Information Technology (IT) Identity: A Conceptualization, Proposed Measures, and Research Agenda

With increasing embeddedness of information technologies (IT) in organizational processes, and services, individuals\u27 long-term IT use has become instrumental to business success. At the same time, IS research has illustrated that under-utilization by end-users often prevents organizations from realizing expected benefits from their technology investments. Because individual use is the critical link between technology investments and enhanced organizational performance through IT, in recent years, information systems researchers have begun to focus attention on the post-adoption phases of technology assimilation. The overarching goal of this relatively new research stream is to understand factors that influence individuals\u27 attempts to use IT to their fullest potential in the work setting. To advance research on post-adoption IT use, this three essay dissertation develops, operationalizes, and tests the new concept of information technology (IT) identity--defined as, the set of meanings an individual attaches to the self in relation to IT--as a product of individuals\u27 personal histories of interacting with IT, as well as a force that shapes their thinking and guides their IT use behaviors. The first essay builds the core concept through exploring whether young people\u27s individual self-concepts are tied to their interactions with mobile phones. The second essay draws on a rich repertoire of literature to formally theorize the domain and dimensions of IT identity, as well as its nomological net. By examining the processes by which IT identity is constructed and maintained, this essay offers IS researchers a new theoretical lens for examining individuals\u27 long-term IT use. The third essay develops an operational definition of IT identity and empirically tests the conditions under which the construct is a more or less salient predictor of individuals\u27 post-usage intentions and continued IT use than existing IS constructs. The results presented help delimit a role for IT identity in bridging the gap between current models of use and models that explain long term and richer IT use behaviors. Extending understanding of why and how individuals use IT in the long term may help provide a basis for designing managerial interventions that promote organizational assimilation of IT. Thus, by proposing and operationalizing IT identity as a core construct in explaining individual IT use, this research has the potential to advance theory and contribute to practice

Sense in Sociability? Social Exclusion and Persistent Poverty in South Africa

Social capital has been identified as an important avenue of upward mobility for poorer people. However, recent theoretical work suggests that in highly polarized societies, the accumulation of social capital is likely to be fragmented and ineffective for people at the bottom of the economic pyramid. In South Africa, apartheid-era policies created such deep, socially embedded inequality producing a self-reinforcing circle of social exclusion and persistent poverty as another of apartheid's legacies. Work to date on post-apartheid income distribution-with its demonstration of increasing inequality and poverty-is consistent with this legacy hypothesis. This paper takes this hypothesis further by using a two-pronged approach that draws on quantitative and qualitative data to explore the role of different types of assets in explaining poverty status. First, novel econometric analysis of poverty and livelihood dynamics is used to test for a poverty trap that would signal the existence of a ceiling to upward mobility for poor people. The analysis finds evidence of such a trap. Secondly, the qualitative data is used to confirm and more deeply probe the reasons behind the patterns of truncated upward mobility, finding accessibility and stability of employment and state pensions as key factors explaining why people remain poor or non-poor. While this analysis finds ample evidence of active social capital and networks, these are more helpful for non-poor households while for the poor they seem to at best help stabilize livelihood at low levels and seem to do little to promote upward mobility. This paper's confirmation of the legacy hypothesis suggests the publicly provided social safety nets that exist in South Africa need to be at least maintained if not strengthened, while state policy needs to take a more aggressive role in assuring that households have access to a minimum bundle of assets and to the markets needed to effectively build on those assets over time.

Supportive Measures: A Grounded Theory Analysis Of The Needs And Aspirations Of First-Generation College Students Enrolled In The Federally-Funded Trio Student Support Services (sss) Program At A Community College In Rural Kentucky

For more than forty-nine years (since 1968) the federally-funded TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) programs have served disadvantaged students across the United States of America by providing wrap-around services to further the progress of their enrollment in postsecondary educational opportunities. The SSS program aims to assist students with disabilities, and who identify as low-income and first-generation (LIFG) college students, towards the successful completion of certification in a technical program and an undergraduate level degree from either a two or four-year college or university. This study evaluated the needs and aspirations of [ten] first-generation college students at the point-of-entry of enrollment into the TRIO SSS program as participants of the summer bridge program in 2017 at a community college in rural Kentucky. The summer bridge program provides student participants of the TRIO SSS program a jumpstart on their college experience and serves as an additional boost to students who enrolled in the program during the 2017 spring semester. The primary investigator (PI) employed a grounded theory research methodology to analyze the needs and aspirations of the ten TRIO SSS students at the point-of-entry into the SSS program and how the perspective of the student directly aligns with the objectives of the community college\u27s SSS program grant. There are four major themes which emerged from the analysis of the individual interview sessions and personal statements taken from the student\u27s SSS application at the point-of-entry into the program. The first theme is the focus on self and the specific goals of wanting to accomplish postsecondary enrollment (PSE) and postsecondary degree attainment (PSA). The second theme is the focus on family, with one-fourth of the students articulating the desire to be a role model for present and future generations. The third theme is the enthusiasm of the student and the pride that comes from being a first-generation college student. The final theme is the perspective of the student about their future which extends beyond postsecondary enrollment and postsecondary degree attainment. The implications of the themes and the resulting theory for TRIO SSS program management and federal policy are presented for the benefit of potential modification of program services in the next fifty years. Suggestions for further research are also provided

