The effects of user characteristics on query performance in the presence of information request ambiguity

This paper investigates the effects of personality characteristics on individuals' abilities to compose queries from information requests containing various types of ambiguity. In particular, this research examines the effects of user personality characteristics on query performance in the presence of information requests that contained no extraneous, syntactic, or both extraneous and syntactic ambiguities. The results indicate that personality characteristics significantly affect users' abilities to compose accurate queries. Neuroticism, agreeableness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness significantly affected the number of errors made in the query formulations. Conscientiousness affected the length of time taken to compose the queries and neuroticism affected the confidence users had in the accuracy of their queries. Although several personality dimensions affected query performance, no significant interactions between personality dimensions and ambiguity were detected. Furthermore, both query complexity and information request ambiguity exhibited greater impacts on query performance than personality characteristics. Hence, organizations should attempt to train users to deal with query complexity and information request ambiguity before modifying their training programs for personality characteristics

What Every Business Student Needs to Know About Information Systems

Whether Information Systems should or should not be part of the core business school curriculum is a recurring discussion in many universities. In this article, a task force of 40 prominent information systems scholars address the issue. They conclude that information systems is absolutely an essential body of knowledge for business school students to acquire as well as a key element of the business school\u27s long-run strategic positioning within the university. Originally prepared in response to draft accreditation guidelines prepared by AACSB International, the article includes a compilation of the concepts that the authors believe to be the core information systems knowledge that all business school students should be familiar with

Consumer ethnicity three decades after: a TCR agenda

Research into consumer ethnicity is a vital discipline that has substantially evolved in the past three decades. This conceptual article critically reviews its immense literature and examines the extent to which it has provided extensive contributions not only for the understanding of ethnicity in the marketplace but also for personal/collective well-being. We identify two gaps accounting for scant transformative contributions. First, today social transformations and conceptual sophistications require a revised vocabulary to provide adequate interpretive lenses. Second, extant work has mostly addressed the subjective level of ethnic identity projects but left untended the meso/macro forces affecting ethnicity (de)construction and personal/collective well-being. Our contribution stems from filling both gaps and providing a theory of ethnicity (de)construction that includes migrants as well as non-migrants

Material requirements planning system infusion

There is increasing pressure upon manufacturing firms to make their processes more efficient and effective. An important factor for improving these manufacturing processes is production and inventory management, and a variety of production and inventory management information systems such as Material Requirements Planning (MRP) have thus been developed. However, MRP has a significant history of implementation problems. To help explain why these problems occur, this paper examines factors affecting MRP implementation from a innovation diffusion perspective. Within this perspective, the effect of manufacturing tasks and MRP technology on the infusion of MRP are examined. Data are gatherered via longitudinal telephone survey of US manufacturing firms to determine these effects. A logistical regression analysis of the data indicates that factors such as production complexity which affect MRP adoption can work in an opposite direction for MRP infusion (the use of MRP to its "fullest potential"). This implies that it may be advantageous for some firms to adopt and maintain MRP at low infusion levels rather than attempting to increase infusion over time. These results help explain some of the problems currently associated with MRP implementation and help point out potential problem areas for those contemplating MRP implementation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/28199/1/0000651.pd