Professor and Robert H. Smith Dean's Chair of Information Systems Decision, Operations and Information Technologies Department

Phone: (301) 405-3121
Fax: (301) 405-8655
Email: ragarwal@rhsmith.umd.edu

About Me

I am a Professor, and the Robert H. Smith Dean’s Chair of Information Systems, at the Smith School. I also founded, and am the Director of the Center for Health Information and Decision Systems (CHIDS). CHIDS, established in 2005, was the first research center within a business school to study the use and application of information technology in healthcare. More information about CHIDS is available at (www.rhsmith.umd.edu/chids).

My current research is focused on understanding how information technology can be used to alleviate cost and quality challenges in healthcare, and with identifying mechanisms through which IT can be successfully incorporated into healthcare routines. I also study privacy issues and other impediments and vulnerabilities in a digital society. I am working on several funded research projects for major corporations, hospitals, and state and federal agencies. My research is funded by the FDA, the District of Columbia Primary Care Association, and NIH/AHRQ.

Other current research projects include online social networks, Health 2.0, and online search. I continue my work on technological innovation, adoption, diffusion and use.

What's New

Research

  • “Propensity, Susceptibility, Infectiousness, and Proximity: Predicting Organizational Diffusion of Electronic Medical Records”, forthcoming, Management Science (with C.M. Angst, V. Samabmurthy, and K. Kelley).
  • “Cognitive Frames about Health Information Technology: Adoption and Effective Use of Electronic Prescribing in Physician Practices,” forthcoming, Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA) (with C.M. Angst, C. DesRoches, and M. Fisher).
  • “The Value of IT-Enabled Retailer Learning: Personalized Product Recommendations and Customer Store Loyalty in Electronic Markets,” forthcoming, MIS Quarterly (with T. Zhang and H.C. Lucas).
  • “Competing ‘Creatively’ in Sponsored Search Markets: The Effect of Rank, Differentiation Strategy, and Competition on Performance,” forthcoming, Information Systems Research (with A. Animesh, and S. Viswanathan).
  • “Practicing Safe Computing: A Multi-Method Empirical Examination of Home Computer Use Security Intentions,” forthcoming, MIS Quarterly (with C. Anderson).
  • “The Contingent Effects of Quality Signaling: Evidence from the Indian Offshore IT Services Industry,” forthcoming, Management Science (with G. Gao and A. Gopal)
  • “Technological Frames, Organizational Capabilities and Post-Adoption IT Use: An Empirical Investigation of Electronic Procurement,” forthcoming, Information Systems Research (with A.N. Mishra).

Recent Grants

  • Principal Investigator, “Documenting Public Private Partnership Value,” FDA, 2009-2010.
  • Principal Investigator, “Developing a Cardiology Specific Electronic Health Record,” Maryland Industrial Partnerships Grant, 2009-2010.
  • Principal Investigator, “Evaluation of the District of Columbia Regional Health Information Organization, DC Department of Health, 2009-2010.

Recent Awards

  • Best Paper Award at Information Systems Research, 2009 for “Marketspace or Marketplace? Online Information Search and Channel Outcomes in Auto Retailing” (with S. Gosain, J. Kuruzovich, and S. Viswanathan).

Presentations

  • “Physician Documentation Quality: A Comparison of the Electronic and Paper Medical Records for Completeness and Readability in a Tertiary Care Pediatric Medical Center", Pediatrics Academic Societies’ Annual Meeting, Vancouver, May 1-4, 2010 (with P. E. Manicone, Z. Waldman, R. J. Kern, M. Sharron, S. Basu, J. Goh, G. Gao, and B. Jacobs).
  • "Unpacking the Health IT adoption paradox”, Workshop on Information Systems Economics (WISE), 2009 (with G. Gao, J. McCullough, C. Angst).
  • “Online doctor ratings: meaning and application,” International Health Economics Association Conference (iHEA), 2009 (with G. Gao, and J. McCullough).
  • “Health IT's impact on hospital efficiency and quality”, International Health Economics Association Conference (iHEA), 2009 (with J.M. Goh and G. Gao).
  • “Genetic Information Altruists: How Far and To Whom Does Their Generosity Extend?” 30th International Conference on Information Systems, Phoenix, AZ, 2009 (with C.L. Anderson).
  • “Information Technology and Life Expectancy: A Country Level Analysis,” 30th International Conference on Information Systems, Phoenix, AZ, 2009 (with J. Khuntia and S. Mithas).
  • “Implementation of a Computerized Clinical Documentation System (CCDS) in a Tertiary Care Pediatric Medical Center: A Longitudinal Survey of Users.”, Pediatrics Academic Societies’ Annual Meeting, Baltimore, May 2-5, 2009 (with P. Manicone, C. Corriveau, J. Goh, G. Gao, and B. Jacobs).