The importance of policy to effective IM use and improved performance

Lin Jia (School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China) (Sustainable Development Research Institute for Economy and Society of Beijing, Beijing, China)
Lijuan Huang (Xidian University, Xi’an, China)
Zhijun Yan (School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China) (Sustainable Development Research Institute for Economy and Society of Beijing, Beijing, China)
Dianne Hall (Department of Systems and Technology, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA)
Jiahe Song (Western Michigan University, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA)
David Paradice (Department of Systems and Technology, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA)

Information Technology & People

ISSN: 0959-3845

Publication date: 29 April 2019

Abstract

Purpose

Although the use of instant messaging (IM) at work has been studied in the IS field, its effective use and impact on performance have not been adequately addressed. The purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents and consequences of the effective use of IM at work by adapting Burton-Jones and Grange’s theory of effective use.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors introduce “Comprehensive IM policy” as a facilitator of adaptation and learning actions to improve the effective use of IM, which will improve communication quality and productivity. The impact of IM competence on effective use is also discussed. Based on a survey of 215 managers, this study applies the partial least square technique to test the research model.

Findings

The results indicate that comprehensive IM policy encourages adaptation and learning actions, which improve the effective use of IM and thereafter improve communication quality and productivity. Meanwhile, IM competence has a substitutive interaction effect with IM reconfiguration and self-learning on effective use.

Originality/value

The results refine the general theory of effective use and provide managers with an approach to leverage IM use at work for performance gains.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant ID: NSFC 71602009, 71872013, 71572013); Beijing Municipal Social Science Foundation(18JDGLB040); Special Fund for Joint Development Program of Beijing Municipal Commission of Education; Beijing Institute of Technology Research Fund Program for Young Scholars; and Beijing Institute of Technology Basic Research Fund Program (Grant ID: 20172142005).

Citation

Jia, L., Huang, L., Yan, Z., Hall, D., Song, J. and Paradice, D. (2019), "The importance of policy to effective IM use and improved performance", Information Technology & People, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-09-2018-0409

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Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

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