Executive Support of Information Technology and Information Systems in Australian Hospitals: an empirical study

Little is known regarding the form executive support should take for the progressive use of information technology and information systems [FT] within organisations. This study applies the theory developed by Jarvenpaa and Ives (1991) who examined two forms of support provided by chief executive officers. These were executive participation, a set of IT-related activities, and executive involvement, a psychological state reflecting the importance of IT for the organisation's success. Our research, using data obtained from a questionnaire mailed to a sample of Australian hospitals, measures the relationships between these two forms of support and the progressive use of IT. Our statistical analysis supports the findings of Jarvenpaa and Ives (1991), who found a stronger relationship between executive involvement and the progressive use of IT. Using Australian hospitals allowed Jarvenpaa and Ives' (1991) theory to be applied in a different environment, increasing its external validity. Firm size was also found to have a positive relationship with the progressive use of IT independent of the two forms of executive support.