Improving End User Value in Information Technology Projects: Exploring The Benefits of Q-sort Analysis

The authors explore the use of Q-methodology to create more effective Information technology planning by identifying organizational sub-groups with different information technology requirements. The paper discusses the foundations of Q-Methodology and the special characteristics of the approach that deal effectively with the many subjective areas that are encountered during the development and implementation of a technology plan. A case study of an actual project that used Q-methodology is presented and discussed

The Effect of the Social Media Tools on Virtual Team Performance: The Mediating Role of Transactive Memory System Mapping with the Feature Richness

The communication tool is an important component of a virtual team, and virtual teams are highly dependent upon the communication tools for accomplishing their tasks and fulfilling their needs effectively. This research in progress builds upon the existing literature and employs the concept of feature richness of social media tools and a Transactive Memory System (TMS) approach to develop a conceptual framework for understanding the impact of social media tools on virtual team performance. Thus, a conceptual research model which postulates that TMS mediates the relationship between social media tools and virtual team performance, is developed. This research tries to establish an appropriate component-level mapping between the components of TMS construct and the feature richness factors to provide a deeper understanding about the effect of social media tools on TMS and consequently, the impact on virtual team performance

UNDERSTANDING THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN VIRTUAL TEAM CONFLICTS

Communication technology is recognized as an important component of a virtual team (VT). Communication technologies other than social media have been linked to VT conflicts by prior research. This research in progress explores using social media to see if any improvements can be made to conflicts in VTs. The researchers emphasize on the “feature richness” of social media which is understood as affordances of social media and it distinguishes social media from other commonly used communication technologies in a VT environment. The researchers theorize that “feature richness” rather than “media richness” of the communication technology can be more beneficial for a virtual team since it is hoped to simultaneously work towards reducing VT conflicts. The researchers propose a conceptual research model that contributes to understanding the mediating role that social media can play in virtual team conflicts

Examining the Effect of Social Media Tools on Virtual Team Conflicts: A Process Model

This research investigates how the use of social media tools affects virtual team conflicts. The novel concept of “feature richness”, which is understood as affordances of social media tools, is theorized. Feature richness distinguishes social media tools from other commonly used communication tools in virtual teams. The researchers propose a process model which suggests that operationally, feature richness is understood as the process nature of social media tools. The primary data was collected at corporate organizations in form of a Likert questionnaire. The research findings reveal that social media tools lead to effective communication, which encourages the development of trust, team cohesion and satisfaction in virtual teams. This further reflects in form of reduced virtual team conflicts

Towards a practice-based view of Information Systems Resilience Using the Lens of Critical Realism

Disasters, natural or otherwise, are not rare events and organizations must develop resilience as a governance mechanism for business continuity, growth, and sustainability. It is critical for organizations not only to survive after a disaster but also to bounce back. Organizational resilience has gained upward attention in recent years. This research focuses on an aspect of organizational resilience, i.e., on Information Systems (IS) resilience. This study focuses on understanding the decision making process of senior executives in context to IS resilience in large organizations. Authors present an in-depth case study of a large New Zealand organization adapting with the aftermath of crisis, as well as the lessons they learned along the way. The case study vividly follows dramaturgical guidelines as prescribed by Myers and Newman. The paper shares some important lessons learned by the organization and also proposes a model for IS resilience planning and decision making in light of a strategy-implementation bicycle and causal model to understand decision-makers’ perspective to understand decision priorities

Organisational IS Resilience: a pilot study using Q-methodology

Organisational resilience has gained increasing attention in recent years. This paper focuses on an aspect of organisational resilience, i.e., on IS resilience. Given the potentially devastating implications of disruptions to organisations, understanding the dynamics of the successful adaption of IS within organisations indicates an important avenue for future research. In this paper, we adopt Agency theory to develop a conceptual framework, focused on decision making and planning for IS resilience. Concourse theory and Q-methodology were used to develop a Q-sort questionnaire, which was refined through interviews with researchers and IS professionals. The resulting 38 statements were then sorted by eight managers. Q-sort methodology identified three types from the data, each representing distinct collective perspectives. These types are described and discussed, along with implications of findings as well as suggestions for future research

Transfer of electronic commerce trust between brick-and-mortar and online business environments

Through experimentation, we establish a causal relationship between trust and the expansion of a retailer from online to brick-and-mortar and vice versa. Trust is multidimensional and contingent on the distribution path first chosen. Vendor trustworthiness (knowledge-based) and technological trustworthiness (institution-based) have different effects depending on the initial and new distribution channel. Expanding from brick-and-mortar to online negatively affects technology-based trust, while transfers from an online to a physical location maintain the same level of technology-based trust. Vendor-based trust is positively affected by transfer from online to the brick-and-mortar location, and is not significantly unaffected by transfers from brick and-mortar to online locations. The perceived “permanence” of a physical location influences consumer beliefs about the location’s trustworthiness

AN INVESTIGATION INTO ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING IMPLEMENTATION SUCCESS: EVIDENCE FROM PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS

Enterprise resource planning systems are adopted to improve productivity and overall business performance in organizations. Implementation of these systems requires considerable financial and labour investment and therefore, the managers must understand the benefits of the system and the aspects of the system which need improvement. An approach to evaluate and track an ERP system’s success in corporate organizations is therefore, important. In this study, the success of ERP system is measured through the Ifinedo model and a comparison between private and public organizations is made. Interviews conducted by the researchers introduce factors influencing ERP implementation success in organizations. In addition, to understand why some organizations have achieved more ERP success than others, questionnaire responses to some identified critical success factors for ERP implementation are analyzed

A Comparative Study of the Effect of Blogs and Email on Virtual Team Performance

Virtual Teams (VTs) offer great advantages but have different challenges compared with co-located teams. This study explores using blogs and email to see if improvements can be made to virtual team effectiveness. This preliminary study is qualitative in nature and uses a quasi-experiment to compare 2 teams performing the same project; one uses email while the other uses a blog tool. Once the project was complete the participants filled out a Q-sort and a short survey. Additional analysis of the artefacts generated by the experiments also form part of the result set. The key benefits of using the blog were hoped to be; increase team trust, increase team performance and output, increase team satisfaction and realise a communication tool that could be used in a virtual team environment. The main findings were; the qualities of the output deliverable from both teams were nearly the same; those using the blog reported ‘having a sense of fun’ and ‘individual satisfaction’, while the email team reported ‘the current status of the project was easily viewed’