IS Proficiency in Social Networks

摘要

This paper examines the role of IS proficiency, the ability of users to interact easily with an information system, in a social network of multiple users and multiple information systems. Using survey data from 557 members of 40 healthcare groups in a large HMO, this paper explores three aspects of the group's user-system relationships: average IS use of the group, average IS proficiency of the group, and the centrality of the IS proficiency in the users' social network. At least some support is found for all the hypotheses, but the centrality of IS proficiency is the only measure that is fully supported. From additional qualitative data, I find evidence that the more central the IS proficiency is in a group, the better that group can work together to interact with the information systems.