A Conceptual Model for IT Work Autonomy

Autonomy is considered an important predecessor of job-related outcomes such as job satisfaction, job motivation, and work-life-balance. Although widely used in information systems (IS) research, most studies ignore its multi-dimensional nature and technology-related facets related to autonomy. This study contributes to existing literature by proposing IT work autonomy as a rich conceptualization that includes three existing dimensions of autonomy (work method autonomy, work scheduling autonomy, and work criteria autonomy) and a new technology-related dimension (i.e., work instrument autonomy). A conceptual model is proposed and discussed. For IS theory, conceptualizing IT work autonomy promises to enlighten future research that seeks to explore work-related phenomena. Moreover, this new conceptualization has the potential to guide organizations in designing future jobs

Perpetrators in League of Legends: Scale Development and Validation of Toxic Behavior

Toxic behavior (TB) – a form of releasing frustration and anger in a detrimental way – is a common phenomenon in online games. Despite its importance, a validated questionnaire measuring TB is yet missing. In this paper, we apply a comprehensive procedure for scale development by using two difference sources of items. In the first one, the item pool is adapted from an existing scale. In the second one, the act frequency approach is applied to generate a pool of items. We evaluated both scales based on survey data from 380 online gamers. Both instruments are juxtaposed based on their psychometric properties. The results indicate that the adapted scale performs better in the context of our study than the scale generated from the act frequency approach and is, thus, the preferable choice. With a validated measurement scale in place, we discuss how future research can benefit from the TB scale proposed here

EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGICAL OWNERSHIP OF IT: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Psychological ownership of Information Technology (POIT) is becoming an increasingly relevant phenomenon in theory and practice since privately-owned consumer technologies and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) strategies effectively shaping today’s workplaces. While Information Systems (IS) research is in the beginning to explore POIT, the full complexity of the ownership phenomenon has not yet been understood. Here, we draw on psychological ownership theory to propose an extended view on POIT. Choosing a grounded theory methodology, we gathered original data (20 expert interviews, 5 and more years of work experience) and discovered “Appreciation of Technology” as a key characteristic of psychological ownership which has not been considered so far. Additionally, we identified three new antecedents (“Freedom of Choice”, “Multi-Context Use” and “Surveillance”) and one new effect (“Exception Handling”) of psychological ownership of IT. Along with previous studies, our extended view provides a new lens through which ownership and technology acceptance can be viewed and BYOD phenomena better understood. Based on these new insights, we derive several implications for theory and practice

Show Your Face! Investigating the Relationship Between Human Faces and Music’s Success

Streaming services are becoming the primary source for media consumption. Particularly platforms like SoundCloud, where users can disseminate user-generated content (UGC), are gaining relevance. To shed light into the drivers which positively influence the number of listeners, we draw from marketing literature related to depictions of people, which suggests that human faces can contribute to a higher degree of brand liking or brand identification. Thereupon, we propose a hypothesis which suggests that human faces on cover arts likewise generate more plays. We follow a data science approach using 1754 observations from SoundCloud and apply Google’s facial recognition API (Vision AI) to examine the impact of human faces on music’s success. We provide initial evidence that tracks with a human-face cover art yield in a higher number of plays compared to tracks with a cover art without a human face

Maturing, Flagshipping and Piggybacking: On the Use of Structuration Theory in Information Systems Research

The debate on structure and agency has a long-standing tradition in the social sciences. Developed by the British sociologist Anthony Giddens, Structuration Theory proposed the duality of structure , the notion that structure and agency are inseparable in practice. Information Systems (IS) researchers have developed IS-specific adaptations of Giddens\u27s ideas. We add to previous reviews on the use of Structuration Theory in IS by focusing on the adoption of individual concepts set forth by the theory and its IS adaptations. Based on our analysis of references to these concepts in the major journals and conferences we argue that the use of Structuration Theory in IS has matured over the past decade. We also find that some structurational concepts are frequently used as flagships and in combination ( piggybacked ). Finally, we plead in favor of a more widespread use of agency as a fundamental concept of Giddens\u27s theory

