A Configurational Approach to Information Technology Outsourcing

As scholarly interest in IT outsourcing has gained momentum recently, the ability to integrate this line of research into a coherent and consistent body of evidence seems to have been constrained by the difficulty of reconciling the contradictory findings that have emerged fromoutsourcing studies. This paper suggests that the recurring call for an integrative view of outsourcing can be addressed by breaking away from the reductionistic approach of contingency theory toward the holistic approach of configurational theory. The paper adopts a configurationalapproach to develop a framework of IT outsourcing effectiveness. Drawing on the relational view of the firm and taking a process view of outsourcing, the framework identifies four high-level dimensions that correspond to an organization\u27s resource position in four key areas:organizational IT value position, organizational IT asset position, relational asset position, and relational capability position. A novel structured method is used to identify the congruent (internally consistent) outsourcing configurations within the range of possible outsourcingconfigurations based on the interdependencies among the four dimensions. Furthermore, a settheoretic approach and Boolean algebra are applied to formally demonstrate the logic underlying the framework. Three congruent outsourcing configurations, labeled as asset dependence, relational dependence, and independence, emerge from this analysis. Drawing on the assumptions of configurational theory about organizational change and taking a dynamic perspective, theframework is extended to describe how organizations transition between outsourcing configurations over time. The discussion concluding this paper uses the framework todemonstrate how a configurational approach can effectively address the limitations of the outsourcing literature and advance outsourcing research. While configurational theory offers a holistic and multifaceted way of modeling the intricate interactions between IT and organizational attributes, previous IT studies have drawn on it to a limited extent, primarily as a lens to describe frequently recurring patterns of attributes. Hence, an important contribution of this paper is to demonstrate the potential value of comprehensively adopting a configurationalapproach for IT research in general and outsourcing research in particular

Why and How Online Experiments Can Benefit Information Systems Research

Online experiments have become an important methodology in the study of human behavior. While social scientists have been quick to capitalize on the benefits of online experiments, information systems (IS) researchers seem to be among the laggards in taking advantage of this emerging paradigm, despite having the research motivations and technological capabilities to be among the leaders. A major reason for this gap is probably the secondary role traditionally attributed in IS research to experimental methods, as repeatedly demonstrated in methodological reviews of work published in major IS publication outlets. The purpose of this editorial is to encourage IS researchers interested in online behavior to adopt online experiments as a primary methodology, which may substitute for traditional lab experiments and complement nonexperimental methods. This purpose is pursued by analyzing why IS research has lagged behind neighboring disciplines in adopting experimental methods, what IS research can benefit from utilizing online experiments, and how IS research can reap these benefits. The prescriptive analysis is structured around key considerations that should be taken into account in using online experiments to study online behavior

Do Consumers Make Less Accurate Decisions When They Use Mobiles?

The migration of consumers from personal computers (PCs) to mobile devices (mobiles) to engage in e-commerce has accelerated in recent years. Despite this trend, the literature tells us little about how the use of mobiles instead of PCs affects information processing and decision making. Seeking to untangle the implications of mobile use, this study defines the device and display as two orthogonal variables, which are hypothesized to affect decision accuracy (consistency with preferences), both directly and indirectly, through the mediating variables of information seeking and information load. Two laboratory experiments show that the mobile display (less information on the main page), but not the mobile device (smaller screen), affects information processing and decreases decision accuracy. Furthermore, when the information subset presented on the mobile display is of higher quality (more informative to the user), the consequences of mobile use relative to PC use are less adverse

Gaining Agility through IT Personnel Capabilities: The Mediating Role of IT Infrastructure Capabilities

This study develops a research model of how the technical, behavioral, and business capabilities of IT personnel are associated with IT infrastructure capabilities, and how the latter are associated with IT-dependent organizational agility, which is conceptualized as comprising IT-dependent system, information, and strategic agility. Analysis of cross-sectional data collected from 293 IT managers generally corroborates the hypothesized relationships, showing that the technical and behavioral capabilities of IT personnel have a positive effect on infrastructure capabilities. The analysis also provides evidence that the effect of infrastructure capabilities on IT-dependent strategic agility is direct, as well as mediated by IT-dependent system and information agility. The validity of the findings is strengthened by demonstrating that the hypothesized research model fits the data better than two alternative theoretically-anchored models describing different relationships between the same constructs. This study advances understanding of the interrelationships between two major subsets of IT capabilities, and their relationships with the agility afforded by IT

