Resilience of super users’ mental models of enterprise-wide systems

Abstract

Research on information system training has focused primarily on methods, while neglecting the effects of interruption intervals between training and system implementation. This empirical study examines the resilience of accurate mental models of an enterprise-wide system in a large health care facility. Accurate mental models were shown to withstand the passage of time and resulted in superior field performance following a crash conversion. Consistent with prior experimental research, certain types of learners were more likely to acquire these sounder mental models. In large organisations where the simultaneous training of users on a complex system is virtually impossible, scheduling is an important facet of the training paradigm. The main practical implications of this study involve the development of: (1) training programmes emphasising performance on far-transfer tasks, (2) training schedules designed to minimise knowledge erosion, and (3) criteria for selecting highly capable super users.

Keywords:

• mental models
• learning modes
• training
• learning and forgetting
• enterprise systems
• health care

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Corinne M Karuppan

About the authors

Corinne M. Karuppan is a Professor of Operations Management at Missouri State University where she teaches Operations Management, Decision Making, and Health Care Quality. She received a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1991. Her research interests include the management of technology, manufacturing strategy, workforce flexibility, and medical tourism. She has published in journals such as Journal of Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, European Journal of Operational Research, and International Journal of Operations & Production Management.

Muthu Karuppan

Muthu Karuppan is an Associate Professor of Computer Information Systems and E-Commerce at Drury University. In his 20-year teaching career, he has taught a wide variety of graduate and undergraduate courses in Information Systems and E-commerce. He serves as a systems consultant to numerous businesses and specialises in the areas of health information systems. Prior to joining Drury University, he worked in a large regional hospital as a project architect for a major client/server health information systems implementation. He has made a number of presentations on systems issues at regional and national meetings, and his articles have appeared in a number of academic and professional journals.