Knowledge Partitioning in Outsourced Software Development: A Field Study

The outsourced software development process has traditionally relied on a requirements-driven black-box approach for transferring knowledge of customer needs to vendors. When this approach is feasible, the need for the customer and the vendor to deeply understand each others’ knowledge domain is limited. We describe this as symmetric division of knowledge. However, asymmetric overlaps in knowledge are necessary at the vendor-customer boundary in projects involving conceptual or process newness. In this study, we examine the conditions under which overlaps in knowledge at the vendor-customer boundary are necessary for enhancing the development process in outsourcing relationships. We develop and test a model using data collected in a large-scale field study of 209 software projects in 209 software development organizations belonging to three of the largest global software consortia. The study makes three contributions: (1) we empirically demonstrate that it is more important for a vendor to possess a higher level of business knowledge in conceptually new projects and for the customer to have a higher level of technical knowledge when the project involves process newness, (2) we assess the effectiveness of various integrating mechanisms, and (3) we show that there are potential downsides to blindly increasing vendor-customer overlaps in knowledge beyond those that have traditionally characterized software development

Geographic Distribution of Conversion Therapy in Canada

Sexual orientation or gender identity or expression change efforts (SOGIECE), also known as “conversion therapy” are widely discredited practices, yet they continue to occur in Canada. SOGIECE refers to any practice designed to change, deny, or discourage one’s feelings of sexual attraction to members of the same gender, LGBQ identity, non- conforming gender expression, or gender identity that differs from sex at birth. There is no credible scientific research that proves conversion therapy is effective or psychologically safe. In fact, previous research suggests conversion therapy negatively impacts and stigmatizes LGBTQ2S+ persons, leading to increased anxiety, depression, self-hatred, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide or suicidal thoughts, and many lifelong psychological and social issues. On October 1, 2020, the Government of Canada reintroduced Bill C-6 to ban conversion therapy practices. Although criminal law reform is an important step that will further protect and promote rights to equality, it may drive conversion therapy practices underground. Thus, data collection is needed to detect where practices of conversion therapy still persist. The objective of the research is to conduct a geospatial analysis by tracking the location of conversion therapy practices through an interactive map, pinpointing provinces, territories, and municipalities. Data were collected from a survey of Canadians who have direct experience with conversion therapy, know people who have gone to conversion therapy, or know of conversion therapy practitioners. Findings from the map will help inform policies and practices of where underground conversion therapy practices are still happening so that the Canadian Government can eliminate harmful SOGIECE practices

Control in App Platforms: The Integration-Differentiation Paradox

Despite violations of several common assumptions regarding the use of control, platform ecosystems rely heavily on such mechanisms. This calls into question whether controls serve purposes other than just the alignment of their participants’ interests, as the extant literature suggests. We develop a model that explains how and why control mechanisms influence performance of applications in a mobile computing platform ecosystem. Our model uncovers an apparent paradox in that controls influence performance because they promote knowledge integration but simultaneously inhibit differentiation. Knowledge is embedded within controls, which allows developers to leverage it in developing high-quality applications. However, leveraging the same knowledge stock inhibits the extent to which developers can differentiate their work from others. Taking into consideration endogenous instruments of control, we will test our model using data collected from Research-in-Motion’s Blackberry AppWorld. Our results will extend the current understanding of the purpose and use of controls in platform

SIGNALING IN CONTENT SHARING PLATFORMS

Internet-based peer-to-peer (P2P) content sharing platforms have emerged as a widespread mechanism for sharing electronic content using the Internet. A persistent problem with such platforms is the ex ante assessment of content integrity and quality. In this ongoing study, we address this understudied issue. Using a multi-method research design, we identify using a grounded theory building approach three broad classes of signaling mechanisms associated with the content, contributor, and network that users integratively use to assess the risk-benefit tradeoffs in downloading a given unit of content (e.g., a file). We propose that these signals influence users’ holistic perception of risk-benefit differential, and in turn influence the likelihood of downloading content files. We describe the status of this research-in-progress study. Our primary expected contribution is a middle-range theory of signaling that predicts how signaling mechanisms influence user behavior in such platforms

The Antecedents of Information Systems Development Capability in Firms: A Knowledge Integration Perspective

