Showing papers in "Information Resources Management Journal in 2007"

Developing the Commitment to Virtual Community: The Balanced Effects of Cognition and Affect

Abstract: A virtual community VC of committed members is of great strategic value to online firms and vendors owing to its ability to attract and retain members. However, online firms and vendors find it difficult to instill commitment among their VC members. Therefore, this study examines the mechanism of customer commitment formation in a relationship-cum-interest based VC. By understanding the mechanism of customer commitment formation in a VC, online firms and vendors can enhance customer commitment to the VC. Using the theory of reasoned action, this study finds that encouraging participation among customers is the springboard for customer commitment to the VC. However, customer participation should be balanced with a proper mix of cognition and affect enhancing aspects, particularly those aspects that arouse customers' interests and encourages relationship building among them. Online firms and vendors would thus benefit by encouraging personal relationships among their VC participants.

Examining the Effects of Computer Self-Efficacy and System Complexity on Technology Acceptance

Abstract: Despite the prevalence of computing in all aspects of society, some computer systems may not be fully accepted by their intended users or become underutilized. Thus, acceptance and use of information technologies remain a paramount issue in information systems IS research and practice. Extending previous research by integrating computer self-efficacy and perceived system complexity as external variables to the technology acceptance model TAM, this study examines the direct and indirect effects of these two factors on system acceptance and use. The results indicated that computer self-efficacy and system complexity had significant direct effects on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use as well as indirect effects on attitude and behavioral intention. However, the effect of perceived ease of use on attitude was stronger than that of perceived usefulness. In turn, attitude demonstrated a non-significant impact on behavioral intention. These findings highlight several implications for research and practice.

Examining Online Purchase Intentions in B2C E-Commerce: Testing an Integrated Model

Abstract: Research on online shopping has taken three broad and divergent approaches viz, human-computer interaction, behavioral, and consumerist approaches to examine online consumer behavior. Assimilating these three approaches, this study proposes an integrated model of online shopping behavior, with four major antecedents influencing online purchase intent: Web site quality, customer concerns in online shopping, self-efficacy, and past online shopping experience. These antecedents were modeled as secondorder constructs with subsuming first-order constituent factors. The model was tested using data from a questionnaire survey of 214 online shoppers. Statistical analyses using structural equation modeling was used to validate the model, and identify the relative importance of the key antecedents to online purchase intent. Past online shopping experience was found to have the strongest association with online purchase intent, followed by customer concerns, Web site quality, and computer self efficacy. The findings and their implications are discussed.

Utilization of Information Resources for Business Success: The Knowledge Sharing Model

Abstract: This article works out a method on how information resources in organizations can be turned into a knowledge sharing KS information culture, which can further feed business success. This process is complicated, and the value chain can be broken in many places. In this study this process is viewed in the light of resource-based theory. A KS-model is developed where the hard information resources of time, people and computers are defined. When wisely used, these make communication a core competence for the company. As the soft information resources are added, that is, the intellectual capital, KS and willingness to learn, a knowledge sharing culture is developed, which feeds business success. This model is empirically discussed through a case study of 15 Finnish insurance companies. The overall KS capability of a company corresponds positively to the different dimensions applied in the model. KS is an interactive process where organizations must work on both hard information resources, the basic cornerstones of any knowledge sharing, and make constant investment into soft information resources, learning, intellectual capital and process design in order to manage their information resources effectively.

Making the Case for Critical Realism: Examining the Implementation of Automated Performance Management Systems

Abstract: This article seeks to address the dearth of practical examples of research in the area by proposing that critical realism be adopted as the underlying research philosophy for enterprise systems evaluation. We address some of the implications of adopting such an approach by discussing the evaluation and implementation of a number of automated performance measurement systems APMS. Such systems are a recent evolution within the context of enterprise information systems. They collect operational data from integrated systems to generate values for key performance indicators, which are delivered directly to senior management. The creation and delivery of these data are fully automated, precluding manual intervention by middle or line management. Whilst these systems appear to be a logical progression in the exploitation of the available rich, real-time data, the statistics for APMS projects are disappointing. An understanding of the reasons is elusive and little researched. We describe how critical realism can provide a useful "underlabourer" for such research, by "clearing the ground a little... removing some of the rubbish that lies in the way of knowledge" Locke, 1894, p. 14. The implications of such an underlabouring role are investigated. Whilst the research is still underway, the article indicates how a critical realist foundation is assisting the research process.

