Teleworking in the Covid-19 Pandemic

Teleworkers who live and work in the same space are vulnerable to conflicts between personal life and work (LWC). The Covid-19 lockdowns increased the intensity and risk of LWC and changed telework conditions, confronting teleworkers with difficult personal situations and often ill-equipped telework environments. To develop a better understanding of the effects of different LWC dimensions (e.g., time, strain, behavior) on work exhaustion, job satisfaction, routine and innovative job performance and the role of the IT telework environment among teleworkers in the Covid-19 pandemic, a research model based on a sample of 249 teleworkers was developed and validated. The findings show that LWC has adverse effects on job outcomes and that the IT telework environment moderates these effects. The study contributes to the telework and role conflict literature by revealing the essential role of the IT telework environment and by differentiating between routine and innovative job performance among teleworkers.

A Person-Environment Fit Model to Explain Information and Communication Technologies-Enabled After-Hours Work-Related Interruptions in China

Given the ubiquitous nature of mobile devices and information and communication technologies (ICT), after-hours work-related interruptions (AHWI) occur anywhere and anytime in China. In the current study, an alternative person-environment (P-E) fit model of ICT-enabled AHWI, hereafter referred to as IAWI, that treats polychronic variables as moderated solutions are presented. A cross-sectional survey among 277 Chinese employees (average age: 32.04 years) was conducted in September 2022 and tested by PLS-structural equation modeling to validate our hypotheses. The results indicated that IAWI had a positive influence on employees' innovative job performance and in-role job performance (β = 0.139, p < 0.05; β = 0.200, p < 0.01; β = 0.298, p < 0.001). Moreover, among employees with higher levels of polychronicity, the heightened effects of IAWI on innovative job performance were increased (β = 0.112, p < 0.05). This study offers implications for employees: under IAWI situations, they could search for a person-environment (P-E) that is fit to buffer the negative aspects of IAWI, consequently increasing their innovative job performance and in-role job performance. Future research could extend beyond this framework to explore employees' IAWI and job performance balance.

Exploring the consequence of information communication technology-enabled work during non-working hours: a stress perspective

Purpose

This study aims to examine the impact of information communication technology-enabled work during non-working hours (ICT-enabled WNWHs), as a source of stress, on employee behavioral outcomes –in-role job performance, organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) that benefit organizations and OCBs that benefit individuals, through emotional responses – work exhaustion, nonwork exhaustion and organization-based self-esteem. As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdowns demonstrated that employees frequently engage in ICT-enabled WNWHs, studying stress induced by ICT-enabled WNWHs is essential for understanding employee adaptation to the work-from-home trend that emerged from COVID-19 lockdowns.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative survey comprising 1,178 employees in China was conducted, and the data reliability and validity were confirmed. Partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis was employed to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The study results empirically proved that, although ICT-enabled WNWHs had significant effects on employee behavioral outcomes, the related emotional responses were the mediators of the stress transmission mechanism that directly affected employee behavioral outcomes. Notably, work exhaustion and organization-based self-esteem partially mediate the stress transmission mechanism, while nonwork exhaustion exerts a full mediating effect.

Originality/value

This study proposes the stress transmission mechanism of ICT-enabled WNWHs and delineates emotional responses regarding the work environment attributes of ICT-enabled WNWHs, an approach rarely seen in prior IS studies. To our best knowledge, this study is the first to identify and empirically demonstrate organization-based self-esteem as one among the emotional responses to ICT-enabled WNWHs. Furthermore, it expands understanding of the holistic impacts of ICT-enabled WNWHs, which is lacking in information systems (IS) literature.

To be or not to be stressed: Designing autonomy to reduce stress at work

BACKGROUND

Many organizations are undertaking efforts to reduce the stress of (oftentimes overworked) employees. Information Technology (IT) (e.g., smartphones) has the potential to be a key instrument for reducing stress. One design-relevant factor considered to reduce stress is the concept of autonomy. Unfortunately, little research exists using autonomy as a characteristic of technology design.

OBJECTIVE

Against this background, this study aimed to investigate specific autonomy-related design options with the potential to prevent stress.

METHODS

In a factorial survey, this experimental study tested three design options in an overwork scenario: 1) autonomy (no intervention by design), 2) nudge ("nudging" by design), and 3) enforcement (hard stop by design). 51 participants (mean age 38 years, 50% women, mean work experience 18 years) from the Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States of America, and Germany participated in the experiment for 330 seconds on average. To test our hypothesis, we used a two-step approach. First, a multiple linear regression was applied. Second, we carried out a one-way ANCOVA comparing the effects of our design options.

RESULTS

Our results indicate that autonomy can be manipulated through technology design and is negatively correlated with stress. Additionally, the design options autonomy and nudge were associated with lower levels of perceived stress than was enforcement.

