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The author discusses his opinion on a study in 1994 that focused on the criteria for high quality research in management information systems and on why some research papers pass the review process for publication. Concepts such as the marketing of innovative products, the science paradigm, and the use of popular topics or themes in research are mentioned, as well as the development of a manuscript for submission to a high-tier journal.

The author offers opinions on why the publication has what is deemed an overly high rejection rate for submitted manuscripts. He categorizes rejected papers in two types, those found too weak to meet the publications' standards, or those thought worthy in terms of quality by the review board, but were deemed as not making enough of an advance in scholarship to justify publication. Recommendations are made to improve both the review process and the quality of submitted work.

A major objective of the Society for Information Management (SIM) is to foster communication about information resource management among professionals in the field line and staff executives, managers, educators, and other professionals. One way in which the Society pursues its objectives is an annual paper competition. The call for papers for the competition was issued through a wide variety of professional journals and through mailings to SIM institutional members. To qualify for the competition, a paper must describe a management information systems (MIS), a technique for improving MIS activity, or the management of the MIS activity; the work described must be in-place and implemented and must have been evaluated and judged to have had a significant impact on the organization involved, i.e., contribution to improved profit, service, communication, etc. Four primary criteria are used to evaluate entries that are, innovation, reapplicability, implementation, and impact. The essence of the work and its impact/results are to be emphasized.

This article presents the winners of the MIS Quarterly 2006 Best Paper Award. M. Lynne Markus, Charles Steinfield, Rolf Wigand, and Gabe Minton wrote the prize winning article, "Industry-Wide Information Systems Standardization as Collective Action; The Case of the U.S. Residential Mortgage Industry."

This article presents an abstracts of three papers on using historical methods in management science research. They are "Developing an Historical Tradition in MIS Research," "The Bank of America: Crest and Trough of Technological Leadership," and "An Historical Method for MIS Research: Steps and Assumptions."

To compete in a highly dynamic marketplace, firms must frequently adapt and align their competitive strategies and information systems. The dominant literature on the strategic fit of a firm's information systems focuses primarily on high-level measures of the strategic fit of a firm's overall IS portfolio and the impact of fit on business performance. This paper addresses the need for a more fine-grained approach for assessing the specific areas of misfit between a firm's competitive strategies and IS capabilities. We describe the design and evaluation of a multilevel strategic fit (MSF) measurement model that enables researchers and practitioners to measure the strategic fit of a firm's information systems at both an overall and a detailed level. The steps in the model include identifying the relevant IS capabilities according to the type of system; measuring the current level of support for each capability using a capabilities instrument; identifying the ideal level of support for each capability using an adaptation of Conant et al.'s (1990) instrument to assess strategic archetype; and comparing the ideal and realized level of support for each capability. Evidence from a multiple case study analysis indicates that the fine-grained assessment of strategic fit can strengthen the validity, utility, and ease of corroboration of the strategic fit measurement outputs. The paper also demonstrates how an iterative design science research approach, with its emphasis on evaluating the utility of prototype artifacts, is well suited to developing field-tested and theoretically grounded measurement models and instruments that are accessible to practitioners. This focus on practical utility in turn provides researchers with results that can be more readily corroborated, thus improving the quality and usefulness of the research findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although information systems researchers have long recognized the possibility for collective- level information technology use patterns and outcomes to emerge from individual-level IT use behaviors, few have explored the key properties and mechanisms involved in this bottom-up IT use process. This paper seeks to build a theoretical framework drawing on the concepts and the analytical tool of complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory. The paper presents a CAS model of IT use that encodes a bottom-up IT use process into three interrelated elements: agents that consist of the basic entities of actions in an IT use process, interactions that refer to the mutually adaptive behaviors of agents, and an environment that represents the social organizational contexts of IT use. Agent-based modeling is introduced as the analytical tool for computationally representing and examining the CAS model of IT use. The operationability of the CAS model and the analytical tool are demonstrated through a theory-building exercise translating an interpretive case study of IT use to a specific version of the CAS model. While Orlikowski (1996) raised questions regarding the impacts of employee learning, IT flexibility, and workplace rigidity on IT-based organization transformation, the CAS model indicates that these factors in individual-level actions do not have a direct causal linkage with organizational- level IT use patterns and outcomes. This theory-building exercise manifests the intriguing nature of the bottom-up IT use process: collective-level IT use patterns and outcomes are the logical and yet often unintended or unforeseeable consequences of individual-level behaviors. The CAS model of IT use offers opportunities for expanding the theoretical and methodological scope of the IT use literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advent of e-commerce, the potential of new Internet technologies to mislead or deceive consumers has increased considerably. This paper extends prior classifications of deception and presents a typology of product-related deceptive information practices that illustrates the various ways in which online merchants can deceive consumers via e-commerce product websites. The typology can be readily used as educational material to promote consumer awareness of deception in e-commerce and as input to establish benchmarks for good business practices for online companies. In addition, the paper develops an integrative model and a set of theory-based propositions addressing why consumers are deceived by the various types of deceptive information practices and what factors contribute to consumer success (or failure) in detecting such deceptions. The model not only enhances our conceptual understanding of the phenomenon of product-based deception and its outcomes in e-commerce but also serves as a foundation for further theoretical and empirical investigations. Moreover, a better understanding of the factors contributing to or inhibiting deception detection can also help government agencies and consumer organizations design more effective solutions to fight online deception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the years, research on the implications of information technology on network governance structures has explored the “move to the market” and the “move to the middle” hypotheses. The middle is a space in which the logic and modalities of markets and hierarchies are intermingled. There is increasing evidence that most network relations reflect mixed-mode or hybrid logic. Despite the apparent advantages that make the middle so populous or “swollen” (Hennart 1993, p. 472), Kambil et al. (1999) highlight that it is riddled with uncertainty and high transaction costs. They label