A Systemic Framework for Business Process Modeling Combining Soft Systems Methodology and UML

Abstract: Business process analysis and modeling is a crucial step in formulating information systems user requirements. The practice of information technology IT development does not indicate a lack of problems in spite of the growing number of modeling techniques. This article gives an action research account of formulating and applying a new business process modeling framework to manufacturing processes to guide software development. It is based on a combination of soft systems methodology SSM and the Unified Modeling Language UML business process modeling extensions suggested by Eriksson and Penker. SSM has been linked to information systems provision in the past. The examination of prior research shows that there is no underlying reasoning about the justification from a methodological point of view of the combination of SSM and UML. This article justifies the mixing of SSM and Eriksson and Penker's UML extensions using the ideas of Mingers' Multimethodology. The latter helps to overcome the ontological complexities of combining soft and hard techniques in a single intervention. The proposed framework was applied to modeling the production process in an aluminum rolling plant as a step in the development of a new information system for it. The reflections on the intervention give details on how actual learning and appreciation is facilitated using SSM, leading to better UML models in this complex problem.

Integrating the Fragmented Pieces of IS research Paradigms and Frameworks: A systems Approach

Abstract: A formal conceptualization of the original concept of system and related concepts-from the original systems approach movement-can facilitate the understanding of information systems IS. This paper develops a critique integrative of the main IS research paradigms and frameworks reported in the IS literature using a systems approach. The effort seeks to reduce or dissolve some current research conflicts on the foci and the underlying paradigms of the IS discipline.

IT infrastructure capabilities and business process improvements: Association with IT governance characteristics

Abstract: It has been widely discussed in the management information systems (MIS) literature that the outcomes of information technologies (IT) and systems may be subject to the influence of the characteristics of the organization, including those of the IT and business leadership. This study was conducted to examine the relationships that may exist between IT infrastructure capabilities (ITC), business process improvements (BPI), and such IT governance-related constructs as the reporting relationship between the chief executive officer (CEO) and chief information officer (CIO), and senior management support of IT and BPI projects. Using a sample of 243 multinational and Hong Kong-listed firms operating in Greater China, this study yielded empirical support for the perceived achievement of capabilities in some dimensions of the IT infrastructure in the companies under study. It was found that the BPI construct was related to the reporting relationship between the CEO and CIO (CEO-CIO distance), and to the levels of senior management support. The dimensions of the ITC construct were also investigated and identified by an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Associations were found between the selected organizational constructs and the ITC dimensions, except in two hypothesized relationships. Those between CEO-CIO distance and the ITC dimensions of data integration and training were not supported at the significance level of 0.05.

Could the Work System Method Embrace Systems Concepts More Fully

Abstract: The work system method was developed iteratively with the overarching goal of helping business professionals understand IT-reliant systems in organizations. It uses general systems concepts selectively, and sometimes implicitly. For example, a work system has a boundary, but its inputs are treated implicitly rather than explicitly. This article asks whether the further development of the work system method might benefit from integrating general systems concepts more completely. After summarizing aspects of the work system method, it dissects some of the underlying ideas and questions how thoroughly even basic systems concepts are applied. It also asks whether and how additional systems concepts might be incorporated beneficially. The inquiry about how to use additional system ideas is of potential interest to people who study systems in general and information systems in particular because it deals with bridging the gap between highly abstract concepts and practical applications.

Beyond Development: A Research Agenda for Investigating Open Source Software User Communities

Abstract: Open source software has rapidly become a popular area of study within the information systems research community. Most of the research conducted so far has focused on the phenomenon of open source software development, rather than use. We argue for the importance of studying open source software use and propose a framework to guide research in this area. The framework describes four main areas of investigation: the creation of OSS user communities, their characteristics, their contributions and how they change. For each area of the framework, we suggest several research questions that deserve attention.