CONCLUSION

The study proposes a careful use of IT and policies that limit the perceived autonomy of employees. Overall, this study offers a set of design recommendations arguing that organizations should implement technology that helps employees prevent overwork and maintain their autonomy.

Time is of the essence: a systematic literature review of temporality in information systems development research

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify, classify and analyse temporality in information systems development (ISD) literature.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors address the temporality and ISD research gap by using a framework – which classifies time into three categories: conceptions of time, mapping activities to time and actors relating to time. The authors conduct a systematic literature review which investigates time in ISD within the Senior Scholars' Basket, Information Technology & People (IT&P), and top two information systems conferences over the past 20 years. The search strategy resulted in 9,850 studies of which 47 were identified as primary papers.

Findings

The results reveal that ISD research is ill equipped for contemporary thinking around time. This systematic literature review (SLR) contributes to ISD by finding the following gaps in the literature: (1) clock time is dominant and all other types of time are under-researched; (2) contributions to mapping activities to time is lacking and existing studies focus on single ISD projects rather multiple complex ISD projects; (3) research on actors relating to time is lacking; (4) existing ISD studies which contribute to temporal characteristics are fragmented and lack integration with other categories of time and (5) ISD methodology papers lack contributions to temporal characteristics and fail to acknowledge and contribute to time as a multifaceted interrelated concept.

Originality/value

This work has developed the first SLR on temporality in ISD. This study provides a starting point for ISD researchers and ISD practitioners to test commonly held temporal assumptions of ISD researchers and practitioners.

Value Destruction in Information Technology Ecosystems: A Mixed-Method Investigation with Interpretive Case Study and Analytical Modeling

Value destruction is intertwined with value co-creation in the technology alliances and ecosystems; this is a key reason that most partnerships fail in the real world. Managers and policymakers will be enabled to identify destructive behavioral signals right from the onset drawing on our findings that opportunism, unjust appropriation of rents, shirking, exploitation of asymmetric power, and undue dependence can initiate the value destruction process. For the partners in an ecosystem, our findings underscore that opportunistic and exploitative behaviors do not pay off in the long run as these result in collateral and unintended losses for all. Dominant partner’s opportunism and exploitation of power asymmetry could give rise to a proverbial “pack of wolves,” a collective of resentful partners, for “challenging/killing the lion”—replacing the hub firm itself. In this vicious cycle, original intent of value co-creation gets lost with multidimensional losses on multiple fronts to the extent that opportunities open up even for the competitors with the help of hub’s former resentful complementors. Equipped with this knowledge, leaders can proactively manage ecosystem relationships keeping them on the path of originally intended value co-creation by remaining alert toward catching the signals of value destruction and reverting it deftly toward value co-creation.

Excessive Mobile Use and Family-Work Conflict: A Resource Drain Theory Approach to Examine Their Effects on Productivity and Well-Being

Given the pervasiveness of mobile technologies, it is important for organizations to gain a better understanding of the potential benefits and unexpected negative consequences of mobile use. Recent research outlined that 76% of employees in the United States handled work-related e-mails during nonwork time, and this phenomenon has been further amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, which emphasized the pivotal role of constant connectivity and distributed work arrangements. Our research aims at providing a better understanding of why individuals engage in excessive use of mobile devices for work purposes during nonwork time and to elucidate the effects of such behavior. Our results show that investing time and energy in family demands during work time reduces individuals’ ability to fulfill job demands and leads to excessive mobile use during nonwork time. Such excessive use increases the individual perception productivity, but it comes at a cost in terms of physiological, psychological, and relational well-being because it prevents individuals to restore their energies. Our results show also that a competitive climate within the organization exacerbates such negative effects on well-being, thus elucidating the pivotal role of organizational policies and interventions in supporting a responsible use of mobile technologies.

Trial-Period Technostress: A Conceptual Definition and Mixed-Methods Investigation

Application abstract:

A large number of electronic devices are rejected and returned to the seller in the first weeks of trial use, which costs organizations millions of dollars. We aimed to identify the causes behind those returns and find that stress during the trial period is a major contributing factor. Users are stressed as they need to learn how to use the electronic device, integrate it into their daily life, and take care of privacy issues. All that creates stress and makes users feel unhappy with using the electronic device so that they will send it back to the seller. In particular, we see in our results that individuals who are not innovative in using IT in general and have a low willingness to learn using the new electronic device tend to send back electronic devices in the first weeks of the trial period. When discussing those results with individuals who had sent back tablet devices, we see that stress in the trial period can even overwhelm positive thoughts. So, with our results, we conclude that stress in the trial period has many causes that are often responsible for returning electronic devices.

