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Can secure behaviors be contagious? A two-stage investigation of the influence of herd behavior on security decisions
Ali Vedadi, Merrill Warkentin
Abstract
IT users often make information security-related decisions in complex and multidimensional environments, which could lead to phenomena like behavioral anomalies. For instance, under uncertain circumstances, users may discount their own limited information about a security technology and make their adoption decisions based on what the majority of users’ decisions are in this regard. In this context, imitation can become a legitimate and rational strategy for making security-related decisions. Current behavioral security theories generally assume that users possess sufficient information about security technologies before making security-related decisions. This theory assumption limits our understanding of how security decisions are made in various real-world circumstances. Our research is focused on security behaviors under uncertain circumstances. We investigate how providing popularity information can trigger herd behavior and can subsequently influence security behaviors. We also provide insights into security-related decisions that are influenced by herd mentality and whether they persist over time. Additionally, we conceptualize and operationalize two constructs that can be used in future research to better examine post-adoption security behaviors. The findings of this multi-stage experiment show that in uncertain circumstances, when users are aware of the widespread use of a certain security technology, they develop a significantly higher intention to engage in protection-motivated behaviors. Furthermore, the results show that at the post-adoption stage, users rely more heavily on their own information about their continuous use of security technologies and put less emphasis the herd-related factors.
Through Whose Eyes? The Critical Concept of Researcher Perspective
Roger Clarke, Robert Davison
Abstract
In this article, we explore the notion of ‘researcher perspective’, by which we mean the viewpoint from which the researcher observes phenomena in any specific research context. Inevitably, the adoption of a particular viewpoint means that the researcher privileges the interests of one or more stakeholders, while downplaying the interests of other stakeholders. Preliminary empirical analysis of a corpus of 659 articles published in three separate years in AIS Basket of 8 journals, undertaken in preparation for the present paper, revealed that around 90% of articles a) adopted a single-perspective approach, b) were committed solely to the interests of the entity central to the research design, and c) considered only economic aspects of the phenomena investigated in the research. Taken together, these three characteristics are unhealthy for the discipline and likely to lead to the neglect of important research opportunities. We suggest that the principle of triangulation be applied not only to data sources and research methods, but also to researcher perspectives, and that a consequent broadening of the IS discipline's scope is essential. We conclude the article with prescriptive recommendations for the practice of research that is relevant to multiple stakeholders.
Synthesizing and Integrating Research on IT-Based Value Co-Creation: A Meta-Analysis
Markus Mandrella, Simon Trang, Lutz M. Kolbe
Abstract
IT value research has witnessed growing interest in the use of joint IT resources and capabilities following recent shifts in market competition from the firm to the network level. Despite research efforts in this domain, there remain substantial inconsistencies in the IT value co-creation literature regarding the effect of inter-organizational IT on business value and the role of methodological and contextual factors. Drawing on the resource-based view and the relational view of the firm, we conducted a meta-analysis to synthesize and integrate the body of knowledge on IT-based value co-creation. Our analysis of 80 studies – encompassing 21,843 observations – highlights the value-generating effect of four inter-organizational IT capabilities: IT-based relation-specific assets, IT-based knowledge sharing, IT-based complementary capabilities, and IT-based governance. Insights from our preliminary meta-analysis reveal that contradictory findings are driven by the conceptualization of IT variables as inter-organizational IT resources. A further moderator meta-analysis explains divergent empirical findings in the literature. We find that the use of relational-level value and perceptual measures, use of single respondents, and the context of developing countries and supply chain and networked interdependencies result in larger estimates of business value. In contrast, the use of network-level, firm-level, and objective measures; use of matched-pair approaches; and the context of developed countries and pooled interdependencies result in smaller estimates. Overall, this paper provides clarity and structure to the current understanding of the research field by providing explanations for inconsistent findings as well as a foundation for future research and theory development.
Predicting Intention to Participate in Socially Responsible Collective Action in a Social Networking Website Group
Jengchung Victor Chen, Timothy McBush Hiele, Adam Kryszak, William H. Ross
Abstract
The present study used the belief-desire-intention (BDI) model to predict group members’ intention (“we-intention”) to participate in using a social networking site (SNS) for collective action. Participants reported their beliefs about social influence processes, including a subjective norm, a group norm, and social identity; they also reported their beliefs about using an SNS for a charitable collective action, which was socially responsible - perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR). The study applied this integrated research framework in the context of a Facebook group called KolorujeMY with an interest in social causes (e.g., repairing orphanages in Poland). Moreover, the structural equation modeling results indicated that social identity had a positive and direct effect on we-intention to use an SNS for collective action. Perceived CSR also had a positive and significant impact on this we-intention. Similarly, desire had a positive, significant, and large effect on we-intention to use SNS for collective action. The results also indicated that desire partially mediated the relationship between the social influence beliefs and we-intention. Overall, this study provides insights in the understanding of the impact of social influence processes, the role of desire, and perceived CSR beliefs toward predicting we-intentions in a social networking environment.
