Telework: an innovation where nobody is getting on the bandwagon?

ABSTRACT

Despite predictions over the years that many employees would soon be teleworking from their homes, neither employees in general nor information systems (IS) professionals in particular, whose work is especially appropriate for telework, have begun teleworking to any large extent. The reasons for this lack of telework growth are empirically untested. Yet an understanding of why organizations and IS departments are not joining the telework bandwagon is critical if predictions of improved flexibility and productivity through telework are to be realized.This study used innovation theory to suggest key variables that may be related to telework use among IS programmer/analysts. A national survey of IS executives was used to obtain information on the variables relevant to IS telework assimilation. The survey resulted in responses from 252 IS departments describing their telework arrangements.Key variables related to both the adoption stage and the infusion stage of IS teleworking were middle management support for telework, administrative intensity, and professionalism. A variable significantly related only to the adoption decision was centralization. The key variable related only to the infusion stage was size. The variables that were not related to either adoption or infusion were specialization and formalization, suggesting that bureaucracy alone is not an obstacle to telework.Overall, the findings suggest a bottom-up initiation of telework; i.e., that programmer/analysts are initiating telework arrangements. Lack of middle management support for telework has a strong negative effect on the assimilation of telework. Thus, this study suggests that future research may wish to investigate further the reasons for lack of managerial support. Moreover, the lack of organizations getting on the telework bandwagon, together with the variables found significant in this study, suggest fruitful areas for future research may be an analysis of the type of publicity describing telework arrangements, managerial knowledge of telework arrangements, the nature of IS work appropriate for telework, and the managerial skills demanded by telework.

