Showing papers on "Information sharing published in 2012"

The role of social networks in information diffusion

Abstract: Online social networking technologies enable individuals to simultaneously share information with any number of peers. Quantifying the causal effect of these mediums on the dissemination of information requires not only identification of who influences whom, but also of whether individuals would still propagate information in the absence of social signals about that information. We examine the role of social networks in online information diffusion with a large-scale field experiment that randomizes exposure to signals about friends' information sharing among 253 million subjects in situ. Those who are exposed are significantly more likely to spread information, and do so sooner than those who are not exposed. We further examine the relative role of strong and weak ties in information propagation. We show that, although stronger ties are individually more influential, it is the more abundant weak ties who are responsible for the propagation of novel information. This suggests that weak ties may play a more dominant role in the dissemination of information online than currently believed.

Defining Twenty-First Century Skills

Abstract: As the previous chapter indicates, there has been a significant shift in advanced economies from manufacturing to information and knowledge services. Knowledge itself is growing ever more specialized and expanding exponentially. Information and communication technology is transforming the nature of how work is conducted and the meaning of social relationships. Decentralized decision making, information sharing, teamwork, and innovation are key in today’s enterprises. No longer can students look forward to middle class success in the conduct of manual labor or use of routine skills – work that can be accomplished by machines. Rather, whether a technician or a professional person, success lies in being able to communicate, share, and use information to solve complex problems, in being able to adapt and innovate in response to new demands and changing circumstances, in being able to marshal and expand the power of technology to create new knowledge, and in expanding human capacity and productivity.

Information sharing and team performance: a meta-analysis

Abstract: Information sharing is a central process through which team members collectively utilize their available informational resources. The authors used meta-analysis to synthesize extant research on team information sharing. Meta-analytic results from 72 independent studies (total groups 4,795; total N 17,279) demonstrate the importance of information sharing to team performance, cohesion, decision satisfaction, and knowledge integration. Although moderators were identified, information sharing positively predicted team performance across all levels of moderators. The information sharing–team performance relationship was moderated by the representation of information sharing (as uniqueness or openness), performance criteria, task type, and discussion structure by uniqueness (a 3-way interaction). Three factors affecting team information processing were found to enhance team information sharing: task demonstrability, discussion structure, and cooperation. Three factors representing decreasing degrees of member redundancy were found to detract from team information sharing: information distribution, informational interdependence, and member heterogeneity.

The Role of Social Networks in Information Diffusion

Abstract: Online social networking technologies enable individuals to simultaneously share information with any number of peers. Quantifying the causal effect of these technologies on the dissemination of information requires not only identification of who influences whom, but also of whether individuals would still propagate information in the absence of social signals about that information. We examine the role of social networks in online information diffusion with a large-scale field experiment that randomizes exposure to signals about friends' information sharing among 253 million subjects in situ. Those who are exposed are significantly more likely to spread information, and do so sooner than those who are not exposed. We further examine the relative role of strong and weak ties in information propagation. We show that, although stronger ties are individually more influential, it is the more abundant weak ties who are responsible for the propagation of novel information. This suggests that weak ties may play a more dominant role in the dissemination of information online than currently believed.

Data naming in Vehicle-to-Vehicle communications

Abstract: Vehicular networking is becoming reality. Today vehicles use TCP/IP to communicate with centralized servers through cellular networks. However many vehicular applications, such as information sharing for safety and real time traffic purposes, desire direct V2V communications which is difficult to achieve using the existing solutions. This paper explores the named-data approach to address this challenge. We use case studies to identify the design requirements and put forth a strawman proposal for the data name design to understand its advantages and limitations.

Custodian-based information sharing

Abstract: Information sharing systems such as iCloud, Dropbox, Facebook, and Twitter are ubiquitous today, but all of them depend on massive server infrastructure and always-on Internet connectivity. We have designed and implemented a sharing system that does not require infrastructure yet supports robust, distributed, secure sharing by opportunistically using any and all connectivity, local or global, permanent or transient, to communicate. One key element of this system is a new information routing model that so far has proven to be as scalable and efficient as the best of the current Internet routing protocols, while operating in an environment more complex and dynamic than they can tolerate. The new routing model is made possible by new affordances offered by information-centric networking, in particular, the open source CCN [1] release. This article describes the new system and its routing model, and provides some performance measurements.

