| Abstract: |
In an effort to reveal the fine-grained relationships between IT use, patterns
of information flows, and individual information-worker productivity, we study
task level practices at a midsize executive recruiting firm. We analyze both
project-level and individual-level performance using: (1) detailed accounting
data on revenues, compensation, project completion rates, and team membership
for over 1300 projects spanning 5 years, (2) direct observation of over
125,000 email messages over a period of 10 months by individual workers, and
(3) data on a matched set of the same workers' self-reported IT skills, IT use
and information sharing. These detailed data permit us to econometrically
evaluate a multistage model of production and interaction activities at the
firm, and to analyze the relationships among key technologies, work practices,
and output. We find that (a) IT use is positively correlated with non-linear
drivers of productivity; (b) the structure and size of workers' communication
networks are highly correlated with performance; (c) an inverted-U shaped
relationship exists between multitasking and productivity such that, beyond an
optimum, more multitasking is associated with declining project completion
rates and revenue generation; and (d) asynchronous information seeking such as
email and database use promotes multitasking while synchronous information
seeking over the phone shows a negative correlation. Overall, these data show
statistically significant relationships among technology use, social networks,
completed projects, and revenues for project-based information workers.
Results are consistent with simple models of queuing and multitasking and
these methods can be replicated in other settings, suggesting new frontiers
for IT value and social network research. |