A Meta-Analysis Comparing the Sunk Cost Effect for IT and Non-IT Projects

Abstract: Escalation is a serious management problem, and sunk costs are believed to be a key factor in promoting escalation behavior. While many laboratory experiments have been conducted to examine the effect of sunk costs on escalation, there has been no effort to examine these studies as a group in order to determine the effect size associated with the so-called "sunk cost effect." Using meta-analysis, we analyzed the results of 20 sunk cost experiments and found: 1 a large effect size associated with sunk costs, and 2 stronger effects in experiments involving information technology IT projects as opposed to non-IT projects. Implications of the results and future research directions are discussed.

System-of-Systems Cost Estimation: Analysis of Lead System Integrator Engineering Activities

Abstract: As organizations strive to expand system capabilities through the development of system-of systems SoS architectures, they want to know "how much effort" and "how long" to implement the SoS. In order to answer these questions, it is important to first understand the types of activities performed in SoS architecture development and integration and how these vary across different SoS implementations. This article provides results of research conducted to determine types of SoS lead system integrator LSI activities and how these differ from the more traditional system engineering activities described in Electronic Industries Alliance EIA 632 "Processes for Engineering a System". This research further analyzed effort and schedule issues on "very large" SoS programs to more clearly identify and profile the types of activities performed by the typical LSI and to determine organizational characteristics that significantly impact overall success and productivity of the LSI effort. The results of this effort have been captured in a reduced-parameter version of the constructive SoS integration cost model COSOSIMO that estimates LSI SoS engineering SoSE effort.

Lack of Skill Risks to Organizational Technology Learning and Software Project Performance

Abstract: To improve the performance of software projects, a number of practices are encouraged that serve to control certain risks in the development process, including a lack of essential skills and knowledge related to the application domain and system development process. A potential mediating variable between the lack of skill risk and project performance is the ability of an organization to acquire the essential domain knowledge and technology skills through learning, specifically organizational technology learning. However, the same lack of knowledge that hinders good project performance may also inhibit learning. This study examines the relationship between information system personnel skills and domain knowledge, organizational technology learning, and software project performance with a sample of professional software developers. Indications are that the relationship between information systems IS personnel skills and project performance is partially mediated by organizational technology learning.

The Role of Information Resources in Enabling the 24-hour Knowledge factory

Abstract: The term 24-hour knowledge factory connotes a globally distributed work environment in which teammates work on a project around the clock. The 24-hour knowledge factory is a special case of a globally distributed team in which the different teams work on a sequential basis that has been clearly defined in advance. Whereas a manufactured item was the end product in the case of the factory which emerged as a consequence of the industrial revolution, knowledge-based services and knowledge-based products are the end deliverables in the case of the current information revolution; hence, the term 24-hour knowledge factory. Work can be decomposed by task style or by organizational style, and allows for greater specialization of workers. A case study from IBM details surprising differences between colocated and distributed teams, and leads to a future state analysis for organizations seeking to study or implement the 24-hour knowledge factory.

Disruptive Innovation Strategy Effects on Hard-Disk Maker Population: A System Dynamics Study

Abstract: To encourage premium-quality information systems IS research in areas where dynamic complexity rules, this article combines disruptive innovation strategy DIS theory with the system dynamics SD modeling method. It presents a computer simulation model of the hard disk HD maker population overshoot and collapse dynamics. Data from the HD maker industry help calibrate the parameters of the SD model and replicate the HD makers' overshoot and collapse dynamics, which DIS allegedly caused from 1973 through 1993. SD model analysis entails articulating exactly how the structure of feedback relations among variables in a system determines its performance through time. The analysis of the HD maker population model shows that, over five distinct time phases, four different feedback loops might have been most prominent in generating the HD maker population dynamics. The article shows the benefits of using SD modeling software, such as iThink®, and SD model analysis software, such as Digest®. The latter helps detect exactly how changes in loop polarity and prominence determine system performance through time. Strategic scenarios computed with the model also show the relevance of using SD for IS research and practice.

