Information-Seeking From Organizational Communication Sources During Healthcare Technology Change

Abstract

This study collects survey data (n = 345) from a healthcare organization in the early stages of electronic health record (EHR) implementation to understand how a series of organizational communication sources—managers, coworkers, IT personnel, and online organizational sources—impact healthcare employees’ (a) EHR resistance and (b) perceptions of EHR’s relative advantage. Regression results reveal that the levels of EHR information employees sought from coworkers did not predict EHR resistance or perceived relative advantage. Seeking information from managerial sources enhances EHR’s perceived relative advantage and decreases affective EHR resistance but is not related to behavioral or cognitive EHR resistance. Seeking information from IT staff decreased all types of EHR resistance and increased EHR’s perceived relative advantage. Finally, seeking information from online organizational sources increased EHR’s perceived relative advantage and decreased behavioral and cognitive resistance but is not related to affective EHR resistance. Study implications and limitations are offered.

Keywords:

• Electronic Health Records
• Healthcare Organizations
• Information-Seeking
• Online Information Sources
• Organizational Communication
• Uncertainty Reduction