Good management and software design can help older workers thrive with IT-based tasks

The capacity to perform work tasks that require using organisational IT tends to decline with age. Stefan Tams finds that this happens only because of lower information processing speed. He writes that managers and software designers can help older employees be more productive by simply reducing the relevance of information processing speed for job tasks. He suggests more training for older workers and the development of application interfaces that rely less on spatial metaphors

The Role of Age in Technology-induced Workplace Stress

Recent research shows that such Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as instant messengers can cause workplace interruptions, which lead to stress for employees and substantial productivity losses for U.S. organizations. Since the introduction of ICTs, workplace interruptions have evolved in both frequency and nature from irregular phone calls to a continuous stream of e-mail notifications and other electronic interruptions, mediated through a large number of technological devices that constantly beep and buzz. This trend of an increasing frequency of workplace interruptions closely relates to another workplace trend: the graying of the workforce, implying that the U.S. workforce is aging at an increased rate. Since older people are particularly vulnerable to interruptions, the interdependencies inherent in these two workplace trends need to be better understood. Accordingly, this dissertation aims to understand whether, how, and why technology-mediated (T-M) interruptions impact stress and task performance differently for older compared to younger adults. To examine these questions, this research applies two complementary theoretical frames that explain interruptions\u27 influence on older and younger adults\u27 cognition. First, the Person-Environment Fit perspective suggests that T-M interruptions may lessen the fit between the mental resources available for performing a task and those required, thereby inducing workplace stress and, in turn, reducing individual task performance. Second, the Inhibitory Deficit Theory of Cognitive Aging holds that older peoples\u27 ability to actively disregard distracting stimuli is impaired. Thus, more T-M interruptions may \u27steal\u27 resources from the processing of task-related content in older adults. In combining these theories with user characteristics and technology features, this research develops an integrative model of ICTs, aging, stress, and task performance. We propose that older people are more distracted by T-M interruptions than younger, thereby experiencing greater mental workload and, in turn, more stress and lower performance. We test the model through a laboratory experiment that integrates the manipulation of ICT features with objective measures of stress and task performance, unlike the subjective measures commonly used. Experimental manipulations include the frequency with which interruptions appear as well as such interruption design characteristics as color codes. Outcome measures include actual performance in terms of the number of task elements solved, as well as the change in stress hormones found in saliva, a state-of-the art physiological measure of stress. In developing and testing the model, we help to clarify the role of age in technostress. This research also sheds more light on the mental processes that connect ICTs to stress and performance, and it has begun to open the black box of the ICT features linked to these outcomes. For managers, we provide guidance on assisting older employees in realizing their full potential for contributing to firm success. This research further advises systems designers on such issues as user involvement

Cultivating and Nurturing Undergraduate IS Research

Assurance of student motivation and retention is a central challenge for Information Systems faculty. A promising means of stimulating interest in the Information Systems major and in subsequent graduate degree programs is undergraduate Information Systems research. Undergraduate Information Systems research allows students to engage more deeply with questions pertaining to Information Systems development and use, and it advances students’ cognitive and intellectual growth above and beyond what can be achieved with traditional classroom activities. As such, undergraduate Information Systems research is a high impact learning experience. Yet, this advanced form of student engagement with Information Systems material remains in its infancy; teaching tips are lacking that promote it and provide guidance on how to mentor undergraduate Information Systems researchers. Using Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive skills and Malachowski’s stages of mentoring framework, the present teaching tip emphasizes the continued need of cultivating and nurturing undergraduate Information Systems research, and it provides guidance for Information Systems faculty on how to mentor undergraduate Information Systems researchers

On the Legitimacy of IS as an Independent Discipline: Research that Sets the Field Apart

Motivated by the continuing anxiety discourse within the IS field and the continuing disrespect IS researchers earn from scholars of other management disciplines, this essay discusses six areas in which IS researchers make unique knowledge contributions to management scholarship. More specifically, this essay suggests that information systems development, information systems adoption, organizational information systems innovation, group level resistance to IT implementations, the business value of IT, and Knowledge Management, among others, are all areas in which IS scholars can claim to contribute uniquely to the management body of knowledge. In so doing, this essay provides six robust arguments for IS scholars to concisely justify their field and research – and to be positive about the work they are doing. Perhaps even more importantly, this essay may motivate IS scholars to allocate their resources to topics that help increase the field’s legitimacy

