ABSTRACT
Technology driven organizational transformation-heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic-is gaining momentum, as employees increasingly invest in technology for work. Referred to as IT consumerization, employees use their smartphones, notebooks and tablets in the workplace, accompanied by a growing toolbox of applications. Google Apps and Dropbox are just a few consumer tools that employees use to get their work done, and in doing so, often bypass the authority of the IT department and the organization. While some organizations discourage, or even prohibit, employees from using their personal IT, others embrace the phenomenon. Employees' investment in consumer IT and its accompanying applications has been suggested as related to innovation and productivity gains, but there has been no empirical validation of such a beneficial relationship. With this paper we propose a theoretical root cause for the perceived positive outcomes of employees using their personal technologies in the workplace. Specifically, we explore the role of IT empowerment-a concept that captures the level of authority an employee assumes in utilizing IT in order to control or improve aspects of their job. Surveying 147 employees, we find support for increased levels of IT empowerment and higher levels of perceived performance among those that actively use consumer IT versus those that do not;we also find a close relationship between IT empowerment and perceived innovative work behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Technology driven organizational transformation-heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic-is gaining momentum, as employees increasingly invest in technology for work. Referred to as IT consumerization, employees use their smartphones, notebooks and tablets in the workplace, accompanied by a growing toolbox of applications. Google Apps and Dropbox are just a few consumer tools that employees use to get their work done, and in doing so, often bypass the authority of the IT department and the organization. While some organizations discourage, or even prohibit, employees from using their personal IT, others embrace the phenomenon. Employees' investment in consumer IT and its accompanying applications has been suggested as related to innovation and productivity gains, but there has been no empirical validation of such a beneficial relationship. With this paper we propose a theoretical root cause for the perceived positive outcomes of employees using their personal technologies in the workplace. Specifically, we explore the role of IT empowerment-a concept that captures the level of authority an employee assumes in utilizing IT in order to control or improve aspects of their job. Surveying 147 employees, we find support for increased levels of IT empowerment and higher levels of perceived performance among those that actively use consumer IT versus those that do not;we also find a close relationship between IT empowerment and perceived innovative work behaviors.
ABSTRACT
In one remarkable week, and in the face of a horrifying pandemic, information technology and systems were harnessed to dramatically transform education and office work. It wasn't always pretty, but the IT infrastructure worked, at least for those fortunate to have access to it. Tele-medicine, remote work, distance education - concepts long touted but sparsely implemented - suddenly essential and transformational. Now that we have made it through the immediate impact of the pandemic, the long term implications and consequences are emerging. What is this pandemic driven, but IT shaped, new normal? What does it mean for families, careers, and businesses? What does it mean for higher education and our discipline? Our panelists will explore the challenges faced by doctoral students and early career professors, two career families, and small businesses. But we will also ask them to help identify new opportunities, particularly for research, new modes of education and greater engagement with industry.