E-Government Interoperability: Interaction of Policy, Management, and Technology Dimensions

Abstract: E-Government continues to be recognized as a key strategy for improving government services and the effectiveness of public policies and programs. A key component of e-government initiatives is the ability of multiple government and nongovernment organizations to share and integrate information across their traditional organizational boundaries. E-Government interoperability represents a set of multidimensional, complementary, and dynamic capabilities needed among these networks of organizations in order to achieve successful information sharing. However, this view is complex and provides both researchers and practitioners with the challenge of understanding and developing multiple and very diverse interoperability capabilities. Researchers and practitioners alike are investing in efforts to build that understanding and to create new capability for coordinated action. Drawing on theories and research in the fields of enterprise architecture, capability maturity, information sharing, and system interoperability, the framework presented here provides unique value in both regards.

Talking in circles: selective sharing in google+

Abstract: Online social networks have become indispensable tools for information sharing, but existing 'all-or-nothing' models for sharing have made it difficult for users to target information to specific parts of their networks. In this paper, we study Google+, which enables users to selectively share content with specific 'Circles' of people. Through a combination of log analysis with surveys and interviews, we investigate how active users organize and select audiences for shared content. We find that these users frequently engaged in selective sharing, creating circles to manage content across particular life facets, ties of varying strength, and interest-based groups. Motivations to share spanned personal and informational reasons, and users frequently weighed ''limiting' factors (e.g. privacy, relevance, and social norms) against the desire to reach a large audience. Our work identifies implications for the design of selective sharing mechanisms in social networks.

Revenue Sharing and Information Leakage in a Supply Chain

Abstract: This work explores the potential of revenue sharing contracts to facilitate information sharing in a supply chain and mitigate the negative effects of information leakage. We consider a supplier who offers a revenue sharing contract to two competing retailers, one of whom has private information about uncertain market potential and orders first. This order information may be leaked to the uninformed retailer by the supplier to realize higher profits. We show that the incentives of the supplier and retailers are better aligned under a revenue-sharing contract unlike in a wholesale price contract, reducing the supplier's incentive to leak. This is true for a wide range of wholesale prices and revenue share percentages and is more likely when the revenue share percentage is higher and when variation in demand is greater. Preventing information leakage may result in higher profits not only for the informed retailer and supplier, but surprisingly even the uninformed retailer. Our results are robust when the model is generalized along various dimensions.

Beyond the “Mirroring” Hypothesis: Product Modularity and Interorganizational Relations in the Air Conditioning Industry

Abstract: This study explores whether, to what extent, and under which conditions modular products are associated with modular organizations (the “mirroring” hypothesis). We analyze the product and organizational architectures of three firms in the air conditioning industry through an original data set of 100 components and supply relationships. Applying a variety of regression methods, we show that, under the condition of product architecture stability at the component level, supplier relations for loosely coupled components are characterized by less information sharing, which implies that the degree of coupling of product components varies directly with the degree of coupling of organizations (the “mirroring” hypothesis). Also, the performance of supply relationships depends on the amount of buyer–supplier information sharing but not on the degree of component modularity, which supports the relational view and confirms that product modularity does not have unambiguous effects on organizational performance. Moreover, the degree of component modularity negatively moderates the impact of buyer–supplier information sharing on supplier-relationship performance, which confirms that component modularity works as an ex ante, embedded substitute for high-powered interorganizational integration mechanisms. Finally, contingent on firms' strategies, organizational structures, and capabilities, we argue that at the firm level, higher product modularity may be associated either with less information sharing with suppliers, which implies that the mirroring effect might hold also at the firm level, or with more information sharing with suppliers, which implies that there may be increasing returns to modularity in design efforts because of interorganizational integration (the “complementarity” hypothesis).

Towards a smart State? Inter-agency collaboration, information integration, and beyond

Abstract: Information technologies IT can now be considered one of the key components of government administrative reform The potential is even greater when working across organizational boundaries Unfortunately, inter-agency collaboration appears to face an even greater number of challenges than similar IT initiatives within a single organization The challenges include data and technological incompatibility, the lack of institutional incentives to collaborate, and the politics and power struggles around a pervasive silo structure in most governments, among many others This paper argues that there are clear trends towards greater inter-organizational collaboration, information sharing, and integration, which could lead, in the near future, to what might be called a smart State The paper starts discussing the promises and challenges that have already been identified for government information sharing and integration initiatives Then it describes two trends in terms of inter-organizational collaboration and information technologies in government settings The paper ends by providing reflections about the technical and political feasibility, as well as the social desirability, of an integrated virtual State in which the executive, legislative, and judicial branches^1 are actively collaborating and sharing information through the use of advanced information technologies, sophisticated coordination mechanisms, shared physical infrastructure, and, potentially, new organizational and institutional arrangements

Towards a theoretical framework of strategic decision, supporting capability and information sharing under the context of Internet of Things