Eyes on the Prize: Increasing the Prize May Not Benefit the Contest Organizer in Multiple Online Contests

Given the proliferation of online platforms for crowdsourcing contests, we address the inconsistencies in the extant literature about the behavioral effects of increasing the prize awarded by contest organizers. We endeavor to resolve these inconsistencies by analyzing user behavior in a highly controlled experimental setting in which users can participate (by exerting real effort rather than stated effort) in multiple online contests that vary only in their prizes. The analysis of the behavior of 731 active participants in our first experiment showed that both participation and effort were non-monotonic with the prize, that the low-prize contest was the most effective for the organizers, and that increasing the prize of the low-prize or high-prize contest by 50% actually decreased the benefits for organizers. Our findings advance theory by providing insight into when and why extrinsic incentives fail to produce the desired effects in crowdsourcing contests

Let me decide: The importance of user autonomy in accepting online recommendations

The ubiquity of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms has increased interest in the willingness of online users to accept the recommendations generated by recommendation system (RSs). The present study advances the discourse on how to facilitate the adoption and acceptance of such algorithms and systems by emphasizing the importance of user autonomy. As a first step, the hypothesis that user autonomy increases recommendation acceptance was tested in a controlled online experiment, in which we varied the number of recommendations presented to the user. A total of 240 participants used an online website, specifically developed for this study, to describe their vacation preferences and then chose their preferred vacation. Results show that users are more likely to accept recommendations when more recommendations are presented, highlighting the importance of user autonomy to the acceptance of RS and AI, while informing vendors about ways to tweak their algorithms to increase user compliance. Keywords: Recommendation, Autonomy, Decision making, Online experiment

The Planning Fallacy as an Explanation for Over-Requirement in Software Development

Over-Requirement occurs in software development projects when a software product is specified beyond the actual needs. This study shows empirically that Over-Requirement happens partially due to the Planning Fallacy, i.e., the tendency of people to underestimate the time needed to complete a task. Underestimating the time needed to develop a software feature during project planning, we argue, may lead to including within the project scope more required and unrequired features than can be completed by the project deadline. To investigate this argument, we conducted an experiment in which participants were asked to estimate the time it would take to develop various software features in a software development project and then, given the project\u27s duration, to recommend which of the features to include within scope. The results confirmed that the Planning Fallacy occurs in the context of software development and influences the Over-Requirement phenomenon

HOW BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE CREATES VALUE

Assessing IT business value has long been recognized as a major challenge, stemming largely from the considerable variability in the role and contribution of IT. This study examines the business value associated with business intelligence (BI) systems, suggesting that business value assessment is largely contingent on system type and should consider its unique contribution. The study adopts a process-oriented approach to evaluating the value contribution of BI, arguing that it stems from the improvement of business processes. The study develops and tests a research model that explains the unique mechanisms through which BI creates business value. The model draws on the resource-based view to identify key resources and capabilities that determine the impact of BI on business processes and, consequently, on organizational performance. Furthermore, the research model seeks to analyse the manner in which the organizational approach to innovation moderates the business value of BI. Analysis of data collected from 159 managers and IT/BI experts, using Structural Equations Modelling (SEM) techniques, shows that BI largely contributes to business value by improving both operational and strategic business processes. Further, it highlights the effect of the organizational approach toward exploration on transforming BI resources into capabilities and further into business value

OVER-REQUIREMENT IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE \u27IKEA\u27 EFFECT

One of the major risks in software development projects is the phenomenon of Over-Requirement, also known as over-specification and gold-plating, where a product or a service is specified beyond the actual requirements of the customer or the market. We argue that Over-Requirement is partially due to the emotional involvement of developers with specified features, an involvement associated with the IKEA or the I-designed-it-myself effect, which implies that people come to overvalue their creations when successfully designed or constructed by them. To investigate this argument, we conducted an experiment in the context of software development in which over 200 undergraduate students participated. The experiment required participants to complete a specification task and measured the change in perceived valuation of a specified nice-to-have feature, by measuring it before and after its specification was completed. The experiment results confirmed the existence of the IKEA effect and its influence on Over-Requirement. The results also imply that the IKEA effect in software development is multifaceted where the level of specification difficulty, whether objective difficulty (in terms of constrained specification duration or unconstrained specification freedom) or subjective difficulty (as reported by participants), affects the magnitude of the IKEA effect