While the information technology (IT) literature is mixed regarding the direct benefits of eBusiness technologies on performance, the impact of such technologies on supply chain practices remains largely an unexplored area of research. We hypothesize that while there may be no direct benefit of eBusiness technologies on performance, these technologies might support customer integration and supplier integration in the supply chain, which in turn might impact operating performance.To examine our hypotheses, we collected data from respondents who focused their responses to a single major product the process that manufactures it, a significant customer, and an important supplier. Our analyses showed that there was no direct benefit of eBusiness technologies on performance; however these technologies supported customer integration and supplier integration. Further, supplier integration was found to positively impact cost, quality, flexibility, and delivery performance; however there was no relationship between customer integration and performance. Consequently, there is a relationship between eBusiness technologies and supplier integration that leads to better performance. Further, there is an interactive effect between customer integration and supplier integration that supports the notion that firms that have both forms of integration, supported by eBusiness technologies, significantly outperform the others. #

The five-factor model (FFM) of personality has been used to great effect in management and psychology research to predict attitudes, cognitions, and behaviors, but has largely been ignored in the IS field. We demonstrate the potential utility of incorporating this model into IS research by using the FFM personality factors in the context of technology acceptance. We propose a dispositional perspective to understanding user attitudes and beliefs, and examine the effect of user personality—captured using the FFM's big five factors—on both the perceived usefulness of and subjective norms toward the acceptance and use of technology. Using logged usage data from 180 new users of a collaborative technology, we found general support for our hypotheses that the FFM personality dimensions can be useful predictors of users' attitudes and beliefs. We also found strong support for the relationships between intention to use and system use.

The relationship between investment in information technology (IT) and its effect on organizational performance continues to interest academics and practitioners. In many cases, due to the nature of the research design employed, this stream of research has been unable to identify the impact of individual technologies on organizational performance. This study posits that the driver of IT impact is not the investment in the technology, but the actual usage of the technology. This proposition is tested in a longitudinal setting of a healthcare system comprising eight hospitals. Monthly data for a three--year period on various financial and nonfinancial measures of hospital performance and technology usage were analyzed. The data analysis provides evidence for the technology usage--performance link after controlling for various external factors. Technology usage was positively and significantly associated with measures of hospital revenue and quality, and this effect occurred after time lags. The analysis was triangulated using three measures of technology usage. The general support for the principal proposition of this paper that "actual usage" may be a key variable in explaining the impact of technology on performance suggests that omission of this variable may be a missing link in IT payoff analyses.Information Technology, IT Payoff, IT Usage, Healthcare, Longitudinal Study, Profitability, Quality

Although electronic commerce (EC) has created new opportunities for businesses as well as consumers, questions about consumer attitudes toward Business-to-Consumer (B2C) e-commerce vis-à-vis the conventional shopping channels continue to persist. This paper reports results of a study that measured consumer satisfaction with the EC channel through constructs prescribed by three established frameworks, namely the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA), and Service Quality (SERVQUAL). Subjects purchased similar products through conventional as well as EC channels and reported their experiences in a survey after each transaction. Using constructs from the three frameworks, a model was constructed and tested to examine the determinants of the EC channel satisfaction and preference using the survey data. Structural equation model analyses indicate that metrics tested through each model provide a statistically significant explanation of the variation in the EC consumers' satisfaction and channel preference. The study found that TAM components—perceived ease of use and usefulness—are important in forming consumer attitudes and satisfaction with the EC channel. Ease of use also was found to be a signi.cant determinant of satisfaction in TCA. The study found empirical support for the assurance dimension of SERVQUAL as determinant in EC channel satisfaction. Further, the study also found general support for consumer satisfaction as a determinant of channel preference.

