Information systems performance : a study of individual and group social cognitive predictors.

Abstract

Over the past decades, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have changed the way that businesses and individuals operate, live and learn. The Information Systems (ISs) that drive these technologies have transformed the business and education environment in which they are applied and have become the key to the success of the ICTs. The IS development process is essentially a social activity where people engage to accomplish the evolution of an IS artefact. Information System Development (ISD) projects are the approach by which business delivers IS solutions and are often regarded as a mammoth undertaking executed by a group of people who are hired for their effective skills and experience with the focus on performance. Industry has been experiencing problems in the delivery of successful information systems where the evidence of the existence of the problem areas is widespread; however, there is a scarcity of appropriate solutions. Theoretical and empirical research is deficient in the context of performance improvement and prediction for information systems development project work. With academia being the training ground for industry, this is the appropriate setting to work towards practical achievable solutions and to later apply these to real-world situations for success. Hence the overall aim of this study is to investigate how to enhance student performance on both the individual and a group level from a social cognitive perspective and to derive knowledge and to develop tools and techniques to assist IS educators to better prepare graduates for the field with the necessary interaction characteristics and skills for success. This quantitative study intends to gather primary data and to interpret the findings using social cognitive predictor factors to improve student performance. The participants of this study, students (n = 140) were self-assigned to groups (n=26) on two campuses for an IS project-based course, who voluntarily completed a questionnaire. The responses were self-reported perceptions of their efficacy, individual group behaviour and observations of peer behaviour during group interactions. The nature of the problem and the supporting literature has made it necessary for the construction of a framework that incorporates the foundations of individual and group efficacy and group behaviour theories. The study revealed that IS Efficacy theory constructs do not strongly predict SD performance but do contribute valuable knowledge towards effective solutions for academia and the field.