Digital Connections.PDF

This paper draws upon a series of studies that have been undertaken in Minnesota to better understand the implications for home-based online activities relating to work (e.g. telecommuting) and community activities (e.g. distance education). Three waves of data collection activities were conducted: a survey of telecommuters in public and private organizations, a series of follow-on indepth interviews with telecommuters and colleagues from these organizations, and two focus groups with community stakeholders on broader planning challenges to integrated online community services. Key findings from these waves are as follows. In phase I, data were collected from 797 participants drawn from a large public agency and large private sector firm. In terms of organization performance, respondent job satisfaction and productivity were perceived as greater among telecommuters than non-telecommuters, but organizational commitment was not. Findings suggest, however, that telecommuting constraints described in the literature (managerial reluctance, job requirements, isolation fear, and risk to promotion) impose obstacles to telecommuting in this sample. In phase II, follow-up interviews were conducted with individuals from these two employers. Analyses were conducted to explore the organizational relationships among telecommuting work groups (that is, when one group member is telecommuting). Results indicate that management strategies can play an important role in ensuring the effective work of telecommuting work teams. The interviews also revealed a generally strong view held by telecommuters on their productivity while telecommuting, but several organizational tradeoffs were revealed in terms of team-cohesion. In phase III, a set of community focus groups explored the community context for a range of potentially home-based electronic services, such as teleworking, distance education, telemedicine, and smart travel. These services were explored within substantive context of digital places and the procedural context of two design studios with community representatives in Minnesota. The design studios revealed a general understanding by community stakeholders about the value of a community network that could enhance the delivery of electronic services. However, several barriers were raised to the effective deployment of such networks, and these barriers formed the basis of planning recommendations relating to infrastructure strategy, service delivery and stakeholder involvement. In summary, home demand needs to be seen within the context of the service and work networks that deliver these services (such as education, telemedicine); an integrated approach to planning these services can provide positive externalities making the entire system more efficient; there are tradeoffs between electronic and face-to-face interactions that need to be recognized in …