Abstract: The effective strategy of Internet of Things (IoT) can help firms to grasp the emerging opportunities from the IoT and then improve their competitive advantage. In this article, based on organizational capability perspective, we provide a theoretical framework which classifies IoT strategies into four archetypes from two dimensions of managers’ strategic intent and industrial driving force, and propose that market-based exploratory capabilities play a more important role for firms adopting get-ahead strategy, and market-based exploitative capabilities play a more important role for firms adopting catch-up strategy in market. The technology-based exploratory capabilities play a more important role for firms adopting get-ahead strategy in technology, and technology-based exploitative capabilities play a more important role for firms adopting catch-up strategy in technology. Especially, external industry information sharing more efficiently contributes to the enhancement of both market-based and technology-based exploratory capabilities, and internal industry information sharing more efficiently contributes to the enhancement of both market-based and technology-based exploitative capabilities.

Information, Technology, and Information Worker Productivity

Abstract: We econometrically evaluate information worker productivity at a midsize executive recruiting firm and assess whether the knowledge that workers accessed through their electronic communication networks enabled them to multitask more productively. We estimate dynamic panel data models of multitasking, knowledge networks, and productivity using several types of micro-level data: (a) direct observation of more than 125,000 email messages over a period of 10 months; (b) detailed accounting data on individuals' project output and team membership for more than 1,300 projects spanning five years; and (c) survey and interview data about the same workers' IT skills, IT use, and information sharing. We find that (1) more multitasking is associated with more project output, but diminishing marginal returns, and (2) recruiters whose network contacts have heterogeneous knowledge---an even distribution of expertise over many project types---are less productive on average but more productive when juggling diverse multitasking portfolios. These results show how multitasking affects productivity and how knowledge networks, enabled by IT, can improve worker performance. The methods developed can be replicated in other settings, opening new frontiers for research on social networks and IT value.

Secure and Scalable Cloud-Based Architecture for e-Health Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract: There has been a host of research works on wireless sensor networks for medical applications. However, the major shortcoming of these efforts is a lack of consideration of data management. Indeed, the huge amount of high sensitive data generated and collected by medical sensor networks introduces several challenges that existing architectures cannot solve. These challenges include scalability, availability and security. In this paper, we propose an innovative architecture for collecting and accessing large amount of data generated by medical sensor networks. Our architecture resolves all the aforementioned challenges and makes easy information sharing between healthcare professionals. Furthermore, we propose an effective and flexible security mechanism that guarantees confidentiality, integrity as well as fine grained access control to outsourced medical data. This mechanism combines several cryptographic schemes to achieve high flexibility and performance

Impact of Information Exchange on Supplier Forecasting Performance

Abstract: Forecasts of demand are crucial to drive supply chains and enterprise resource planning systems. Usually, well-known univariate methods that work automatically such as exponential smoothing are employed to accomplish such forecasts. The traditional Supply Chain relies on a decentralized system where each member feeds its own Forecasting Support System (FSS) with incoming orders from direct customers. Nevertheless, other collaboration schemes are also possible, for instance, the Information Exchange framework allows demand information to be shared between the supplier and the retailer. Current theoretical models have shown the limited circumstances where retailer information is valuable to the supplier. However, there has been very little empirical work carried out. Considering a serially linked two-level supply chain, this work assesses the role of sharing market sales information obtained by the retailer on the supplier forecasting accuracy. Weekly data from a manufacturer and a major UK grocery retailer have been analyzed to show the circumstances where information sharing leads to improved forecasting accuracy. Without resorting to unrealistic assumptions, we find significant evidence of benefits through information sharing with substantial improvements in forecast accuracy.

Complementary Drivers of New Product Development Performance: Cross‐Functional Coordination, Information System Capability, and Intelligence Quality

Abstract: Coordination efforts that access and align relevant cross-functional expertise are regarded as an essential element of innovation success. In recent years, these efforts have been further augmented through complementary investments in information systems, which provide the technological platforms for information sharing and coordination across functional and organizational boundaries. Somewhat overlooked has been the critical mediating role of the intelligence gained through these efforts and capabilities. This study draws on the theory of complementarity to elaborate on the nature of this mediating concept. Theoretical predictions of the model are tested using instrument variable regression analysis of data collected from a sample of publicly traded US manufacturing firms. The findings suggest that the effects of both internal and external coordination on market intelligence and supply-chain intelligence are moderated by the firm's information system capability. The effect of both types of intelligence quality on new product development performance was contingent with the effects being enhanced (attenuated) when the market conditions were dynamic (stable). The results are robust to common-method bias, endogeneity concerns, and alternative estimation methods.

