Showing papers in "Management Information Systems Quarterly in 2001"

Review: Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: conceptual foundations and research issues

Abstract: Knowledge is a broad and abstract notion that has defined epistemological debate in western philosophy since the classical Greek era. In the past few years, however, there has been a growing interest in treating knowledge as a significant organizational resource. Consistent with the interest in organizational knowledge and knowledge management (KM), IS researchers have begun promoting a class of information systems, referred to as knowledge management systems (KMS). The objective of KMS is to support creation, transfer, and application of knowledge in organizations. Knowledge and knowledge management are complex and multi-faceted concepts. Thus, effective development and implementation of KMS requires a foundation in several rich literatures.

Understanding information systems continuance: an expectation-confirmation model

Abstract: This paper examines cognitive beliefs and affect influencing one's intention to continue using (continuance) information systems (IS). Expectation-confirmation theory is adapted from the consumer behavior literature and integrated with theoretical and empirical findings from prior IS usage research to theorize a model of IS continuance. Five research hypotheses derived from this model are empirically validated using a field survey of online banking users. The results suggest that users' continuance intention is determined by their satisfaction with IS use and perceived usefulness of continued IS use. User satisfaction, in turn, is influenced by their confirmation of expectation from prior IS use and perceived usefulness. Post-acceptance perceived usefulness is influenced by users' confirmation level. This study draws attention to the substantive differences between acceptance and continuance behaviors, theorizes and validates one of the earliest theoretical models of IS continuance, integrates confirmation and user satisfaction constructs within our current understanding of IS use, conceptualizes and creates an initial scale for measuring IS continuance, and offers an initial explanation for the acceptance-discontinuance anomaly.

An empirical investigation of the factors affecting data warehousing success

Abstract: The IT implementation literature suggests that various implementation factors play critical roles in the success of an information system; however, there is little empirical research about the implementation of data warehousing projects. Data warehousing has unique characteristics that may impact the importance of factors that apply to it. In this study, a cross-sectional survey investigated a model of data warehousing success. Data warehousing managers and data suppliers from 111 organizations completed paired mail questionnaires on implementation factors and the success of the warehouse. The results from a Partial Least Squares analysis of the data identified significant relationships between the system quality and data quality factors and perceived net benefits. It was found that management support and resources help to address organizational issues that arise during warehouse implementations; resources, user participation, and highly-skilled project team members increase the likelihood that warehousing projects will finish on-time, on-budget, with the right functionality; and diverse, unstandardized source systems and poor development technology will increase the technical issues that project teams must overcome. The implementation's success with organizational and project issues, in turn, influence the system quality of the data warehouse; however, data quality is best explained by factors not included in the research model.

Web-Based virtual learning environments: a research framekwork and a preliminary assessment of effectiveness in basic IT skills training

Abstract: Internet technologies are having a significant impact on the learning industry. For-profit organizations and traditional institutions of higher education have developed and are using web-based courses, but little is known about their effectiveness compared to traditional classroom education. Our work focuses on the effectiveness of a web-based virtual learning environment (VLE) in the context of basic information technology skills training. This article provides three main contributions. First, it introduces and defines the concept of VLE, discussing how a VLE differs from the traditional classroom and differentiating it from the related, but narrower, concept of computer aided instruction (CAI). Second, it presents a framework of VLE effectiveness, grounded in the technology-mediated learning literature, which frames the VLE research domain, and addresses the relationship between the main constructs. Finally, it focuses on one essential VLE design variable, learner control, and compares a web-based VLE to a traditional classroom through a longitudinal experimental design. Our results indicate that, in the context of IT basic skills training in undergraduate education, there are no significant differences in performance between students enrolled in the two environments. However, the VLE leads to higher reported computer self-efficacy, while participants report being less satisfied with the learning process.