it “the conflicted middle” and propose that online marketplaces, specifically all-in-one markets, are capable of resolving this conflict. Unfortunately, however, Kambil et al. provide limited insight into both the nature of the conflict that plagues the middle and the ability of all-in-one markets to resolve it. To address these questions, this paper applies a role-theoretic perspective to the study of an e-marketplace that served the energy industry and evolved into an all-in-one market. Relying on an interpretive case study, this paper addresses the following research questions: (1) What is the nature of the conflict that characterizes the conflicted middle? (2) How do e-marketplaces, specifically all-in-one markets, help resolve this conflict? Our research highlights that brokers, trading partners, and agents who operate in the middle (where the contradictory logic of markets and hierarchies are mixed) experience goal, behavior, and identity conflict. All-in-one markets can help resolve these conflicts by supporting role integration at the group level and role segmentation at the individual level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While criteria or principles for conducting positivist and interpretive research have been widely discussed in the IS research literature, criteria or principles for critical research are lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to propose a set of principles for the conduct of critical research in information systems. We examine the nature of the critical research perspective, clarify its significance, and review its major discourses, recognizing that its mission and methods cannot be captured by a fixed set of criteria once and for all, particularly as multiple approaches are still in the process of defining their identity. However, we suggest it is possible to formulate a set of principles capturing some of the commonalities of those approaches that have so far become most visible in the IS research literature. The usefulness of the principles is illustrated by analyzing three critical field studies in information systems. We hope that this paper will further reflection and debate on the important subject of grounding critical research methodology [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet was a major factor in the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign and has become an important tool for political communication and persuasion. Yet, information systems research is generally silent on the role of the Internet in politics. In this paper, we argue that IS is positioned to enhance understanding of the influence of the Internet on politics, and, more specifically, the process of election campaigning using Internet-based technologies such as Web 2.0. In this paper, we discuss how these technologies can change the nature of competition in politics and replace or complement traditional media. Our empirical study on how Web 2.0 technologies were used by the candidates leading up to the 2008 U.S. presidential primaries sheds light on how these technologies influenced candidate performance. Finally, we outline a research agenda highlighting where IS can contribute to the academic discourse on e-politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethics is important in the Information Systems field as illustrated by the direct effect of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on the work of IS professionals. There is a substantial literature on ethical issues surrounding computing and information technology in the contemporary world, but much of this work is not published nor widely cited in the mainstream IS literature. The purpose of this paper is to offer one contribution to an increased emphasis on ethics in the IS field. The distinctive contribution is a focus on Habermas's discourse ethics. After outlining some traditional theories of ethics and morality, the literature on IS and ethics is reviewed, and then the paper details the development of discourse ethics. Discourse ethics is different from other approaches to ethics as it is grounded in actual debates between those affected by decisions and proposals. Recognizing that the theory could be considered rather abstract, the paper discusses the need to pragmatize discourse ethics for the IS field through, for example, the use of existing techniques such as soft systems methodology. In addition, the practical potential of the theory is illustrated through a discussion of its application to specific IS topic areas including Web 2.0, open source software, the digital divide, and the UK biometric identity card scheme. The final section summarizes ways in which the paper could be used in IS research, teaching, and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much ado has been made regarding user acceptance of new information technologies. However, research has been primarily based on cognitive models and little attention has been given to emotions. This paper argues that emotions are important drivers of behaviors and examines how emotions experienced early in the implementation of new IT applications relate to IT use. We develop a framework that classifies emotions into four distinct types: challenge, achievement, loss, and deterrence emotions. The direct and indirect relationships between four emotions (excitement, happiness, anger, and anxiety) and IT use were studied through a survey of 249 bank account managers. Our results indicate that excitement was positively related to IT use through task adaptation. Happiness was directly positively related to IT use and, surprisingly, was negatively associated with task adaptation, which is a facilitator of IT use. Anger was not related to IT use directly, but it was positively related to seeking social support, which in turn was positively related to IT use. Finally, anxiety was negatively related to IT use, both directly and indirectly through psychological distancing. Anxiety was also indirectly positively related to IT use through seeking social support, which countered the original negative effect of anxiety. Post hoc ANOVAs were conducted to compare IT usage of different groups of users experiencing similar emotions but relying on different adaptation behaviors. Thepaper shows that emotions felt by users early in the implementation of a new IT have important effects on IT use. As such, the paper provides a complementary perspective to understanding acceptance and antecedents of IT use. By showing the importance and complexity of the relationships between emotions and IT use, the paper calls for more research on the topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper informs the literature on the business value of information technology by conceptualizing a path from IT assets--that is, commodity-like or off-the-shelf information technologies--to sustainable competitive advantage. This path suggests that IT assets can play a strategic role when they are combined with organizational resources to create IT-enabled resources. To the extent that relationships between IT assets and organizational resources are synergistic, the ensuing IT-enabled resources are capable of positively affecting firms' sustainable competitive advantage via their improved strategic potential. This is an important contribution since IT-related organizational benefits have been hard to demonstrate despite attempts to study them through a variety of methods and theoretical lenses. This paper synthesizes systems theory and the resource-based view of the firm to build a unified conceptual model linking IT assets with firm-level benefits. Several propositions are derived from the model and their implications for IS research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents commentary on a paper in the current issue entitled "Fashion Waves in Information Systems Research and Practice" by Baskerville and Myers (B&M). In their paper B&M identified correlations between topics covered in information systems (IS) practitioner and research literature, and based on those findings offered recommendations for the conduct of IS research. The authors evaluate those recommendations and express agreement with some of them, but offer a competing explanation for the patterns B&M observe in the literature.

