of information systems technology (IST) as a competitive weapon has been of enormous interest to many academic scholars and practitioners. However, the importance of identifying factors that organizations must deal with in the process of achieving IST competitive advantages has received inadequate research attention. This article attempts to identify these important factors for the strategic use of IST by examining the multifaceted role of IST in the healthcare context. Three propositions are developed from (1) re-examining a variety of successful IST applications both within and outside healthcare organizations, (2) re-applying the integration concept from the literature, and (3) examining field experiences in the healthcare industry. These propositions should serve as a basis for future empirical investigations into IST strategic applications

COMPUTER TRAINING AND COMPUTER ANXIETY IN THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS: AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS

The 1980s witnessed the widespread introduction of microcomputer technology into educational institutions and the workplace. Microcomputer software training has achieved mixed results due to both training methods and individual factors, such as computer anxiety. The present research addresses the topic of software training by presenting the results of two studies. The first study validates a measure of computer anxiety, while the second study contrasts the effects of training method and computer anxiety on training outcomes. The training method demonstrated stronger relationships with training outcomes than did computer anxiety. In addition, the second study contrasted two training methods and found that training labelled as play resulted in enhanced training outcomes as compared with training labelled as wor