A Reflective Commentary on Fractal Epistemology

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The Relationship between Information Systems (IS) Assets, Organizational Capabilities, and IS-enabled Absorptive Capacity in U.S. State Information Technology Departments

Despite the recognition that information is a strategic asset for any state government, we lack research on the deployment and use of information systems in the U.S. state government context. Information systems are central for state agencies’ efforts to develop optimal responses to demands from their internal and external constituents. We examine how a specific IS asset combines with prior knowledge to influence organizational capabilities. We also examine the connection between organizational capabilities and the IS-enabled absorptive capacity of U.S. state IT departments from the perspective of IS employees. This study may help researchers and practitioners understand the role of IS assets in forming IS-enabled absorptive capacity in government organizations. We collected survey data from 417 government IS employees that represented 21 different states. The findings indicate that the role of an IS asset depends on the type of asset. Inside-out IS assets (ERP) moderate the relationship between prior knowledge and organizational capabilities, while outside-in IS assets (CRM) directly affect organizational capabilities. In addition, organizational capabilities can directly affect IS-enabled absorptive capacity in IT departments. This research increases our understanding of the influence of different IS assets on IS-enabled absorptive capacity in state government IT departments. We discuss limitations and directions for future research

What Motivates First-generation College Students to Consider an IT Career? An Integrative Perspective

A career in information technology (IT) presents a viable source of economic advancement for college graduates, but ethnic minority students remain underrepresented in the IT workforce. Such underrepresentation is often exacerbated by their first-generation student (FGS) status. Yet, it remains unclear what leads to FGSs’ IT career choice compared to their counterparts. To address this gap, this study aims to reveal the factors motivating FGSs to consider an IT career and examines the association of influencing factors with personal and demographic factors (gender, race, ethnicity). This qualitative research overlays capital theory and social cognitive career theory to develop an integrated sensitizing framework and draws on individual difference theory in interpreting the findings. Our analysis of the open-ended narrative responses of 193 surveys collected from a minority-serving university revealed 10 key factors influencing IT career choice. A theoretical model incorporating individual differences, generational status, and environmental influences is proposed to advance the discussion of influencing factors in IT career choice toward further theory building and empirical testing. The paper concludes with implications for motivating the IT career choice of the ethnic minority, first-generation student population

Factors Influencing IT Career Choice Behaviors of First-generation College Students

Information technology (IT) field is a potential source of economic advancement for college graduates, but in the IT workforce the representation of minority student populations is disproportionally low. The underrepresentation of minority students in IT workforce is further compounded by their first-generation student (FGS) status, as Latino and African American students account for the majority of the FGS population. Our knowledge about these underrepresented student populations’ career choice behaviors is limited. This qualitative research adopts social capital theory as a sensitizing framework for understanding the influences and the resources valued by the minority FGS in their career choice decisions. A preliminary analysis revealed four influencing factors, including social capital, technical capital, perceived job opportunities, and interests. This research can contribute to expanding the IT workforce diversity and inclusiveness. The paper concludes with implications for IS careers of the FGS population and the next steps of the research project

How Managers and Workers See Their World: Perceptions of the Relationship Between Organizational Capabilities and Absorptive Capacity in U.S. State Information Systems Departments

Despite the recognition that information is a strategic asset to any state government, there is a relative dearth of research on the information systems (IS) function in state government. This stands in contrast to the number of articles devoted to e-government initiatives. IS departments however are central to state agencies’ efforts to develop optimal responses to demands from their internal and external constituents. The authors examine the connections between perceptions of critical agency capabilities (socialization, coordination, and systems) and the absorptive capacity of state IS departments from the perspective of IS workers and IS managers. Findings indicate that two critical capabilities (socialization and coordination) explained 62.5% of the variation in absorptive capacity for IS workers and 47% of the variation for IS managers. In addition, the influence of the relevant knowledge of IS workers and managers is found to have differing influences on agency capabilities

The Information Technology Professional: A Two-wave Study of Factors Impacting Commitment and Satisfaction

In this paper, we present a two-wave study that examined the relationships between three independent variables (professional identification, psychological contract violation, and fairness) and three dependent variables (general satisfaction, satisfaction with the information technology (IT) profession, and affective commitment to the IT profession). The constructs analyzed pertain to the IT workforce and represent areas where the literature has provided conflicting results with regard to the nature of the relationships. Due to the lack of consistency related to causality among these variables, we used 10 separate canonical correlation models to analyze the responses from two surveys distributed across three years. Results consistently revealed a significant relationship between perceived psychological contract violation and fairness with the dependent constructs related to satisfaction (general, and with the IT profession). Both gender and tenure in the IT profession played a role in the identification process for this group of individuals. We present and discuss additional findings along with limitations and directions for future research

Mental Health and Information Technology Catalysts as Determinants of Innovative Work Behavior

Interpersonal interactions, such as impromptu face-to-face workplace conversations, facilitate knowledge transfer and spur innovation within individual work roles; however, the move to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted these dynamics. This research examines how innovation can be maintained in remote work settings by considering Information Technology (IT) catalysts (a combination of IT mindfulness, IT identity, and IT empowerment) during disruptive events and crises. We also highlight the importance of remote workers’ mental health and coping as precursors for IT catalysts to stimulate innovative work behaviors. Our paper contributes to information systems (IS) theory by establishing remote workers’ mental health and coping as distal factors of innovation and precursors to IT catalysts. In addition, we extend IS theory by establishing the relationships among the IT catalyst factors as well as their impact on innovative work behaviors. Our research provides insights for organizations interested in sustaining innovation, especially during crises or other stress-inducing events or conditions

Hospital staff, volunteers’ and patients’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators to communication following stroke in an acute and a rehabilitation private hospital ward: A qualitative description study

Objectives To explore barriers and facilitators to patient communication in an acute and rehabilitation ward setting from the perspectives of hospital staff, volunteers and patients following stroke. Design A qualitative descriptive study as part of a larger study which aimed to develop and test a Communication Enhanced Environment model in an acute and a rehabilitation ward. Setting A metropolitan Australian private hospital. Participants Focus groups with acute and rehabilitation doctors, nurses, allied health staff and volunteers (n=51), and interviews with patients following stroke (n=7), including three with aphasia, were conducted. Results The key themes related to barriers and facilitators to communication, contained subcategories related to hospital, staff and patient factors. Hospital-related barriers to communication were private rooms, mixed wards, the physical hospital environment, hospital policies, the power imbalance between staff and patients, and task-specific communication. Staff-related barriers to communication were staff perception of time pressures, underutilisation of available resources, staff individual factors such as personality, role perception and lack of knowledge and skills regarding communication strategies. The patient-related barrier to communication involved patients’ functional and medical status. Hospital-related facilitators to communication were shared rooms/co-location of patients, visitors and volunteers. Staff-related facilitators to communication were utilisation of resources, speech pathology support, staff knowledge and utilisation of communication strategies, and individual staff factors such as personality. No patient-related facilitators to communication were reported by staff, volunteers or patients. Conclusion Barriers and facilitators to communication appeared to interconnect with potential to influence one another. This suggests communication access may vary between patients within the same setting. Practical changes may promote communication opportunities for patients in hospital early after stroke such as access to areas for patient co-location as well as areas for privacy, encouraging visitors, enhancing patient autonomy, and providing communication-trained health staff and volunteers