title: Managing managed care: the enabling role of IS/IT.
abstract: In their conceptualization of the principal/agent relationship, Jensen and Meckling were not referring to a knowledge worker (KM) agent. Agency theory is extended to the context of a KW agent to identify a key role for IS/IT in facilitating the monitoring function. To test this, the dynamics of a critical principal-KW agent relationship in the health-care industry are investigated It is demonstrated that IS/IT goes beyond just alleviating the agency problem to enabling the KW agent to perform "self-monitoring". The results are significant for health care, agency relationships and the use of IS/IT with knowledge workers.
authors.affiliation: Computer and Information Sciences, James J. Nance College of Business Administration, Cleveland State University, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Nilmini
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wickramasinghe
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lamb
mesh_terms: D005178:Faculty; D006123:Group Practice / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D019451:Information Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007256:Information Systems / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008511:Medicine; D010820:Physicians; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D013038:Specialization; D014481:United States