Diffusion Of Information Technologies Research Articles

Are People with Disabilities Losing the ICT Revolution? Some Evidence on European Countries

This paper contributes to the line of research devoted to the diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies. We analyse patterns of Internet diffusion across people with disabilities in ten European countries, a geographical area for which empirical evidence is scarce. Results show that disability status has a significant negative effect on the probability of being an Internet user, even for those with higher income and educational attainment. However, we find no significant relationship between disability and frequency of Internet use. Therefore, it seems that once online the digital divide between people with disabilities and the rest of the population attenuate, at least to some extent.

Sizing Up Information Societies: Toward a Better Metric for the Cultures of ICT Adoption

When researchers study technology diffusion in a global and comparative manner, they often find that economic productivity explains differences in the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs). But when researchers study technology diffusion in a regional, national, or subnational context, they often find that politics and culture explains different diffusion rates. How do we make use of different kinds of conclusions drawn from different levels of analysis? Just knowing the ways in which wealth explains technology diffusion can obscure the ways in which politics and culture also explain patterns in technology diffusion. In this article, we offer a new perspective on weighting technology diffusion data by economic wealth to set into sharp relief the ways in which other factors—such as politics and culture—influence how well a country metabolizes new technologies. A simple but useful computation is offered, examples are assessed, and implications for public policy, industry, and research are discussed.

National Culture and E-Government Readiness

Diffusion of information and communication technologies is a global phenomenon. In spite of rapid globalization there are considerable differences between nations in terms of the adoption and usage of new technologies. Several studies exploring causal factors including national cultures of information and communication technology adoption have been carried out. The focus of this article is slightly different from other studies in this area. Rather than concentrating on the individual information technology an overall e-Government readiness is the focus. This research conducted an analysis of the impact national culture has on e-Government readiness and its components for 62 countries. E-Government readiness assessment used in this study is based on the UN E-Government Survey 2008, while the national cultural dimensions were identified using Hofstede’s model of cultural differences. The research model and hypotheses were formed and tested using correlation and regression analysis. The findings indicate that worldwide e-Government readiness and its components are related to culture. The result has theoretical and practical implications.

Preface: Geology and information technology

The image of geologist is often associated with a “tough natural scientist” operating in the field without technology. This has changed with the large diffusion of information and communication technology; today, geologists face the digital world. The geological maps and cross sections have been fundamental for synthesizing the geological knowledge of a region, but GIS, 3D digital modelers, and web-based applications allow to easily analyze, interpolate, showing and sharing data, information, interpretations, and thoughts. This new way of operating has deeply affected the new generations of earth scientists and it changed the approach to the knowledge management in geology. In 2005, the need for communication among people working with digital tools in the earth sciences in Italy lead to the constitution of an informal group called GIT (Geology and Information Technology—www.gitonline.eu) which became later a section of the Italian Geological Society. This special issue showcases some of the main contributions to the second meeting hold in Bevagna (Perugia-, Italy) on 4–6 June 2007.

Contemporary Trends and Issues in it Adoption and Diffusion Research

The high level of investigative activity to date into information systems and information technology acceptance and diffusion has witnessed the use of a wide range of exploratory techniques, examining many different systems and technologies in countless different contexts and geographical locations. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive and systematic review of the literature pertaining to such adoption and diffusion issues in order to observe trends, ascertain the current ‘state of play’, and to highlight promising lines of inquiry including those lacking investigative activity or simply being in need of renewed interest. Previous research activity was analysed along a number dimensions including units of analysis, research paradigms, methodologies, and methods, theories and theoretical constructs, and technologies/contexts examined. Information on these and other variables was extracted during an examination of 345 papers on innovation adoption, acceptance and diffusion appearing in 19 peer-reviewed journals between 1985 and 2007. Findings suggest that the positivist paradigm, empirical and quantitative research, the survey method and Technology Acceptance Model theory (and its associated constructs) were predominantly used in the body of work examined, revealing clear opportunities for researchers to make original contributions by making greater use of the theoretical and methodological variety available to them, and consequently reducing the risk of research in the area moving toward overall homogeneity.

