A Cross-cultural Perspective of Information Security Collective Efficacy

Since Bandura’s proposal of self-efficacy, studies have explained behavioral motivations at the individual level. However, little is known concerning self-efficacy’s applicability at the group level in the information systems security (InfoSec) domain. Also, despite extensive cross-cultural analyses at the individual level, works at a group level are still in infancy. We, therefore, define InfoSec self-efficacy as a group-level construct and examine its impact on InfoSec vulnerability from cross-cultural perspectives. We draw on interdependent security and separate InfoSec vulnerability into vulnerability from self and partners. The goal is fourfold: (i) proposing InfoSec collective efficacy as a cultural construct, (ii) modeling relationships among InfoSec collective efficacy, InfoSec vulnerability, vulnerability from partners, and InfoSec control awareness from cross-cultural perspectives, (iii) validating the model using data collected from executive-level IS managers in the US and South Korea, and (iv) providing implications for IS managers operating in multinational businesses

Spillover in Sharing Economies: Network Effect of Bike-sharing Services on Home-sharing Performance

Bike-sharing provides a convenient transportation layer with its inter-connected bike station network. However, the economic value spilled by the network is unknown. This study fills this gap by empirically connecting two separate yet interrelated sharing services: bike-sharing and home-sharing. Using data from CitiBike and Airbnb, the study conducts a difference-in-difference analysis to examine the effect of new bike-sharing entries on local home-sharing performance. The results show that new bike-sharing entries increase nearby Airbnb properties’ monthly revenue by $127 (9.59$1.41 (per reachable station), $0.27 (per second saved), and$17.36 (per dollar saved). The study also uncovers the moderating effect of first/last mile connection and property luxuriousness. Our findings have important implications for both bike-sharing network design and home-sharing marketing

Uncertainty-reduction or reciprocity? Understanding the effects of a platform-initiated reviewer incentive program on regular review generation

To stimulate product reviews, many e-commerce platforms have launched reviewer incentive programs in which free product samples are provided to reviewers in exchange for their ratings of the samples. This study focuses on an unexplored aspect of reviewer incentive programs—the impact of participating in such programs on reviewers’ ratings of products they purchased normally (i.e., regular ratings). We find that after reviewers join the program and receive free product samples, their average regular rating increases by 2.25% (i.e., 0.093 more stars on the five-star scale). Our follow-up analyses indicate that the observed regular-rating increase can be attributed to an uncertainty-reduction effect evoked by the free product samples, as opposed to a reciprocity effect. We further delve into the underlying mechanism by analyzing the reviewers’ regular ratings at a granular, product-category level. Consistent with our theorization of the uncertainty-reduction effect, our findings reveal that reviewers’ regular-rating increase is driven by improved assessment and knowledge about products sharing common attributes with the sampled products, resulting in better post-purchase outcomes. Our results demonstrate that apart from motivating the feedback for the sampled products, free product sampling can reduce reviewers’ product uncertainty and trigger evident change in their regular ratings for the purchased products.First author draf

Atom transfer radical polymerization: Fundamentals, challenges, and application

Various aspects of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) were investigated. In an attempt to find a novel catalyst system for ATRP, we screened the activities of various metal complexes using a combinatorial approach. Several new catalyst systems including FeCl2/bam(TMS) were found to be active ATRP catalysts in the polymerization of styrene and MMA. In order to make this combinatorial screening a viable method of quickly discovering usable systems, we tried to find a fast and reliable method to evaluate the catalysts. A parameter estimation method based on nonlinear regression was developed to evaluate various catalyst systems by determining kinetic parameters of polymerization. From our model system considering small molecular atom transfer addition reaction, we found that equilibrium constant of atom transfer reaction could be successfully estimated. A new model dealing polymerization itself was also developed, and we could demonstrate that each values of activation and deactivation reaction rate constant can be estimated unambiguously. On screening the catalyst systems for ATRP, we found some titanium complexes gave a control in the polymerization of styrene without the aid of Group I–III cocatalysts. A series of experiments to elucidate the mechanism of polymerization all support that radical mechanism is involved in the polymerization using bis-(cyclopentadienyl)titanium dichloride. A possibility of ATRP mechanism was checked by isolating intermediate species. It is found that the polymerization is not followed the pure ATRP pathway, but is comprised of various competing reactions. Several strategies has been developed to prepare polymers having higher order structure including branched, hyperbranched, star, and dendrigrafts. The combination of nitroxide mediated SFRP and ATRP techniques successfully provided relatively simple routes to from branched and hyperbranched polymers in controlled structures. To overcome this limitation of backbone polymer prepared by SFRP, a new strategy using protection-deprotection chemistry was employed. Among the various protected monomers tested, we could prepare branched polystyrene having controlled structure using VBt-BOC and 4-methyl styrene. As an example of diversity of this strategy, we also could prepare the branched acrylate polymer having controlled structure

Platform or Wholesale? A Strategic Tool for Online Retailers to Benefit from Third-Party Information