The article discusses research papers in top journals that introduce innovative, breakthrough ideas. Although not all papers can achieve such heights, they can exhibit clear progress in that direction by manifesting certain traits. The author cites as examples one paper on Web site design that argues hedonic factors play a role in the process, and another on the impact of common method variance that identifies the problem with common methods bias, and presents a way to test for it. Over the long term, innovative papers tend to garner large numbers of citations.

In the past few years, we have witnessed the increasing ubiquity of user-generated content on seller reputation and product condition in Internet-based used-good markets. Recent theoretical models of trading and sorting in used-good markets provide testable predictions to use to examine the presence of adverse selection and trade patterns in such dynamic markets. A key aspect of such empirical analyses is to distinguish between product-level uncertainty and seller-level uncertainty, an aspect the extant literature has largely ignored. Based on a unique, 5-month panel data set of user-generated content on used good quality and seller reputation feedback collected from Amazon, this paper examines trade patterns in online used-good markets across four product categories (PDAs, digital cameras, audio players, and laptops). Drawing on two different empirical tests and using content analysis to mine the textual feedback of seller reputations, the paper provides evidence that adverse selection continues to exist in online markets. First, it is shown that after controlling for price and other product, and for seller-related factors, higher quality goods take a longer time to sell compared to lower quality goods. Second, this result also holds when the relationship between sellers' reputation scores and time to sell is examined. Third, it is shown that price declines are larger for more unreliable products, and that products with higher levels of intrinsic unreliability exhibit a more negative relationship between price decline and volume of used good trade. Together, our findings suggest that despite the presence of signaling mechanisms such as reputation feedback and product condition disclosures, the information asymmetry problem between buyers and sellers persists in online markets due to both product-based and seller-based information uncertainty. No consistent evidence of substitution or complementarity effects between product-based and seller-level uncertainty are found. Implications for research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that Web 2.0 tools, specifically wikis, have begun to influence business and knowledge sharing practices in many organizations. Information Systems researchers have spent considerable time exploring the impact and implications of these tools in organizations, but those same researchers have not spent sufficient time considering whether and how these new technologies may provide opportunities for us to reform our core practices of research, review, and teaching. To this end, this paper calls for the IS discipline to engage in two actions related to wikis and other Web 2.0 tools. First, the IS discipline ought to engage in critical reflection about how wikis and other Web 2.0 tools could allow us to conduct our core processes differently. Our existing practices were formulated during an era of paper-based exchange; wikis and other Web 2.0 tools may enable processes that could be substantively better. Nevertheless, users can appropriate information technology tools in unexpected ways, and even when tools are appropriated as expected there can be unintended negative consequences. Any potential changes to our core processes should, therefore, be considered critically and carefully, leading to our second recommended action. We advocate and describe a series of controlled experiments that will help assess the impact of these technologies on our core processes and the associated changes that would be necessary to use them. We argue that these experiments can provide needed information regarding Web 2.0 tools and related practice changes that could help the discipline better assess whether or not new practices would be superior to existing ones and under which circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizing phenomena into classes is a pervasive human activity. The ability to classify phenomena encountered in daily life in useful ways is essential to human survival and adaptation. Not surprisingly, then, classification-oriented activities are widespread in the information systems field. Classes or entity types play a central role in conceptual modeling for information systems requirements analysis, as well as in the design of databases and object-oriented software. Furthermore, classification is the primary task in applications such as data mining and the development of domain ontologies to support information sharing in semantic web applications. However, despite the pervasiveness of classification, little research has proposed well-grounded guidelines for identifying, evaluating, and choosing classes when modeling a domain or designing information systems artifacts. In this paper, we adopt the cognitive notions of inference and economy to derive a set of principles to guide effective and efficient classification. We present a model for characterizing what may be considered useful classes in a given context based on the inferences that can be drawn from membership in a class. This foundation is then used to suggest practical design rules for evaluating and refining potential classes. We illustrate the use of the rules by showing that applying them to a previously published example yields meaningful changes. We then present an evaluation by a panel of experts who compared the published and revised models. The evaluation shows that following the rules leads to semantically clearer models that are preferred by experts. The paper concludes by outlining possible future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a partial solution to the problem of the relevance of information systems research by adjusting doctoral programs to the specific needs and talents of doctoral students that have significant prior professional life experience. The purpose of this paper is first to recognize that the "professionally qualified doctoral student" (PQDS) has a different type of knowledge that may give her/him some advantages over other students, including greater symbolic capital. We examine the epistemic evidence for the claim that part of their practical experience constitutes a specific type of "applicative" knowledge that should be considered as different from but of equal value to theory, which has been the mainstay of academic education. Three independent lines of academic research contribute such evidence: the communities of practice literature, philosophical perspectives on applicative knowledge, and cognitive sciences. We argue that PQDSs may benefit from doctoral programs with specific features designed to leverage their practical knowledge. In turn, they may be able to "boundary span" and publish research results in forms that are appreciated by their professional communities. Finally we discuss some practical institutional issues that could be addressed if we are to sustain this profile of researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Internet users are expected to respond in various ways to privacy threats from online companies, little attention has been paid so far to the complex nature of how users respond to these threats. This paper has two specific goals in its effort to fill this gap in the literature. The first, so that these outcomes can be systematically investigated, is