Technology readiness and usage: a global-identity perspective

The past several decades have witnessed the rapid globalization of consumption markets and widespread diffusion of information and communication technologies. However, the use of technology by consumers is not a foregone conclusion. We investigate the role of global self-identity on the orientation toward technology readiness and usage. Relying on a social-identity model of motivation as our theoretical framework, we propose a model which incorporates global self-identity (i.e., cosmopolitanism/parochialism and global/local identification) and self-regulation (i.e., promotion and prevention focus) in predicting technology readiness and usage in a self-service technology context. The proposed model is tested in two different cultures, the U.S. and China, and is contrasted with two theoretically-competing models as well. Results provide support for the hypothesized model, and a number of limitations, implications, and directions for future research are discussed.

The Cell Phone, Constant Connection and Time Scarcity in Australia

There can be little doubt that the cell phone is one of the most rapidly diffused devices in the history of technological innovation. Worldwide there are now over 1.7 billion cell phone accounts, 600 million more cell phones services than fixed lines (Castells et al. 2007). Many contemporary social scientists have seen the social effects of diffusion of portable information and communication technologies (ICTs) as signaling a historical watershed. For example, Virilio (2000) has asserted that ICTs, including the cell phone have transformed proximity, so that it is now based on time rather than place. The capacity of cell phones to operate regardless of location gives rise to new patterns of continuous mediated interactions (Agar 2003; Katz and Aakhus 2002; Licoppe and Smoreda 2006). While Nicola Green (2002) argues that mobile technologies afford novel opportunities for intensifying strong ties, others presume these technologies encourage work problems to * spillover' and colonize the social spaces and times once reserved for family life (Fligstein and Sharone 2002; Chesley 2005; Duxbury et al. 2006). Many writers have linked the 'always on' character of mobile technology with an increase in the pace of daily life (Wajcman 2008). The accelerated change popularly ascribed to ICTs is neatly captured in the title of journalist and science writer James Gleick's (1999) book, Faster: The Acceleration of Just About Everything. Cell phones are said to eliminate 'down time', presumably increasing the sensation that there is never a moment to spare. Although they do not connect their observations to the use of ICTs, Robinson and Godbey (1997) have suggested that the fragmentation of leisure explains the rising proportion of Americans who felt increasingly 'rushed or pressed for time' between 1965 and 1995 (even though the average leisure time of Americans had increased over this period).

ICT Demand Behaviour: An International Comparison

This study aims to provide some empirical explanations for the gaps in information and communication technologies (ICT) diffusion between industrialized countries and especially between European countries and the USA. National macro-economic panel data are mobilized for 11 OECD countries over the 1981–2005 period. The analysis is based on factor demand estimates. It provides some original results: (i) the impact on ICT diffusion is positive for the level of education and negative for market rigidities, and both increased over time (in absolute terms) until mid-1990s; (ii) in each country, the price-elasticity of demand for ICT decreased (in absolute terms) over time, from 2 at the beginning of the 1980s to 1 in the middle of the 2000s.

The Ethical Economy of Customer Coproduction

In this article, the author argues that customer coproduction should be understood as an expression of a large-scale trend toward the increasing power and relevance of social production. Social production consists in the self-organized systems of (mostly immaterial) production that have evolved around the diffusion of networked information and communication technologies. An analysis of the genealogy of social production is shared; this includes tracing it to the process of re-mediation of social relations put in motion by the expansion of the capitalist economy into the fields of culture and consciousness and the concomitant socialization of production relations. The author then argues that social production, including customer coproduction, follows a very particular economic logic—that is, an ethical economy where value is related to social impact rather than monetary accumulation. A detailed analysis of the logic of this ethical economy is offered; it draws out some implications for the successful management of ever more customer-centric brands, whereby the consumers are directly involved in the processes that add value.

Punched cards for professional European offices: revisiting the dynamics of information technology diffusion from the United States to Europe, 1889–1918

This paper compares the immediate success of the diffusion of punched cards in the United States in 1890 with their hesitant reception in Europe until 1918. This difference has so far been understood as a reflection of European backwardness but, as this paper argues, is better understood as an indication of more efficient European bureaucracies, both public and private. Further, the spread of punched card equipment in Europe until the 1900s was impeded by the absence of agencies in Europe to handle sales and maintenance. The analysis also shows that, even after 1918, the spread of punched cards in Europe was not a simple infusion of US technology. European agencies contributed significantly to the shaping of the technology.