Evolutional and Transformational Configuration Strategies: A Rasch Analysis of IT Providers’ Service Management Capability
Jochen Wulf and Till Winkler
Abstract
While providers of information technology (IT) services widely rely on reference models for IT service management (ITSM) practices, little is known about the actual configurations of these practices, referring to the patterns in which service providers adopt these practices at different maturity stages. We analyze how practice configurations reflect a provider’s ITSM capability and how this capability contributes to provider performance. This study addresses two gaps in the ITSM literature. First, empirical approaches to measuring a capability that manifests in configurations of ITSM practices and potentially different nonlinear configuration strategies are missing. Second, no theory explaining the resulting performance differences of alternative configuration strategies exists. We analyzed data from 315 IT service providers on the configuration of practices described in the widely regarded ITIL (formerly IT Infrastructure Library) reference model for ITSM. With this data, we conducted a Rasch calibration—a psychometric method for modeling latent traits based on non-interval scaled data—to measure practice maturity thresholds and providers’ ITSM capability on the same scale. Further, we regressed this measure of ITSM capability on service provider performance. Our findings contribute to the ITSM literature by uncovering two strategies for configuring ITSM practices with distinct capability scales. Drawing on prior theory, we characterize these as evolutionary and transformational configuration strategies. Service providers in the transformational class obtain higher performance gains from building ITSM capability than those in the evolutionary class. This supports our key argument that underlying practice complementarities are a key source of performance gains.
Exploring the Dynamic Influence of Visit Behavior on Online Store Sales Performance: An Empirical Investigation
Peng Luo, Eric W.T. Ngai, and Xin Tian
Abstract
The sales performance of online stores plays a critical role in the economy and has attracted increasing attention from scholars. This study focuses on the different aspects of the visit behavior of online consumers and explores the dynamic relationships between visit behavior factors and the sales performance of an online store. We adopt comprehensive visit behavior measures, including number of visitors, repeat visits, visit duration, visitor bookmarking behavior, and visitor attributes. We examine whether these metrics are related to sales performance, what the dynamics of the observed relationships are, and which metric is the most important factor in these relationships. We adopt the vector auto-regression model with exogenous variables to investigate the dynamic relationships of the visit behavior variables with sales performance. We also assess the relative importance of different metrics in explaining sales performance. The findings reveal that visit behavior measures have a strong relationship with sales performance measures. Among the different metrics, the repeat visit metric has the significantly strongest relationship with sales performance, followed by the number of visitors. This study offers new insights for the visit behavior and sales performance literature as well as novel strategies for managers of online stores.
Value Co-creation for Service Innovation: Examining the Relationships between Service Innovativeness, Customer Participation, and Mobile App Performance
Hua (Jonathan) Ye and Atreyi Kankanhalli
Abstract
Service innovation is critical to firms' competitive advantage and thus, firms desire to make their services more and more innovative. However, the relationship between a new service’s innovativeness and its performance is unclear. Conflicting findings and related literature suggest that service innovativeness is multi-dimensional and its impact on performance could be non-linear. Yet, there has been limited research on these aspects, both theoretically and empirically. Further, customers play an important role in service innovation, but prior research has mainly considered them as inputs to value creation, which may not capture their precise role. Motivated thus, and drawing on the service-dominant (S-D) logic, we propose two dimensions of service innovativeness, novelty and intensity, which influence new service performance differentially, and posit that customers are a part of the value co-creation process affecting new service performance. Consequently, we develop a model linking service innovativeness dimensions and customer participation to new service performance. The model was tested using a panel dataset of 234 mobile apps over 14 months. The results indicate important asymmetries in the impacts of novelty and intensity on mobile app performance. As proposed, novelty shows a curvilinear (negative quadratic) relationship, whereas intensity shows a positive linear relationship with mobile app performance. Furthermore, customer participation has a positive impact on mobile app performance, as well as positively moderating both the effects of intensity and novelty on mobile app performance. The implications for research and practice are discussed.
Reinforcing Effect of Formal Control Enactment in Complex IT Projects
Gloria Liu and Cecil Chua
Abstract
Complex IT projects pose particular challenges for the application of control, because of the dynamism and uncertainty involved. Prior studies suggest self-control can complement formal control within complex projects. However, how managers can enact controlee self-control remains an unsolved question. This paper proposes and investigates how enacted formal control unfolds during the course of an IT project and, in particular, how formal control enactment can promote or hinder controlee self-control. We demonstrate through case studies of a control in two wireless communication product development projects that an enabling control style can induce controlees to act to the benefit of both the controller and the controlee, while an authoritative control style encourages controlees’ self-interested behavior. We also show how controlees influence the enactment of control within complex projects, and the reinforcing effects of the controller’s enactment and controlee response on project outcomes. For practice, this research identifies preconditions necessary for inducing controlee self-control.