to develop a taxonomy of information privacy-protective responses (IPPR). This taxonomy consists of six types of behavioral responses--refusal, misrepresentation, removal, negative word-of-mouth, complaining directly to online companies, and complaining indirectly to third-party organizations--that are classified into three categories: information provision, private action, and public action. Our second goal is to develop a nomological model with several salient antecedents--concerns for information privacy, perceived justice, and societal benefits from complaining--of IPPR, and to show how the antecedents differentially affect the six types of IPPR. The nomological model is tested with data collected from 523 Internet users. The results indicate that some discernible patterns emerge in the relationships between the antecedents and the three groups of IPPR. These patterns enable researchers to better understand why a certain type of IPPR is similar to or distinct from other types of IPPR. Such an understanding could enable researchers to analyze a variety of behavioral responses to information privacy threats in a fairly systematic manner. Overall, this paper contributes to researchers' theory-building efforts in the area of information privacy by breaking new ground for the study of individuals' responses to information privacy threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the criteria by which editors judge papers submitted to journals. The importance of promoting innovative ideas is stressed, and it is said that placing too great an emphasis on weeding out weaker papers can cause an editor to miss out on seminal, if imperfect, work. Examples are discussed of information technology papers which were almost rejected but later proved to be highly influential, as judged by their frequency of citation.

This paper investigates two-stage offshoring as experienced by the Irish sites of two large global companies, headquartered in the United States, with significant software development operations. As part of these companies, the Irish sites act as a bridge in their offshoring arrangements: While the U.S. sites offshore work to Ireland, the Irish sites offshore work further to India and, hence, have experience of being both customer and vendor in two-stage offshore sourcing relationships. Using a framework derived from relational exchange theory (RET), we conducted multiple case study research to investigate and develop an initial theoretical model of the implementation of this two-stage offshoring bridge model. Our study shows that while both companies act as bridges in two-stage offshoring arrangements, their approaches differ in relation to (1) team integration, (2) organizational level implementation, and (3) site hierarchy. Although, there are opportunities afforded by the bridge model at present, the extent to which these opportunities will be viable into the future is open to question. As revealed in our study, temporal location seems to favor a bridge location such as Ireland, certainly with United States--Asian partners. However, location alone will not be enough to maintain position in future two-stage offshoring arrangements. Furthermore, our research supports the view that offshoring tends to progress through a staged sequence of progressively lower cost destinations. Such a development suggests that two-stage offshoring, as described in this paper, will eventually become what we would term multistage offshoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes a first step in aiding researchers to improve the relevance of their research to practice. By proposing that Information Systems researchers conduct applicability checks with practitioners on the research objects (for example, theories, models, frameworks, processes, technical artifacts, or other theoretically based IS artifacts) they either produce or use in theory-focused research, our paper presents an actionable, systematic approach to evaluating, establishing, and further improving research relevance. Furthermore, because it is an approach that can be conducted as an additional step either at the beginning or the end of the traditional research life cycle, it leaves untouched the rigorous methods used to conduct the study, that is, it does not compromise traditional research models. The approach we propose is based on the analyses of three dimensions of relevance that are critical to practitioners' attempts to internalize IS research findings (importance, accessibility, and suitability), and a comprehensive set of solutions that can be used to address them. Our analysis reveals that the most critical dimension for practice is the importance of the research to the needs of practice. The solution we propose to address that need is to conduct an applicability check on the research objects of interest. The applicability check forms an integral part of the research process, either prior to or following engagement in a typical research process. We present principles and criteria for the conduct and evaluation of an applicability check, which is primarily based on the focus group method, and secondarily on a modified nominal group technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet has the potential to fundamentally change the structure of marketing channels, but only if consumers choose to adopt electronic channels. Thus, this paper aims to develop a more nuanced understanding of consumer channel choices. Specifically, it contends that it is important to examine consumers' intent to adopt electronic channels, not as a monolithic decision, but as a choice they make at each of four stages in the purchase process: requirements determination, vendor selection, purchase, and after-sales service. Innovation diffusion theory suggests that consumers make adoption decisions based on their perceptions of the relative advantage of the innovation. The relative advantage of electronic channels is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct involving a cumulative assessment of the perceived relative merits of channels on three dimensions: convenience, trust, and efficacy of information acquisition. Combining the multidimensional nature of relative advantage with the multistage purchase process, the central assertion, and intended contribution, of this paper is to show that the relative advantage of electronic channels, and the influence of each dimension of relative advantage on the adoption of electronic channels, will vary across the different stages of the purchase process. Survey data were collected from faculty and staff at a large university about their intention to use the web for auto insurance transactions. The results provide support for the multidimensional nature of relative advantage, although the emergent factors do not align neatly with the hypothesized dimensions (convenience, trust, and efficacy of information acquisition) or stages. Results of the study support three conclusions. First, the dimensions along which consumers assess relative advantage blend hypothesized dimensions such as trust and convenience with stages of the purchase process. Second, consumers consider the relative advantage of channels at two distinct... