Understanding Knowledge Coordination Dynamics in Traditional and Fast-Response IT Organizations

This research takes a dynamic view on the knowledge coordination process, aiming to explain how the process is affected by changes in the operating environment, from normal situations to emergencies in traditional and fast-response organizations, and why these changes occur. We first conceptualize the knowledge coordination process by distinguishing between four dimensions – what, when, how and who – that together capture the full scope of the knowledge coordination process. We use these dimensions to analyze knowledge coordination practices and the activities constituting these practices, in the IT functions of traditional and fast-response (military) organizations where we distinguish between “normal” and “emergency” operating conditions. Our findings indicate that (i) inter-relationships between knowledge coordination practices change under different operating conditions, and (ii) the patterns of change are different in traditional and fast-response organizations

Under pressure: Understanding the dynamics of coordination in IT functions under business-as-usual and emergency conditions

In an era when technologies have become a backbone of most organizations, IT support functions are under immense pressure not only to ensure provision and reliability of IS and technologies but also to resolve IS incidents of different severity when they disrupt organizations’ “business-as-usual.” This article addresses this challenge by investigating how organizational IT functions coordinate their work under different degrees of uncertainty in order to provide reliable IT services. We conceptualize coordination in IT support functions as a process that unfolds over time through interactions between four underlying coordination practices employed to provide reliable IT services: prioritizing tasks, following procedures, using roles and responsibilities, and utilizing networks. Furthermore, we show how these coordination practices change when IT incidents cause a shift from normal (i.e. “business-as-usual”) to emergency conditions. Our empirical research in two IT functions supporting two types of organizations (traditional and fast-response) demonstrate that IT functions in these two types of organizations respond to emergencies differently. Specifically, in emergencies, an IT function supporting a fast-response organization shifts to emergency coordination practices momentarily, as it abandons “normal” coordination practices to rely on an extensive set of formal practices specifically designed for such situations. In contrast, an IT function supporting a traditional organization is unprepared for emergencies—coordinating under emergency conditions involves improvisation, because coordination practices designed to support business-as-usual are not suitable for dealing with emergency situations

Onderscheid tussen aandacht- en leesproblemen bij kinderen.

Distinction between reading disability and attention deficit using tests of cognition

IS Architecture Complexity Dynamics in M&A: Does Consolidation Reduce Complexity?

In this paper we aim to improve our understanding of the dynamics of IS architecture complexity (i.e, the change in this complexity over time) during the execution of a consolidation IS integration strategy (IIS). Based on two case studies, we find that unexpected levels of complexity emerge during IIS execution because of an underestimation of requisite complexity and an overestimation of the potential to reduce complexity. Our analysis shows that increased complexity is due to the fact that the intended consolidation IIS is only partially executed, and to increasingly emergent IIS execution. Additionally, we find that while complexity was reduced at the portfolio level, at more detailed levels of observation complexity was actually increased. Our paper contributes to knowledge in the field by providing a deeper insight into IS architecture complexity dynamics during the execution of a consolidation IIS, and the concept of IS architecture complexity in general

Business IT Alignment through the Lens of Complexity Science

Business IT alignment has been a top concern for academics and corporate managers for over 30 years. Despite a rich literature, it is still far from been an achieved objective in companies. Leveraging on the similarities between Information and Complex Systems, researchers have recently adopted a new perspective to study Information Systems and their alignment with business. The present study is based on an extensive literature review that spans three domains of research: Information Systems, Complexity Science, and Organization Science. The paper proposes to contribute to the study and implementation of alignment by presenting a classification framework for the different alignment approaches exploiting methods derived from Complexity Science. Four types of approaches to alignment are identified and for each of them the potential contribution to alignment dimensions is discussed

REAL DECISIONS IN VIRTUAL WORLDS: TEAM COLLABORATION AND DECISION MAKING IN 3D VIRTUAL WORLDS

This study investigates how 3D virtual worlds (3DVWs) support team collaboration. Based on Media Synchronicity Theory, we pose that the shared environment and avatar-based interaction allowed by 3DVWs aid convergence processes in teams working on a decision making task, leading to increased shared understanding between team members. This increases performance of decision making teams. An experiment was conducted in which 70 teams of 3 participants had to decide on a spatial planning issue. The teams interacted using synchronous text-based chat, a 3D virtual decision room, or were present in the virtual environment mirroring the spatial planning task. Results revealed that in both the virtual decision room and the virtual environment shared understanding was higher than in the text-based chat condition. This led to higher task performance in terms of consensus, satisfaction, and cohesion. Our results show that 3DVWs offer potential for team collaboration over more traditional text-based collaboration technologies

Explaining knowledge sharing: The role of team communication styles, job satisfaction, and performance beliefs

In this study, the authors investigate the relationships between team communication styles and job-related cognitions on one hand and knowledge-sharing attitudes and behaviors on the other using 424 members of different work-related teams. Both eagerness and willingness to share are positively related to knowledge sharing - both donating and collecting knowledge. These attitudes mediate the relationships of communication styles, job satisfaction, and performance beliefs with knowledge-collecting and donating behaviors. In terms of team communication styles, an agreeable style is positively related to team members' willingness to share their knowledge, whereas an extravert communication style of a team is positively related to both eagerness and willingness to share. Performance beliefs and job satisfaction are both related to willingness and eagerness to share knowledge. However, in contrast with the authors' expectations, the relationship between eagerness to share knowledge and knowledge donating is not stronger than the one between eagerness and knowledge collecting. © 2006 Sage Publications

User-generated content (UGC) in tourism: Benefits and concerns of online consumers

This study reports an attempt to enhance our understanding of the reasons behind virtual world usage. By providing a mixture of utilitarian and hedonic value, virtual worlds represent an emerging class of multipurpose information systems (MPIS). Previous research seems to fall short in explaining MPIS adoption, especially since key extrinsic and intrinsic motivators are not considered. Drawing upon IT adoption research, motivation theory and the consumer behavior literature, this research extends available works and provides insight into the influence and roles of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Hypotheses are postulated and tested using a sample of 1627 users of the virtual world Second Life. The results confirm the majority of the hypotheses and support the comprehensive model. The findings indicate instantaneous effects of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, and highlight reinforcing effects of intrinsic motivation. Implications for research and practice are discussed