A34. Aydin,
C. & Rice, R.E. (1991). Social worlds, individual differences, and
implementation: Predicting attitudes toward a medical information system.
Information and Management, 20, 119-136.
Implementation research has identified a wide variety of factors,
such as individual differences, implementation practices, and system usage,
that influence the success or failure of information systems. The present
research proposes that, especially in health care organizations, both occupational
and departmental social worlds are additional, important predictors of
individual reactions to medical information systems. Quantitative and qualitative
methods were uses to investigate the two-year process of implementing a
computerized medical records information system in one health care organization.
Results support the importance of social worlds, as well as some of the
traditional implementation influences (but not individual differences such
as cognitive style, prior computer experience and age) in understanding
individual attitudes toward the computer system. The study also highlights
current implementation issues and their implications for system planners
and managers. The research adds to our understanding of the complexity
of attitudes toward technological innovations, and the importance of membership
in social worlds in influencing those attitudes.