The linkages between IS and business units are recognized as being critical to information systems development processes and outcomes. Previous research has found that they are associated with better performing ISD teams, stronger alignment between firms’ IT investments and business objectives, and comparatively superior exploitation of information technologies for business ends. What remains lacking in this stream is a coherent theoretical explanation for why and how the linkages between the IS unit and business units in a firm influence ISD processes and outcomes. This study draws on strength-of-ties theory to develop and test a project-level model that links both structural and cognitive IS-business linkages to ISD outcomes and processes. The key premise of this model is that IS-business linkages influence ISD primarily by facilitating integration of business and technical knowledge dispersed across internal business functions and outside the formal boundaries of the firm during the ISD process. Such integration of internal and external knowledge in turn influences ISD processes and outcomes. We tested the model using data on 133 projects collected from CIOs and client-side managers in 133 firms. Our results provide strong support for the hypothesized model

Capability Leapfrogging in the Japanese IT Services Industry

The focal question that we address is about how firms transition their IT product capabilities to the IT services capabilities. In particular, we were interested in exploring the unexpected observation that some incumbent firms in the Japanese IT industry were able to leapfrog capability development for transitioning to the IT services model, while others struggled to do so. We use a multi-method (Mingers 2001) approach consisting of four complementary stages for addressing the research question: (a) multiple case studies in eleven leading Japanese IT firms, (b) a large scale survey of division managers in 208 firms in Japan, (c) quantitative sequence analysis of archival product development logs for over 1,800 IT products in 208 Japanese firms during the ongoing transition, and (d) a Monte Carlo simulation of a subset of the insights obtained in the preceding stages

Fit and Misfit of Plural Sourcing Strategies and IT-Enabled Process Integration Capabilities: Consequences of Firm Performance in the U.S. Electric Utility Industry

Recent work has shown that a firm’s plural sourcing strategy, which determines how much it chooses to make versus how much it chooses to buy, requires consideration of the complementarities and constraints that affect the differential advantages of making and buying. Elaborating on this perspective, we theorize how (mis)fit between a firm’s plural sourcing strategy of simultaneously making and buying and its development of information technology (IT) enabled interfirm and intrafirm process integration capabilities influences firm performance in deregulated markets. We position our theory development and empirical tests in the context of the power-generation segment of the U.S. electric utility industry (EUI), an asset-intensive industry that has been deregulated to promote the separation of key value chain activities (i.e., generation, transmission, and distribution) and the development of wholesale energy markets. We draw on the transaction cost economics, coordination costs, and IT capabilities perspectives to theorize that a firm achieves fit (realizing performance benefits) by increasing market sourcing intensity (MSI)—or, how much it buys relative to how much it makes— and developing IT-enabled interfirm process integration capability for external coordination with the market, or misfit (realizing performance penalties) by increasing MSI and developing IT-enabled intrafirm process integration capability for coordinating internal production. We collated data from archival sources for 342 utility firms in the power-generation segment to construct a panel dataset for the period 1994–2004 on (1) firms’ MSI from wholesale electricity markets, (2) firms’ IT investment decisions to develop interfirm and intrafirm process integration capabilities, (3) measures of firm performance, and (4) several control variables related to exogenous shocks (i.e., regulatory change, oil crisis), region of operation, and firm-level factors. Our results suggest that fit between MSI and the development of IT-enabled interfirm process integration capability improves firm profitability, assessed by return on assets, and misfit between MSI and the development of IT-enabled intrafirm process integration capability extracts penalties in firm profitability. We also find evidence that fit between MSI and the development of IT-enabled interfirm process integration capability improves market valuation, assessed by Tobin’s Q, and asset turnover, assessed by operating revenue/total assets. We discuss the implications of our findings for the development of IT capabilities to accompany a firm’s plural sourcing strategy and the literature on IT business value

Can Banks Placate Knowledgeable Depositors by Offering Higher Interest Rates During a Banking Crisis?

Using a conjoint analysis of 417 finance professionals from six countries, we find no evidence that higher interest rates cause knowledgeable depositors to moderate their withdrawals during a banking crisis. In fact, intended withdrawals are positively correlated with expected interest rate changes. After accounting for endogeneity, this relationship disappears, consistent with the attractiveness of higher returns being offset by increased doubts about bank solvency. The withdrawal decisions of finance professionals are also independent of their personal characteristics, but they appear to place considerable store on deposit insurance generosity and the presence of a formal insurance fund