ICT, Needs for Coordination and Information and Geographic Proximity: An Analysis Based on Breton Data

In this paper, we focus on the spatial proximity between firms and their partners as a determinant of firms agglomeration process, which can still be observed in spite of the diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies. Using a regional French survey addressed by INSEE in 2003 to 850 Brittany firms, we show that geographical distance from partners implies a more intensive use of ICT. Particularly, these technologies are more intensively used as a coordination tool when upstream partners are distant, and are more intensively used as a means of diffusing and collecting information when downstream partners are distant. Thus, these technologies cannot be considered only as tools to transfer codified knowledge but also as a means of exchanging and coordinating with distant partners and then as a way to withdraw geographical constraint. This should be done at low cost and generate quick return on investments.

Some empirical evidence on Internet diffusion in the New Member States and Candidate Countries of the European Union

This article contributes to the line of research devoted to the diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). In particular, we analyse Internet adoption in the New Member States (NMS) and Candidate Countries (CC) of the European Union, for which empirical evidence is quite scarce. Results confirm that income, educational attainment and age are the main determinants of Internet use. Nonetheless, there are substantial differences in the impacts of such variables in the nine analysed countries.

Internet use and the digital divide in the English longitudinal study of ageing.

This paper examines the digital divide in Internet use in later life. We hypothesise that the differential diffusion of domestic information and communication technologies between pre- and post-Second World War cohorts is primarily responsible for this divide rather than either age-associated structural inequalities or age-related intrinsic features of mental and/or physical infirmity. Using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing we show that age/cohort differences in Internet use persist after income, education, employment and health status are controlled for. However, when engagement with domestic information and communication technology and cultural activities are taken into account, age/cohort influences on Internet use decline. These contingent 'age/cohort' effects suggest that 'generational' rather than 'structural' or 'stage of life' influences may be more salient explanations of the (age-based) digital divide.

Using Information Technology for Strategic Growth from Single-Mission Transportation Company to Multi-Faceted Global Logistics Corporation

Businesses involved in logistics and supply chain management rely on information technology to deliver services "on time" with highest productivity. One such business began in 1971 as a single-service trucking company known as O-J Transport. It later expanded its capabilities and diversified its mission to become The O-J Group, a multiservice transportation and logistics enterprise. Strategically seizing opportunities, the CEO in 1998 expanded the company to become a global supplier to the automotive divisions whose mission is to optimize the customer’s supply chain infrastructures and processes by designing and implementing complex supply chain solutions and leveraging information technology to reduce costs and improve service. This study assesses the diffusion of information technology within the compnay by exploring the evolution of its technological infrastructure using Windley’s (2002) e-government maturity model to evaluate JGI’s adoption of goverment-to-business initiatives.

Impact of Organizational and Project Factors on Acceptance and Usage of Project Management Software and Perceived Project Success

This study surveyed 497 participants to determine the factors that affect project professionals’ acceptance of project management software and the perceived impact of software usage on their performance. The study finds that greater information quality and higher project complexity are the dominant factors explaining higher levels of system utilization, that greater system functionality and ease of use have a significant positive relationship with increased software usage, and that a strong positive relationship exists between higher usage of project management software and perceived project managers’ improved performance. Inconsistent with prior research, more training was not found to be associated with project management software usage. The study explains more than 40% of the variation in project management software acceptance and adds project management software usage to project success factors by empirically confirming for the first time that project management software enhances project professionals’ perceived performance and provides a positive impact on the results of their projects. The study provides practical implications for project professionals, their organizations, senior management, decision makers, software developers, and vendors. These findings support the call for further research that investigates the diffusion of information technologies in the project management field and their impact on project success and competitive position.

Information Technology and Organizational Practices: An Exploratory Sectoral Analysis