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While researchers go to great lengths to justify and prove theoretical links between constructs, the relationship between measurement items and constructs is often ignored. By default, the relationship between construct and item is assumed to be reflective, meaning that the measurement items are a reflection of the construct. Many times, though, the nature of the construct is not reflective, but rather formative. Formative constructs occur when the items describe and define the construct rather than vice versa. In this research, we examine whether formative constructs are indeed being mistaken for reflective constructs by information systems researchers. By examining complete volumes of MIS Quarterly and Information Systems Research over the last 3 years, we discovered that a significant number of articles have indeed misspecified formative constructs. For scientific results to be valid, we argue that researchers must properly specify formative constructs. This paper discusses the implications of different patterns of common misspecifications of formative constructs on both Type I and Type II errors. To avoid these errors, the paper provides a roadmap to researchers to properly specify formative constructs. We also discuss how to address formative constructs within a research model after they are specified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the process of implementing strategic information systems (SIS) by studying the radical changes it may bring to an organization's deep structure. It argues that a full understanding of the process of implementation of such systems should include not only technical aspects but also the social dynamics of an organization; specifically core values, distribution of power and mechanisms of control. A theoretical framework is formulated based on punctuated equilibrium and previous SIS literature, and is applied to an exploratory case study conducted in a Latin American public organization. The case study depicts how the initiative to implement SIS was the result of external and internal disturbances. The case analysis highlights relationships between an organization's deep structure and SIS implementation. The paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of the study. These include (1) the role of the formal organizational structure in influencing the outcome of SIS implementations, (2) the impact of exogenous contingencies such as elections and external funding that may create a sense of crisis and (3) the influence of newcomers who may be brought in to solve the crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recommendation agents (RAs) are software agents that elicit the interests or preferences of individual consumers for products, either explicitly or implicitly, and make recommendations accordingly. RAs have the potential to support and improve the quality of the decisions consumers make when searching for and selecting products online. They can reduce the information overload facing consumers, as well as the complexity of online searches. Prior research on RAs has focused mostly on developing and evaluating different underlying algorithms that generate recommendations. This paper instead identifies other important aspects of RAs, namely RA use, RA characteristics, provider credibility, and factors related to product, user, and user--RA interaction, which influence users' decision-making processes and outcomes, as well as their evaluation of RAs. It goes beyond generalized models, such as TAM, and identifies the RA-specific features, such as RA input, process, and output design characteristics, that affect users' evaluations, including their assessments of the usefulness and ease-of-use of RA applications. Based on a review of existing literature on e-commerce RAs, this paper develops a conceptual model with 28 propositions derived from five theoretical perspectives. The propositions help answer the two research questions: (1) How do RA use, RA characteristics, and other factors influence consumer decision making processes and outcomes? (2) How do RA use, RA characteristics, and other factors influence users' evaluations of RAs? By identifying the critical gaps between what we know and what we need to know, this paper identifies potential areas of future research for scholars. It also provides advice to information systems practitioners concerning the effective design and development of RAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on research from a wide literature base to develop a model relating Web navigation systems, disorientation, engagement, user performance, and intentions. The model is tested in an experimental study examining the effects of one simple and two global navigation systems. Although well-accepted design guidelines were followed for the first global navigation system, it was not superior to the simple system. However, the second global navigation system resulted in lower disorientation than the simple system. Based on the study's results, two design guidelines to govern the development of future Web-based systems are suggested. Readers need a sense of context, of their place within an organization of information. In paper documents this sense of "where you are" is a mixture of graphic and editorial organizational cues supplied by the graphic design of the book, the organization of the text, and the physical sensation of the book as an object. Electronic documents provide none of the physical cues we take for granted in assessing information. When we see a Web hypertext link on the page we have few cues to where we will be led, how much information is at the other end of the link, and exactly how the linked information relates to the current page. Even the view of individual Web pages is restricted for many users. (Lynch and Horton 2002) On IBM's website, the most popular feature was the search function, because the site was difficult to navigate. The second most popular feature was the "help" button, because the search technology was so ineffective. IBM's solution was a 10-week effort to redesign the site. ...In the first week after the redesign, use of the "help" button decreased 84 percent, while sales increased 400 percent. (UsabilityNet 2003) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research has examined age, gender, experience, and voluntariness as the main moderators of beliefs on technology acceptance. This paper extends this line of research beyond these demographic and situational variables. Motivated by research that suggests that behavioral models do not universally hold across cultures, the paper identifies espoused national cultural values as an important set of individual difference moderators in technology acceptance. Building on research in psychological anthropology and cultural psychology that assesses cultural traits by personality tests at the individual level of analysis, we argue that individuals espouse national cultural values to differing degrees. These espoused national cultural values of masculinity/femininity, individualism/collectivism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance are incorporated into an extended model of technology acceptance as moderators. We conducted two studies to test our model. Results indicated that, as hypothesized, social norms are stronger determinants of intended behavior for individuals who espouse feminine and high uncertainty avoidance cultural values. Contrary to expectations, espoused masculinity/femininity values did not moderate the relationship between perceived usefulness and behavioral intention but, as expected, did moderate the relationship between perceived ease of use and behavioral intention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining prices is a key management task for a merchant. IT-enabled electronic markets facilitate price discovery by both buyers and sellers compared to traditional, physical markets. Recent research on electronic markets has revealed that IT has increased market transparency due to increased accessibility and availability of market information. However, what online sellers do in terms of strategic pricing decisions, in particular price adjustment behavior over time, has not been fully investigated. Due to the ease of making price changes, electronic sellers can execute a number of different pricing