REFERENCES

• 1: Abrahamson, E. and Rosenkopf, L. (1993). "Institutional and Competitive Bandwagons: Using Mathematical Modeling as a Tool to Explore Innovation Diffusion," Academy of Management Review, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 487-517.
• 2: Atkinson, W. (1985). "Home/Work," Personnel Journal, Vol. 64, No.11, pp. 105-109.
• 3: L. Bailyn, Toward the perfect workplace?, Communications of the ACM, v.32 n.4, p.460-471, April 1989 [doi>10.1145/63334.63338]
• 4: Andrew C. Boynton , Robert W. Zmud , Gerry C. Jacobs, The influence of IT management practice on IT use in large organizations, MIS Quarterly, v.18 n.3, p.299-318, Sept. 1994 [doi>10.2307/249620]
• 5: Christensen, K. (1989). Flexible Staffing and Scheduling in U.S. Corporations (Research Bulletin No. 240), New York: The Conference Board.
• 6: Kathleen Christensen, Leadership: remote control, PC/Computing, v.3 n.2, p.90-94, Feb. 1990
• 7: Cohen, W. M. and Levinthal, D. A. (1990). "Absorptive Capacity: A New Perspective on Learning and Innovation," Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 35, pp. 128-152.
• 8: Conover, W. J. (1980). Practical Nonparametric Statistics, 2nd Edition, New York: John Wiley & Sons.
• 9: Randolph B. Cooper , Robert W. Zmud, Information technology implementation research: a technological diffusion approach, Management Science, v.36 n.2, p.123-139, Feb. 1990 [doi>10.1287/mnsc.36.2.123]
• 10: Currid, C. (Feb. 10, 1992a). "Telecommuting Has Yet to Assimilate into Corporate Culture," Infoworld, Vol. 14, No. 6, p. S74.
• 11: Currid, C. (Mar. 16, 1992b). "Workers Warm to Telecommuting; Middle Managers Stay Cold," Infoworld, Vol. 14, No. 11, p. 59.
• 12: Daft, R. L. (1978). "A Dual-Core Model of Organizational Innovation," Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 193- 210.
• 13: Damanpour, F. (1987). "The Adoption of Technological, Administrative, and Ancillary Innovations: Impact of Organizational Factors," Journal of Management, Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 675-688.
• 14: Damanpour, F. (1991). "Organizational Innovation: A Meta-Analysis of Effects of Determinants and Moderators," Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 555-590.
• 15: Daniel, Wayne W. (1990). Applied Nonparametric Statistics, 2nd Edition, Boston: PW-Kent Publishing Co.
• 16: D'Attilo, L. (February 15, 1985) "On the Job," Datamation, Vol. 31, No. 4, pp. 156-158.
• 17: Davis, F. (1991). "Telecommuting Aids Economy, Ecology, Firm, and Employee," PC Week, p. 138.
• 18: DeSanctis, G. (1983). "A Telecommuting Primer," Datamation, Vol. 29, No. 10, pp. 214-220.
• 19: Dvorak, J. C. (1994). "Domestic Bliss," PC Computing, Vol. 7, No. 12, p. 75.
• 20: Eisman, R. (1993). "When it Pays not to Show Up," Incentive, Vol. 167, No. 1, p. 12.
• 21: Evan, W. M. and Black, G. (1967). "Innovation in Business Organizations: Some Factors Associated with Success or Failure of Staff Proposals," The Journal of Business, Vol. 40, pp. 519-530.
• 22: Fichman, R. G. (December, 1994). "Alternative Measures of Organizational Innovativeness: A Conceptual and Empirical Analysis," Diffusion Interest Group in Information Technology (DIGIT) Conference, Vancouver, Canada.
• 23: Furger, R. (1989). "The Growth of the Home Office," InfoWorld, Vol. 11, No. 41, pp. 45- 49.
• 24: Gibbons, Jean Dickinson, (1985). Nonparametric Statistical Inference, 2nd Edition, New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc.
• 25: Gordon, G. E. (1986). "Telecommuting: Planning for a New Work Environment," Journal of Information Systems Management, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 37-44.
• 26: Gordon, G. E. (1990). "Telecommuting: Dialing up the Remote Office," Rural Telecommunications , Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 26-30.
• 27: Varun Grover , Martin D. Goslar, The initiation, adoption, and implementation of telecommunications technologies in U.S. organizations, Journal of Management Information Systems, v.10 n.1, p.141-163, June 1993
• 28: Hamilton, C. A. (1987). "Telecommuting," Personnel Journal, Vol. 66, No. 4, pp. 91-101.
• 29: Harier, C. (December 1993). "Biggest Obstacles to Work at Home Are Not Technical," Communications News, Vol. 30, No. 12, pp. 4.
• 30: Hotch, R. (February 1993). "Managing from a Distance," Nation's Business, Vol. 81, No. 2, pp. 24-26.
• 31: Hughson, T. L. and Goodman, P. S. (1986), "Telecommuting: Corporate Practices and Benefits," National Productivity Review, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 315-324.
• 32: Ursula Huws , Werner B. Robinson , Simon Robinson, Telework towards the elusive office, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 1990
• 33: Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa , Blake Ives, The global network organization of the future: information management opportunities and challenges, Journal of Management Information Systems, v.10 n.4, p.25-57, March 1994
• 34: Kelly, M. M. (1988). "The Work-at-Home Revolution," The Futurist, Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 28- 32.
• 35: Kimberly, J. R. and Evanisko, M. J. (1981). "Organizational Innovation: The Influence of Individual, Organizational, and Contextual Factors on Hospital Adoption of Technological and Administrative Innovations," Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 24, No. 4, pp. 689-713.