ABSTRACT Rapid price declines are likely to facilitate the increasing diffusion of information technology (IT) in industrial firms. Recent contributions by Bresnahan et al. (2002), however, have emphasized the interdependence between IT adoption and workplace organization. The present paper undertakes an exploratory analysis of the complementarities between IT adoption and the utilization of modern organizational practices. The analysis considers 3-digit sectoral data on the Brazilian manufacturing industry in 1996. A multivariate statistical analysis of canonical correlation analysis enabled the investigation of the overall relationship amongst a group of variables reflecting IT adoption (comprising the number of microcomputers per employee (median value), the percentage of firms providing computer training for employees, the percentage of firms with Internet connection and the percentage of firms with intranet (internal data communication network)), and amongst another group of variables reflecting the adoption of modern organizational practices (comprised of the percentage of firms adopting total quality management, statistical control of processes, internal just-in-time and improvement groups (Kaizen)). The results indicated a significant association between the two groups of variables, while the individual variables, in the majority of the cases, displayed positive and significant correlations within their own group. The evidence appears to support the perception that the adoption of IT is favored in an environment characterized by the utilization of modern organizational practices. RESUMEN. Es bien probable que las vertiginosa bajas sufridas por los precios, faciliten la creciente divulgación de la tecnología de la información (TI) en las empresas industriales. Sin embargo, recientes contribuciones de Bresnahan et al. (2002), han recalcado la interdependencia existente entre la adopción de la TI y la organización del entorno de trabajo. El análisis considera datos sectoriales de 3 dígitos sobre la industria fabril brasileña en 1996. La estadística analítica multivariada del análisis de la correlación canónica permitió investigar la relación general entre el grupo de variables que reflejan la adopción de la TI (considerando el número de microcomputadoras por empleado [valor medio], el porcentaje de firmas suministrando entrenamiento en computación a sus empleados, el porcentaje de empresas con conexión a la Internet y el porcentaje de empresas con intranet (red interna de comunicación de datos)), y entre otro grupo de variables que reflejan la adopción de prácticas organizacionales modernas (abarcando el porcentaje de empresas que adoptan la gestión de calidad total, el control estadístico de los procesos, Just-in-time interno y grupos de mejoría (Kaizen)). Los resultados indican la existencia de una asociación significativa entre ambos grupos de variables mientras que, en la mayoría de los casos, las variables individuales mostraron tener importantes correlaciones positivas dentro de su propio grupo. Las pruebas parecen respaldar la percepción de que, la adopción de la TI, favorece la existencia de un entorno que se caracteriza por el uso de prácticas organizacionales modernas. RESUMO. Rápidos declínios nos preços tendem a facilitar a difus$aUo crescente da tecnologia da informação (TI) nas empresas industriais. Contribuições recentes de Bresnahan et al. (2002), porém, enfatizaram a interdependência entre a adoção da TI e a organização do local de trabalho. Este artigo realiza uma análise exploratória das complement-aridades entre a adoção da TI e a utilização de práticas organizacionais modernas. A análise considera dados setoriais de 3 dígitos sobre o setor industrial brasileiro em 1996. Uma análise estatística multivariáveis de correlações can$oCnicas permitiu a investigação da relação geral entre um grupo de variáveis refletindo a adoção da TI (incluindo o número de microcomputadores por funcionário (valor mediano), a porcentagem de empresas fornecendo treinamento em informática aos funcionários, a porcentagem de empresas conectadas à Internet e a porcentagem de empresas com intranet (rede de comunicação de dados interna)) e outro grupo de variáveis refletindo a adoção de práticas organizacionais modernas (constituídas da porcentagem de empresas que adotam a gestão da qualidade total, o controle estatístico de processos, just-in-time interno e grupos de melhoria (Kaizen)). Os resultados indicaram uma associação significativa entre os dois grupos de variáveis, enquanto as variáveis individuais, na maioria dos casos, exibiram correlações positivas e significativas dentro de seus próprios grupos. Os dados parecem respaldar a percepção de que a adoção da TI é favorecida num ambiente caracterizado pela utilização de práticas organizacionais modernas.