strategies, including setting the frequency and amount of price changes. We investigate the "opaque" side of electronic markets by exploring online sellers' price adjustment patterns over time. More specifically, we identify four questions related to pricing decisions, which lead to hypotheses about how managers determine prices in electronic markets. The paper tests the hypotheses with data from the online computer commodity market. We found, through a simulation analysis, that this market exhibits synchronized price changes, not random changes that are frequently found in traditional markets. Interestingly, small price increases occur more frequently than decreases, while the frequency of price adjustment is significantly associated with a product's price dispersion. A ranking analysis suggests that online sellers change their price strategies frequently, which makes it difficult for consumers to respond appropriately. The paper discusses the implications of our findings for management and for future research on market transparency and strategic pricing in electronic markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic researchers access commercial web sites to collect research data. This research practice is likely to increase. Is this appropriate? Is this legal? Such commercial web sites are maintained to achieve business objectives; research access uses site resources for other purposes. Web site administrators may, therefore, deem academic data collection inappropriate. Is there a process to make research access more open and acceptable to web site owners and administrators? These are significant issues. This article clarifies the problems and suggests possible approaches to handle the issues with sensitivity and openness. Research access to commercial web sites may be manual (using a standard web browser) or automated (using automated data collection agents). These approaches have different effects on web sites. Researchers using manual access tend to make a limited number of page requests because manual access is costly to perform. Researchers using automated access methods can request large numbers of pages at a low cost. Therefore, web site administrators tend to view manual access and automated access very differently. Because of the number of accesses and the nonbusiness purpose, automated research requests for data are sometimes blocked by site administration using a variety of means (both technological and legal). This paper details the pertinent legal issues including trespass, copyright violation, and breech of contract. It also explains the nature of express and implied consent by site administration for research access. Based on the issues presented, guidelines for researchers are proposed to reduce objections to research activities, to facilitate communication with web site administration, and to achieve express or implied consent. These include notification to web site administration of intended automated research activity, description of the research project posted as a web page, and clear identification of automated requests for web pages. In order to encourage good research practices with respect to automated data collection, suggestions are made with respect to disclosing methods used in research papers and for self regulation by academic associations [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the general question proposed by the call of this special issue: "What historical or contingent events and factors influence the creation of ICT standards, and in particular, their success or failure?" Based on a case study conducted over a period of three years in a Norwegian hospital on the standardization process of an electronic patient record (EPR), the paper contributes to the current discussion on the conceptualization of standard-making in the field of Information Systems. By drawing upon the concepts of logic of ordering adopted from actor-network theory and upon reflexivity and the unexpected side effects adopted from reflexive modernization, the paper makes three key contributions: (1) it demonstrates the socio-technical complexity of IS standards and standardization efforts; (2) it shows how complexity generates reflexive processes that undermine standardization aims; and (3) it suggests a theoretical interpretation of standardization complexity by using ideas from complexity theory and the theory of reflexive modernization. These research questions are addressed by offering an historical and contingent analysis of the complexity dynamics emerging from the case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the potential social costs of standardization, including possible vendor reactions to standards and their impacts on the adoption of new technology and long-term market structure. Specifically, we study how vendors might react to standards in the market for routers and switches, two of the most important pieces of networking hardware for the information systems infrastructure of modern firms. Using data from over 22,000 establishments surveyed by Harte Hanks Market Intelligence, we provide evidence that vendors are able to maintain high switching costs in the market for routers and switches despite the presence of open standards in the industry. Several vendor actions are discussed in this paper, including manipulating horizontal compatibility between comparable rival products and vertical compatibility between complementary products, maintaining a broader product line, creating product suites, and targeting specific market segments. Our results further suggest that the presence of switching costs can lead to inefficient adoption of new information technology and that vendors may be able to influence the speed of new information technology adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the role of power and politics in setting standards. It examines the interaction of external contingencies, powerful agents, resources, meaning, and membership of relevant social and institutional groupings in generating successful political outcomes. To study these interactions, the paper adopts the circuits of power, a theoretical framework taken from the social sciences, and applies it to understanding the creation and development of the first standard in information security management. An informal group of UK security chiefs sparked off a process which led first to BS7799, the British standard, and later to ISO 17799, the international standard. The case study portrays how the institutionalization of this ad hoc development process results from the interactions of power among the stakeholders involved. The case study also shows how the different interests and objectives of the stakeholders were influenced by exogenous contingencies and institutional forces. The paper discusses theoretical and practical implications for the future development of such standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the vast amount of user data tracked online, the use of data-based analytical methods is becoming increasingly common for e-businesses. Recently the term analytical eCRM has been used to refer to the use of such methods in the online world. A characteristic of most of the current approaches in eCRM is that they use data collected about users' activities at a single site only and, as we argue in this paper, this can present an incomplete picture of user activity. However, it is possible to obtain a complete picture of user activity from across-site data on users. Such data is expensive, but can be obtained by firms directly from their users or from market data vendors. A critical question is whether such data is worth obtaining, an issue that little prior research has addressed. In this paper, using a data mining approach, we present an empirical analysis of