He has worked on several projects for companies examining the impact ofthe technological environment, justin-time manufacturing, work teams, and perfonnance evaluation systems on manufacturing performance. He has also studied the impact of technology investments and technology usage in the health-care industry. In the field of service quality, Dr. Devaraj conducts research on consumers' perception of service and product quality in the automotive industry. He teaches courses in management of technology, operations management, and business statistics. ABSTRACT: With the enormous investments in Information Technology (IT), the question of payoffs from IT has become increasingly important. Organizations continue to question the benefits from IT investments especially in conjunction with corporate initiatives such as business process reengineering (BPR). Furthermore, the impact of technology on nonfmancial outcomes such as customer satisfaction and quality is gaining interest. RAJIV KOHLI is the ProjectHowever, studies examining the IT-^erformance relationship have been far from conclusive. The difficulty in identifying impacts from technology has been the isolation of benefits of IT from other factors that may also contribute to organizational performance. Furthermore, benefits from technology investments may be realized over an extended period of time. Finally, IT benefits may accrue when they are done in concert with other organizational initiatives such as business process reengineering. This calls for studies that take into account control variables as well as data that span time periods.In this study, we examine monthly data collected from eight hospitals over a recent three-year time period. We specify propositions that relate investments in IT to performance, and the combined effect of technology and BPR on performance. We draw DEVARAJ AND KOHLIupon the literature in health-care management to incorporate appropriate control variables in the analyses. Our results provide support for the IT-^erfonnance relationship that is observed after certain time lags. Such a relationship may not be evident in cross-sectional or snapshot data analyses. Also, results indicate support for the impact of technology contingent on BPR practiced by hospitals.KEY WORDS AND PHRASES: business process reengheering, health-care infonnation systems, infonnation technology payoff, information technology productivity. CHANGES IN THE HEALTH-CARE BUSINESS RESULTING FROM CAPITATION and de-clining reimbursement have led to cost-cutting measures through improved operations. In some cases, failure to cut costs threatens the fmancial viability of healthcare organizations. While on the one hand investment in IT is seen as an enabler of efficiency and competitiveness, it is also a significant fmancial investment that, if not linked to improved organizational performance, can hasten the decline of an organization. Given this scenario, the issue of IT payoff has come under close scmtiny.While IT payoff has long been a subject of research and intens...

P ayoffs from information technology (IT) continue to generate interest and debate both among academicians and practitioners. The extant literature cites inadequate sample size, lack of process orientation, and analysis methods among the reasons some studies have shown mixed results in establishing a relationship between IT investment and firm performance. In this paper we examine the structural variables that affect IT payoff through a metaanalysis of 66 firm-level empirical studies between 1990 and 2000. Employing logistic regression and discriminant analyses, we present statistical evidence of the characteristics that discriminate between IT payoff studies that observed a positive effect and those that did not. In addition, we conduct ordinary least squares (OLS) regression on a continuous measure of IT payoff to examine the influence of structural variables on the result of IT payoff studies. The results indicate that the sample size, data source (firm-level or secondary), and industry in which the study is conducted influence the likelihood of the study finding greater improvements on firm performance. The choice of the dependent variable(s) also appears to influence the outcome (although we did not find support for process-oriented measurement), the type of statistical analysis conducted, and whether the study adopted a cross-sectional or longitudinal design. Finally, we present implications of the findings and recommendations for future research.

a b s t r a c tThe impact of information technologies on manufacturing operations and performance is well established. However, scant research has been devoted to examining information technology (IT) investment among hospitals and how it influences patient care and financial performance. Using the lens of the Theory of Swift Even Flow (TSEF), we present an operations management-based perspective on the effect of IT in streamlining hospital operations. Specifically, we examined the role of IT on patient flow and its consequences for improved hospital efficiency and performance.Analysis of data from 567 U.S. hospitals shows that IT is associated with swift and even patient flow, which in turn is associated with improved revenues. Interestingly, we find that the improvement in financial performance is not at the expense of quality because we find similar effects of IT and patient flow in improvements in the quality of patient care. Further, we observed differential effects of swift flow and even flow on various measures of hospital performance. Although swift flow affects financial performance, even flow primarily affects quality performance. Taken together, they have a mutually reinforcing overall impact on hospital performance.The implications of these findings for hospital decision makers are that patient flow is an important mediating variable that is affected by IT and can significantly affect the quality of patient care and financial performance.

Prior literature has examined product quality and service quality separately as antecedents of customer loyalty. In the context of the automotive industry, we present a framework that examines the simultaneous impact of product and service quality on consumers' purchase intentions. The framework is operationalized as several hypotheses that posit relationships between service quality, service satisfaction, product quality, and customer loyalty. The hypotheses are tested using three sources of data: (i) archival data on product quality and customer purchases, (ii) consumersíresponses to a survey instrument, and (iii) Consumer Reports. Results indicate general support for main hypotheses proposed.