This research provides a comprehensive, integrated theoretical framework to examine the relationship between information technology substitutes and complements and work group performance. The methodological approach uses an organizational learning curve framework in which to examine the effects of incremental investments in information technology (IT) on work group productivity, mediated by the effects of IT investment upon the learning curves experienced by the work groups. The research uses a rigorous mathematical model that is grounded in practice and theory, and complementary to existing organizational behavior and organizational learning theories. It is hypothesized that IT that substitutes for human resources results in lower organizational learning and higher knowledge depreciation, while IT that complements human resources results in higher organizational learning and lower knowledge depreciation. The model instantiates a multi-dimensional view of group performance by incorporating in the learning curve dependent variable not only productivity measures, as in traditional learning curve models, but also measures of cost and quality. The investigation will test the integrated model empirically in the work setting of a major financial institution. This research potentially has very broad implications for the consequences of different IT investments on organizations -- public, private, and government -- their productivity, quality, and costs.
