A Conceptual Model for IT Work Autonomy

Autonomy is considered an important predecessor of job-related outcomes such as job satisfaction, job motivation, and work-life-balance. Although widely used in information systems (IS) research, most studies ignore its multi-dimensional nature and technology-related facets related to autonomy. This study contributes to existing literature by proposing IT work autonomy as a rich conceptualization that includes three existing dimensions of autonomy (work method autonomy, work scheduling autonomy, and work criteria autonomy) and a new technology-related dimension (i.e., work instrument autonomy). A conceptual model is proposed and discussed. For IS theory, conceptualizing IT work autonomy promises to enlighten future research that seeks to explore work-related phenomena. Moreover, this new conceptualization has the potential to guide organizations in designing future jobs

EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGICAL OWNERSHIP OF IT: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Psychological ownership of Information Technology (POIT) is becoming an increasingly relevant phenomenon in theory and practice since privately-owned consumer technologies and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) strategies effectively shaping today’s workplaces. While Information Systems (IS) research is in the beginning to explore POIT, the full complexity of the ownership phenomenon has not yet been understood. Here, we draw on psychological ownership theory to propose an extended view on POIT. Choosing a grounded theory methodology, we gathered original data (20 expert interviews, 5 and more years of work experience) and discovered “Appreciation of Technology” as a key characteristic of psychological ownership which has not been considered so far. Additionally, we identified three new antecedents (“Freedom of Choice”, “Multi-Context Use” and “Surveillance”) and one new effect (“Exception Handling”) of psychological ownership of IT. Along with previous studies, our extended view provides a new lens through which ownership and technology acceptance can be viewed and BYOD phenomena better understood. Based on these new insights, we derive several implications for theory and practice

Perpetrators in League of Legends: Scale Development and Validation of Toxic Behavior

Toxic behavior (TB) – a form of releasing frustration and anger in a detrimental way – is a common phenomenon in online games. Despite its importance, a validated questionnaire measuring TB is yet missing. In this paper, we apply a comprehensive procedure for scale development by using two difference sources of items. In the first one, the item pool is adapted from an existing scale. In the second one, the act frequency approach is applied to generate a pool of items. We evaluated both scales based on survey data from 380 online gamers. Both instruments are juxtaposed based on their psychometric properties. The results indicate that the adapted scale performs better in the context of our study than the scale generated from the act frequency approach and is, thus, the preferable choice. With a validated measurement scale in place, we discuss how future research can benefit from the TB scale proposed here

Maturing, Flagshipping and Piggybacking: On the Use of Structuration Theory in Information Systems Research

The debate on structure and agency has a long-standing tradition in the social sciences. Developed by the British sociologist Anthony Giddens, Structuration Theory proposed the duality of structure , the notion that structure and agency are inseparable in practice. Information Systems (IS) researchers have developed IS-specific adaptations of Giddens\u27s ideas. We add to previous reviews on the use of Structuration Theory in IS by focusing on the adoption of individual concepts set forth by the theory and its IS adaptations. Based on our analysis of references to these concepts in the major journals and conferences we argue that the use of Structuration Theory in IS has matured over the past decade. We also find that some structurational concepts are frequently used as flagships and in combination ( piggybacked ). Finally, we plead in favor of a more widespread use of agency as a fundamental concept of Giddens\u27s theory

Mind Wandering in Information Technology Use:Scale Development and CrossValidation

Because our minds frequently drift away, an investigation into mind wandering while using information technology (IT) is critical. Despite growing interest in mind-wandering episodes in various domains, the discipline of Information Systems (IS) still lacks a validated measurement instrument that can account for the technology-related facets of the phenomenon. Our work addresses this gap and presents the results of a comprehensively developed scale that is specifically designed for IS scenarios. Using existing literature and the results of a pilot study (N = 35), a field study (N = 364), and a cross-validation sample (N = 336), we developed a new instrument that allows mind wandering while using technology to be measured either as a state (MWS) or as a trait with two subtypes (MWT-D: deliberate, and MWT-S: spontaneous). Whereas MWS captures a momentary mental state or a sequence of mental states that arise relatively freely while using technology in a given moment, MWT-D and MWT-S capture either intentional or unintentional, internally focused thoughts in technology-related settings in everyday life. Our scale is well suited to support future research to investigate the effects of mind wandering in technology-related settings and to study its implications for IS-relevant dependent variables, such as task performance and creativity.</p

