Evaluation of the Egyptian knowledge bank using the information systems success model

The appearance of the coronavirus pandemic had several implications on the educational process, which caused students, at all educational levels, to resort to digital libraries as the available educational opportunity in this challenging time. This study sheds light on the Egyptian Knowledge Bank (EKB) as one of the largest digital libraries in the world. It empirically evaluates the EKB, using the updated Information Systems Success (ISS) model proposed by DeLone and McLean (2003), among postgraduate business students in the context of Egyptian universities with a sample of 245 students. The results indicate that all nine hypotheses derived from the research model are supported and significant, contributing either directly or indirectly to the success of the EKB. Hence, the results confirm the validity of the ISS model in measuring the success of the EKB. These findings highlight as well the significance of investing more deeply in digital libraries as a coping mechanism for the educational recovery process from COVID-19 and the importance of creating awareness among students about digital libraries in order to sustain the learning process in a safe environment.

Optimal pricing decisions for multichannel healthcare service with differing consemers’ knowledge levels

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to establish a stylized model to solve the pricing strategy, resource allocation and consumer surplus problems of multichannel healthcare services.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper considers a two-stage decision model with different levels of consumers’ knowledge. Faced with physical problems, knowledgeable consumers can solve their problems by seeking online healthcare channels, while unknowledgeable consumers need to make a two-stage decision to try to solve their problems.

Findings

The effective diagnosis rate and the proportion of knowledgeable consumers positively impact the optimal pricing in online and offline channels. In addition, a higher proportion of knowledgeable consumers does not result in higher demand in the online and offline channels. Moreover, if service providers lower their prices a small amount, they will lose some profit, but the consumer surplus will be higher, which will encourage more consumers to access healthcare services.

Research limitations/implications

Knowledge levels are simplified into two categories. Also, the authors assume the resources of online and offline healthcare services are comparable.

Originality/value

This paper incorporates the knowledge level and misdiagnosis rate into the model framework to study the most effective pricing strategy for multichannel healthcare services.

The Digital Stressors Scale: Development and Validation of a New Survey Instrument to Measure Digital Stress Perceptions in the Workplace Context

This article reports on the development of an instrument to measure the perceived stress that results from the use and ubiquity of digital technology in the workplace. Based upon a contemporary understanding of stress and a set of stressors that is a substantial update to existing scales, the Digital Stressors Scale (DSS) advances the measurement of digital stress. Initially, 138 items were constructed for the instrument and grouped into a set of 15 digital stressors. Based on a sample of N = 1,998 online questionnaires completed by individuals representative of the US employed population, the scale was refined using exploratory factor analyses (EFA) and PLS-SEM. The resulting and final scale consists of ten stressor categories reflective of one higher-order construct and a total of 50 items. Through a nomological network that includes important outcome variables of digital stress (emotional exhaustion, innovation climate, job satisfaction, user satisfaction) it was then demonstrated that the DSS provides substantial explanatory power, particularly related to emotional exhaustion and user satisfaction. Thus, the DSS constitutes a state-of-the-art self-report instrument to measure the extent of distress appraisal related to digital technologies in the workplace and helps to explain further how and why information and communication technologies can lead to adverse outcomes in individuals, thereby providing the starting point for job related organizational interventions.

Mediating effects of user experience usability

Purpose

This study aims to explore whether the usability of user experience for mobile library application plays a mediating role in the relation between the success factors of information systems and net benefit.

Design/methodology/approach

The theoretical model of “information system success factor–user experience usability–net benefit” was constructed. A questionnaire was conducted at the Nankai University. The mediating effects of the usability of the mobile library application on information system success factors and net benefit were examined using hierarchical linear regression and structural equations.

Findings

First, the usability of user experiences is positively correlated to information quality, system quality and service quality. Second, user experience usability has a significant mediating effect on the relation between information system success factors and net benefit.

Originality/value

This study improves upon the DeLone and McLean model, connects the usability of user experience with the model and constructs the success factor mechanism of the mobile library application. It provides a theoretical basis for interpreting the relation between the mobile library application and users.

The Impact of Organizational Slack and Lag Time on Economic Productivity

Much like research on the productivity paradox of the 1980s, empirical research has not provided a clear association between investments in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and improved productivity, even though these systems were designed, developed, and marketed as productivity improvement tools. This paper explores the relationship between organizational slack and productivity improvements resulting from investments in ERP systems. The authors provide support for the proposition that during the period of time surrounding implementation, firms build organizational slack; and following implementation organizational slack is absorbed and productivity increases. Furthermore, the authors find that even though manufacturing firms drive the decrease in organizational slack during the post-ERP period, the magnitude of the increase in productivity is significantly larger for non-manufacturing firms.

Enhancing customer value through IT investments

The Net-Enabled Business Innovation Cycle (NEBIC) is a holistic theory that describes a pathway firms may use to leverage net-enablement. We assert that the strategic information system role constructs used in past studies are related to the stages found in the NEBIC. This suggests that information technology announcement studies should consider the role of net-enablement in creating customer value. We use the event study methodology to test the market's reaction to 298 announcements of technology investments that correspond to different information technology role constructs and the related NEBIC stages. Our findings suggest that customer value is added to firms through the value creation process described by the NEBIC.

An empirical study on the impact of quality antecedents on tax payers' acceptance of Internet tax-filing systems

This study used the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to examine taxpayers' acceptance of the Internet tax-filing system. Based on data collected from 141 experienced taxpayers in Taiwan, the acceptance and the impact of quality antecedents on taxpayers' perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) of the system were assessed and evaluated. The results indicated that the model of Internet tax-filing system was accepted with a reasonable goodness-of-fit. Three important findings include the following items. First, TAM proves to be a valid model to explain the taxpayers' acceptance of the Internet tax-filers' system. Meanwhile, PU has created more impact than PEOU on taxpayers' intention to use the system. Second, PU is positively influenced by such factors as information system quality (ISQ), information quality (IQ), as well as perceived credibility (PC). Third, IQ has a positive impact on PEOU. Based on the research findings, implications and limitations are then discussed for future possible research.

Sources of dissatisfaction in end-user support

Organizations are investing in information technology for an ever-increasing number of end-user tasks. Extracting benefits from these investments increasingly depends on supporting effective use of information technology and satisfying information technology users. This research explores the end-user support factors that correlate with user satisfaction. This survey of 484 end-users examines 21 potential end-user computing support factors, such as system response time and user training in terms of their perceived importance to the end-user and the performance of IS staff in supporting each. Service quality, the gap between perceived importance and performance for each support factor, is computed. The relationships between these service quality gaps and user satisfaction are tested across different user groups (faculty, non-IS staff and students). Larger service quality gaps in the following support factors were correlated with lower user satisfaction in at least one of the three user groups: IS staff response time, IS staff technical competence, software upgrades, ease of access, cost effectiveness of the system, user understanding, documentation to support training, and data security/privacy. These results are compared to the support factors identified as significant in previous empirical studies.