Determinants of information technology strategic performance: An analysis of firm performance, IT performance, IT investment intensity and IT governance in the health care sector

The goal of this study in health care was to examine the relationships between IT Performance, Firm Performance, IT Investments, and IT Governance by examining the research question ...; "What factors determine high levels of information technology performance and what is the link with firm performance in the community hospital setting?"; A model depicting the relationships between IT Performance, Firm Performance, IT Investments, IT Governance and Firm Competence was constructed. The study extended prior research by integrating the concept of IT Governance with qualitative and quantitative measures of IT Performance.; Independent variables, which differentiated community hospitals by technical, financial and political characteristics, were analyzed to determine their relationship to the dependent variable, IT Performance, which had two measures: IT Application Intensity and IT Technology Intensity.; The primary data source was a national survey, known as The Dorenfest 3000+ Database{dollar}sp{lcub}rm TM{rcub},{dollar} which has surveyed hospitals for 7 years. The analysis examined 420 trendable hospitals, in three stages. Stage 1 was a static analysis of year-by-year comparisons between the Pre-Health Care Reform Era and the Health Care Reform Era. Stage 2 was a dynamic analysis examining incremental year-to-year changes. Stage 3 was a longitudinal analysis using time lagged multiple regression analysis.; The key findings are: (1) IT Performance was related to Firm Performance during Health Care Reform. (2) IT Application Intensity was positively related to the IT Investment Intensity. (3) IT Investment Intensity was negatively related to Firm Performance. (4) Low IT Performers leverage IT earlier than High IT Performers. (5) The key determinants of IT Performance were IT Investment Intensity and Firm Size.; The benefits derived from this study include the development of an enhanced understanding of the relationships between IT Performance, Firm Performance and IT Governance. It is believed we will gain increased insight into these critical success factors to allow the IT executive and corporate senior executive to make better strategic IT choices.