Editorial

Our first paper in this issue of the ISJ investigates the possibilities and constraints of ubiquitous computing technology on an organization, and explains these impacts using the value chain model and the value constellation model. As a form of newly emerging technology, ubiquitous computing has raised a new research direction for information systems (IS) researchers, and social scientists more generally, to explain organization forms and the business models enabled by ubiquitous computing. The study of Katrin Jonsson, Ulrika Westergren and Jonny Holmström (Jonsson et al., 2008) uses semi-structured interviews as the primary means of data collection, and open, axial and selective coding techniques are used to code the interview data. This relates to remote diagnostics systems in a manufacturing company that proved to be an early adopter of this technology. The value chain model is focused on the internal activities of the firm, while the value constellation model is focused on empowering customers to create value for themselves. The discussion provides valuable insights for this company as well as showing how the ubiquitous information environment can have an impact that stretches beyond single organizations. The topic is new, interesting and important, and the empirical study data provided in this paper is especially valuable. Whereas information technology (IT) innovation research has examined the organizational and technological factors that determine IT adoption and diffusion, including firm size and scope, technological competency and expected benefits, the paper of Nigel Melville and Ronald Ramirez (Melville & Ramirez, 2008) extends the literature by focusing on information requirements as a driver of IT innovation adoption and diffusion. In their study, two industries (wood products and beverage manufacturing) provide empirical background, and the paper focuses on how supply chain characteristics (process complexity, clock speed and supply chain complexity) determine information processing requirements. The authors show that these, in turn, influence the development of IT capabilities and the rate and scale of IT innovation adoption. The comparison across the two industries illustrates the usefulness of the developed model. The authors conclude that the model shows that information processing requirements are a major influence on whether companies choose to be early and deep adopters of new technology. Teresa Shaft, Leslie Albert and Jon Jasperson (Shaft et al., 2008) help us understand the complicated cognitive transition of IS developers as they change from a structured to an object-oriented development environment in order to take advantage of the ease of development and maintenance and support for software reuse claimed by object-oriented development. Four hypotheses are developed in the research, and these are tested through a longitudinal study of a team of eight software developers going through this transition at an international petroleum company engaged in the firm's pilot object-oriented development project. The researchers utilize a multi-method approach that incorporates in-person group interviews, email logs and responses to a survey instrument. This field-based study of an IS development project provides many insights. Interestingly, one conclusion is that knowledge of structured development is positively related to knowledge of object-oriented development. This contradicts the often-cited notion that structured development needs to be unlearned in order to learn object-oriented concepts. Our last paper, by Ernst Kesseler (Kesseler, 2008), explores the issue of how to deploy commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software in safety-critical domains. The deployment of COTS software should bring with it low costs and shorter time-to-market, but an organization within the safety-critical domain is targeted in this study as this domain is known for its rigid regulations and slow introduction of new technology. In his paper, the author argues for the technical feasibility of COTS software and its general relevance for safety-critical domains, yet in exploring the development and implementation of a COTS-based prototype in the civil air transport industry, the expected benefits did not occur; indeed, in comparison with custom-made software, the COTS-based software took both a longer time to develop and was more expensive in terms of resources. The author discusses management style and team communication to explain this result, at least in part.

Information and Learning Technology (ILT) Adoption Among Career and Technical Teachers in Malaysia

AbstractThis study investigated the diffusion of Information and Learning Technology (ILT) among career and technical educators in Malaysia. It was conducted at a large career and technical institute and utilized a non‐experimental research approach. The results show that a majority of faculty members reported that ILT is important as a teaching tool, yet also suggest that few faculty members use it in their teaching practice. Compared to males, female faculty members owned significantly more personal computers. Faculty members who owned a personal computer rated higher on the variables of usage, knowledge, satisfaction, and support, and lower on “barrier to use” than those who did not own a personal computer. The findings revealed that career and technical faculty members were most comfortable using familiar technologies including the Internet, word processing, and presentation software. The study suggests that career and technical training facilities in Malaysia should address general barriers and increase both technological and pedagogical support to successfully implement ILT in teaching and learning practice.

Are Employees Really Satisfied with ICT?

The diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) within firms induces organizational changes which modify employee perceptions of working conditions. This article aims to evaluate the effects of the use of cell phones, computers and the Internet on job satisfaction, and especially to distinguish between direct effects (due to ICT) and indirect effects (due to ICT combined with organizational changes). We have used a survey conducted by the INSEE (French national statistic institute) in October 2005 on standards of living in French households. Econometric results show that these three technologies have complementary and globally positive impacts on job satisfaction, especially the computer. As for the cell phone, it has ambivalent effects, as it is also a source of stress for the employee. Finally, our results show the existence of direct and indirect effects of ICT, effects which can sometimes cancel out or reinforce each other.

Resolving the productivity paradox

Solow [R. Solow, We’d Better Watch out, New York Times Book Review, 1987, p. 36] made the statement that ‘we see computers everywhere except in the productivity statistics’. This has come to be known as the “productivity paradox”. Whether this is in fact a paradox or a direct implication of the diffusion of technical change is the focus of this paper. In particular, the implications of two different theoretical treatments of technology diffusion in an economy are considered; the traditional model of [R. Solow, A contribution to the theory of economic growth, Q. J. Econ., 70 (1956) 65–94] and the alternative view of [R.G. Lipsey, K.I. Carlaw, C.T. Bekar, Economic Transformations: General Purpose Technologies and Long Term Economic Growth, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005]. These two distinct views articulate two general empirically testable hypotheses that are captured in a number of specific tests including measures of the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICT). Although weak, the evidence supports the view of [R.G. Lipsey, K.I. Carlaw, C.T. Bekar, Economic Transformations: General Purpose Technologies and Long Term Economic Growth, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005].