Incumbent System Context and Job Outcomes of Effective Enterprise System Use
Rob Hornyak, Arun Rai, and John Qi Dong
Abstract
Enterprise system (ES) implementations frequently fail to deliver job benefits for employees, with many being dissatisfied with these systems that were implemented to support them in their jobs. The literature is clear that the realization of job benefits depends on how these systems are used, motivating us to focus on the determinants and outcomes of effective ES use. Focusing on employees’ use of systems to support the work process, we examine how employees’ pre-implementation context — specifically, the incumbent system context stemming from using an incumbent system and the associated work process — affects their performance expectancy of a new ES and consequently their effective ES use and resulting job outcomes. Our results suggest that 1) employees’ perceptions of two facets of information transparency due to incumbent system use — information visibility and information credibility — have different impacts on their performance expectancy of a new ES depending on pre-implementation perceptions of work process standardization and that 2) effective ES use mediates the impact of pre-implementation performance expectancy on post-implementation user satisfaction and consequently job effectiveness. Our findings provide insights into the mechanisms linking the context of using an incumbent system to post-implementation effective ES use and job outcomes, thereby integrating our understanding of technology acceptance and use, IS success, and work design.
Monitoring the Complexity of IT Architectures: Design Principles and an IT Artifact
Thomas Widjaja and Robert Wayne Gregory
Abstract
Monitoring the complexity of a firm’s IT architecture is imperative to ensure a stable and flexible platform foundation for competing in the era of digital business strategy. However, IT architects lack IT support for dealing with this important problem. We engaged with five companies in a significant Design Science Research (DSR) program and drew on the heuristic theorizing framework both to solve this problem through evolving IT artifacts and to accumulate nascent design knowledge. We base the design knowledge development on a conceptual framework involving three essential concepts for understanding and solving this problem: structural complexity, dynamic complexity, and problem-solving complexity. Drawing on this foundation, we address the research question: How can IT support be provided for reducing the problem-solving complexity of monitoring the structural and dynamic complexity of IT architectures in the context of a digital business strategy? To answer this question, we present a set of design principles that we derived from our iterative process of IT artifact construction and evaluation activities with five companies. Our nascent design knowledge contributes to the research on IT architecture management in the context of digital business strategy. In addition, we also contribute to the understanding of how, through the use and illustration of the heuristic theorizing framework, design knowledge can be accumulated systematically on the basis of generalization from IT artifact construction and evaluation outcomes generated across multiple contexts and companies.
A Design Theory for Visual Inquiry Tools
Hazbi Avdiji, Dina Elikan, Stéphanie Missonier, and Yves Pigneur
Abstract
The Business Model Canvas opened the way for the development of a new tool type which we call visual inquiry tools. Such tools build on design thinking techniques to allow management practitioners to jointly inquire into specific strategic management problems. As the interest in and the emergence of visual inquiry tools gains momentum, it is important to formalize the design knowledge that future designers can build on for developing such tools. Thus, we propose a design theory for visual inquiry tools based on the design knowledge accumulated within and across three projects: the Business Model Canvas, the Value Proposition Canvas, and the Team Alignment Map. We outline the design principles (among others) that should be followed for developing visual inquiry tools for other strategic management problems. We evaluate the design theory with an experiment in which groups of students were asked to develop visual inquiry tools. The results show that, when provided with the design theory, students designed higher-quality visual inquiry tools. Our study addresses the lack of guidance in the development of visual inquiry tools and the lack of methodological guidance in design science research (DSR) on how to theorize and formalize knowledge across multiple projects. We provide a methodological process for analyzing multiple-project data by bridging methodological insights from DSR and qualitative methods from the social sciences.
Accumulating Design Knowledge: A Mechanisms-based Approach
Hannes Rothe, Lauri Wessel, and Ana Paula Bezerra Barquet
Abstract
We develop an empirically-grounded understanding of how design knowledge accumulates over time. Drawing from theory on knowledge creation, we conceptualize accumulation along the goals and scope of knowledge in DSR as a distinct knowledge creation problem. Through two empirical studies, we theorize knowledge accumulation in DSR by unpacking (a) three knowledge creation mechanisms and (b) explaining how their interplay forms different patterns of knowledge creation over time. We contribute a theoretical framework conducive to integrating knowledge produced through different methods by introducing knowledge creation processes as distinct unit of analysis in DSR and by pointing out that extant procedural models may need revision to account for the continuous knowledge creation occurring in potentially multi-year DSR projects.