Online retailing is dominated by a channel structure in which a retailer either buys products from competing manufacturers and resells to consumers (wholesale scheme) or lets manufacturers sell directly to consumers on its platform for a commission (platform scheme). Easy access to publicly available third-party information such as product reviews that facilitate consumers’ purchase decisions is another distinctive and ubiquitous characteristic of online retailing. We show that retailers can use the upstream pricing scheme, wholesale or platform, as a strategic tool to benefit from third-party information. Information on the quality dimension homogenizes consumers’ perceived utility differences between competing products and increases the upstream competition, which benefits the wholesale-based retailer but hurts the platform-based retailer. Information on the fit dimension, in constrast, heterogenizes consumers’ estimated fits to the products and softens the upstream competition, which hurts the wholesale-based retailer but benefits the platform-based retailer. Consequently, when the precision of the third-party information is high (low), a retailer can benefit from third-party information by adopting the wholesale (platform) scheme if the quality dimension plays a dominant role and by adopting the platform (wholesale) scheme if the fit dimension is dominant. Furthermore, the effect of precision improvement on the retailer’s profit depends on the pricing-scheme choice and the relative importance of quality and fit attributes in consumers’ evaluations of products. For instance, when the fit dimension is dominant, increasing the precision can hurt the wholesale-based retailer but benefit the platform-based retailer

Platform or Wholesale: Different Effects on Retailers of Online Product Reviews

We study the effect of online product reviews on an online retailer under traditional wholesale-scheme and emergent platform-scheme when retailer carries two substitutable products produced by different manufacturers. Products differ in both qualities and fits to consumers\u27 needs. Reviews provide information for consumers to mitigate uncertainty about product’s quality and fit to consumers\u27 needs. We find that quality information homogenizes consumers\u27 utility differences between products and increases upstream competition, which drives down wholesale prices and always benefits retailer under wholesale-scheme whereas lowers manufacturers\u27 revenues and hurts the retailer under platform-scheme. Fit information heterogenizes consumers\u27 estimated fits to products and softens upstream competition, which pushes up wholesale prices and hurts the retailer under wholesale-scheme, whereas increases manufacturers\u27 revenues and benefits the retailer under platform-scheme. We demonstrate quality and fit information play very different roles in changing upstream competition, and whether retailer benefits from reviews critically depends on its pricing scheme choice

What Makes an IT Project Successful?

The apt management of IT human resources is a decisive factor for IT project success. Our paper first reviews the interplay of the technical qualifications of a project team’s individual members before adopting the concepts of domain knowledge and technology knowledge to study how task assignment and IT workforce training contribute to a project’s optimum realization. We use both internal and customer satisfaction evaluations to gauge project success. Our pilot study establishes that when interpersonal diversity in individuals’ technical knowledge increases, the team is less likely to achieve good results; it also demonstrates that project manager/team member cohesiveness in domain knowledge improves project performance. We also examine the impact of individuals’ qualifications on project life cycles before analyzing training programs that would increase the likelihood of project success. We hope this research provides actionable insights for better project management and execution and more efficient allocation of limited IT human resources

The Spillover Effects of User-Generated Online Product Reviews on Purchases: Evidence from Clickstream Data

We analyze the spillover effect of online product reviews on purchases using a clickstream data from a large retailer by investigating (a) whether the products are complementary/substitutive; (b) whether the products are from the same or a different brand, and (c) which media channel (mobile or PC) is used. To identify complementary/substitutive products, we used a text-mining approach of topic modeling on product descriptions to quantify functional similarity of pairwise products. Our empirical analysis shows that the mean rating of online reviews of substitutive products has a negative role in purchasing, while the rating of complementary products has a positive role. Also, we find the negative spillover effect among substitutive products of different brands to be significantly greater than those of the same brand and for consumers who used mobile devices versus traditional PCs. Our study has implications on leveraging the spillover effect of online product reviews on substitutive/complementary products

Colorless and Transparent Copolyimides and Their Nanocomposites: Thermo-Optical Properties, Morphologies, and Gas Permeabilities

A series of linear aromatic copolyimides (Co-PIs) were synthesized by reacting 4,4′-biphthalic anhydride (BPA) with various molar contents of 2,2′-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzidine (TFB) and p-xylylenediamine (p-XDA) in N,N′-dimethylacetamide (DMAc). Co-PI films were fabricated by solution casting and thermal imidization with poly(amic acid) (PAA) on glass plates. The thermo-optical properties and gas permeabilities of Co-PI films composed of various molar ratios of p-XDA (0.2–1.0 relative to BPA) were investigated. Thermal properties were observed to deteriorate with increasing p-XDA concentration. However, oxygen-transmission rates (O2TRs) and optical transparencies improved with increasing p-XDA concentration. Co-PI hybrids with a 1:0.2:0.8 molar ratio of BPA:TFB:p-XDA and organically modified hectorite (STN) were prepared by the in situ intercalation method. The morphologies and the thermo-optical and gas permeation properties of the hybrids were examined as functions of STN loading (5–50 wt %). XRD and TEM revealed substantial increases in clay particle agglomeration in the Co-PI hybrid films as the clay loading was increased from 5 to 50 wt %. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and the O2TR of a Co-PI hybrid film were observed to improve with increasing STN concentration; however, its optical transparency decreased gradually with increasing STN concentration