the modeling benefits that can be obtained by having complete information. Our results suggest that the magnitudes of gains that can be obtained from complete data range from a few percentage points to 50 percent, depending on the problem for which it is used and the performance metrics considered. Qualitatively we find that variables related to customer loyalty and browsing intensity are particularly important and these variables are difficult to derive from data collected at a single site. More importantly, we find that a firm has to collect a reasonably large amount of complete data before any benefits can be reaped and caution against acquiring too little data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the question of how intellectual property rights in the software created during information technology outsourcing relationships should be divided. This paper expands on the property rights approach developed by Grossman, Hart, and Moore by recognizing that, with respect to software, it is possible to separate excludability rights from usability rights. These rights are modeled and the contractually optimal distribution is determined. This model is then modified to account for the possibility of cannibalization of the client's benefit when multiple others are allowed use of the software. The results show that the best contractual structure depends strongly on the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delivering quality customer service has emerged as a strategic imperative, one that is increasingly tied to a firm's information technology resources and capabilities. This paper presents an empirical study that examines the extent to which IT impacts customer service. More specifically, this study investigates the differential effects of various IT resources and capabilities on the performance of the customer service process across firms that compete in the North American life and health insurance industry. The paper builds on (1) information systems work that suggests that the effects of IT are best documented at the level of processes within a firm, (2) information systems work that suggests that the performance effects of IT are likely to be contingent in nature, and (3) developments in the resource-based view, which describes the kinds of IT resources and capabilities that are likely to enable a process in one firm to outperform the same process in competing firms. The findings suggest that tacit, socially complex, firm-specific resources explain variation in process performance across firms and that IT resources and capabilities without these attributes do not. Of particular interest to IS scholars, it is found that shared knowledge between IT and customer service units--an important driver of how IT is implemented and used in the customer service process--is a key IT capability that affects customer service process performance and moderates the impacts of explicit IT resources such as the generic information technologies used in the process and IT spending, which--consistent with resource-based predictions--were not found to be directly and positively associated with relative process performance. The implications of the findings for research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section presents commentaries from a Senior Editor (SE), an Associate Editor (AE), and a Reviewer about developmental reviewing. The developmental goal of senior editor Cynthia Beath, of the University of Texas at Austin, is to help authors write better papers. Better papers will be more correctly understood and leveraged by others, they will be more widely and carefully read, and have more impact on the field. According to Ulrike Schultze, Associate Professor at Southern Methodist University, one needs an idea of what a developmental associate editor (AE) report looks like before being able to describe how to write such a report. If the AE recommends that the manuscript be rejected at a given journal, the AE report should provide the authors with recommendations for how to improve the work. The attitude of Paul A. Pavlou, assistant professor at the University of California in Riverside, as a reviewer is neither a gatekeeper nor an advisor, but rather as a coauthor.

This paper studies the differences in user acceptance models for productivity-oriented (or utilitarian) and pleasure-oriented (or hedonic) information systems. Hedonic information systems aim to provide self-fulfilling rather than instrumental value to the user, are strongly connected to home and leisure activities, focus on the fun-aspect of using information systems, and encourage prolonged rather than productive use. The paper reports a cross-sectional survey on the usage intentions for one hedonic information system. Analysis of this sample supports the hypotheses that perceived enjoyment and perceived ease of use are stronger determinants of intentions to use than perceived usefulness. The paper concludes that the hedonic nature of an information system is an important boundary condition to the validity of the technology acceptance model. Specifically, perceived usefulness loses its dominant predictive value in favor of ease of use and enjoyment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that much of the past research on electronic brainstorming has been somewhat myopic. Much as Sony focused on the quality of the picture on its Beta format, we as IS researchers have focused on the number of ideas generated as the dominant measure of electronic brainstorming effectiveness. When VHS killed Beta, Sony discovered that image quality was a secondary consideration for most VCR users. Despite the compelling research on its performance benefits, electronic brainstorming has not yet displaced -- or even joined -- verbal brainstorming as a widely used idea generation technique. This paper presents arguments that users may not be primarily concerned with the number of ideas generated when planning a brainstorming session, but rather may equally desire group well being and member support. We present theoretical arguments and empirical evidence suggesting that electronic brainstorming is not as effective as verbal brainstorming at providing group well being and member support. We believe that these arguments may also apply to other group and individual research areas and may also call for a reevaluation of the technology acceptance model (TAM). Finally, we suggest further research that may help electronic brainstorming avoid the fate of the Beta format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information systems researchers have a long tradition of drawing on theories from disciplines such as economics, computer science, psychology, and general management and using them in their own research. Because of this, the information systems field has become a rich tapestry of theoretical and conceptul foundations. As new theories are brought into the field, particularly theories that have become dominant in other areas, there may be a benefit in pausing to assess their use and contribution in an IS context. The purpose of this paper is to explore and critically evaluate use of the resource-based view of the firm (RBV) by IS researchers. The paper provides a brief review of resource-based theory and then suggests extensions to make the RBV more useful for empirical IS research. First, a typology of key IS resources is presented, and these are then described using six traditional resource attributes. Second, we emphasize the particular importance of looking at both resource complementarity and moderating factors when studying IS resource effects on firm performance. Finally, we discuss three considerations that IS researchers need to address when using the RBV empirically. Eight sets of propositions are advanced to help guide