Tapestries of Innovation: Structures of Contemporary Open Source Project Engagements
Matt Germonprez, Matt Levy, Julie Kendall, and Kenneth Kendall
Abstract
Since the origins of the free-software movement, open source projects have fostered an environment for innovative ideas that transformed much of how we understand technology in our everyday lives. In our quest to learn more about the structures of large-scale contemporary open source engagements, we examine three open source networks as part of an ongoing field study (Van Maanen, 2011). We explore the innovation networks described by Lyytinen et al. (2016) and resolve whether any of the open source innovative networks we have been studying can be classified as a Project, Clan, Federated, or Anarchic networks. We examine two collaborative projects under the auspices of the Linux Foundation, and determine that they correspond to the Federated and Project Innovation Networks, but came to realize that the Linux Foundation did not fit any of the four types of networks. We therefore propose and authenticate a fifth type of network that we characterize as a Tapestry Innovation Network, which can illuminate the Linux Foundation’s complexity of horizontal “weft threads” of participating organizations with the vertical, less visible “warp threads” of responsibilities and endeavors. Our study reveals important implications for research and practice by challenging the received view of open source projects, which still largely regards engagement around loosely structured groups of volunteers working on publicly available software. It also reveals that foundations are playing increasingly strategic roles in creating and stabilizing open source projects.
How Much Method-In-Use Matters? A Case Study of Agile and Waterfall Software Projects and Their Design Routine Variation
B Veeresh Thummadi and Kalle Lyytinen
Abstract
Development methods are rarely followed to the letter, and consequently many times their effects are in doubt. At the same time, information system (IS) scholars know little to what extent a given method truly influences software design and its outcomes. In this paper, we approach this gap by adopting a routine lens and using a novel methodological approach. Theoretically, we treat methods as (organizational) ostensive routine specifications and deploy routine construct as a feasible unit of analysis to analyze the effects of a method on actual, “performed” design routines. We formulate a research framework, which identifies method, situation fitness, agency, and random noise as main sources of software design routine variation. Empirically, we next apply the framework to examine to what extent waterfall and agile methods induce variation in software design routines. We trace enacted design activities in a large IT organization’s three software projects that followed an object-oriented waterfall method and three software projects that followed an agile method. These traces are analyzed using a mixed methods approach that uses gene sequencing methods, Markov models, and qualitative content analysis. Our analysis shows that method-induced variation within agile and waterfall is in both cases about ~40% of all activities while the remaining 60% is accounted for by a designer’s personal habits, the project’s fitness conditions, and environmental noise. Generally, the effect of method on software design activities is smaller than assumed and the impact of the designer’s and project conditions on software processes and outcomes should not be understated.
New Guidelines for Null Hypothesis Significance Testing in Hypothetico-Deductive IS Research
Willem Mertens and Jan Recker
Abstract
The objective of this Research Perspectives article is to promote policy change amongst journals, scholars and students with a vested interest in hypothetico-deductive information systems (IS) research. We are concerned about the design, analysis, reporting and reviewing of quantitative IS studies that draw on null hypothesis significance testing (NHST). We observe that debates about misinterpretations, abuse, and issues with NHST, while having persisted for about half a century, remain largely absent in IS. We find this an untenable position for a discipline with a proud quantitative tradition. We discuss traditional and emergent threats associated with the application of NHST and examine how they manifest in recent IS scholarship. To encourage the development of new standards for NHST in hypothetico-deductive IS research, we develop a balanced account of possible actions that are implementable short-term or long-term and that incentivize or penalize specific practices. To promote an immediate push for change, we also develop two sets of guidelines that IS scholars can adopt right away.
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Performance Outcomes of Test Driven Development - An Experimental Investigation
Vikram Bhadauria, Radha Mahapatra, and Sridhar P. Nerur
Abstract
Despite the growing popularity of Test Driven Development (TDD), there is no empirical affirmation of the benefits that this agile practice confers on its users. Findings of prior research on its efficacy have largely been inconclusive. A laboratory experiment was conducted to assess the impact of TDD on software quality and task satisfaction through rigorous empirical means. Additionally, we investigated the productivity aspect of TDD as compared to the traditional method of software development. Results show that software quality and task satisfaction are significantly improved when TDD is used. In spite of additional requirements of testing, TDD is not more resource intensive than the traditional method. Post hoc, we also examined TDD’s impact on learning. Implications of our findings and directions for future research are discussed.
