Information Technology Kreiner, Glen E.,

Information Technology

Kreiner, Glen E., Hollensbe, Elaine C., & Sheep Matthew L. (2009). Balancing Borders and bridges: Negotiating the work-home interface via boundary work tactics. Academy of Management Journal 52, 4:704 -- 730.

The authors identified two specific reasons why they engaged a qualitative paradigm for this study. Firstly, approximately 10% of the previous studies in the area used a qualitative approach so that there is need for more qualitative work in the area (p.708). The second major reason is that qualitative inquiry allows the research to provide a more nuanced and detailed assessment of the processes involved in the phenomenon under consideration. So that the study of the work home interface using a qualitative paradigm provides the type of detail that is necessary to begin

The sample for this research was drawn from Episcopal parish priests. Parish priests were chosen because they represented an extreme case of the phenomenon making the critical aspects of the phenomenon visible to the researcher. The researcher engaged in two studies the sample strategy for the first study was not articulated however, 220 members of the clergy were given a questionnaire containing open-ended questions. For the second study, hour-long telephone interviews were conducted with 60 members of the clergy chosen randomly from the initial group of 220 (p.709).

The article is very credible as the method chosen allowed for the employment of a type of data triangulation. The data collected from the two studies could be compared and assessed. Additionally, the use of multiple interviewers and the coding process added to the validity and reliability of the work. The findings also appear to be in concert with the reality of life.

The article contributes to our understanding of the mechanism of work-home boundaries and the types of stresses that can proceed from the obfuscation of these boundaries. The work also explored and expanded the understanding of work-home incongruence. Demonstrating how incongruence increases and produces conflict and a reduction of personal satisfaction on the job. Reading the article, I was concerned that the choice of the group may have been weak. In that the religious bent of priests are an element that may not find resonance in the wider population. I also wondered about the connection between conflict resolution skills and the work-home congruence. Would conflict resolution skills make a difference here?

Tarafdar Monideepa, Tu Qiang, Bhanus S. Ragu-Nathan, & Ragu-Nathan T.S. (2007). the

Impact of Technostress on Role Stress and Productivity. Journal of Management

Information Systems 24(1): 301 -- 328.

The researchers collected data from two public sector organizations in the United States. The researchers mail out 264 questionnaires to the employees of these organizations and 233 were returned to the researchers. The researchers did not explain how the two organizations were initially chosen. It is possible that this initial choice was convenience based.

The researchers used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to identify a five-factor structure that represented the underlying components of techno stress. De Coster (1988) posits that EFA, traditionally, has been used to explore the possible underlying factor structure of a set of observed variables without imposing a preconceived structure on the outcome.

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) used to validate the factor structure of a set of observed variables. CFA provides the researcher with the ability confirm the hypothesis that "a relationship between observed variables and their underlying latent constructs exists." So that the initial set of factors identified by EFA are then confirmed to be theoretically connected, to the concept by CFA.