Process Integration and Information Sharing in Supply Chains

Abstract: This study examines whether the potential for hold-up in supply chains influences the extent of process integration and information sharing between partners. The analysis uses performance scorecards and financial performance data collected from a major manufacturer regarding its contractual arrangements with 156 distributors. I find that distributors engage in less extensive process integration and information sharing with the manufacturer as the potential for hold-up increases, measured by the asymmetry of interdependence between partners. I also find that distributors engage in more extensive process integration and information sharing as the potential for hold-up decreases, measured by the magnitude of interdependence between partners. Additional evidence shows that more extensive process integration and information sharing have favorable financial performance implications for supply chain partners and enhance the likelihood of distributor contract renewal. Overall, the results indicate that t...

Research Blogging: Indexing and Registering the Change in Science 2.0

Abstract: Increasing public interest in science information in a digital and 2.0 science era promotes a dramatically, rapid and deep change in science itself. The emergence and expansion of new technologies and internet-based tools is leading to new means to improve scientific methodology and communication, assessment, promotion and certification. It allows methods of acquisition, manipulation and storage, generating vast quantities of data that can further facilitate the research process. It also improves access to scientific results through information sharing and discussion. Content previously restricted only to specialists is now available to a wider audience. This context requires new management systems to make scientific knowledge more accessible and useable, including new measures to evaluate the reach of scientific information. The new science and research quality measures are strongly related to the new online technologies and services based in social media. Tools such as blogs, social bookmarks and online reference managers, Twitter and others offer alternative, transparent and more comprehensive information about the active interest, usage and reach of scientific publications. Another of these new filters is the Research Blogging platform, which was created in 2007 and now has over 1,230 active blogs, with over 26,960 entries posted about peer-reviewed research on subjects ranging from Anthropology to Zoology. This study takes a closer look at RB, in order to get insights into its contribution to the rapidly changing landscape of scientific communication.

Public Forecast Information Sharing in a Market with Competing Supply Chains

Abstract: Studying the operational motivation of a retailer to publicly announce his forecast information, this paper shows that by making forecast information publicly available to both his manufacturer and to the competitor, a retailer is able to credibly share his forecast information - an outcome that cannot be achieved by merely exchanging information within the supply chain. We model a market comprised of an incumbent supply chain facing the possible entry of a competing supply chain. In each supply chain, a retailer sources the product from a manufacturer, and the manufacturers must secure capacity prior to the beginning of the selling season. Due to the superior knowledge of the incumbent retailer about the consumer market, he privately observes a forecast signal about consumer demand. We first show that the retailer cannot credibly share this forecast information only with his manufacturer, since regardless of the observed signal, the retailer has an incentive to induce the manufacturer to secure a high capacity level. However, when the information is also shared with the competitor, the incumbent retailer faces the trade-off between the desire to secure an ample capacity level and the fear of intense competition. By making information publicly available, it is possible to achieve truthful information sharing; an incumbent retailer observing a high forecast benefits from the increased capacity level to such an extent that he is willing to accommodate competition to prove his accountability for the shared information. On the other hand, an incumbent retailer with a low forecast is not willing to accommodate competition in exchange for the high level of capacity; thus, he truthfully reveals his low forecast to deter competition. Moreover, we demonstrate that this public information sharing can benefit all the firms in the market as well as consumers. In addition, we show that compared to the advance purchase contract, all the firms except the incumbent manufacturer can be better off using public information sharing with a simple wholesale price contract.

Impact of information sharing on supply chain performance.

Abstract: In this study, the effect of information sharing on on-time delivery rate and total cost in a supply chain is investigated via simulation. The experimental factors include capacity tightness, resource reliability, and information sharing modes, which are sharing of resource reliability information, customer demand, and inventory level. The simulation results show that all three experimental factors are statistically significant. Yet, the information sharing modes perform uniquely when the main and interaction effects are analyzed. This study demonstrates that the level of interaction between capacity tightness, resource reliability, and information sharing modes depend on the operational parameters, as well as the flexibility available in a supply chain. Therefore, it may be more feasible to introduce additional flexibility instead of solely focusing on information sharing capability as a coordination tool.

Enhancing Visibility in International Supply Chains: The Data Pipeline Concept

Abstract: With increasing global trade and growing emphasis on security, enhanced information sharing between actors in global supply chains is required. Currently, the data about cargo available in the supply chain does not provide a timely and accurate description of the goods. To solve this data quality issue, data should be captured upstream at the point where goods are packed for transport to the buyer. Without ICT, it was not possible to get timely access to the original trade data. The data pipeline concept is an IT innovation to enable capturing data at the source. The data pipeline accesses existing information systems used by the parties in international supply chains. This paper explores the data pipeline concept and the benefits that businesses and governments could obtain from such an innovation. This study also identifies the need for a public-private governance model that has to accompany the technical innovation.