Dissolving Firm Boundaries Through Surveillance: Incomplete Contracts, Information Assets, and Process Integration

This paper addresses the issue of interorganizational governance and process integration. Specifically, we are concerned with IOSs characterized by shared processes, joint control, yet divergent incentive structures. The analysis is inspired by the Grossman, Hart, and Moore theory of incomplete contracting, which forms a framework of vertical and lateral integration based upon residual rights of control over physical assets. In this study, we explore the application of a derivative of this framework, which allows for the separation of physical and information-based assets. As a consequence of this separation, we demonstrate how the acquisition of information can shift the locus of decisions in integrated processes as well as affect pricing and the distribution of rents within a value chain. The empirical setting is a high-tech manufacturer that implemented a Lotus Notes application which tracks the flow of products across several legal entities within its sales channel. We conduct a simple regression analysis for transactions with one distributor, where we find significance in the price differential for products traded within vs. outside of the system, demonstrating a shift in the distribution of rents via information appropriation. We conclude with a discussion of how a managerial perspective would benefit from viewing supply and value chains that span organizations as single systems, not merely competing agents, and suggest how an incomplete contracts perspective is beneficial to this challenge

Controlling your Brand: Contractual Restrictions Placed by Internet Retailers on Affiliate Marketing Activities in Spain

Affiliate marketing programs have emerged as one of the fastest-growing methods for online retailers to acquire customers and increase sales. Affiliate marketing offers a number of advantages, including a relatively low cost and the ability to accurately track the actions of website visitors and their responses to targeted promotional activities. However, while these programs have proven effective in increasing website traffic and sales, illegal or inappropriate activities on the part of affiliates could negatively impact a retailer’s brand in the eyes of customers. This study reviews the stated guidelines in one-to-many affiliate programs in the three major affiliate networks in Spain as a first step in understanding how online retailers control the business models and promotional tools used by their affiliates. The conclusion is that there is a significant lack of transparency in the guidance and restrictions communicated to affiliates, which increases the risk of inappropriate behavior or misconduct. Consequently, affiliate monitoring by online retailers becomes increasingly important. General recommendations to improve monitoring are considered

Self-Regulation for Online Auctions: An Analysis

The most prevalent form of Internet fraud is auction fraud. As fraud affects both the profits of Internet auction houses as well as honest traders of auction goods, they have a mutual incentive to reduce fraud. However, existing research suggests that little effort has been made by the Internet auction industry to control fraud. As a result, there have been increasing calls for government intervention to regulate the Internet auction marketplace. In this study, we perform a grounded theory analysis of fraud in the Internet auction marketplace. Specifically, this research explores the institutions that experienced traders and auction houses employ to reduce the incidence of fraud. Preliminary evidence suggests that, contrary to common perception, the Internet auction industry has developed many sophisticated institutions for combating fraud. These institutions operate primarily by reducing information asymmetries that con artists exploit. However, due to the ease of entry into Internet auction markets, new entrants become easy prey for con artists

FROM POTENTIAL TO REALIZED IMPACTS: THE BRIDGING ROLE OF DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURES IN FAIR DATA

Science funders, research institutions and policymakers have been investing heavily in building digital infrastructures that will enable findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) data. Despite the enthusiasm for these infrastructures, many scientists still do not understand how they can be leveraged to advance their research goals. To address this gap, we conduct an inductive qualitative study of a digital infrastructure supporting FAIR data and propose a framework exploring how these infrastructures enable new capabilities in researchers’ workflows. First, we find that these infrastructures facilitate the seamless transition between the storage and analysis of data for new insights. Second, we find that these infrastructures enable researchers to extend their typical individual research workflow to larger scales of collaboration. By exploring the bridging role of digital infrastructures in FAIR, our study hopes to inform the scientific community and policymakers on how to accelerate the adoption of FAIR practices and maximize the future impact of these infrastructures currently under development

