Information sharing as enabler for the virtual team: an experimental approach to assessing the role of electronic mail in disintermediation

This paper is an attempt to document empirically the relation between information sharing accomplished via electronic mail and the performance of teams. We report on an experimental study of the role of electronic mail in the operation of supply chains. A variation of the well known ‘Beer Game’ role-playing simulation game was computerized and implemented in an internet-based environment to study the information-sharing behaviour of teams. A total of 76 teams of four players each competed to achieve best net team profit. Results of the simulation game permit a detailed examination of email use in an organizational context. Findings indicate the expected significant correlation between email use to share information up the supply chain and net team profit. In other words, sharing information in the team has a positive impact on performance. The recorded behaviour of managers in the online simulation indicates that team members use electronic mail successfully to attempt disintermediation of the supply chain. When information is shared online, teams perform significantly better.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72054/1/j.1365-2575.2003.00149.x.pd

The Subjective Value of Information: Trading expertise vs. content, copies vs. originals in E-Business

What is the subjective value assigned to information? Is the subjective value of information similar to the realistic or normative value, or are there deviations introduced by human processing, the framing of the information source, or the external qualities of packaging and ownership of the information? Do people assess information as having the same value when offered the chance to sell it (Willingness to Accept, WTA) as when facing the need to buy it (Willingness to Purchase, WTP)? This is an empirical, experimental investigation of the effects of expertise vs. content, and copy vs. exclusive original packaging of information on the WTA/WTP ratio. In an animated computer simulation of a business game players maximize their profits by making choices regarding inventory and prices. Participants were also offered the chance to bid in trade (buy or sell) information regarding the weather that may affect demand. We find, as hypothesized, that the subjective value of information does indeed follow the predictions of Endowment Effect theory. Participants revealed a ratio of Willingness to Accept to Willingness to Purchase (WTA/WTP) that resembles the ratio common in the case of private goods. In the decisions, choices and performance recorded for the 294 subjects, we also found support for the hypothesis that the WTA/WTP diverges from unity more often and in a more pronounced manner for information traded in the “original” form rather than as a copy of the original, although even for copies the WTA/WTP ratio is still double. Results yield a value of about three for the WTA/WTP ratio for original information regardless of whether the source is content or expertise. Valuations of content and expertise did not diverge. However, the source of information can be manipulated by system design to become more salient. Copy information received a subjective value which was significantly different (lower) than original information. Implications for both online trading and online sharing of information are discussed

Quantifying the skewed distribution of activity in virtual communities within a longitudinal study

Virtual Communities (ViCs) are subject of interest for quite some time now [Hagel and Armstrong, 1997, Garton, et al., 1997, Rheingold, 1993]. Recently, ViCs in the form of Social Network Services like MySpace or StudiVz received a lot of attention. Though, fairly little is known about the temporal evolution of virtual communities and the changes in the communication activity of its users. The research described here is an explorative study examining the communication activity of members of two virtual communities on a longitudinal basis. For that purpose, a graph theoretical model by Pennock et al. [2002] is used which unites “Random Network Theory” and “Scale-free Networks”. This model allows the operationalization of the empirical distribution functions of the communication activity in ViCs with only one free parameter. That parameter – the mixing factor α – represents the ratio between the antagonists heterogeneity and homogeneity. The nonlinear curve fitting of the empirical distribution functions shows a predominance of preferential over uniform binding in both communities. Participants prefer to communicate with community members having already a lot of communication partners, while members with low activity are less attractive. This phenomenon is less strong in the smaller ViC B. The members of ViC B have almost twice as many connections as those of ViC A. ViC B represent a tighter network which might lead to the more homogeneous distribution of its activity. In both communities the mixing factor α and therefore the level of heterogeneity shows quite stable over time

Experimental Investigation of the Subjective Value of Information in Trading

Subjective judgments regarding information are important for the design of information systems. This study examines the endowment effect in the context of evaluating information. Theoretically, value judgments that affect the demand for information are influenced by ownership rights, a phenomenon known as the endowment effect in trading situations. In a simple computer simulated business game, 31 participants conducted a management task in which they were provided opportunities to buy or sell information. The bidding mechanism was incentive compatible. Results show that, in agreement with endowment effect theory, people value information they own much more than information they do not own. This portends undertrading in information. Therefore, the subjective value of information should be considered in the design of systems. Our findings indicate a place for the subjective value of information on the WTA/WTP ratio continuum that emerges from pertinent literature. The ratio for information is similar to that of market goods. Participants had a strong inclination to purchase but not to sell information even though the profit data suggests that the use of information had no objective benefit. This preference is attributed to risk aversion rather than to loss aversion, which is the most widely accepted explanation of the endowment effect. The subjective value of information can, therefore, be affected by system design

Lessons from Implementation of a Web Site for the Israeli Citizen\u27s Advice Bureau

Web-based services for the public raise some questions regarding the interaction between technology and social contexts in the public sector: Can the internet be harnessed to affect the flow of information from bureaucracy to the citizenry, making it two way rather than one? Are internet services just for yuppies? Will such services be just in English? Should public services on the internet expect to change linguistically, organizationally, conceptually, in response to the audiences they expect to serve? This paper, in an attempt to address such questions, presents a case study, about the web site of The Israeli Citizen Advice Bureau, a government agency that provides the public with information about rights, social benefits, government services, and civil obligations

