Use of ICT in Organizations: A New Social Technology Research Agenda

This book aims to advance the study of social technology in information systems through an empirical exploration of communication and information technology (ICT) use in four core dimensions - identity, interaction, affiliation, and environment - as hypothesized in the social actor model proposed by Lamb and Kling. Using a large sample of North American academics, the research identifies eight major types of ICT commonly used among organizational members. The findings support the social actor model in the context of professional organizations, and reveal that individual characteristics play a more prominent role in use of technology than organizational structural properties do. The results suggest that the social actor model can be conceptualized more parsimoniously in three dimensions and can explain ICT use more precisely by considering moderating and mediating effects. This book bridges the chasm between the deterministic and social streams of IS research. This book provides readers new theoretical and managerial insights that could help scholars, practitioners, and students to better understand the dynamics information systems research.