Burt and Coleman Networks in Electronic Intermediation

Two predominant network forms, Burt and Coleman, are delineated to identify the underlying structure and dynamics of electronic intermediation models. Basic differentiating characteristics between the two network types, including nodes, structures, products, transactions, market maturity, and technology improvement, are identified. Two comparative cases are analyzed to illustrate the utility of the constructs. The analysis shows that while both Burt and Coleman networks are viable strategies for electronic intermediation, Burt rents are easier to obtain and difficult to maintain, whereas Coleman rents are more difficult to obtain, but easier to defend. Accordingly, we find a tendency for intermediaries in Burt networks to attempt to affect Coleman rents as a long-term strategy

Wireless Diffusion and Mobile Computing: Implications for the Digital Divide

Gaps in the rates of digital inclusion continue to plague certain socio-economic segments of the American economy. For these groups, the migration path towards mobile computing and digital inclusion may transpire from 2G voice centric mobile telephone to the data centric smartphone or wireless PDA. This study investigates what socio-economic factors are determinative to the diffusion of mobile telecommunications; how these findings can be extended to mobile computing; and how these findings can inform managerial and policy making decisions concerning the digital divide. Using survey data from 1994 and 1998 and a probit model of mobile phone adoption, we estimate the rate of diffusion and bounds for the long run market shares for specific socio-economic market segments in the United States. In contrast to traditional Internet access, neither education nor age are positive predictors of mobile phone adoption. In addition, Afro-Americans have adopted mobile phones at rates significantly higher than the population. These findings have considerable implications for the diffusion of mobile computing devices and the gaps in digital inclusion that may be overcome through the migration of Internet access to alternative devices

Words and objects in information systems development: Six paradigms of information as representation

The notion of ‘information’ is one of the most basic in the Information Systems field. However, a clear consensus of what the term signifies remains evasive to both theorists and practitioners. Even in the applied discipline of Information Systems Development, the notion of information as representation is ambiguous. To motivate the discussion, we demonstrate a variety of contradictory stances held by several researchers in this domain. To make sense out of this perplexing variety, we develop a philosophical framework to highlight the divergence in philosophical assumptions. Our goal in this exercise is to delineate the ontological and epistemological bias of six exemplars of systems development techniques: software engineering, ontological engineering, ontological design, conceptual modeling, database normalization, and formal methods. A deeper understanding of the implicit philosophical premises can enlighten the choice of an appropriate method to address specific, concrete developmental challenges, as well as provide an understanding of the philosophical genesis of widely applied developmental tools

The Role of Power and Negotiation in Online Deception

The purpose of this paper is to advance theoretical understanding of the important role of both power and negotiation during online deception. By so doing, the paper provides insight into the relationship between perpetrator and victim in Internet fraud. The growing prevalence of Internet Fraud continues to be a burden to both society and individuals. In an attempt to better understand Internet fraud and online deception, this article attempts to build an interactive model, based upon the dimensions of power and negotiation from the management and psychology literature. Using the model presented, the article examines the effects of the Internet on the communication process that takes place between perpetrator and victim. Finally, the article discusses some of the major tactics employed to appeal to each power type in predominant fraud forms, as well exploring future types of fraud

The Nexus of Translational Action

Sensors, actuators, and controllers are digital objects fundamental to automation-intensive industries such as transportation, manufacturing, and energy. As technologies that enable and arbitrate the transition from physical to digital worlds, they are increasingly pervasive in all facets of industry and logistics, consumer technologies, or even medicine. Hybrid digital objects with physical and digital components are composed of bitstrings that are inscribed onto a material bearer. Translational action refers to how bitstrings are accessed in the material bearer or how they are moved from one layer of the bearer to another. We perform an inductive study of 170 sensing, computational, and imaging technologies originating from leading scientific research institutions to better understand the nature of translational action. Across four physical and digital configurations, we identify seven forms of translational action. The findings offer insight into cybernetic control theory central to automated systems to understand the nature of their logic, processes, and interdependence