Date of Conferral

2014

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Lawrence Ness

Abstract

Many organizations now realize the important role of social network technology (SNT) in building social capital and hence broadening their customer base. However, observations have indicated that, while working, many knowledge workers use SNT to engage in non-job related activities, potentially leading to a decrease in productivity. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the usage of SNT and productivity in the health sector. The theoretical foundation of this study emanated from Rogers's theory of diffusion of innovations and Campbell, Rodney, Scott, and Christopher's theory of performance. Collection of data involved a self-administered survey designed with tools from SurveyMonkey. Out of 123 respondents, some were team members (67%), some were independent (24%), others were team leaders (8%), and a few were administrators (2%). A multiple linear regression analysis subsequent to correlation analysis between each of the 4 variables of SNT (frequency of SNT use, duration of cellphone-based SNT use, duration of PC-based SNT use, and performance rating) and knowledge worker productivity revealed a significant relationship between productivity and performance. The findings suggest that, of the 4 SNT variables, performance rating statistically predicts productivity of the health care professional. Managers may find these results informative in their effort to boost productivity among their health care professional workers. Further investigations are recommended to explore the association between productivity and SNT among knowledge workers.

Download

Share

 
COinS