Towards a Theory of IS Support-Related Activity

Information systems (IS) support department has become one major source of knowledge for organizational end-users (employees) as organizations increasingly adopt complex and integrated information technologies. Despite its significance to IS post-adoptive use, IS support-related activity remains under-studied. This study aims at developing an integrative conceptualization of IS support-related activity by drawing on IS use and adaptation theory. We conducted an in-depth qualitative study in the organizational support of a new procurement system and analyzed 591 service interactions between IS support personnel and end-users. Our data analysis suggests that IS support-related activity is a multifaceted phenomenon that comprises a set of increasingly complex behaviors, including technology-oriented behaviors, user-oriented behaviors, and activities that IS personnel undertake to adapt to the technology-user-business context. In particular, IS support personnel were found performing three major types of IS support activity -- informating, diagnosing, and boundary-spanning – which were associated with IS use behavior and required different types of knowledge in IS support context. This study contributes to IS literature by developing a comprehensive view of IS support-related activity, extending existing conceptualizations that exclusively focuses on technology or on human agency. The findings highlight the complexity and dynamics in IS post-implementation era, and present an urgent need to evaluate the challenges in and competence required for IS support work

Understanding the Value of Social Media in the NBA’s Digital Communication: A Fan(s)’ Perspective

Social media (SM) has become sports organizations’ most preeminent vehicle to engage with fans and to enhance relationship marketing. Prior studies have mostly focused on the standpoints of sports organizations; less is known about fans’ SM experience and perspective. This study focuses on sports fans’ SM use during a game, and seeks to understand their popular SM uses and gratifications and the effect of individual characteristics. Informed by the uses and gratifications theory (UGT), we analyze survey data of 400 season-ticket holders of a professional NBA team. Our quantitative data analysis suggests that during a game the NBA sports fans use SM for posting on Twitter & Facebook, on Instagram & Snapchat, and checking emails. The less popular uses and gratifications include accessing teams’ website, downloading video, and accessing mobile Apps. These usage behaviors varied by individual age, gender and household income. Research contribution and implications are discussed

Learning in Enterprise System Support: Specialization, Task Type and Network Characteristics

In this paper, we introduce two contingency factors --task type and network characteristics—that examine how individuals learn from experience. We hypothesize that task specialization and variation have positive impacts on IS professionals’ learning from experience. We further hypothesize that this performance effect of learning is contingent upon task type and characteristics of domain-specific knowledge networks. In particular, specialized experience will be more beneficial to learning when a task is a locating task-type or when network centrality is high. In contrast, varied experience will be more beneficial when a task is a diagnosing task-type or when network betweenness is high. The research model will be validated in the context of postimplementation enterprise system support. The study incorporates a social network perspective to study learning by experience, and contributes to the knowledge management field. Findings will provide practical insights on managing IT human capital and improving IS support services

Introduction to Digital Social Media in Enterprise Minitrack

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Stress and Coping Mechanisms in Gig Work

Advancements in digital technology have given rise to the creation of digital platforms and the growth of gig work. Gig work is a new form of work based on short-term, contract arrangements through the open marketplaces on digital platforms (Valley, 2000). As a result of the contract-based work arrangement, participants in gig work are more entrepreneurial and individualistic. To be considered gig work, the work must meet the following requirements: platform-related; predominantly microtasks, which are menial, monotonous, and tightly bounded; external contributors are classified by the platforms as independent contractors self-employed status and being evaluated digitally (Howcroft, 2019). In the gig work environment, workers enjoy a sense of autonomy in making job decisions on a digital platform (Deng and Joshi, 2016), but they are also being managed through a micro-level task control (Howcroft, 2019). Instead of having overall work being observed, gig workers found each function and task being monitored. The relations of the platforms working as intermediaries from a job provider to a job seeker are more like an automated job manager where some platforms combine automation with humans (Howcroft, 2019, p. 26). The platforms have created and applied algorithms to manage job listings and work processes. This type of management enables the platforms to meticulously track workers in an optimized manner over a large scale (Howcroft, 2019, p. 30). In the gig work environment, this management style pushes workers to become dependent on computer algorithms for work and performance evaluation. In the cases where a worker is underperforming, the platform puts pressure on the worker by intense supervisory pressure and discipline on the basis of remote covert monitoring of their work (Wood, 2019, p. 62). In addition to benefits, this new gig work opportunity has also brought problems that should be addressed. One of the problems that we find necessary to address is gig workers’ stress condition and coping mechanism. Stress can be defined as antecedent conditions within one\u27s job or the organization which require adaptive responses on the part of the employees (Jex & Beehr, 1991, p. 312). Multiple factors can lead to the gig worker being stressed. Lazarus and Folkman (1984, p. 141) defined coping as constantly changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of the person. It is necessary to understand the best coping mechanism to generate insights to inform key stakeholders in the gig economy, including workers, platform companies, and client organizations. This study has the potential to help gig workers manage or develop a coping mechanism that helps reduce their emotional and physical stress. Based on our data analysis, we were able to identify some important characteristics of gig workers. Workers with different levels of participation in crowdwork were found to be associated differently with their financial stress. Financial stress is defined as an individual concern about his/her ability to earn sufficient income to provide for their basic needs. Furthermore, the data analysis shows gig workers cope with stress by using different strategies, including reaching out, escape, or avoidance. Our next step for this study is to consider additional individual background factors such as gender, age, and financial dependence on gig work platforms. In addition to the qualitative data analysis, we will also use quantitative analysis to understand the behaviors of the gig work participants. Our study will contribute to gig work research by understanding the factors leading to gig work stress and offering insights into the coping mechanisms to help gig workers reduce stress

Exploring the Role of AIS Scholars in Framing the Concept of “contractor” and “employee” in the Gig Economy

In this session, we propose to engage the AIS scholars in policy debates regarding the digital variability that exists in different types of gig work enabled by digital platforms (e.g., Uber, Upwork, MTurk). We argue that AIS members are uniquely positioned to contribute to framing our shared understanding of the variability of the types of gig work and workers, enabled by digital platforms. Gig work enabled by digital platforms consists of income-earning activities outside of traditional, long-term employer-employee relationships. Rapidly growing during the last decade, the gig economy is forecasted to continue its explosive expansion over the next five years. PriceWaterhouseCooper forecasts the gig economy to grow from $15 billion in 2013 to$335 billion in 2025 . In response to the changing labor market landscape, the legislators, regulators and judicial officials around the world are trying to re-interpret, re-define, and re-imagine current policies and labor laws to create a legitimate and credible space for gig workers by re-conceptualizing the notion of what constitutes an “employee” and what constitutes a “contractor.” The regulatory efforts in crafting definitions for “employee” (versus “contractor”) in the gig economy is complicated by how the nature of work (e.g., degree of modularization and digitization of task) and its environment (platform owners’ role in worker compensation and governance) is enabled by digital platforms. One example of such a regulatory complication associated with defining “employees” in the digital context is exemplified by a recent law enacted by the US state of California, titled Assembly Bill (AB) 5. This law was enacted in January 2020 and established a three-part test for classifying workers as a “contractor” rather than “employee.” The execution of this law has yielded mixed results, which are particularly acute when comparing platforms that enable physical versus digital tasks. Some digital platforms, such as Uber have publicly argued that they are merely software companies and have continued to operate within the state of California as they had before AB 5 was passed. Others, such as digital provider Vox Media have laid off California based staff in an effort to comply with the law. The degree of digitization of gig work and its environment is germane to our shared understanding of these issues. Through our critical discourse and discussion at this AMCIS2020 TREO talk session we hope to make a call for action, and to inspire AIS members to contribute to framing of these critical issues