Information technology use and employee empowerment: An historical event analysis approach to testing a theoretical model.

Abstract

This dissertation addresses the following research questions: (1) How does increased interaction with computerized information technology affect user empowerment; (2) How can historical data be used to test theoretical models related to IT user empowerment? and (3) How might techniques developed for analysis of historical data be employed in analyzing and interpreting non-historical data collected from quasi-empirical sources? An IT-empowerment model is developed based on both functional and cognitive theories of empowerment, as well as an extensive evaluation of the pertinent research literature on the social impacts of information technology. The model proposes three classes of intervening variables as influencing the relationship between IT use and empowerment: IT functionality, user work role, and implementation context. A quasi-empirical research method, referred to as historical event analysis, is presented as a useful approach for testing this model's predictive power against historical data. Four historical events, each defined by the introduction of radical information technology innovations in the printing and publishing industries, are investigated as test settings for the model. The investigation results present consistently strong support for the predicted outcomes of IT use on empowerment. Finally, the application of the historical event analysis approach to interpreting contemporary data is presented to demonstrate its usefulness in dealing with various types of data.