A longitudinal investigation of personal computers in homes: adoption determinants and emerging challenges

Abstract: While technology adoption in the workplace has been studied extensively, drivers of adoption in homes have been largely overlooked. This paper presents the results of a nation-wide, two-wave, longitudinal investigation of the factors driving personal computer (PC) adoption in American homes. The findings revealed that the decisions driving adoption and non-adoption were significantly different. Adopters were driven by utilitarian outcomes, hedonic outcomes (i.e., fun), and social outcomes (i.e., status) from adoption. Non-adopters, on the other hand, were influenced primarily by rapid changes in technology and the consequent fear of obsolescence. A second wave of data collection conducted six months after the initial survey indicated an asymmetrical relationship between intent and behavior, with those who did not intend to adopt a PC following more closely with their intent than those who intended to adopt one. We present important implications for research on adoption of technologies in homes and the workplace, and also discuss challenges facing the PC industry.

Technology and institutions: what can research on information technology and research on organizations learn from each other?

Abstract: We argue that because of important epistemological differences between the fields of information technology and organization studies, much can be gained from greater interaction between them. In particular, we argue that information technology research can benefit from incorporating institutional analysis from organization studies, while organization studies can benefit even more by following the lead of information technology research in taking the material properties of technologies into account. We further suggest that the transformations currently occurring in the nature of work and organizing cannot be understood without considering both the technological changes and the institutional contexts that are reshaping economic and organizational activity. Thus, greater interaction between the fields of information technology and organization studies should be viewed as more than a matter of enrichment. In the intellectual engagement of these two fields lies the potential for an important fusion of perspectives, a fusion more carefully attuned to explaining the nature and consequences of the techno-social phenomena that increasingly pervade our lives.

Validation in information systems research: a state-of-the-art assessment

Abstract: Over 10 years ago, the issue of whether IS researchers were rigorously validating their quantitative, positivist instruments was raised (Straub 1989). In the years that have passed since that time, the profession has undergone many changes. Novel technologies and management trends have come and gone. New professional societies have been formed and grown in prominence and new demands have been placed on the field's research and teaching obligations. But the issue of rigor in IS research has persisted throughout all such changes. Without solid validation of the instruments that are used to gather data upon which findings and interpretations are based, the very scientific basis of positivist, quantitative research is threatened. As a retrospective on the Straub article, this research seeks to determine if and how the field has advanced in instrument validation. As evidence of the change, we coded positivist, quantitative research articles in five major journals over a recent three year period for use of validation techniques. Findings suggest that the field has advanced in many areas, but, overall, it appears that a majority of published studies are still not sufficiently validating their instruments. Based on these findings, approaches are suggested for reinvigorating the quest for validation in IS research via content/construct validity, reliability, and manipulation validity.

Media and group cohesion: relative influences on social presence, task participation, and group consensus

Abstract: Organizations deploy advanced communication media such as audio and videoconferencing to enhance and extend group communication interactions. However, established groups (i.e., groups with a history of working together) can view and use the same technology differently from groups without any past experiences of working together. This study examines the relative influences of media condition and group cohesion on social presence, task participation, and group consensus. Results from a controlled laboratory experiment with 45 triads of college students working on a decision-making task showed that media condition (audio conferencing vs. desktop videoconferencing) has significantly smaller influences on social presence and task participation than group cohesion in established groups. The study found that influence of group cohesion over social presence is additive, rather than substitutive, to that of media condition. The study also established that task participation played a more important role than social presence in determining the degree of consensus among group members in computer-mediated communication environments.

Understanding fit and appropriation effects in group support systems via meta-analysis

Abstract: Many previous papers have lamented the fact that the findings of past GSS research have been inconsistent. This paper develops a new model for interpreting GSS effects on performance (a Fit-Appropriation Model), which argues that GSS performance is affected by two factors. The first is the fit between the task and the GSS structures selected for use (i.e., communication support and information processing support). The second is the appropriation support the group receives in the form of training, facilitation, and software restrictiveness to help them effectively incorporate the selected GSS structures into their meeting process. A meta-analysis using this model to organize and classify past research found that when used appropriately (i.e., there is a fit between the GSS structures and the task, and the group receives appropriation support), GSS use increased the number of ideas generated, took less time, and led to more satisfied participants than if the group worked without the GSS. Fitting the GSS to the task had the most impact on outcome effectiveness (decision quality and ideas), while appropriation support had the most impact on the process (time required and process satisfaction). We conclude that when using this theoretical lens, the results of GSS research do not appear inconsistent.