future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information technology (IT) acceptance research has yielded many competing models, each with different sets of acceptance determinants. In this paper, we (1) review user acceptance literature and discuss eight prominent models, (2) empirically compare the eight models and their extensions, (3) formulate a unified model that integrates elements across the eight models, and (4) empirically validate the unified model. The eight models reviewed are the theory of reasoned action, the technology acceptance model, the motivational model, the theory of planned behavior, a model combining the technology acceptance model and the theory of planned behavior, the model of PC utilization, the innovation diffusion theory, and the social cognitive theory. Using data from four organizations over a six-month period with three points of measurement, the eight models explained between 17 percent and 53 percent of the variance in user intentions to use information technology. Next, a unified model, called the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), was formulated, with four core determinants of intention and usage, and up to four moderators of key relationships. UTAUT was then tested using the original data and found to outperform the eight individual models (adjusted R[sup 2] of 69 percent). UTAUT was then confirmed with data from two new organizations with similar results (adjusted R[sup 2] of 70 percent). UTAUT thus provides a useful tool for managers needing to assess the likelihood of success for new technology introductions and helps them understand the drivers of acceptance in order to proactively design interventions (including training, marketing, etc.) targeted at populations of users that may be less inclined to adopt and use new systems. The paper also makes several recommendations for future research including developing a deeper understanding of the dynamic influences studied here, refining measurement of the core constructs used in UTAUT, and understanding the organizational outcomes associated with new technology use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agility is vital to the innovation and competitive performance of firms in contemporary business environments. Firms are increasingly relying on information technologies, including process, knowledge, and communication technologies, to enhance their agility. The purpose of this paper is to broaden understanding about the strategic role of IT by examining the nomological network of influences through which IT impacts firm performance. By drawing upon recent thinking in the strategy, entrepreneurship, and IT management literatures, this paper uses a multitheoretic lens to argue that information technology investments and capabilities influence firm performance through three significant organizational capabilities (agility, digital options, and entrepreneurial alertness) and strategic processes (capability-building, entrepreneurial action, and coevolutionary adaptation). We also propose that these dynamic capabilities and strategic processes impact the ability of firms to launch many and varied competitive actions and that, in turn, these competitive actions are a significant antecedent of firm performance. Through our theorizing, we draw attention to a significant and reframed role of IT as a digital options generator in contemporary firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on cross-cultural software production and use, which is increasingly common in today's more globalized world. A theoretical basis for analysis is developed, using concepts drawn from structuration theory. The theory is illustrated using two cross-cultural case studies. It is argued that structurational analysis provides a deeper examination of cross-cultural working and IS than is found in the current literature, which is dominated by Hofstede-type studies. In particular, the theoretical approach can be used to analyze cross-cultural conflict and contradiction, cultural heterogeneity, detailed work patterns, and the dynamic nature of culture. The paper contributes to the growing body of literature that emphasizes the essential role of cross-cultural understanding in contemporary society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In information systems, most research on knowledge management assumes that knowledge has positive implications for organizations. However, knowledge is a double-edged sword: while too little might result in expensive mistakes, too much might result in unwanted accountability. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the lack of attention paid to the unintended consequences of managing organizational knowledge and thereby to broaden the scope of IS-based knowledge management research. To this end, this paper analyzes the IS literature on knowledge management. Using a framework developed by Deetz (1996), research articles published between 1990 and 2000 in six IS journals are classified into one of four scientific discourses. These discourses are the normative, the interpretive, the critical, and the dialogic. For each of these discourses, we identify the research focus, the metaphors of knowledge, the theoretical foundations, and the implications apparent in the articles representing it. The metaphors of knowledge that emerge from this analysis are knowledge as object, asset, mind, commodity, and discipline. Furthermore, we present a paper that is exemplary of each discourse. Our objective with this analysis is to raise IS researchers' awareness of the potential and the implications of the different discourses in the study of knowledge and knowledge management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author presents a study of the review processes of the "MIS Quarterly" from 1995-2001 in order to see if they could be improved. Taken into account are the costs of reviewing papers, the number of papers received and accepted, and the percentage of papers accepted. The author discusses the issue of revising papers that are submitted and the importance of revisions to the quality of the journal.

Many previous papers have lamented the fact that the findings of past group support systems (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). The authors conclude that when using this theoretical lens, the results of GSS research do not appear inconsistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 (ClOs) 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 ClO 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.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 (ClOs) 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GDSS has enjoyed about a decade and a half of vigorous research activity. Throughout this time, a problem that has occupied the research community is the inconsistent research results that have been obtained. The purpose of this paper is to assess whether the reason for these inconsistencies is rooted in the epistemological mode that has prevailed and to offer an alternative epistemological lens that might help advance our understanding of GDSS use and research. Using qualitative research methods and a symbolic interactionist theoretical basis, this paper examines how a particular group used a GDSS over two meetings. The findings indicate that GDSS use may result in reactions from its users that are difficult to capture using conventional methodological assumptions, thereby helping explain why past results have not been consistent. Based on these findings, a shift in focus is advocated from an emphasis on the technology to an emphasis on human interaction, one that embraces the reasons underlying past inconsistencies rather than attempting to overcome them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]