Adopting an ICT code of conduct: An empirical study of organizational factors

Purpose – Following the example of Anglo‐Saxon companies, French companies are increasingly establishing codes of conduct specific to the use of information and communication technologies (ICT). A review of literature reveals that such codes have multiple goals, such as improving efficiency of use, IS security awareness, and ethics. This paper aims to identify organizational factors influencing the adoption and diffusion of a formal code of conduct.Design/methodology/approach – A survey was administered to 505 companies. In order to highlight the emerging nature of this practice, the study was conducted in similar conditions for two consecutive years (2002 and 2003).Findings – Results indicate that though still marginal, the adoption of ICT codes of conduct concerns an increasing number of companies. This practice is related to the degree of standardization, technological context (the degree of virtualization and the strategic importance placed on ICT by the management) and size of the organization. Howev...

[1]  Margaret Anne Pierce,et al.  Judgements about Computer Ethics: Do Individual, Co-worker, and Company Judgements Differ? Do Company Codes Make a Difference , 2000 .

[2]  Anthony M. Townsend,et al.  Considerations for an effective telecommunications-use policy , 1999, Commun. ACM.

[3]  Bodo B. Schlegelmilch,et al.  Do Corporate Codes of Ethics Reflect National Character? Evidence from Europe and the United States , 1990 .

[4]  Gerardine DeSanctis,et al.  Capturing the Complexity in Advanced Technology Use: Adaptive Structuration Theory , 1994 .

[5]  M. Healy,et al.  The Establishment and Enforcement of Codes , 2002 .

[6]  Michel Kalika.  Structures d'entreprises , 1995 .

[7]  F. D. Vaujany.  Usages d'un intranet et processus de structuration de l'organisation , 2000 .

[8]  G. Hofstede,et al.  Culture′s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values , 1980 .

[9]  Wanda J. Orlikowski,et al.  Technological frames: making sense of information technology in organizations , 1994, TOIS.

[10]  M. Porter,et al.  How Information Gives You Competitive Advantage , 1985 .

[11]  John C. Henderson,et al.  Strategic Alignment: Leveraging Information Technology for Transforming Organizations , 1999, IBM Syst. J..

[12]  Donald A. Schön,et al.  Organizational Learning: A Theory Of Action Perspective , 1978 .

[13]  Nava Pliskin,et al.  Electronic mail as a coalition-building information technology , 1998, TOIS.

[14]  Hock-Hai Teo,et al.  An integrative study of information systems security effectiveness , 2003, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[15]  Margaret Anne Pierce,et al.  Computer ethics: The role of personal, informal, and formal codes , 1996 .

[16]  Kenneth L. Hacker,et al.  Employee Attitudes Regarding Electronic Mail Policies , 1998 .

[17]  Eileen Kaplan,et al.  The country’s uncertainty avoidance measures as a predictor of the degree of formalisation applied by organisation in it: propositions for the European Union countries , 1998 .

[18]  John H. Jackson,et al.  The Life Cycle of Rules , 1979 .

[19]  G. Hofstede.  Adoption of communication technologies and national culture , 2001 .

[20]  Bruce A. Reinig,et al.  Managing user perceptions of email privacy , 1995, CACM.

[21]  Detmar W. Straub,et al.  Discovering and Disciplining Computer Abuse in Organizations: A Field Study , 1990, MIS Q..

[22]  Sue Conger,et al.  Ownership, Privacy and Monitoring in the Workplace: A Debate on Technology and Ethics , 1998 .

[23]  P. Lawrence,et al.  Organization and Environment: Managing Differentiation and Integration , 1967 .

[25]  W. Powell,et al.  The iron cage revisited institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields , 1983 .

[26]  Neil C. Ramiller,et al.  The Organizing Vision in Information Systems Innovation , 1997 .

[27]  P. D. Iribarne.  La logique de l'honneur : gestion des entreprises et traditions nationales , 1990 .

[28]  Niki Lambropoulos,et al.  "The Model as an Equilibristic Grid of Interrelations" (A critical view upon "The improvisational model of change management: the case of groupware technologies" by Wanda Orlikowski and J. Debra Hofman) , 2001 .

[29]  Thompson S. H. Teo,et al.  How do I loaf here? let me count the ways , 2002, CACM.

[30]  F. Rodhain,et al.  Le message électronique : une propriété privée ? Perception des salariés quant à la propriété de leurs courriels et au respect de leur vie privée sur le lieu de travail , 2001 .

[31]  J. Barney.  Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage , 1991 .

[32]  William L. Fuerst,et al.  Information technology and sustained competitive advantage: a resource-based analysis , 1995 .

[33]  Henri Isaac.  Les composantes du système d'information structurant l'entreprise numérique: une étude empirique en France , 2002 .

[34]  R. Hall,et al.  Organizational Size, Complexity, and Formalization , 1967 .

[35]  Susan J. Harrington,et al.  The Effect of Codes of Ethics and Personal Denial of Responsibility on Computer Abuse Judgments and Intentions , 1996, MIS Q..

[36]  John C. Henderson,et al.  Strategic Alignment: Leveraging Information Technology for Transforming Organizations , 1993, IBM Syst. J..

[37]  K. Weick.  Technology as equivoque: sensemaking in new technologies , 1990 .

[38]  Henri Isaac,et al.  Le e-management: quelles transformations pour l'entreprise ? , 2003 .

[39]  Yannis Bakos,et al.  Information Technology and Corporate Strategy: A Research Perspective , 2015, MIS Q..

[40]  Dinesh A. Mirchandani,et al.  Reducing Internet Abuse in the Workplace , 2003 .

[41]  W. Orlikowski,et al.  An Improvisational Model of Change Management: The Case of Groupware Technologies , 1996 .