Show Your Face! Investigating the Relationship Between Human Faces and Music’s Success

Streaming services are becoming the primary source for media consumption. Particularly platforms like SoundCloud, where users can disseminate user-generated content (UGC), are gaining relevance. To shed light into the drivers which positively influence the number of listeners, we draw from marketing literature related to depictions of people, which suggests that human faces can contribute to a higher degree of brand liking or brand identification. Thereupon, we propose a hypothesis which suggests that human faces on cover arts likewise generate more plays. We follow a data science approach using 1754 observations from SoundCloud and apply Google’s facial recognition API (Vision AI) to examine the impact of human faces on music’s success. We provide initial evidence that tracks with a human-face cover art yield in a higher number of plays compared to tracks with a cover art without a human face

Die Touristenführer bei den Dogon

Die Dogon sind eine kleine, akephale, in Dorfgemeinschaften und Großfamilien unterteilte Gesellschaft von ca. 300.000 Mitgliedern, die am südlichen Rande des Sahel ganz im Osten Zentralmalis siedelt. Die Großfamilie ist patrilinear sowie patrilokal organisiert und in acht Altersklassen gegliedert. Der Dorfalltag wird von einer strikten Trennung der Geschlechter bestimmt. Anfangs angelockt durch ethnographische Berichte der französischen Ethnologen um Marcel Griaule, später durch Filme und Reportagen, besuchen jedes Jahr Zehntausende von reisehungrigen Alternativ- und Bildungstouristen das Land der Dogon. Es empfängt sie eine pittoreske Felslandschaft voll exotischer, kultureller Vielfalt und geheimnisvoller Authentizität, die von der UNESCO 1989 in das Verzeichnis des Weltkulturerbes und Weltnaturerbes aufgenommen wird. In Folge des anwachsenden Tourismus hat sich im Laufe der letzten vier Jahrzehnte ein neuer Berufstand herausgebildet, die Touristenführer. Im Rahmen der Lehrforschung Mali des Instituts für Historische Ethnologie der Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Universität Frankfurt werden während zweier Forschungsaufenthalte im Sommer 2006 und im Oktober 2007 in verschiedenen Dörfern an der Falaise von Bandiagara Touristenführer und Dorfbewohner mehrerer Generationen interviewt. So werden Guides befragt, die ihren Beruf bereits seit Beginn des Tourismus in den 1960ern ausüben – bzw. ausgeübt haben. Damals besuchen nur einige Hundert, meist ethnologisch interessierte Touristen das Pays Dogon. Die Mehrzahl der Gesprächspartner beginnt in den 80er und 90er Jahren des vorherigen Jahrhunderts mit der guidage der ausländischen Gäste. Ebenfalls interviewt werden junge Guides, die erst seit wenigen Jahren Touristenführer sind. Aus den Interwiews ergibt sich ein vielfältiges Spektrum von Aussagen und Erzählungen über die Berufsfindung, den Umgang mit den fremden Besuchern, den Status eines Touristenführers bei der Dorfbevölkerung. Zentrales Element im Austausch mit den internationalen Gästen ist die eigene Kultur, die die Dogon mit Selbstbewusstsein vorzeigen und gegen das Geld der Touristen eintauschen. Und sind es normalerweise die Alten, die für die Jüngeren im Dorf und in den Familien Kultur und Tradition interpretieren, sind es im Tourismus nun die Jungen, die den fremden Gästen die eigene Gesellschaft präsentieren. Der Tourismus eröffnet der bäuerisch geprägten Dogongesellschaft einträgliche Nebentätigkeiten und –geschäfte und trägt, trotz seiner saisonalen und regionalen Begrenztheit, wesentlich zur Verbesserung der materiellen Lebensbedingungen im Pays Dogon bei. Die Einkünfte der so genannten Antiquitätenhändler, der Träger, Maskentänzer, Köche, Holzschnitzer und nicht zuletzt die der Guides werden von ihren Familien dringend benötigt. Deshalb zeigen sich die Dogon dem Tourismus meist recht positiv gegenüber und verfolgen mit großem Stolz das wachsende Interesse an ihrer Kultur. Mit den Associations des Guides haben sich erste Strukturen der Selbstorganisation etabliert, Beratungsgremien, die repräsentative Aufgaben, aber auch Kontrollfunktion haben und bei schlechter guidage sogar Sanktionen gegen ihre Mitglieder veranlassen können. Der Tourismus im Pays Dogon hat zu einem positiven Trend geführt. So konnte beispielsweise die Landflucht der jungen Leute vermindert, die Infrastrunktur verbessert und die Ausbildung – insbesondere auch die der Touristenführer – intensiviert werden