E-Learning Investment Risk Management

Abstract: E-learning markets have been expanding very rapidly. As a result, the involved senior managers are increasingly being confronted with the need to make significant investment decisions related to the elearning business activities. Real options applications to risk management and investment evaluation of Information and Communication Technologies ICT have mainly focused on a single and a priori known option. However, these options are not inherent in any ICT investment. Actually, they must be carefully planned and intentionally embedded in the ICT investment in order to mitigate its risks and increase its return. Moreover, when an ICT investment involves multiple risks, by adopting different series of cascading options we may achieve risk mitigation and enhance investment performance. In this article, we apply real options to the e-learning investments evaluation. Given the investment's requirements, assumptions and risks, the goal is to maximize the investment's value by identifying a good way to structure it using carefully chosen real options.

Topic Effects on Process Gains and Losses in Electronic Meetings

Abstract: In the literature of electronic meetings, few studies have investigated the effects of topic-related variables on group processes. This article explores the effects of an individual’s perception of topics on process gains or process losses using a sample of 110 students in 14 electronic meetings. The results of the study showed that topic characteristics variables, individual knowledge, and individual self-efficacy had a significant influence on the number of relevant comments generated in an electronic meeting.

Relationship of Skill Expectation Gap Between IS Employees and Their Managers with User Satisfaction

Abstract: The skills held by information system professionals clearly impact the outcome of a project. However, the perceptions of just what skills are expected of information systems IS employees have not been found to be a reliable predictor of eventual success in the literature. Though relationships to success have been identified, the results broadly reported in the literature are often ambiguous or conflicting, presenting difficulties in developing predictive models of success. We examine the perceptions of IS managers and IS employees for technology management, interpersonal, and business skills to determine if their perceptions can serve to predict user satisfaction. Simple gap measures are dismissed as inadequate because weights on the individual expectations are not equal. Exploratory results from polynomial regression models indicate that the problems in defining a predictive model extend beyond the weighting difficulties, as results differ by each skill type. Compound this with inherent problems in the selection of a success measure, and we only begin to understand the complexities in the relationships that may be required in an adequate predictive model relating skills to success.

Using a Systems Thinking Perspective to Construct and Apply an Evaluation Approach of Technology-Based Information Systems

Abstract: In this article, we use soft systems methodology and complexity modeling to build an evaluation approach of a data warehouse implemented in a leading European financial institution. This approach consists in building a theoretical model to be used as a purposeful observation lens, producing a clear picture of the problematic situation under study and aimed at providing knowledge to prescribe corrective actions.

The Diffusion Of Customer-Related IT Among Large And Mid-Sized Companies

Abstract: This study develops a diffusion model of customer-related IT (CRIT) based on stock market announcements of investments in those technologies. Customer-related IT investments are defined in this work as information technology investments made with the intention of improving or enhancing the customer experience. The diffusion model developed in our study is based on data for the companies of the S&P 500 and S&P MidCap 400 for the years of 1996–2001. We find empirical support for a sigmoid diffusion model. Further, we find that both the size and industry of the company affect the path of CRIT diffusion. Another contribution of this study is to illustrate how data collection techniques typically used for financial event studies can be used to study information technology diffusion. Finally, the data collected for this study can serve as a Bayesian prior for future diffusion forecasting studies of CRIT.

A Review of IS Research Activities and Outputs Using Pro forma Abstracts

Abstract: Using March and Smith’s taxonomy of information systems (IS) research activities and outputs and Newman’s method of pro forma abstracting, this research mapped the current space of IS research and identified research activities and outputs that have received very little or no attention in the top IS publishing outlets. We reviewed and classified 1,157 articles published in some of the top IS journals and the ICIS proceedings for the period 1998–2002. The results demonstrate the efficacy of March and Smith’s (1995) taxonomy for summarizing the state of IS research and for identifying activity-output categories that have received little or no attention. Examples of published research occupying cells of the taxonomy are cited, and research is posited to populate the one empty cell. The results also affirm the need to balance theorizing with building and evaluating systems because the latter two provide unique feedback that encourage those theories that are the most promising in practice.

