A Review of Literature on Trust in Online Platforms- A Conceptual Unified Framework and Future Research Directions

There has been a lot of empirical work on trust research in online platforms in the past two decades. Due to great diversity in the underlying theories, methodologies, variables, and relationships in this field and a “confusing potpourri” of conceptualizations and operationalizations of the constructs, prior researchers have called for a need to synthesize the field knowledge in a meaningful way to build a cumulative tradition. With this as the underlying motivation, this review paper analyzes 106 empirical articles on trust in online platforms published in the past 20 years to synthesize the field knowledge and provide a state of art picture of the field. This paper also aims to provide a conceptual unifying framework that establishes the relationships among various constructs studied in the literature, along with some insights into existing research gaps and potential future opportunities

Impact of IT Multisourcing on vendor opportunistic behaviour - A research framework

IT Multisourcing (ITM), the provision of IT services by multiple interdependent vendors to a single client, is widely prevalent now. ITM, in principle, is believed to mitigate both strategic and operational risks of IT outsourcing for client organizations. Yet an in-depth inquiry into the association of ITM with these risks is largely missing in literature. There is limited research which systematically investigates the effects of ITM on different forms of risk. This paper develops a theoretical framework to understand the implications of ITM for the specific risk of vendor opportunistic behaviour, also termed ‘strategic risks’ of outsourcing. The fundamental attributes of ITM are identified and mechanisms through which they influence vendor opportunistic behaviour are explained. The advantages and limitations of the framework are discussed and future research directions are laid out

IS discipline in the IT services land : an exploratory study of IS in India

Information Systems (IS) research is characterized by plurality of methodologies, perspectives and contexts giving rise to various communities within the discipline. Studies of IS communities in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific highlight the cognitive diversity, institutional distribution and research themes based on geography. While regional variations have been acknowledged, the debate on the identity and status of IS is on-going. In this paper we conduct an exploratory study of the IS research paradigm in India and contribute to IS discipline studies by bringing in the India perspective. We analyse the &lsquo;cognitive&rsquo; and &lsquo;behavioural&rsquo; legitimacy of IS discipline in India based on interviews conducted with Indian business school professors from IS and non-IS disciplines. The focus of the study is to understand the current state of IS research community in India. We find a need to establish a &lsquo;collective identity&rsquo; of IS research in India, which will benefit both the Indian and larger IS community to work on unique research possibilities presented by the socioeconomic context of India.<br /

Importance of Interactions in Emerging Forms of Telemedicine

Telemedicine is a complex Information System involving diverse human & non-human actors and their interactions that determine patient-care outcomes. Telemedicine has been practiced and researched since mid-1990s in many countries. Advances in ICT, Health-Information-Technology (HIT) like videoconferencing, IoT, health-wearables have led to newer designs & actors, which transform the place of care from hospital to home, community-spaces with emphasis on direct patient-physician interactions. Human-actors like technicians, healthcare-workers, non-human-actors like telemedicine-equipment, longitudinal health-records are prominent. Diverse actors must interact, coordinate for effective physician consultations. Social, structural factors increase complexities in the interactions. This research aims to explicate the complexities in Telemedicine interactions and coordination by using Sociotechnical perspective that emphasizes both technical artifacts, social contexts. Sociotechnical view is used sparingly in prior studies. It views outcomes as emerging from the interaction between the two and focuses on instrumental & humanistic outcomes

The Changing Nature of Telemedicine Processes: Adaptations and Triggers

Digitalization is rapidly changing markets and workplaces with digital technologies intrinsically embedded in organizational processes. Inherent complexities in digital technologies require organizations and individuals to adjust and adapt to technologies and work practices to meet organizational goals. Adaptations enable continued use, avoiding IS non-adoption, but can be detrimental to efficiency and performance. The double-sided nature of adaptations motivates this research to examine the emergence of adaptations in digitized care processes in Telemedicine. Digital technologies are increasingly used in Telemedicine, blurring spatial and temporal boundaries of care and interactions. Adaptive Structuration Theory is used to analyze the adaptation mechanisms and the triggers for adaptations. A qualitative field study is conducted in two public hospitals in India. Findings show that users adapt technology, tasks, and roles and enact role multiplexities, resulting in new structures. The study contributes to the literature on changing work practices in Telemedicine that alter spatial organization of care and interactions

Fluidity of Power Structures Underpinning Public Discourse on Social Media: A Multi-case Study on Twitter Discourse in India

In this article we present the results of a study on the impact of social media on power structures underpinning public discourse. The power of gatekeepers to control the flow of information in a discourse is considered as central to the power structure. Studies on Internet-based media show that although new media helps by-passing traditional media gatekeepers, the structure of the Internet itself helps replicate traditional media power structures in the new media as well. We argue that because of certain technology features of social media the power structures are partially replicated, but also become fluid in terms of the participants occupying key positions in the power structure. We present the results of a multi-case research study of Twitter discourse on various issues of public interest in India. Our results support the propositions made. We discuss the implication of our results and limitation of our methods

A \u27Linking Pin\u27 or Beyond? A Decision Rights Perspective of the Guardian Vendor Role in IT Multisourcing

The practical challenges of IT multisourcing (ITM) have prompted the client organizations to adopt the Guardian model, wherein a vendor (the ‘Guardian’) takes over the responsibility of managing the multiple vendors. Literature broadly refers to the Guardian’s role in ITM governance, yet the Guardian role is under-theorized. The practical manifestation of the Guardian’s role, the core activities and influence of the Guardian is a black box. The paper provides a novel conceptualization of the Guardian’s core activities as the exercise of ‘decision rights’ related to contractual and ex-post governance. In-depth exploratory interviews of the key stakeholders of the Guardian model across multiple ITM engagements are carried out to draw from practical knowledge. Preliminary findings reveal the various decision rights and the patterns of their allocation to the Guardian. The study offers potential insights for both theory and practice. The current status and future research plan are discussed