Leadership Strategies to Reduce Employee Turnover in Mental Health Facilities

Abstract Mental health counselors’ intent to leave an organization affects the clients\u27 quality of care and services. Mental health business owners are concerned with the continuity of staff employment to provide consistent medical care. Using Herzberg’s two-factor theory, the purpose of this single qualitative case study was to explore strategies that hiring managers in mental health organizations implemented to reduce counselor turnover. The participants were five hiring managers with at least 3 years of experience from mental health organizations in Georgia who successfully implemented strategies to reduce counselor turnover. Using Braun and Clarke’s six phases of thematic analysis, five themes emerged: (a) self-care, (b) employee motivation, (c) compensation, (d) work-life balance, and (e) leadership. The key recommendation for hiring managers is to use compensation packages and reward system strategies to appreciate employees. The implications for positive social change include the potential to improve the overall mental stability of employees, better relationships between the employees and other community members, and increased well-being of the employees

Some Challenges and Guidelines for Conducting Multi-Level Modeling in Information System Research

To date, few IS researchers have made use of multi-level modeling in their studies. This is unfortunate because organizational processes often span multiple levels of the organization. As such, multi-level modeling (MLM) has the potential to enhance our understanding of how IS can be deployed and used effectively in organizations. To this end, this paper reflects on the use of MLM in IS research. We illustrate the pertinent issues and challenges involved by describing how the widely used organizational level construct “Assimilation” will change conceptually and operationally if it is extended to the interorganizational level. Based on our analysis we conclude that while MLM is not a panacea, or appropriate for all research questions, identifying and including higher-level constructs in IS research models offers rich opportunities for IS research

Connecting World With IOT: Issues and Problems Around Use Information

As IoT is getting increasingly popular, it brings us new challenges and problems. IoT users either intentionally or unintentionally leave the use information behind them when they engage with IoT. Those seemingly trivial information, once complied up, can tell more than one would have expected. Users may or may not have realized this problem. We are interested in the reasons why users still choose to engage in IoT uses when they realize the problems. The current study uses and compares two models, Privacy Calculus and IT Identity, to investigate this interesting phenomenon. Privacy Calculus model offers rational explanations, stating that IoT users weigh the benefits and the risks of IoT uses. It assumes that IoT users make decisions based on rational thinking. They choose to engage with IoT of their choices because the benefits outweigh the risks. On other hand, IT Identity theory provides an alternative explanation. According to IT identity theory, people adopt and engage with the use of IoT in order to be themselves. Their IT identity is a primary motivator of their IT related behaviors. That is to say, they engage with the IoT regardless of use information problem because the use of IoT is part of their IT identity. By including two models in the same paper, we hope that we can better capture IoT users’ thoughts on why they still engage with IoT knowing the risks caused by use information

Sharenting: Parental Information Sharing in the Digital Age

Parents actively share information about their children in online social networks such as Facebook and Instagram. However, little research has explored this parental information disclosure phenomenon known as sharenting. Sharenting is online sharing about parenting or sharing of content regarding children’s lives by their parents. Parental information disclosures can negatively impact (e.g. embarrass) the children now or in the future specifically the young adults. Young adult is the age where children leave their parental homes to start their lives and attempt to discover their independent identity. Therefore, understanding of sharenting’s impact on young adults’ impression management and identity development is critical. We anticipate that the results of this research will make parents aware of their sharenting behavior, and the impact of this indirect online disclosure on their children’s identity development

Exploring Prior Work History within Software Project Teams

Software project management is challenging not only due to the technical requirements associated with creating software, but also in dealing with interpersonal issues that arise during the course of a project. One interpersonal dynamic within software project teams that is rarely discussed is the interaction among the team members themselves. Using social identity theory as a lens, this research explores how subgroups based on individuals’ prior work history could impact the project team. These prior working relationships could be a benefit to the team, or alternatively, could create favoritism among some members of the team. We explore the phenomenon of how prior work history affects the project team’s dynamic in the context of a massive multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG). Using the results, we offer suggestions for future research and practice to consider the impact of social identity within software project teams

The Role of Trust in Electronic Market Access Forum (EMAF) Mediated Exchanges: A Contingency Based View

Research on interorganizational partnerships (IOPs) points to high levels of information-sharing, mediated by interorganizational systems (IOS), as a determinant of value creation. However, it is widely acknowledged that such interactions are characterized by opportunism, leading to transaction costs. Interfirm trust has been posited as one mechanism for reducing transaction costs and promoting rich information sharing. In this research-in-progress, we seek to understand the role of trust in facilitating information sharing in one form of IOS—electronic market access forums (EMAFs). We draw on transaction cost economics (TCE) to suggest that the dominant trust-based mechanism in an EMAF exchange is contingent upon the nature of information exchanged. This study will enhance understanding of how different types of trust influence information sharing in IOPs, and, potentially, offer guidelines on how EMAF providers can improve their margins by fostering different forms of trust-based governance