Accumulation and Evolution of Design Knowledge in Design Science Research — A Journey Through Time and Space
Jan vom Brock, Robert Winter, Alan Hevner, and Alexander Maedche
Abstract
Sir Isaac Newton famously said, “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Research is a collaborative, evolutionary endeavor—and it is no different with design science research (DSR) which builds upon existing design knowledge and creates new design knowledge to pass on to future projects. However, despite the vast, growing body of DSR contributions, scant evidence of the accumulation and evolution of design knowledge is found in an organized DSR body of knowledge. Most contributions rather stand on their own feet than on the shoulders of giants, and this is limiting how far we can see; or in other words, the extent of the broader impacts we can make through DSR. In this editorial, we aim at providing guidance on how to position design knowledge contributions in wider problem and solution spaces. We propose (1) a model conceptualizing design knowledge as a resilient relationship between problem and solution spaces, (2) a model that demonstrates how individual DSR projects consume and produce design knowledge, (3) a map to position a design knowledge contribution in problem and solution spaces, and (4) principles on how to use this map in a DSR project. We show how fellow researchers, readers, editors, and reviewers, as well as the IS community as a whole, can make use of these proposals, while also illustrating future research opportunities.
A Critical Look at Theories in Design Science Research
Juhani Iivari
Abstract
This editorial critically reviews design theories, kernel theories and substantive tech-nologi¬cal theories in Design Science Research (DSR) within Information Systems (IS). The review identifies four different, even though interrelated, interpretations of “design theory” for the design product. In the case of kernel theories the review pays attention to softening their scientific status that undermines the status of design theo-ries as well. Substantive technological theories refer to intermediating theories be-tween abstract descrip¬tive/explanatory kernel theories and design. The editorial sug-gests that DSR in IS (DSRIS) has a great potential to contribute design-oriented, ex-planatory/predictive, substantive technological theories. Overall, the review illus¬trates excessive use of the word “theory” in DSR. This is in line with alleged “theory fetish” of Information Systems.
Leveraging the Wisdom of Crowd to Address Societal Challenges: A Revisit to the Knowledge Reuse Process for Innovation Through Analytics
Yue Han, Pinar Ozturk and Jeffrey V. Nickerson
Abstract
Societal challenges can be addressed not only by experts, but also by crowds. Crowdsourcing provides a way to engage the general crowd to contribute to the solutions of the biggest challenges of our times: how to cut our carbon footprint, how to address worldwide epidemic of chronic disease, and how to achieve sustainable development. Isolated crowd-based solutions in online communities are not always creative and innovative. Hence, remixing has been developed as a way to enable idea evolution and integration, and to create reusable innovative solutions. Understanding the generativity of remixing is essential to leveraging the wisdom of the crowd to solve societal challenges. At its best, remixing can promote online community engagement, as well as support comprehensive and innovative solution generation. Organizers can maintain an active online community, community members can collectively innovate and learn, and as a result society may find new ways to solve important problems. What affects the generativity of a remix? This question is addressed by using the knowledge reuse process for innovation (KRI) model. Several analytical methods are used to study factors that may contribute to the generativity of a remix. The analysis focuses on the reuse of proposals in an online innovation community which aims to address global climate change issues, Climate CoLab. Remixes that include prevalent topics and integration metaknowledge are more generative. The findings suggest strategies and tools that can help online communities to better harness collective intelligence for addressing societal challenges.
The Rise of Human Machines: How Cognitive Computing Systems Challenge Assumptions of User-System Interaction
Sebastian Schuetz and Viswanath Venkatesh
Abstract
Cognitive computing systems (CCS) are a new class of computing systems that implement more human-like cognitive abilities. CCS are not a typical technological advancement but an unprecedented advance toward human-like systems fueled by artificial intelligence. Such systems can adapt to situations, perceive their environments, and interact with humans and other technologies. Due to these properties, CCS are already disrupting established industries, such as retail, insurance and healthcare. As we make the case in this paper, the increasingly human-like capabilities of CCS challenge five fundamental assumptions that we—as IS researchers—have held about how users interact with IT artifacts. These assumptions pertain to the (i) direction of the user-artifact relationship, (ii) artifact’s awareness of its environment, (iii) functional transparency, (iv) reliability, and (v) user’s awareness of artifact use. We argue that the disruption of these five assumptions limit the applicability of our extant body of knowledge to CCS. Consequently, CCS present a unique opportunity for novel theory development and associated contributions. We argue that IS is well positioned to take this opportunity and present research questions that, if answered, will lead to interesting, influential and original theories.
Living in a Simulation? An Empirical Investigation of the Smart Driving Test-Simulation System
Wen Xie, Yong Jin, Ruiqi Liu, Xin Xu, Wenchao Bai, Qiang Li
Abstract
The “Internet of things” (IoT) generally refers to the embedding of computing and communication devices in various types of physical objects (e.g., automobiles) used in people’s daily lives. These devices exchange data in real time over the Internet, allowing for the development of smart services based on the real-time capture, tracking, and analysis of data streams concerning individual behaviors. The real-time analysis of IoT data streams enables immediate feedback about details of individual task performance. This is one of the key features of smart services that we focus on in the current research. In particular, we draw from feedback intervention theory (FIT) to investigate the impact of an IoT-enabled immediate feedback intervention on individual task performance.