\u27Friends Group\u27 in Recommender Systems: Effects of User Involvement in the Formation of Recommending Groups

How can we improve the acceptance of recommendations in collaborative systems? The group identity of recommenders and recipient involvement in group formation impacts on the likelihood that users of social collaborative systems would accept recommendations provided on it. We introduce the term \u27friends group\u27 to describe a sub-group of the \u27neighbors group\u27 in recommender systems that is not solely rank-dependent, as opposed to \u27neighbors\u27 that are assigned by rating similarity. The \u27friends group\u27 is unique because of the user\u27s involvement in its formation and the user\u27s ability to choose the characteristics of its members. The latter aspect corresponds to Festinger\u27s Social Comparison Theory , suggesting that \u27neighbors\u27 (like-minded groups) are relevant for \u27low-risk\u27 domains whereas similarity-based \u27friends\u27 are more relevant for \u27high-risk\u27 domains. We conducted a two year field study, using QSIA, a Web-based Java-programmed collaborative system for collection, management, sharing and assignment of learning knowledge items. QSIA was implemented in over ten courses in several universities. QSIA database and logs contained approximately 31,000 records of items-seeking acts, 3,000 users, 10,000 items, 3,000 rankings and knowledge items from 30 domains. We found that the difference between acceptance and rejection ratios of recommendations when the items originated from an advising group comprised of \u27friends\u27, is significantly higher than when the advising group is the more commonly known \u27neighbors group\u27. The difference increases for frequently recommended as opposed to other items and for experienced as opposed to \u27average\u27 users. Our longitudinal analysis indicates a positive learning curve for experienced users, who, over time, increasingly preferred \u27friends group\u27 over \u27neighbors group\u27 as their experience with the system increases. Also, users chose their own group to participate in the advising group significantly more than other groups. The contribution of this study is in explicating the relationship between the perceived quality of the recommendation (measured in terms of usage actions ), and the user\u27s involvement in the formation of the advising group. The major implication of our findings for the development of recommender systems is the need to enhance involvement of recommendation seekers in the process of forming the advising group. Developers of recommender systems should consider increasing users\u27 control over relevant characteristics of the members of this group

Relational and Attributive Activity in Virtual Communities

Although Virtual Communities (ViCs) have been considered as an important e-commerce instrument, little is known about their evolution and the changes in the communication activity of its users. A frequent finding is that a small number of the participants is responsible for the majority of messages and, in contrast, a large portion of the users only write one or a few message(s). This discrepancy deserves more attention. In this paper, the heterogeneity of the communication activity is examined longitudinally on the basis of the graph-theoretical models "Random Network Theory" and "Scale-free Networks". The fusion of these two models allows operationalization of the heterogeneity of the relational as well as the attributive communication activity in ViCs. The adjustment of the empirical distribution functions of the examined ViCs to this model shows a predominance of preferential over uniform binding. This "rich get richer phenomenon" proves temporally stable and leads to the emergence of heterogeneity of the member's activities. We conclude that instead of stimulating all participants, it appears to be more promising to address the lead users as a main target. Their attachments to other users may be utilized in a positive and amplifying way in order increase a community's communication activity

Coping Strategies for Youth Suffering from Online Interpersonal Rejection

The Internet and social media have rapidly changed our lives, and are profoundly affecting the social lives of adolescents, expanding and enriching their communication options. At the same time, they often operate as a platform that amplifies the real-world phenomenon of interpersonal rejection – a harsh and excruciating experience. In this study, we will examine, youth\u27s coping methods with online social rejection from a psycho-social perspective. To achieve this objective, a data-based heuristic model was developed, based on in-depth interviews with 19 adolescents from Israel who experienced online rejection. The findings show several coping strategies ranging from adaptive to maladaptive online and offline used interchangeably

Tailoring a Points Scoring Mechanism for Crowd-Based Knowledge Pooling

We address the design of point scoring mechanisms in games for crowds, to promote user motivations to contribute knowledge. We measure the effectiveness of the scoring mechanism on users’ performance across three types of crowd: general public, students in their field of study, general students. The conditions were: reward-free games (control group) and two reward-based systems differing in the algorithm applied (linear y=3x vs. exponential y=6ex). Results support the importance of the mathematical function of scores assignment as a motivator for knowledge contribution, and indicate that the effect of the scoring mechanism design should be tailored according to the type of crowd. These findings provide insights for designers of gamified systems on how to improve knowledge contributions in crowd-based systems

How interactive is a semantic network ? Concept maps and discourse in knowledge communities

Computer-mediated learning needs to be social too. Interactivity is a central construct for collaborative knowledge construction in online communities. We present an operationalized framework for measuring interactivity in online discussions, based on our view of interactivity as a socio-constructivist process. We hypothesize that the traditional design for online discussion platforms, with linear, chronologically threaded forums and bulletin boards, would result in less interactive behavioral patterns. We propose a semantic network topology to online discussions, which in turn reflects a social constructivist process. To that end, we developed Ligilo, an online discussion platform. Here, each discussion contribution and content item is expressed as a node in a semantic network of posts. We describe a field study comparing interactivity using threaded-based discussion and Ligilo's semantic, networked based discussion. Initial results indicate higher interactivity in content creation patterns, suggesting learning, motivation and sustainability for discussion and community