• 36: Kraut, R. E. (1987). "Predicting the Use of Technology: The Case of Telework," in Kraut, R. E. (Ed.), Technology and the Transformation of White-Collar Work, Hillsdale, NJ: Earlbaum Associates.
• 37: T. H. Kwon , R. W. Zmud, Unifying the fragmented models of information systems implementation, Critical issues in information systems research, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 1987
• 38: Lavallee, W. (1993). "Telecommuting Still Limited," Vol. 30, No. 12, pp. 30, 35.
• 39: Lind, M. R. and Zmud, R. W. (1991). "The Influence of a Convergence in Understanding Between Technology Providers and Users on Information Technology Innovativeness," Organization Science, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 195-217.
• 40: Lindquist, K. M. and Mauriel, J. J. (1989). "Depth and Breadth in Innovation Implementation: The Case of School-Based Management," in Van de Ven, A. H., Angle, H. L., and Poole, M. S. (Eds.), Research on the Management of Innovation, New York: Harper & Row.
• 41: Henry C. Lucas, Jr. , Michael J. Ginzberg , Radnall L. Schultz, Information systems implementation: testing a structural model, Ablex Publishing Corp., Norwood, NJ, 1990
• 42: Lucas, H. C., Ginzberg, M. J., and Schultz, R. L. (1994). "Managers Are a Barrier to Telecommuting," Investor's Business Daily, p. A4.
• 43: Mansfield, E. Rapoport, J., Schnee, J., Wagner, S., and Hamburger, M. (1971), Research and Innovation in the Modern Corporation, New York: Norton. [cited by Tornatzky & Fletcher, p. 39].
• 44: Marshall, J. J. and Vredenburg, H. (1992). "An Empirical Study of Factors Influencing Innovation Implementation in Industrial Sales Organization," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 205-215.
• 45: McKenna, J. F. (1989). "Have Modem, Don't Travel," Industry Week, Vol. 238, No. 22, pp. 26-27, 30.
• 46: Miller, T. (1986). "High Performance Telework Helps Companies Compete," Computerworld , Vol. 20, No. 8, pp. 69-72.
• 47: S. Nilakanta , R. W. Scamell, The effect of information sources and communication channels on the diffusion of innovation in a data base development environment, Management Science, v.36 n.1, p.24-40, Jan. 1990 [doi>10.1287/mnsc.36.1.24]
• 48: Niles, J. S. (1992). "Bringing it all Back Home: A Look at the Bottom Line," Corporate Computing, Vol. 1, No. 5, pp. 181-183.
• 49: O'Leary, M. (1991). "Home Sweet Office," CIO, Vol. 4, No. 10, pp. 30-40.
• 50: Olson, M. H. (1987). "Telework: Practical Experience and Future Prospects," in Kraut, R. E. (Ed.), Technology and the Transformation of White-Collar Work, Hillsdale, NJ: Earlbaum Associates.
• 51: Pierce, A. (1970). Fundamentals of Non-parametric Statistics, California: Dickenson Publishing Co.
• 52: Arun Rai , Geoffry S. Howard, Stimulating the use of computer-aided software engineering in information system departments: an empirical test of elements of innovation theory, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 1990
• 53: Rai, A. and Howard, G. S.. (1994). "Propagating CASE Usage for Software Development: An Empirical Investigation of Key Organizational Correlates," OMEGA International Journal of Management Science, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 133-147.
• 54: Raths, D. (December 10, 1990). "Taking An Alternate Route," InfoWorld, Vol. 12, No. 50, pp. 51-56.
• 55: Robey, D. and Azevedo, A. (1994). "Cultural Analysis of the Organizational Consequences of Information Technology," Accounting, Management & Information Technology , Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 23-37.
• 56: Rogers, E. M. (1983). Diffusion of Innovations, New York: Free Press.
• 57: Sheskin, D. (1984). Statistical Tests and Experimental Design: A Guidebook, New York: Garner Press, Inc.
• 58: Sixel, L. M. (1994). "Managers Oppose Work-at-Homers," The Beacon Journal, p. B10.
• 59: Tornatzky, L. G. and Klein, K. J. (1982). "Innovation Characteristics and Innovation Adoption-Implementation: A Meta-Analysis of Findings," IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 28- 45.
• 60: Tornatzky, L. G. and Fleischer, M. (1990). The Processes of Technological Innovation, Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
• 61: Tyre, M. J. and Orlikowski, W. J. (1993). "Exploiting Opportunities for Technological Improvement in Organizations," Sloan Management Review, pp. 13-26.
• 62: U.S. Department of Transportation (1993). Transportation Implications of Telecommuting , Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
• 63: Violino, B. and Stahl, S. (1993). "No Place Like Home," Information Week, Vol. 411, pp. 22- 29.
• 64: Zmud, R. W. (1982). "Diffusion of Modern Software Practices: Influence of Centralization and Formalization," Management Science, Vol. 28, No. 12, pp. 1421-1431.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.4 COMPUTERS AND SOCIETY

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.4 INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS

General Terms:
Management

Keywords:
diffusion of innovation, management of information technology, system development, systems implementation, telecommuting, telework