Bringing context inside process research with digital trace data
Brian T. Pentland, Jan Recker, Julie Ryan Wolf, and George Wyner
Abstract
Context is usually conceptualized as “external” to a theory or model and treated as something to be controlled or eliminated in empirical research. We depart from this tradition and conceptualize context as permeating processual phenomena. This move is possible because digital trace data is now increasingly available, providing rich and fine-grained data about processes mediated or enabled by digital technologies. We introduce a novel method for including fine-grained contextual information from digital trace data within the description of process (e.g., who, what, when, where, why…). Adding contextual information can result in a very large number of fine grained categories of events, which is usually considered undesirable. However, we argue that larger numbers of categories can make process data more informative for theorizing. Including contextual detail enriches our understanding of processes as they unfold. We demonstrate this by analyzing electronic medical records (EMR) audit trail data using ThreadNet, an open source software application developed for the qualitative visualization and analysis of process data. The distinctive contribution of our approach is the novel way to contextualize events and action in process data. By providing new, usable ways to incorporate context, it can help researchers ask new questions about the dynamics of processual phenomena.
Basic Classes in Conceptual Modeling: Theory and Practical Guidelines
Arturo Castellanos, Roman Lukyanenko, Binny Samuel, and Monica Tremblay
Abstract
Since 1970s many approaches of representing domains have been suggested. Each approach maintains the assumption that the information about the objects represented in the Information System (IS) is specified and verified by domain experts and potential users. Yet, as more IS are developed to support a larger diversity of users such as customers, suppliers, and members of general public (such as many multi-user online systems), analysts could no longer rely on a stable single group of people for complete specification of domains –to the extent that prior research has questioned the efficacy of conceptual modeling in these heterogeneous settings. This paper aims to bridge this gap by providing theoretical foundations rooted in psychology for the existence and the importance of special classes termed in psychology basic level categories. We formulate principles for identifying basic classes in a domain. These classes can guide conceptual modeling, database design, and user interface development in a wide variety of traditional and emergent domains such as UGC settings.
Affective Politics and Technology Buy-In: A Framework of Social, Political and Fantasmatic Logics
Edouard Pignot, Davide Nicolini, and Mark Thompson
Abstract
We propose a socially-informed explanation of technology framing, by examining technology ‘buy-in’: actors’ relative susceptibility to such framing. We draw on the field of critical social theory to introduce the 'Logics', a new framework to the IS discipline, that reveals a performative relationship between collective framing, power, and affect. The Logics enable us to study buy-in, by revealing the differing degrees of affective self-identification that underpin and colour social practices, showing their inherently political nature. We exemplify the affective, as well as social, politics of buy-in with an account of Unity 3D, a market-leading game engine which underwent a major repositioning from ‘fringe’ to ‘mainstream’ markets. We discuss four poles of affective positioning with which to conceptualize technology buy-in. We conclude by highlighting the consequent need for greater political and ethical awareness about the framing of IS, proposing a framework for conceptualizing actors’ orientations towards, and thus possible buy-in, or resistance, to technology framing.
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Commentary on “Demystifying the Influential IS Legends of Positivism”
Allen S. Lee
Abstract
This commentary questions the argument made in the article, “Demystifying the Influential IS Legends of Positivism” (Siponen and Tsohou, 2018). Contrary to the article, this commentary fully accepts that logical positivism, as a school of thought in the philosophy of science, has fallen into disrepute, points out that the IS researchers who have characterized positivism in their own ways never said that they were following logical positivism, interprets what these researchers had in mind when characterizing positivism in the ways that they did, and ponders what difference Siponen and Tsohou’s discussion on logical positivism actually makes to the future of IS research.
X-IM Framework to Overcome Semantic Heterogeneity Across XBRL Filings
Dapeng Liu, Ugochukwu Etudo, and Victoria Yoon
Abstract
Semantic heterogeneity in XBRL precludes the full automation of the business reporting pipeline, a key motivation for the SEC’s XBRL mandate. To mitigate this problem, several approaches leveraging Semantic Web technologies have emerged. While some approaches are promising, their mapping accuracy in resolving semantic heterogeneity must be improved to realize the promised benefits of XBRL. Considering this limitation and following the design science research methodology (DSRM), we develop a novel framework, XBRL Indexing-based Mapping (X-IM), which takes advantage of the representational model of representation theory to map heterogeneous XBRL elements across diverse XBRL filings. The application of the representation theory to the design process informs the use of XBRL Label Linkbases as a repository of regularities constitutive of the relationships between financial item names and the concepts they describe along a set of equivalent financial terms of interest to investors. The instantiated design artifact is thoroughly evaluated using standard information retrieval metrics. Our experiments show that X-IM significantly outperforms existing methods.
