IS Continuance in Experiential Computing Contexts: Linking Rational and Non-rational Behaviors through Technology Associability

The IS literature currently explains continuous-use of IT as a post-adoptive behavior driven by rational cognitive beliefs or non-rational affective/automatic responses. Yet the use contexts, IT artifact characteristics, and the notion of the IT user, underlying the current thinking have evolved. We are in a so-called experiential computing paradigm where computing capabilities have become so deeply embedded in everyday life experiences that IT artifacts have become an extension of the human self, closely tied to the personal behaviors and preferences of users. In this empirical context, new continuance behaviors are emerging for which the current literature falls short in explanation. We have just begun a program of study to address this issue. In the summer paper reported here, we build on previous work in IS and draw from theories of self-identity and stereotypes in social psychology to introduce the concept of IT Associability, and argue that it plays a central role in explaining and predicting continuous-use in experiential computing contexts. Our concept of IT associability taps the social and relational characteristics of an IT to theorize how user attachment to an IT they currently use may significantly influence their decisions concerning future versions of the IT. We attempt, through this perspective, to bridge the gap between rational and non-rational theories by offering a novel yet complementary lens for exploring other processes shaping continuous-use of everyday IT artifacts. We present preliminary validated items for measuring IT associability. Some implications for managing the blurring lines between organizational and personal IT use at the workplace are also discussed

Converting Pirates through Participative Schemes for Digital Goods: Exploring “Pay What You Want” and Persuasive Computing in Online Music

This study looks at how social factors can be leveraged to dissuade online piracy in digital This study leverage persuasive computing to influence consumers\u27 decision making process regarding their acquisition of online music and seeks to identify how different persuasive techniques can, in a pay way you want context, anchor the consumers\u27 reference price to an amount significantly different from 0

Encouraging Sustainable Energy Use in the Office with Persuasive Mobile Information Systems

Faced with growing pressures to be more environmentally sustainable, many companies are increasingly exploring innovative ways to incorporate “green” practices into their business processes. We focus on employees and their potential contributions to organization-wide sustainability goals through their pro-environmental behaviours. This article reports on current progress with a multi-year study targeting the use of mobile media to encourage pro-environmental behaviours. To do so, we provide employees with feedback on their computer-based energy usage. We discuss our combined design science and experimental approach to developing and studying a mobile application with embedded persuasive characteristics. Our future interventions will use this persuasive media platform to examine the impact of social-psychological theories on encouraging more sustainable energy use by employees

Digital Innovation, Platform Orientation and the Performance of IT Startups

Digital innovation has become a central focus of information technology (IT) entrepreneuship. At the same time, digital platform business models and networked markets are widely recognized as key factor behind many big technology companies. Yet, the literature is dominated by a focus on big and successful platform business, whereas little attention is paid to the platform startups that fail. In this on-going study, we aim to understand how digital innovation and platform orientation improve IT startup performance. We draw from theories in innovation, digital platforms and dynamic capabilities to theorize the independent and joint effect of digital innovation and platform orientation on likelihood of a startup survival. Overall, the potential contribution lies in how our design allows presenting the first evidence that pursuing digital innovations may not be enough for IT startups to survive, and going further to delineate the conditions under which platform startups may survive and remain profitable

Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter

Fake news on social media has engulfed the world of politics in recent years and is now posing the same threat in other areas, such as corporate social responsibility communications. This study examines this phenomenon in the context of firms’ deceptive communications concerning environmental sustainability, usually referred to as greenwashing. We first develop and validate a new method for automatically identifying greenwashing, using linguistic cues in a sample of tweets from a diverse set of firms in two highly polluting industries. We then examine the relationship between greenwashing and financial market performance for the firms in our sample. Prior research has identified these issues as some of the most important gaps in the extant literature. By addressing them, we make several important contributions to corporate sustainability research and practice, as well as introducing notable improvements to automatic greenwashing detection methods

Tracing the Next-Generation Platform Firm: A Typology of Digital Platforms as New Organizing Forms

Despite dramatic growth in multidisciplinary research on platforms over the past two decades, epistemological differences have hindered progress toward a coherent theory of what are digital platform organizations and how they quickly disrupt and dominate traditional organizations, threatening their cognitive legitimacy as new organizing forms. This paper examines how organizational rules, norms, routines and practices embedded in social and structural properties give different types of platforms their distinct organizational identities. We present a theory that proposes a typology of digital platforms and lays the foundation for predicting the next generation of digital platform organizations and their potential as disruptive competitive forces in the digital economy. We discuss several emerging questions to stimulate new research streams on digital platforms

Social Connectedness and Leadership in Online Communities

This study investigates how social behaviors and structural factors influence democratic selection of leaders in online communities. We draw on psychological and political theories of voting behavior to develop an integrated framework. We study this framework in the Wikipedia Request for Adminship promotion—a process by which any registered member of Wikipedia can contest for elections. Using social network and semantic analysis of the deliberation process, we identify whether successful leaders occupy unique structural positions and engage in strategic social behaviors compared to unsuccessful candidates. We find that the most influential determinant of democratic online leadership is structural capital in the community’s core activity, but being socially connected to individual community members and within the broader community overall are also important. Candidates who are low on structural capital can mitigate their unfavorable position by cultivating high social connectedness. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings

Asymmetric investments in exchange relationships, perceived supplier shirking and cross-functional information sharing as a moderator

Purpose: With asymmetric investments in exchange (i.e. sourcing) relationships, both sourcing firms and suppliers invest but one party invests more than the other. This paper aims to examine the associations between asymmetric (i.e. unequal) investments in exchange relationships and the tendency of the strategic supplier base to shirk as perceived by the sourcing firm, as well as the moderation effects of cross-functional information sharing within a sourcing firm on these associations. Design/methodology/approach: The authors analyzed survey data from 500 US middle-market manufacturers via ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation. Besides appropriate controls, the authors also employed the heteroskedasticity-based instrumental variable approach to ensure that analytical inferences are not influenced by endogeneity. Findings: On average, when a sourcing firm invests more than its strategic supplier base into their exchange relationships, the perceived tendency of the strategic supplier base to shirk decreases. This negative association is more pronounced when a sourcing firm facilitates cross-functional information sharing. Conversely, when the strategic supplier base invests more than the sourcing firm into their exchange relationships, the perceived tendency of the strategic supply base to shirk is not detected unless the sourcing firm facilitates cross-functional information sharing. Originality/value: Prior research reveals that investments by a sourcing firm or by suppliers influence supplier shirking. This paper provides new evidence as to how and why asymmetric investments in exchange relationships relate to the perceived tendency of the strategic supplier base to shirk and new evidence as to how and why cross-functional information sharing safeguards against this tendency when investments in exchange relationships are unequal