On the Development and Application of a Framework for Understanding the Properties and Information Quality of Online Reputation Systems

Online reputation systems were created to enable buyers and sellers participating in online transactions to evaluate the reputations of potential trading partners. These systems were then expanded to additional domains targeting the evaluation of encounters with professionals such as university professors, teachers, and physicians. This paper examines key properties of two online reputations systems: eBay’s Feedback Forum and the Rate My Professors online reputation system. A framework for understanding the information quality of online reputation systems is then developed and applied. Implications for designers, teachers, and scholars are discussed

An Applied Integrated Management Course on Business Disruption in the Digital Age

This paper describes an Applied Integrated Management course developed as part of an MBA degree program offered at a regional, public university. The course is focused on business disruption in the digital age and seeks to develop integrative thinking in MBA students. Material from the academic disciplines of economics, statistics, information systems, and organizational behavior provide the foundation for an indepth exploration of course topics including human decision making and machine learning; robotics, digitization, and innovation; productivity, economic effects, and technological innovation; platforms and network effects; platform architecture and disruption; monetization and openness of platforms; the crowd, expertise, and prediction markets; the sharing economy, blockchain and economic impacts; and regulation, work, and labor in the sharing economy. The MBA program, course design, course materials, and assignments are described. Faculty at institutions interested in combating a ‘silo’ approach in the design and delivery of MBA programs and university instruction generally may wish to adopt the approach described in the paper

Developing an Applied, Integrated MBA Managerial Decision Making Course

Curriculum change is both difficult and necessary in Universities. The expanding role of information technologies and the increased challenges of decision making in business and society in general warrant greater coverage in Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs, but determining what to include, how to reorganize courses, and what to eliminate in the curriculum is a complex set of tasks. This article describes one solution to MBA course and curriculum redesign. An applied integrated management course on behavioral decision making was developed as part of a revision of an MBA degree program. The course is designed to encourage integrative thinking and builds on foundational coursework in economics, statistics, information systems, and organizational behavior. Details of course development and a course project are discussed. In general, student feedback on the course is positive

Demographics, Experience, and Perceptions of Information Quality on the World Wide Web

Little empirical research on users’ perceptions of the information quality of the World Wide Web has been conducted. This study examines users’ perceptions of the quality of information found on the World Wide Web. The effect of demographic differences (age, gender, and education) and differences in experience (computer experience, Internet experience, experience conducting research using the Internet, and work experience) on users’ perceptions of the information quality of the World Wide Web are examined. Undergraduate and graduate students were surveyed using an instrument that builds on prior research by Wang and Strong (1996) identifying fifteen dimensions of data quality. Measures of demographic characteristics and experience were added to the survey. The findings will provide a basis for the development of interventions to sensitize users of the World Wide Web to information quality issues

Information Quality and Online Reputation Systems: A Preliminary Investigation

As electronic commerce developed, it became clear that buyers and sellers needed a way to evaluate the reputation of potential trade partners. Online reputation systems were developed to meet this need. More recently, online reputation systems have expanded into additional domains such as the evaluation of college professors. The study proposed here examines the characteristics of two representative online reputation systems and examines user perceptions of the information quality of the systems. Results will have implications for the design of online reputation systems and for interventions aimed at helping users understand how to best use these systems

A Retrospective and Prospective Perspective on the Journal of the Midwest Association for Information Systems

The Journal of the Midwest Association for Information Systems has published two issues per year from 2015 through 2023. The open access journal has fostered research and teaching on information systems and information technology in the Midwest through its openness to a variety of research methodologies, topics, and perspectives. Special issues on health information systems and information security, privacy, and ethics have been published along with several manuscripts on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Midwest businesses and universities. The journal will continue to focus on information systems and information technology research focused on the Midwest and beyond while encouraging additional special issues and research on leading edge topics of interest to scholars and business practitioners

The Future of Work, Physical Location of Workers, Technological Issues and Implications

The 2019 Pandemic drastically changed many aspects of work including where and how the work gets done. Many individuals and organizations modified their work location and how they accomplish various tasks relying a lot more on information and communication technologies than ever before. As the pandemic eased, organizations and individuals revisited the nature and location of work. Based on what we have seen so far and the published literature, it is likely that the future of work for many workers is different than before the pandemic. Rapid technological innovations and adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) types of platforms are also having major impacts on how some tasks will be performed. In this editorial, based on our literature review, personal experience and observations, we will describe what we expect to see for the foreseeable future. We will also address implications of our findings for institutions of higher education