Review: a cognitive-affective model of organizational communication for designing IT

Abstract: There are several theories available to describe how managers choose a medium for communication. However, current technology can affect not only how we communicate but also what we communicate. As a result, the issue for designers of communication support systems has become broader: how should technology be designed to make communication more effective by changing the medium and the attributes of the message itself? The answer to this question requires a shift from current preoccupations with the medium of communication to a view that assesses the balance between medium and message form. There is also a need to look more closely at the process of communication in order to identify more precisely any potential areas of computer support. This paper provides the spadework for a new model of organizational communication, and uses it to review existing research, as well as to suggest directions for future research and development. Beginning with the crucial aspects of action, relationship, and choice, an integrated model of how people communicate is developed. This model incorporates three basic factors: (1) inputs to the communication process (task, sender-receiver distance, and values and norms of communication with a particular emphasis on inter-cultural communication); (2) a cognitive-affective process of communication; and (3) the communication impact on action and relationship. The glue that bonds these factors together is a set of communication strategies aimed at reducing the complexity of communication. The model provides a balance between relationship and action, between cognition and affect, and between message and medium. Such a balance has been lacking in previous work, and we believe it reflects a more realistic picture of communication behavior in organizations. A set of propositions generated from the model sets an agenda for studying the communication process as well as its inputs and outputs. Furthermore, this knowledge of the mechanisms that guide behavior is used to demonstrate the potential for developing design principles for future communication support systems.

Interpersonal conflict and its management in information system development

Abstract: Researchers from a wide range of management areas agree that conflicts are an important part of organizational life and that their study is important. Yet, interpersonal conflict is a neglected topic in information system development (ISD). Based on definitional properties of interpersonal conflict identified in the management and organizational behavior literatures, this paper tests a model of how individuals participating in ISD projects perceive interpersonal conflict and examines the relationships between interpersonal conflict, management of the conflict, and ISD outcomes. Questionnaire data was obtained from 265 IS staff and 272 users working on 162 ISD projects. Results indicated that the construct of interpersonal conflict was reflected by three key dimensions: disagreement, interference, and negative emotion. While conflict management was found to have positive effects on ISD outcomes, it did not substantially mitigate the negative effects of interpersonal conflict on these outcomes. In other words, the impact of interpersonal conflict was perceived to be negative, regardless of how it was managed or resolved.

Radical innovation without collocation: a case study at Boeing-Rocketdyne

Abstract: This paper describes how a unique type of virtual team, deploying a computer-mediated collaborative technology, developed a radically new product. The uniqueness of the team-what we call VC3 teams, for Virtual Cross-value-chain, Creative Collaborative Teams-stemmed from the fact that it was inter-organizational and virtual, and had to compete for the attention of team members who also belong to collocated teams within their own organizations. Existing research on virtual teams does not fully address the challenges of such VC3 teams. Using the case of Boeing-Rocketdyne, we describe the behavior of members of a VC3 team to derive implications for research on virtual teaming, especially for studying teams within emerging contexts such as the one we observed. The data we collected also allowed us to identify successful managerial practices and develop recommendations for managers responsible for such teams.