Click To Success? Temporal Effects of Facebook Like On Crowdfunding
Yong Jin, Chao Ding, Yang Duan, and Hsing Cheng
Abstract
Small and medium-sized businesses, as well as individuals, increasingly use online crowdfunding platforms to raise funds in the fintech world. Creators of crowdfunding projects depend heavily on social networks such as Facebook to publicize their projects. Social media activities such as Facebook “like” bring massive traffic to crowdfunding projects and attract more contributions. Using data collected from Facebook and Kickstarter, our empirical tests demonstrate that social media activities significantly and positively impact the likely success of crowdfunding. Our duration model analysis reveals that social media activities’ impact on crowdfunding outcome follows a J-curve in the temporal space. We provide explanation of the J-curve by identifying two important effects of social media activities throughout the crowdfunding process: a quality-signaling effect in the opening period and a herding effect in the closing period. Especially in the “last mile”, there is a strong herding effect that helps crowdfunding projects reach their respective fundraising goals. Our results offer useful contributions to literature and implications for practitioners.
Method Engineering As Design Science
Göran Goldkuhl and Fredrik Karlsson
Abstract
In this paper, we motivate, devise, demonstrate and evaluate an approach for research-based development of information systems development methods (ISDMs). The approach – termed “method engineering as design science” (ME-DS) – emerged from the identified need for scholars to develop ISDMs using proper research methods that meet the standards of both rigor and relevance. ISDMs occupy a position of central importance to information systems development and scholars have therefore invested extensive resources over the years in developing such methods. The method engineering (ME) discipline has developed different frameworks and methods to guide such development work, and for that purpose, they are well-suited. Still, there is also a need for applications and evaluations of ISDMs based on demands for knowledge justification. Unfortunately, in many cases scholars come up short with regard to how ISDMs are generated and empirically validated. Design science (DS) on the other hand stresses the knowledge justification. However, prominent DS approaches seem to be biased towards development of IT artifacts and these approaches are thus not well-suited for development of method artifacts. We therefore propose eight principles that marry ME and DS; a marriage that resulted in a process model with six activities to support research-based development of ISDMs. We demonstrate and evaluate ME-DS by assessing three existing research papers that have proposed ISDMs. These retrospectives show how ME-DS directs attention to certain aspects of the research process and provides support for future ISDM development.
Design Theory Indeterminacy: What is it, how can it be reduced, and why did the polar bear drown?
Roman Lukyanenko and Jeffrey Parsons
Abstract
Design science research strives to be practical and relevant. Yet few have examined the extent to which practitioners can meaningfully utilize theoretical knowledge produced by design science researchers in solving concrete real-world problems. Are design theories developed by scientists readily amenable to application by practitioners? Does the application of a theory by practitioners always lead to the outcomes predicted (by the scientists)? We examine a particularly difficult challenge – ensuring that development and deployment of an IT artifact by practitioners based on a design theory results in appropriate changes in the environment predicted by the design theory. As we show in our paper, a gulf exists between theoretical propositions and concrete issues faced in practice – a challenge we refer to as design theory indeterminacy. Design theory indeterminacy can result in considerable ambiguity when implementing a design theory in practice and reduce the potential relevance of information systems knowledge. In this paper, we articulate the problem of design theory indeterminacy, examine factors that contribute to it, and suggest fruitful directions for future research to help reduce it.
Innovative IT Use and Innovating With IT: A Study of the Motivational Antecedents of Two Different Types of Innovative Behaviors
Yasser Rahrovani and Alain Pinsonneault
Abstract
The paper distinguishes two different types of innovative behaviors with information technology (IT): innovative IS use (IU) and innovating with IT (IwIT). While the former focuses on changing the technology and the work process to better support one’s existing work goals, the latter focuses on using IT to develop new work-related goals and outcomes. Drawing on Parker’s theory of proactive behavior, the paper compares the motivational antecedents and consequences of these two innovative behaviors with IT. Our model hypothesizes that three generic types of motivation differentially affect IwIT vs. IU. The paper also explores the moderating role of slack resources on the effect of motivation on the two innovative behaviors with IT. Data from a survey of 427 IT users from North American companies show that social motivation affects IwIT (but not IU); intrinsic motivation is positively related to IU (but not IwIT), and internalized extrinsic motivation affects both IU and IwIT. Further, the results indicate that the moderating role of slack resources on different motivational paths is not a one-size-fits-all effect, that is, IS slack resources only moderates the relationship between intrinsic motivation and IwIT. We also differentiated the consequences of IwIT from IU. The post hoc analysis shows that IwIT is significantly related to individual mindfulness at work, but IU is not. The paper contributes to IS research by offering a rich conceptualization of IwIT and examining its motivational antecedents and consequences, compared to IU.