Sprint Zeal or Sprint Fatigue? The Benefits and Burdens of Agile ISD Practices Use for Developer Well-Being

Are agile information systems development practices (AISDPs), such as pair programming or daily stand-ups, universally beneficial to developer well-being? Given that agile information systems development project success is only as good as its developers’ productiveness, taking care of developer well-being is of utmost importance to organizations. Using daily survey responses of 131 agile developers spread over two workweeks, we show that the daily use of AISDP is a double-edged sword rather than a silver bullet. Although AISDPs can be motivating and activate energy resources on some days, they can be disturbing and deplete energy on others—two stress responses with opposing effects on developer well-being. As a potential antidote to the detrimental effects of AISDP, we investigate the moderating role of information technology (IT) mindfulness, a dynamic trait that captures the mindful usage of IT. We find that IT mindfulness can serve as a facilitator of positive stress responses and as a buffer against negative stress responses. A key takeaway of this study is in finding ways to influence developers (via awareness programs, time-sensitive recovery interventions, or mindfulness practices) to increase the functional and decrease the dysfunctional stress responses from daily AISDP use.

The Influence of Professional Subculture on Information Security Policy Violations: A Field Study in a Healthcare Context

The Influence of Professional Subculture on Information Security Policy Violations: A Field Study in a Healthcare Context

An empirical investigation of the utilitarian, social benefits in LBS information disclosure-The moderating effect of the gender based social role theory

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Locatability, personalization and social benefit affect information disclosure intention.

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Locatability shows the greatest impact on information disclosure intention in LBS.

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Locatability and personalization are more important for female users in predicting information disclosure intention.

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Social benefit has a more salient effect on information disclosure intention for male users than female users.

The prior studies on information disclosure in location-based services (LBS) suggested that the perceived benefits of information disclosure in LBS were manifested by three benefits, namely, locatability, personalization, and social benefits. The three benefits might affect information disclosure intention differently. As an extension, individual factors, such as gender, may affect the relationship. However, according to literature, little research has investigated on the combined influence of the three benefits on the information disclosure intention in LBS with the gender as a moderator. Based upon the self-determination and social role theories, this study intends to bridge the gap empirically. The hypotheses are largely supported by 215 respondents. Unexpectedly, the research findings show that for females, locatability and personalization are more important in predicting their information disclosure intention, whereas for males, the social benefit has more of an impact on information disclosure intention, which is opposite to the hypotheses and convention. Furthermore, the research findings indicate that the behaviors of males and females may conform to the roles distributed within a society of this information age rather than to the personalities of the individuals. Finally, the implications are presented.

Employee Political Skill, Supervisor-Subordinate Guanxi, and Work-Family Conflict: The Cross-Level Moderating Role of Family-Friendly Practices

Many studies have examined the negative effects of work-family conflict on society, organizations, and individuals. Nonetheless, alleviating employee work-family conflict is a topic worthy of further investigation. Few studies examine the antecedent variables of work-family conflict from personal skill and Guanxi perspectives. Studies that test the moderating role of family-friendly practices at the organization level are also rare. Accordingly, we collected data from 404 employees of 51 organizations. The research data are time-lagged and multileveled. The results of hierarchical linear model (HLM) show: (1) Employee political skill negatively affects employee perceived work-family conflict; (2) Employee political skill positively affects supervisor-subordinate Guanxi; (3) Supervisor-subordinate Guanxi partially mediates the relationship between employee political skill and employee work-family conflict (that is, employees can use their political skill to build high-quality supervisor-subordinate Guanxi, further reducing their perceived work-family conflict); (4) Organization family-friendly practices negatively moderate the relationship between supervisor-subordinate Guanxi and work-family conflict (that is, in organizations with high level family-friendly practices, the negative relationship between supervisor-subordinate Guanxi and work-family conflict becomes weak); Furthermore, by coding with Mplus software (Muthen & Muthen, Los Angeles, CA, USA), we also find: (5) Organization family-friendly practices moderate the indirect effect of employee political skill on employee work-family conflict. The results have both theoretical and empirical implications. Further research directions are addressed at the end.

Information technology and Baumol's cost disease in healthcare services: a research agenda

Purpose

This paper advances a research agenda for service researchers at the intersection of healthcare and information technologies to improve access to quality healthcare at affordable prices. The article reviews key trends to provide an agenda for research focusing on strategies, governance and management of key service processes.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper synthesizes literature in information systems, service management, marketing and healthcare operations to suggest a research agenda. The authors draw on frameworks such as the interpretive model of technology, technology acceptance model, assemblage theories and Baumol's cost disease to develop their arguments.

Findings

The paper situates strategy-related service management questions that service providers and consumers face in the context of emerging healthcare and technology trends. It also derives implications for governance choices and questions related to that.

Research limitations/implications

The paper discusses service management challenges and concludes with an agenda for future research that touches on governance and service management issues.

Practical implications

This paper provides implications for healthcare service providers and policymakers to understand new trends in healthcare delivery, technologies and facilities management to meet evolving customer needs.

Social implications

This paper provides implications for managing healthcare services that touch on many social and societal concerns.

Originality/value

This conceptual paper provides background and review of the work at the intersections of information systems, marketing and healthcare operations to draw implications for future research.