Determinants of the Assimilation of Information Technologies in Human Resource Service Delivery in Canada and the United States of America

The use of Information Technology (IT) in the delivery of Human Resource (HR) services -a traditionally laborious, paper-intensive operation—is spearheading a revolution in the way personnel services are delivered. Based on a thorough review of practitioner and academic research literatures, this dissertation studies the determinants of assimilation for the following HR Information Technologies (HRITs): (1) HR functional applications; (2) Integrated HR software suites; (3) Interactive (or Automated) Voice Response systems; (4) HR intranets; (5) Employee Self-Service applications; (6) Manager Self-Service applications; (7) HR extranets; and (8) HR portals. The assimilation of HRITs is operationalized through a multidimensional variable, HR Technology Intensity (HRTI), that includes information on the assimilation stage of the technologies used in the firm, as well as on the penetration with which they are being used. Using a Diffusion of Innovations perspective, four sets of factors are hypothesized to influence HRTI: Environmental Factors (more specifically, Environmental Turbulence), Organizational Factors (Top Management Support and Uniqueness of HR Practices), User Department Factors (HR Innovation Climate, HR IT-Absorptive Capacity and HR-Technology Champion), and IS Department Factors (HR IS Resource Availability and HR-IS Relationship). The latter are theorized to mediate the relationship between the User Department factors and HRTI when the Locus of Responsibility for HR-Technology includes at least partially the IS function -a moderated mediation functional form (James & Brett, 1984). Data from 155 HR Executives from firms in Canada and the United States were collected using an Internet-based survey, yielding a response rate of 21.3%. No consequential differences were found among country sub-samples. Hierarchical regression analyses offered support for the hypotheses concerning the relationship between HRTI and Top Management Support (an Organizational Factor), and HR Innovation Climate (a User Department Factor). Moderated mediation analyses also substantiated the hypothesis linking HR Innovation Climate and HRTI by way of HR-IS Relationship when the Locus of Responsibility for HR-Technology includes the IS function. Finally, an alternate dependent variable (the Sum of Percentage Penetration of IT for HR) offers converging support for the analyses linking predictor and independent variables. Implications, limitations of this investigation, and suggestions for future research conclude this dissertation

Análisis de los factores del comportamiento organizacional en jóvenes que están iniciando su carrera laboral

La presente investigación cuantitativa tiene como finalidad explorar los factores del comportamiento organizacional en jóvenes que inician su carrera laboral, para lo cual se diseño un instrumento de medida con 35 ítems, con resultados válidos y confiables, aplicado a 215 estudiantes de una universidad privada del noreste de México. Como resultado se pudo observar que las variables utilizadas en el modelo de investigación mostraron el mismo comportamiento entre las personas que se encontraban en su primera experiencia laboral y las que ya habían trabajado anteriormente. Sin embargo, el esfuerzo realizado, el apoyo organizacional percibido, la intención de separación y la percepción económica presentan diferencias estadísticamente significativas utilizando otros factores de comparación.This quantitative research explores organizational behavior issues for young adults who are starting their work careers. A 35-item survey was designed, and tested for validity and reliability. It was applied in a sample of 215 students in a private university in Northeastern Mexico. The variables in this project show a similar pattern among young adults in their first work experience as among those who had worked in the past. However, Intensity of exerted effort, Perceived organizational support, Intentions to quit and Monetary compensation showed statistically significant differences, when using other factors to compare its

Análisis de los factores del comportamiento organizacional en jóvenes que están iniciando su carrera laboral

La presente investigación cuantitativa tiene como finalidad explorar los factores del comportamiento organizacional en jóvenes que inician su carrera laboral, para lo cual se diseño un instrumento de medida con 35 ítems, con resultados válidos y confiables, aplicado a 215 estudiantes de una universidad privada del noreste de México. Como resultado se pudo observar que las variables utilizadas en el modelo de investigación mostraron el mismo comportamiento entre las personas que se encontraban en su primera experiencia laboral y las que ya habían trabajado anteriormente. Sin embargo, el esfuerzo realizado, el apoyo organizacional percibido, la intención de separación y la percepción económica presentan diferencias estadísticamente significativas utilizando otros factores de comparación

Preface

Enron, Parmalat, BP, Wal-Mart, Monsanto, Halliburton, Nike, Merck, Google,…the list goes on and on. It is widely acknowledged that business organizations are among the most important drivers of the quality of life that our society enjoys in our day, but the well-publicized samples of dishonest behavior by high-profile organizations around the world create no small amount of skepticism and cynicism