IT Identity: A Measure and Empirical Investigation of its Utility to IS Research
Michelle Carter, Stacie Petter, Varun Grover, and Jason Bennett Thatcher
Abstract
Because use is the critical link between information technology (IT) investments and organizational performance, IS researchers have focused attention on post-adoption – after organizational IT are installed and used by employees in their work. To that end, recent theoretical work introduced IT identity – representing the strength of individuals’ self-identification with an IT – as a means to explain richer, post-adoption, IT use behaviors. Utilizing multiple methods and surveys, and focused on use of two different technologies, this study develops theory-based measures to establish IT identity’s utility for expanding understanding of post-adoption use. Results show IT identity predicts different IT use behaviors and richer forms of use. Further, IT identity maintains its predictive validity when embedded in a model with other predictors. Given the importance of such value-creating behaviors in today’s multi-functional-platform based IT environments, our findings suggest future research consider IT identity an instrumental part of models seeking to explain IT use in post-adoption contexts.
Protecting Privacy When Sharing and Releasing Data with Multiple Records per Person
Hasan B. Kartal and Xiao-Bai Li
Abstract
This study concerns the risks of privacy disclosure when sharing and releasing a dataset where each individual may be associated with multiple records. Existing data privacy approaches and policies typically assume that each individual in a shared dataset corresponds to a single record, which causes underestimating the disclosure risks in multiple records per person scenarios. We propose two novel measures of privacy disclosure to arrive at a more appropriate assessment of disclosure risks. The first measure assesses individual-record disclosure risk based upon the frequency distribution of individuals’ occurrences. The second measure assesses sensitive attribute disclosure risk based upon the number of individuals affiliated with a sensitive value. We show that the two proposed disclosure measures generalize the well-known k-anonymity and l-diversity measures, respectively, and work for scenarios with either a single record or multiple records per person. We have developed an efficient computational procedure that integrates the two proposed measures and a data quality measure to anonymize the data with multiple records per person when sharing and releasing the data for research and analytics. The results of the experimental evaluation using real-world data demonstrate the advantage of the proposed approach over existing techniques for protecting privacy while preserving data quality.
Does IT Help Revenue Management in Hospitals
Kangkang Qi and Sumin Han
Abstract
In this study, we examine the question of how the adoption of IT systems influences revenue management in hospitals. We posit that IT plays a vital role in enhancing revenue through two mechanisms: (1) increase in the net patient revenue, and (2) decrease in the uncompensated care ratio. Using unique datasets from various proprietary resources, we test the relationships between IT (clinical and business) investment and revenue management performances using dynamic panel data models with the generalized method of moments (GMM). Empirical results generally support our hypotheses: i.e. (1) both clinical and business IT investment have short-term and long-term effects on boosting net patient revenue, (2) clinical IT investment was found to have short-term contemporaneous effect on reducing uncompensated care ratio. Moderation analyses suggest that: (1) larger hospitals tend to utilize business IT systems better in facilitating revenue management through both channels over the long run, but not necessarily using clinical IT; (2) for-profit hospitals outperform their non-profit counterparts when it comes to managing revenues with the help of clinical IT, no interaction effect with business IT was found though. This paper contributes to the literature of business value of IT investment and healthcare IT in the field of information systems as well as revenue management and healthcare administration literature. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
Integration of On-Premises and Cloud-Based Software: The Product Bunding Perspective
Xiong Zhang and Wei T. Yue
Abstract
Firms in the cloud-computing era are facing the critical issue of integrating on-premises software and cloud-based software services. To date, the software industry has designed two different types of integration methods—an enterprise service bus (ESB) and an integration platform as a service (iPaaS). However, there are conflicting views on when and how to use these different integration methods to fulfill integration needs. This study aims to resolve this confusion through economic modeling. By focusing on the indirect network effect and following a two-product bundling framework, we establish a stylized model to investigate the optimal pricing and bundling decisions and the best integration choice. Our findings contradict common perceptions that an iPaaS is the better choice for integration and show that firms can derive higher value by adopting ESB to integrate on-premises software and cloud-based software services. Conceptually, given that the overall network value received from a cloud-based software service is higher, the use of ESB can contribute toward significantly improving the total value of the two software applications. We also find that unbundling is the best marketing strategy for firms because software integration can improve the valuation of individual software. Our findings have important implications for software vendors. It suggests that vendors can leverage a higher network value from the software service by integrating it with on-premises software applications through ESB instead of iPaaS and eventually realize a higher profit by extracting more value from consumers. Since integration increases the value of individual products, the vendors must sell them separately instead of selling them as a bundle.