Examining the shareholder wealth effects of announcements of newly created CIO positions

Abstract: While information technology (IT) has been transforming the business landscape for a long time now, it is only recently that empirical evidence demonstrating the positive impact of IT on firm performance has begun to accumulate The strategic importance of a firm's IT capabilities is prompting an increasing number of companies to appoint chief information officers (CIOs) to effectively manage these assets Such moves are reflective of changes in top management thinking and policy regarding the role of IT and firms' approaches to IT governance This paper uses the event study methodology to examine market reactions to announcements of new CIO positions Findings strongly support the notion that, for firms competing in industries undergoing IT-driven transformation, announcements of newly created CIO positions do indeed provoke positive reactions from the marketplace

The role of aggregation in the measurement of IT-related organizational innovation

Abstract: The extent of organizational innovation with information technology, an important construct in the IT innovation literature, has been measured in many different ways. Some measures have a narrow focus while others aggregate innovative behaviors across a set of innovations or stages in the assimilation lifecycle. There appear to be some significant tradeoffs involving aggregation: more aggregated measures can be more robust and generalizable and can promote stronger predictive validity, while less aggregated measures allow more context-specific investigations and can preserve clearer theoretical interpretations. This article begins with a conceptual analysis that identifies the circumstances when these tradeoffs are most likely to favor aggregated measures. It is found that aggregation should be favorable when: (1) the researcher's interest is in general innovation or a model that generalizes to a class of innovations, (2) antecedents have effects in the same direction in all assimilation stages, (3) characteristics of organizations can be treated as constant across the innovations in the study, (4) characteristics of innovations can not be treated as constant across organizations in the study, (5) the set of innovations being aggregated includes substitutes or moderate complements, and (6) sources of noise in the measurement of innovation may be present. The article then presents an empirical study using data on the adoption of software process technologies by 608 U.S. based corporations. This study-which had circumstances quite favorable to aggregation- found that aggregating across three innovations within a technology class more than doubled the variance explained compared to single innovation models. Aggregating across assimilation stages also had a slight positive effect on predictive validity. Taken together, these results provide initial confirmation of the conclusions from the conceptual analysis regarding the circumstances favoring aggregation.

Work outcomes and job design for contract versus permanent information systems professionals on software development teams

Abstract: Organizations have significantly increased their use of contracting in information systems (IS), hiring contractors to work with permanent professionals. Based on theories of social exchange and social comparison, we hypothesize differences in work attitudes, behaviors, and performance across the two groups, and evaluate our hypotheses with a sequential mixed-methods design. Our first study surveys contract and permanent professionals on software development teams in a large transportation company. Our second study involves in-depth interviews with contract and permanent IS professionals in three organizations. We find support for many of our hypotheses but also some surprising results. Contrary to our predictions, contractors perceive a more favorable work environment than permanent professionals but exhibit lower in-role and extra-role behaviors than their permanent counterparts. Supervisors perceive their contract subordinates as lower-performing and less loyal, obedient, and trustworthy. In-depth interviews help to explain these findings. Job design emerges as an important factor influencing contractors' work attitudes, behaviors, and performance. Supervisors restrict the scope of contractors' jobs, limiting their job behaviors and performance. To compensate, permanent professionals are assigned considerably enlarged job scopes, leading to their lower perceptions of the work environment. We propose a theoretical model that embraces job design in explaining differences in work outcomes for contract versus permanent professionals on software development teams. The results from our study imply that organizations should carefully design and balance the jobs of their contractors and permanent employees to improve attitudes, behaviors, and workplace performance.

Revolution or evolution?: a comparison of object-oriented and structured systems development methods

Abstract: This paper examines the changes engendered when moving from a structured to an object-oriented systems development approach and reconciles the differing views concerning whether this represents an evolutionary or revolutionary change. Author co-citation analysis is used to elucidate the ideational and conceptual relationships between the two approaches. The difference in conceptual distance at the analysis and design level compared to that at the programming level is explained using Henderson's framework for organizational change. The conceptual shift during analysis and design is considered architectural, whereas for programming it is deemed merely incremental. The managerial implications of these findings are discussed and suggestions for improving the likelihood of success in the adoption of object-oriented systems development methods are provided.

Introducing MISQ review: a new department in MIS quarterly

Abstract: An exceedingly long-term analysis on the development of human society reveals an increasing capacity to process information. Indeed, it can be argued that this is the pre-eminent technology that humans have developed, since it is the foundation of all other technologies. Our ever-growing capacity to communicate with one another over time and space is at the heart of our transition from subsistence hunters and gatherers to a global society.