A test for multigroup comparison using partial least squares path modeling

Klesel, M., Schuberth, F., Henseler, J., & Niehaves, B. (2019). A test for multigroup comparison using partial least squares path modeling. Internet Research, 29(3), 464-477. https://doi.org/10.1108/IntR-11-2017-0418Purpose: People seem to function according to different models, which implies that in business and social sciences, heterogeneity is a rule rather than an exception. Researchers can investigate such heterogeneity through multigroup analysis (MGA). In the context of partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM), MGA is currently applied to perform multiple comparisons of parameters across groups. However, this approach has significant drawbacks: first, the whole model is not considered when comparing groups, and second, the family-wise error rate is higher than the predefined significance level when the groups are indeed homogenous, leading to incorrect conclusions. Against this background, the purpose of this paper is to present and validate new MGA tests, which are applicable in the context of PLS-PM, and to compare their efficacy to existing approaches. Design/methodology/approach: The authors propose two tests that adopt the squared Euclidean distance and the geodesic distance to compare the model-implied indicator correlation matrix across groups. The authors employ permutation to obtain the corresponding reference distribution to draw statistical inference about group differences. A Monte Carlo simulation provides insights into the sensitivity and specificity of both permutation tests and their performance, in comparison to existing approaches. Findings: Both proposed tests provide a considerable degree of statistical power. However, the test based on the geodesic distance outperforms the test based on the squared Euclidean distance in this regard. Moreover, both proposed tests lead to rejection rates close to the predefined significance level in the case of no group differences. Hence, our proposed tests are more reliable than an uncontrolled repeated comparison approach. Research limitations/implications: Current guidelines on MGA in the context of PLS-PM should be extended by applying the proposed tests in an early phase of the analysis. Beyond our initial insights, more research is required to assess the performance of the proposed tests in different situations. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the existing PLS-PM literature by proposing two new tests to assess multigroup differences. For the first time, this allows researchers to statistically compare a whole model across groups by applying a single statistical test.publishersversionpublishe

Explanation matters:An experimental study on explainable AI

Explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) is an important advance in the field of machine learning to shed light on black box algorithms and thus a promising approach to improving artificial intelligence (AI) adoption. While previous literature has already addressed the technological benefits of XAI, there has been little research on XAI from the user’s perspective. Building upon the theory of trust, we propose a model that hypothesizes that post hoc explainability (using Shapley Additive Explanations) has a significant impact on use-related variables in this context. To test our model, we designed an experiment using a randomized controlled trial design where participants compare signatures and detect forged signatures. Surprisingly, our study shows that XAI only has a small but significant impact on perceived explainability. Nevertheless, we demonstrate that a high level of perceived explainability has a strong impact on important constructs including trust and perceived usefulness. A post hoc analysis shows that hedonic factors are significantly related to perceived explainability and require more attention in future research. We conclude with important directions for academia and for organizations.</p