Perceived importance of the Internet as an information channel for OM professionals

Previous research, conducted before the Internet was widely accessible, has shown that information sources and channels can influence the initiation, adoption, and implementation of innovations. The field of operations management faces a wide variety of innovations, the eventual diffusion of which may depend on changes that are now occurring in information technology. This study uses data collected from two surveys, one conducted postally and one conducted over the Internet, to identify how operations management practitioners, consultants, academics, and students perceive and use information from various sources (books, journals, etc.) and channels (conferences, the Internet, etc.). The results indicate that the Internet is growing in importance as an information channel, with more than 40 percent of all respondents having used information obtained from the Internet during the year preceding our study. Although most respondents view that information as being less important to them professionally than information from other sources and channels, those who use the Internet most frequently have a much higher opinion of the information it provides. Multidimensional preference analysis indicates that the Internet is perceived as being quite different from traditional sources and channels, but because of that difference it currently meets the preferences of only a small subset of individuals.