Information and Knowledge Perspectives in Systems Engineering and Management for Innovation and Productivity Through Enterprise Resource Planning

Abstract: This article provides an overview of perspectives associated with information and knowledge resource management in systems engineering and systems management in accomplishing enterprise resource planning for enhanced innovation and productivity. Accordingly, we discuss economic concepts involving information and knowledge, and the important role of network effects and path dependencies in influencing enterprise transformation through enterprise resource planning.

A Critical Systems View of Power-Ethics Interactions in Information Systems Evaluation

Abstract: Current developments in information systems IS evaluation emphasise stakeholder participation in order to ensure adequate and beneficial IS investments. It is now common to consider evaluation as a subjective process of interpretations, in which people's appreciations are taken into account to guide evaluations. However, the context of power relations in which evaluation takes place, as well as their ethical implications, has not been given full attention. In this article, ideas of critical systems thinking and Michel Foucault's work on power and ethics are used to define a critical systems view of power to support IS evaluation. The article proposes a system of inquiry into power with two main areas: 1 Deployment of evaluation via power relations and 2 Dealing with ethics. The first element addresses how evaluation becomes possible. The second one goes in-depth into how evaluation can proceed as being informed by ethical reflection. The article suggests that inquiry into these relationships should contribute to extend current views on power in IS evaluation practice, and to reflect on the ethics of those involved in the process.

Dissent, Protest and Transformative Action: An Exploratory Study of Staff Reactions to Electronic Monitoring and Control of E-mail Systems in One Company Based in Ireland

Abstract: An e-mail system is a critical business tool and an essential part of organisational communication. Many organisations have experienced negative impacts from e-mail and have responded by electronically monitoring and restricting e-mail system use. However, electronic monitoring of e mail can be contentious. Staff can react to these controls by dissent, protest and potentially transformative action. This article presents the results of a single case study investigation of staff reactions to electronic monitoring and control of an e-mail system in a company based in Ireland. The findings highlight the variations in staff reactions through multiple time frames of electronic monitoring and control, and identifies the key concerns of staff which need to be addressed by management and consultants advocating the implementation of e-mail system monitoring and control.

A Practical Method to Distribute a Management Control System in an Organization

Abstract: This article is concerned with methodological issues. In particular, it addresses the question of how it is possible to align the design of management information systems with the structure of an organization. The method proposed is built upon the Cybersin method developed by Stafford Beer 1975 and Raul Espejo 1992. The article shows a way to intersect three complementary organizational fields: management information systems, management control systems, and organizational learning when studied from a systemic perspective, in this case from the point of view of management cybernetics Beer, 1959, 1979, 1981, 1985.

Privacy Rights Management: Implementation Scenarios

Abstract: Managing privacy is important because organizations must meet legislative and organizational requirements. Some countries, such as the United States of America, have a patchwork of legislation, making it difficult to understand technical requirements. Other countries, such as Canada and the European Union, have well-established and understood privacy laws. As well, many different technologies that may be applied to provide compliance with those laws exist, but there are no established technological solutions suited for handling all of the challenging requirements expressed by privacy regulations. The question remains: how can a citizen's privacy rights be managed or enforced? This article describes extensions to a privacy architecture that employs digital rights management technologies to manage individual data privacy. Several scenarios related to the management of personally identifiable information are described, illustrating how the system operates in support of the requirements expressed in the European Union privacy principles.

Mining Text with the Prototype-Matching Method

Abstract: Text documents are the most common means for exchanging formal knowledge among people Text is a rich medium that can contain a vast range of information, but text can be difficult to decipher automatically Many organizations have vast repositories of textual data but with few means of automatically mining that text Text mining methods seek to use an understanding of natural language text to extract information relevant to user needs This article evaluates a new text mining methodology: prototype-matching for text clustering, developed by the authors' research group The methodology was applied to four applications: clustering documents based on their abstracts, analyzing financial data, distinguishing authorship, and evaluating multiple translation similarity The results are discussed in terms of common business applications and possible future research