Challenges in Technostress Research: Guiding Future Work

Since the proliferation of technologies in organizations has been found to lead to technostress in employees and to various negative organizational consequences, much recent research has investigated the factors that can lead to technostress and how to prevent these factors from occurring. However, limited directions currently exist to guide further research in this area. Consequently, the present research-in-progress sets out to determine the key challenges that remain to be addressed by technostress research. The paper finds that technostress research needs to be more theory-driven, needs to evaluate stress more directly instead of indirectly through such concepts as job satisfaction that serve as proxies for stress, needs to advance more rigorous explanations of how and why technology creates stress in users, needs to advance more rigorous explanations of for what kinds of users technology creates stress, and needs to be more diversified in terms of perspectives, methods, measures, and paradigms used

On the Apprpriateness of Theroy Borrowing in IS: an Interdisciplinary Evaluation

This essay discusses whether “stealing” theories from other disciplines should always be avoided or whether there is any appropriate way of using theories developed in other disciplines in an information systems (IS) context. We take a look at the benefits and problems that have arisen in the IS field as a result of theory borrowing and suggest that – when done appropriately – such borrowing may well benefit the field. In the process, we also draw on the marketing and psychology literatures to evaluate the adequacy of theory borrowing in general and derive specific recommendations about what appropriate borrowing could look like. By synthesizing concepts from these literatures, we derive a comprehensive set of recommendations that may improve the process of theory borrowing in the field; thereby moving the discipline forward

Linking User Age and Stress in the Interruption Era: The Role of Computer Experience

The workforce is rapidly growing older; especially the number of older workers (60 years and over) is increasing sharply. At the same time, the number of interruptions mediated by modern information technologies is growing rapidly. These interruptions include, for example, instant messages and email notifications. Recent research has shown that interruptions have harmful consequences for workers as they can lead to stress. Interruptions might be especially problematic for older workers, implying severe problems for this fast-growing group of users regarding their well-being and performance at work. This study proposes that older workers perceive more interruption-based technostress than their younger counterparts because of differences in computer experience between older and younger individuals. Thus, the study answers recent calls for exploring users’ age as a substantive variable in IS research, and it also contributes to the literature on technostress by demonstrating how technostress might affect certain groups of users more than others

Information Systems Development Risk, Success,a nd Firm Performance: the Missing Link

This essay discusses whether “stealing” theories from other disciplines should always be avoided or whether there is any appropriate way of using theories developed in other disciplines in an information systems (IS) context. We take a look at the benefits and problems that have arisen in the IS field as a result of theory borrowing and suggest that – when done appropriately – such borrowing may well benefit the field. In the process, we also draw on the marketing and psychology literatures to evaluate the adequacy of theory borrowing in general and derive specific recommendations about what appropriate borrowing could look like. By synthesizing concepts from these literatures, we derive a comprehensive set of recommendations that may improve the process of theory borrowing in the field; thereby moving the discipline forward

The Effect of an IS Article’s Structure on Its Impact

Information Systems research often uses article citation counts to judge the impact of articles, journals, and authors, and even to assess the maturity of the discipline. Yet little is known about the drivers of article impact. Motivated by the continued debate on the importance of theory development, methodological rigor, and tradeoffs between rigor and relevance, the authors of this paper examine the structure of theory-based empirical IS articles as a potential determinant of their scientific impact. Using the straightforward measure of page counts, the authors assess the structure of these articles at the macro level and develop hypotheses on article impact. Results indicated that, as hypothesized, the structure of IS articles does determine their impact. Conceptualization and theory development in articles tends to payoff in citation counts, while emphasis on methodology and implications does not. They discuss recommendations for review systems and for authors, as well as for the field as a whole. Supplemental analyses show that highly-influential IS research tends to be theory-based empirical and that, consistent with the evolution of the field, concept to method ratio has been going up in IS articles over time; a synchronization that has paid off in terms of impact

Examining Interdependencies between Seller’s and Buyer’s Strategies in Online Auctions: (The Case of Seller’s Choice of Auction Duration)

In online auction research, sellers’ and buyers’ strategies have been largely examined as separate research streams and the interdependencies inherent in their strategies to understanding price premium and buyer behaviors have not been adequately explored. This deficiency is a serious limitation since an integrative approach could build the conceptual bridge necessary to provide sellers with a deeper understanding of how to achieve desired auction outcomes. Consequently, the present study integrates these two perspectives by proposing that seller auction duration strategy impacts bidders’ strategy, their winning likelihood, and their financial outcomes. Results from cluster analysis and ANCOVA support our model, showing that different auction durations attract different types of bidders. Auctions with shorter durations were found more attractive to those buyers attempting to keep monitoring cost low, while longer durations appeared to be more attractive to those benefitting from observing other bidders’ actions. The paper concludes with implications for research and practice