The Paradoxical Effects of Blockchain Technology on Social Networking Practices

Blockchain technology is a promising, yet not well understood, enabler of large-scale societal and economic change. For instance, blockchain makes it possible for users to securely and profitably share content on social media platforms. In this study, w

I vote left, you vote right: How can we work together?

Political divisiveness continues to make news and influence our lives. In Spain, the drive for Catalonia’s independence has sparked demonstrations from both sides, including police action to close polling places. In Britain, Brexit aroused a debate marked by strong emotion over the future direction of the country. In the U.S., movements such as Black Lives Matter/Blue Lives Matter, standing for the national anthem, and even monologues from late night comedians engender strong emotions. Polling data in the U.S suggest that major political parties are further apart on basic political values than ever before. We suggest that the strength and ubiquitous nature of political convictions will likely spill over to workplace decision-making

Creating Consumer Value through Physical and Digital Product Bundles: One Firm's Approach

In recent years, firms have bundled digital products and physical products to create value and gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. In this commentary, we discuss one such approach to value creation. We present the case of Ganz, who developed and marketed the Webkinz brand of plush toy collectibles. These Webkinz toys create unique value through bundling a physical collectible toy with digital services accessed through the Internet. In this article, we analyze the elements of the Ganz business model that contribute to creating consumer value. We conclude with implications for managers and suggestions for future research

Blockchain Research in Information Systems: Current Trends and an Inclusive Future Research Agenda

The potential of blockchain has been extensively discussed in practitioner literature, yet rigorous empirical and theory-driven information systems (IS) research on blockchain remains scarce. This special issue addresses the need for innovative research that offers a fresh look at the opportunities and challenges of blockchain. This editorial integrates and goes beyond the papers included in this special issue by providing a framework for blockchain research in IS that emphasizes two important issues. First, we direct the attention of IS research toward the blockchain protocol level, which is characterized by recursive interactions between human agents and the blockchain protocol. Second, we highlight the need for IS research to consider how the protocol level constrains and affords blockchain applications, and how these constraints and other concerns at the application level lead to changes at the protocol level. Rooted in a socio-material view of IS, we offer a multi-paradigmatic IS research agenda that underscores the need for behavioral (individual, group, and organizational), design science, and IS economics research on blockchain. Our research agenda emphasizes issues of blockchain governance, human and material agency, blockchain affordances and constraints, as well as the consequences of its use

Blockchain Technology in Business and Information Systems Research

Peer reviewe

Thirty Years and Counting: Do We Still Need the ICIS Women’s Breakfast?

This article discusses an important panel held at ICIS 2011 in Shanghai to mark over thirty years of an ICIS institution, the ICIS Women’s Breakfast. The panel addressed the controversial question—is there still a need for the ICIS Women’s Breakfast? Panelists were asked if the ICIS Women’s Breakfast could be seen as divisive, and if, women’s issues are different from issues of diversity such as race or sexual  orientation. They were also asked why they thought women were still  underrepresented in our academic community, and if the lack of women at senior levels was a concern for the community. Finally, the panelists were asked what practices the community would need to adopt to combat what could be seen as structural discrimination in our community, which we believe reflects the wider world we live in. We frame the debate and the ensuing discussion in the literature about women in academia, and conclude with some practical and constructive  recommendations for the community as a whole

“On Here, I’m Team Jacob: Exploring Feelings of Belongingness in Virtual Communities

Virtual communities have become important for enthusiasts to meet, share, and express their affection for a wide range of products, ideas, and brands. While virtual communities have been studied previously, the literature is lacking a perspective on virtual communities surrounding products, ideas and brands that users are embarrassed to admit they care about (that is, that they have a negative public affiliation towards), but that nonetheless are a representation of the user’s identity (brand congruity). This study presents a research model positing that, within a virtual community environment, feelings of negative affiliation and brand congruity will influence users’ feelings of belonging to the virtual community, and negative public affiliation will also moderate the relationship between brand congruity and belongingness. Our results indicate significant relationships between negative public affiliation and brand congruity with feelings of belongingness. Our study has implications for the field, as well as for practitioners

Doxing and Doxees: A Qualitative Analysis of Victim Experiences and Responses

Doxing, a form of adversarial online behavior, is the intentional release of an individual’s personal information with malicious intent. It is increasingly used to threaten, punish, or silence individuals who participate in online communities. Such Doxees often experience extreme and intertwined cyberharassment and physical threats, transforming how they participate in both cyber and physical communities. While prior research has examined the underlying motives of the Doxer, the Doxee’s perspective has remained largely unexplored. Drawing on data about 14 individuals who have experienced Doxing, we examine the consequences of Doxing from the Doxee’s point of view. Employing the lens of approach and avoidance coping, we describe how Doxees respond to a Doxing threat and change their behavior. Our research contributes novel insight and themes related to Doxing. Based on our analysis, we offer an agenda for research and practice to pave the way for exploring Doxing and its remedies

Bounded Rationality, Formal Implementation Processes, and Conflicting Subcultures: A Theoretical Framwork

This paper develops a theoretical framework for studying how the interaction of individual perceptions, an organizations’ subcultures, and formal information systems (IS) design processes influence the fit of an IS to its respective organization. Building on models of individual decision making, such as bounded rationality, it extends several propositions for how informal and formal structures influence the fit of an IS

Understanding the Relationship between Goal-Directed Intentions and Post-Adoptive IT Behaviors: The Moderating Influence of Image Compatibility

Technology adoption and diffusion research has advanced from examining pre-adoption to uncovering salient predictors of individual post-adoptive IT behaviors. Within this new research stream, there is a need to extend understanding of how and why individuals innovate with IT and infuse it in their work life. To that end, this paper suggests that understanding individuals’ motivations for continuing, extending, or adapting their use behaviors is important in order to develop understanding of how technologies become embedded in organizational work processes. Hence, we propose a research model that examines how compatibility between goals and perceptions of likely progress toward those goals influences an individual’s post-adoptive IT use behavior. Assuming the proposed hypotheses are supported, this study will contribute to the literature by shedding light on factors that trigger variations in post-adoptive IT use