Mitigating Information Overload: A Comparison of Perceptual and Textual Query Interfaces in a Decision Support Environment

This paper reports on an empirical investigation of two maximally different database query interfaces. The first interface utilized a traditional textual interface similar to those found within common database management systems. The second interface employed a perceptual interface that was highly visual in nature and allowed users to directly manipulate query attributes in order to understand how changing those attributes changed the solution set for an individual query. Results indicated that for some tasks--particularly those where a precise answer was required--the textual interface performed better. However, for tasks where an approximate answer was all that was required, the perceptual interface was a better fit. These results have important implications for the design of managerial decision making systems, particularly in an environment where the potential of information overload is significant

A Typology of Virtual Organizations:An Empirical Study

This paper reports on a survey of 55 organizations employing the virtual model. Based on survey responses and additional project and background information supplied by the organizations, this descriptive study develops a typology of virtual organizations including four distinct types: virtual teams, virtual projects, temporary virtual organizations and permanent virtual organizations. These four forms differed on the range of involvement of members, the membership of the group, organizational mission, and length of the project(s) undertaken. The four forms also differ in their use of information technology : fully virtual organizations using the Internet actively for connections, virtual teams and virtual projects relying more on the mature applications such as EDI, e-mail and fax and temporary virtual organizations relying more on groupware and WANs

Electronic Journals in Business Schools: Legitimacy, Acceptance, and Use

This research provides insight into perceptions regarding electronic journals: a technological innovation in academia. Acceptance of electronic journals among business school faculty has two hurdles to overcome: technological and, more challenging, garnering legitimacy within the academic community. A survey targeted at business school faculty in the United States was conducted investigating faculty perceptions about the acceptance of electronic journals in their academic discipline. The findings suggest that at the time of publication, electronic publications were seen as less desirable than paper counterparts for tenure and review. However, it appears that electronic counterparts of existing journals would maintain their legitimacy from a promotion and tenure perspective, suggesting that the perceived legitimacy of the journal is the critical hurdle to overcome

Attitudes Toward Computers: The Impact on Performance

The proliferation of personal computers throughout business environments will continue to place demands on workers at all levels to develop proficient computer skills. A variety of training mechanisms exist that allow workers to introduce, develop, and hone any needed computer skills. Identical training mechanisms, however, are nonetheless likely to result in individuals with different computer abilities (Hicks, Hicks, and Senn, 1991). Existing researchhas examined differences in demographic factors (Dambrot, Silling, and Zook; 1988) as well as differences in attitudes (Torkzadeh and Koufteros, 1993). Much of the research that has examined this area has focused on the changes in attitudes (e.g. computeranxiety) that occur due to a training intervention. Research to date, however, has not extended this effect of training on attitudes as well as to performance. The theory of reasoned action (TRA) (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975) suggests that attitudes will influence behavior, including performance. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) ( Davis, Bagozzi, and Warshaw, 1989) also suggests that attitudes towards use directly influence intentions to use the computer and ultimately actual computer use. Davis et al. demonstrate that an individual\u27s initial attitudes regarding a computer\u27s ease of use and a computer\u27s usefulness influence attitudes toward use. In addition to the attitudes of computer ease of use and computer usefulness, a number of other attitudes related to computer use have been identified in the research literature. Items measuring attitudes examined in this study have been previously defined and used in other studies. The attitudes and measures used in this study were perceived usefulness , perceived ease of use (Davis et al. 1989), computer anxiety (Loyd and Gressard, 1984), anticipation of computer use (Heinssen, Glass, and Knight, 1987), fear of computer use (Heinssen et al.,1987), and attitude toward previous academic achievement. Computer anxiety has been an attitude of primary focus that corresponds closely to the concept of math anxiety (Torkzadeh and Angulo, 1992). Although computer anxiety has definitions ranging from psychological, physical or sociological discomfort to fear. The definition of anxiety in this research referred to the psychological discomfort that might come from using a computer. This discomfort might come from using something unknown, concern over making mistakes or destroying pertinent information. In addition to measuring computer anxiety, we also wanted to measure computer fear. Although extreme anxiety might become fear, there is a distinction between the two constructs. Fear was defined as a trepidation that computers would change something about the individual, such as making the person too dependent on computers. Anticipation was defined as comfort with the idea of learning and using computer skills (Harrison and Ranier, 1992). Academic achievement provided a perceived measure of a subject\u27s past performance in both math and other academic endeavors. The perceived ease of use and usefulness constructs have been well established in the work by Davis et al. (Davis, 1989; Davis, Bagozzi, and Warshaw, 1992). Perceived usefulness was defined as the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her job performance . Perceived ease of use was defined as the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would be free of effort (Davis, 1989, pg. 320)

IT Use and Job Outcomes: A Longitudinal Field Study of Technology Contingencies

As information technology (IT) continues to be an integral yet evolving component in work settings, organizations need to ensure that they realize value from IT. Prior studies examining the post-adoption consequences of IT use in terms of employee job outcomes have been inconclusive with respect to the magnitude and direction of these impacts—i.e., the positive, negative, and nonsignificant impacts of IT use on job outcomes. The question of under what conditions IT use leads to favorable job outcomes over time thus remains largely unanswered. We develop a model of IT-related contingencies that integrates core constructs from the IT adoption research with two key job outcomes: job satisfaction and job performance. We hypothesize that in the post-adoption phase, technology-job fit is a key moderator of the relationships between IT use for supporting sales operations and job outcomes. Further, we suggest a theoretical extension of the classical predictors of IT adoption—perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use—as we expect them to moderate the effect of IT use on job performance over time. We tested our model in a longitudinal field study among 295 field sales personnel over a 24-month period. We found that although IT use had a negative effect on job satisfaction during the post-adoption phase, this effect was moderated by technology-job fit such that the negative effect was significantly attenuated by technology-job fit. We also found that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and technology-job fit enhanced the positive effect of IT use on job performance. Our findings offer insights into the mechanisms and conditions related to the post-adoption impacts of IT use on key job outcomes