Organizing Open Digital Innovation: Evidence from Hackathons

In this research, I study a novel open digital innovation phenomenon called hackathons. Hackathon, literally meaning a sprint of coding, is an open source programming competition for problem solving. Hackathons lead to self-organizing of a new group at the onset of a challenge, which questions a previously dominant imagery in organization studies that organization already exists as a static entity. The Information Systems (IS) scholars have recently started studying new organizational arrangements in terms of open innovation but we have paid less attention in emerging hackathon organizing. By taking a close look at this distinct environment for innovation, the study can provide a coherent account on the generative mechanism for open innovation and its relationship with the characteristics of digital technology. This research contributes to theory by looking at what transpires in this new organizing context for open digital innovation

NEW DIRECTIONS IN ONLINE COMMUNITY RESEARCH

Information Systems researchers have studied multiple forms of online communities for decades. Significant progress has been made in addressing research questions such as how and when individuals are motivated to contribute knowledge in online settings. Yet, not only are important questions unanswered—such as why online communities succeed or fail—but also there still remains disagreement on the basic definition of online community. Furthermore, as the diversity of users and uses of online media continues to increase, IS researchers can now ask and answer different questions. For example, advances in social computing, mobile computing, and social media support new forms of online communities. In this panel we will propose and debate the direction of an online community research agenda for the next decade and beyond

An Incident Control Centre in action: Response to the Rena oil spill in New Zealand

Following the Rena grounding and oil spill in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, an Incident Command Centre was established which, among other tasks, coordinated a volunteer clean-up effort. We interviewed volunteers and organisers to gain insight into the efficacy of the volunteer coordination effort. Volunteers praised the system of communication and the involvement of indigenous groups. They expressed a desire for better training, more flexibility and community autonomy, a quicker uptake of volunteer support, and the use of social media. Locating the Incident Command Centre in a single site aided interaction between experts, and the sharing of resources. Overall, the volunteer coordination was considered a success

Understanding Knowledge Coordination Dynamics in Traditional and Fast-Response IT Organizations

This research takes a dynamic view on the knowledge coordination process, aiming to explain how the process is affected by changes in the operating environment, from normal situations to emergencies in traditional and fast-response organizations, and why these changes occur. We first conceptualize the knowledge coordination process by distinguishing between four dimensions – what, when, how and who – that together capture the full scope of the knowledge coordination process. We use these dimensions to analyze knowledge coordination practices and the activities constituting these practices, in the IT functions of traditional and fast-response (military) organizations where we distinguish between “normal” and “emergency” operating conditions. Our findings indicate that (i) inter-relationships between knowledge coordination practices change under different operating conditions, and (ii) the patterns of change are different in traditional and fast-response organizations

Constructing the cultural repertoire in a natural disaster: The role of social media in the Thailand flood of 2011

In 2011, Thailand witnessed its worst flooding catastrophe in half a century. In this study, we explored social media as a new and promising weapon to address the physical and morale challenges caused by the natural disaster. A case study was conducted in the context of crisis response, whichinvestigated the use of social media to contribute to the collective cultural repertoire during the natural disaster. By investigating two paths toward the cultural repertoire construction considering different social groups, this study also identified the roles of social media as an information market and an information threshold in the crisis response

Knowledge-Related Barriers to Communication and Coordination in Disaster Response: Adelphi Study

Multi-organizational ad hoc knowledge networks have the potential to improve the effectiveness of disaster response and recovery by helping organizations share information, coordinate their activities and leverage participants\u27 expertise. This paper reports an exploratory study to identify the major barriers to effectiveness in ad hoc knowledge networks in disaster response. The research methodology is a multi-panel Delphi survey, with each panel comprised of experienced emergency response professionals from different types of response organizations (e.g., fire fighters, EOC (emergency operations center) directors, law enforcement professionals). The study is currently in progress, and results from the first two panels are reported

Social Networks and Information Systems: Ongoing and Future Research Streams

We review reasons for the increased interest in network analyses in organization studies and information research. We also note the impact of new information technology capabilities for this increase in terms of improvements in analysis techniques, new ways to generate and maintain connections within and between social units, and new social connection-focused IT capabilities. We also review main streams of network-based analyses in information system research. We conclude by making some propositions for future research in information systems and networks, and summarize the main contributions made in this special issue

Liquid Communication: An Analysis of the Impact of Mobile Micro-blogging on Communication and Decision-Making

One of the most common forms of using mobile and social media technologies is the use of micro-blogging such as Twitter on mobile devices. The ubiquity of mobile devices combined with the communication via social network service like Twitter can potentially host a number of significant changes in the way people communicate and make decisions in a group setting. Yet, there is no theoretical framework that can effectively predict or interpret the changes. Based on the Bauman’s ‘liquid modernity,’ we develop a new concept, ‘communication liquidity’ which illustrates the extent to which communication is dynamic. The communication liquidity consists of the three dimensions – temporal, spatial, and conversational. We posit that micro-blogging on a mobile device brings higher levels of the communication liquidity in these three dimensions, which in turn improve the outcomes of communication among the group members

THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL POWER ON TRANSACTIVE MEMORY SYSTEMS AND KNOWLEDGE UTILIZATION

Many organizations have attempted to develop knowledge management strategies through which they can substantially enhance their employees’ ability to utilize knowledge resources dispersed across business units. While previous studies have acknowledged that social power is one of the critical factors in facilitating or constraining social interactions among individuals, few studies have examined in-depth how social power within a work group influences an individual’s knowledge utilization. Given that social power in an organization determines the processes of recognizing others’ knowledge and applying it to real business, the investigation of the influence of social power on knowledge utilization is of value to researchers and practitioners. Integrating the volitional model and the theory of social power, this study develops a theoretical model that explains how social power influences individuals’ affect, transactive memory system (TMS), and knowledge utilization. The proposed model was tested using data collected from 206 individuals. The results of this study show that social power significantly influences an individual’s affect and TMS, which in turn influences intention to utilize knowledge. Notably, this study reveals that different power bases have different effects on individuals’ cognitive (TMS levels) and emotional (positive affect) aspects in relation to knowledge utilization in organizations

Information Theoretic Approach to Design of Emergency Response Systems

Emergency response information systems provide critical support to the disaster management. Despite of the growing interest in this area, the existing research is scanty. A significant limitation is the lack of sound theoretical foundations for emergency management and the information system development. In this paper, the authors adapt Information Theory to explore the theoretical underpinnings of emergency response and discuss the general system design issues