Information Systems Research Forum

Risk Perceptions, Risk Behaviour and IT Investments: Evidence from the healthcare organizations

Rajiv Kohli
The College of William & Mary/Judge Business School 

Tuesday 8 December 2009
1600-1730

Room NAB 4.21

view slides from this presentation

This research examines whether information systems help manage organizational risk and improve organizational quality outcomes. We utilize a theoretical model that links risk perceptions, risk behaviour (risk taken and risk outsourced), service quality and information technology investments.

We specialize our model in healthcare where two types of hospital information systems, clinical and administrative, are considered. Hospitals measure the risk perception by estimated mortality and complications, the risk taken by the case mix index and the outsourced risk by malpractice insurance premium and insured financial liability. The quality of hospital service is measured by the actual rates of mortality and complications. Our empirical analysis is based on archival data in finance, operations, and patient care outcomes of 47 hospitals in the U.S. State of Washington from 1998 to 2006.

Our findings suggest that administrative information technology increases risk perception (improved risk discovery), which in turn is associated with greater investments in clinical information technology. Results indicate that hospitals’ investment in clinical information technology leads to an increase in risks taken and lowering of outsourced risk. This investment moderated the relationship between risk perception and outsourced risk (positive), and the relationship between risks taken and actual complications (negative). We conclude that management of risk is a strong reason for hospitals to invest in clinical information technology, and that both types of information technology in turn helps in managing risk.

Rajiv Kohli is an Associate Professor of Management Information Systems at The College of William & Mary. Dr. Kohli received his PhD in information systems from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 1994. He has taught at the University of Notre Dame, Lehigh University, University of Maryland College Park, and University of Maryland University College where he was awarded the Teaching Recognition Award. Studies have ranked Dr. Kohli among the top 20 MIS researchers worldwide.

For over 15 years, Dr. Kohli has worked or consulted with IBM Global Services, SAS Corporation, United Parcel Service, AM General, MCI Telecommunications, Westinghouse Electronics, Wipro Corporation and Godrej Industries (India), in addition to several healthcare organizations. Dr. Kohli has served on the Board of Trustees of The Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes, Mishawaka. Prior to joining full-time academia in 2001, he was a Project Leader in Decision Support Services at Trinity Health.

Dr. Kohli's research is published in MIS Quarterly, Management Science, Information Systems Research, MIS Quarterly Executive, Journal of Management Information Systems, Communications of the ACM, and Decision Support Systems, among other journals. He is also serving as a guest Senior Editor for Information Systems Research special issue on healthcare. He is a co author of the book The IT Payoff: Measuring Business Value of Information Technology Investment, (2002) published by Financial Times Prentice-Hall.

Dr. Kohli research interests include Business Value of Information Technology, Healthcare Information Systems, and Managing Innovation with Information Technologies.

If you are a visitor from outside LSE, please send a confirmation to c.m.bonina@lse.ac.uk. You will need to sign in at the reception desk of the New Academic Building. Please note places will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis - registration is not required for LSE students and staff.

Please note that public events organised by ISIG are normally videoed and streamed from our website. If you do not wish to appear in the video please inform the camera operator before the start of the session and seat yourself where you will not be inadvertently be in the field of view of the camera. If you do not inform us of your wish not to be recorded we will presume your consent to being included in the video.

For any further queries regarding this seminar or to request information about future events please contact Frances White. Research Coordinator.

page last updated 16 December, 2009

^