Revisiting the IT Productivity Paradox

Abstract

Twenty-five years after Nobel Laureate economist Robert Solow observed “seeing computers everywhere but in the productivity statistics,” the question of productivity gains from information technologies (IT) remains unanswered. This study examines the role of IT on one of the major indicators of police productivity: crime clearance rates. Relying on a two-wave cohort panel research design of roughly 700 police agencies, the study reveals that significant IT advances were made between the pre and post time periods in the provision of computerized crime data, crime analysis capabilities, and real-time communications. Nonetheless, using multiple hierarchical regression analysis, the study provides robust evidence for suggesting that computerization had little influence on productivity gains. The results of this study raise several very important issues pertaining to the goals of public organizations. While this study is limited to policing, a narrow time period, and internal IT systems, the results are nonetheless noteworthy. The research illustrates that conventional explanations for the IT productivity paradox do little to explain the shortfall. In closing, the article offers rival, but yet untested, explanations that may prove worthy of additional research.