A test for multigroup comparison using partial least squares path modeling

Klesel, M., Schuberth, F., Henseler, J., & Niehaves, B. (2019). A test for multigroup comparison using partial least squares path modeling. Internet Research, 29(3), 464-477. https://doi.org/10.1108/IntR-11-2017-0418Purpose: People seem to function according to different models, which implies that in business and social sciences, heterogeneity is a rule rather than an exception. Researchers can investigate such heterogeneity through multigroup analysis (MGA). In the context of partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM), MGA is currently applied to perform multiple comparisons of parameters across groups. However, this approach has significant drawbacks: first, the whole model is not considered when comparing groups, and second, the family-wise error rate is higher than the predefined significance level when the groups are indeed homogenous, leading to incorrect conclusions. Against this background, the purpose of this paper is to present and validate new MGA tests, which are applicable in the context of PLS-PM, and to compare their efficacy to existing approaches. Design/methodology/approach: The authors propose two tests that adopt the squared Euclidean distance and the geodesic distance to compare the model-implied indicator correlation matrix across groups. The authors employ permutation to obtain the corresponding reference distribution to draw statistical inference about group differences. A Monte Carlo simulation provides insights into the sensitivity and specificity of both permutation tests and their performance, in comparison to existing approaches. Findings: Both proposed tests provide a considerable degree of statistical power. However, the test based on the geodesic distance outperforms the test based on the squared Euclidean distance in this regard. Moreover, both proposed tests lead to rejection rates close to the predefined significance level in the case of no group differences. Hence, our proposed tests are more reliable than an uncontrolled repeated comparison approach. Research limitations/implications: Current guidelines on MGA in the context of PLS-PM should be extended by applying the proposed tests in an early phase of the analysis. Beyond our initial insights, more research is required to assess the performance of the proposed tests in different situations. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the existing PLS-PM literature by proposing two new tests to assess multigroup differences. For the first time, this allows researchers to statistically compare a whole model across groups by applying a single statistical test.publishersversionpublishe

Are Employees Following the Rules? On the Effectiveness of IT Consumerization Policies

In most organizations, employees commonly use mobile technologies including smartphones and tablets to complete their tasks. Therefore, many organizations have started to implement policies that govern the use of mobile devices such as Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) policies, that allow employees to use private devices for work-related purposes, or Company Owned PrivatelyEnabled (COPE) policies, which allow the use of organizational technologies for private purposes. Despite its relevance, there is only little empirical research that provides evidence on the effectiveness of specific policies, i.e., policies in favor of BYOD/COPE, policies that prohibit it, and no implemented policies. Based on survey data (N = 381), we provide initial insights in terms of the effectiveness of these policies. Our results indicate that policies indeed influence the degree of technology use. Policies in favor of BYOD/COPE are particularly effective. We conclude this paper by discussing our findings and derive several implications for theory and practice

Does the Ability to Choose Matter? On the Relationship between Bring-your-own Behavior and IT Satisfaction

Employees increasingly complete organizational tasks using privately owned consumer technologies such as private devices (e.g., smartphones) or private Internet accounts (e.g., email accounts). Higher satisfaction constitutes a major reason for this bring-your-own behavior (BYOB). However, little research has theoretically explored and empirically tested this assumption. This study sheds light on this phenomenon by analyzing the effect of BYOB on IT satisfaction. Drawing from social cognitive theory, we propose choice self-efficacy as a new construct that intermediates the relationship between BYOB and IT satisfaction. Building on results from survey data (n = 400), we provide new evidence that BYOB has a positive effect on IT satisfaction whereby choice self-efficacy plays a vital element as it mediates this relationship. Since IT satisfaction shapes how people use technology and how they perform with it, we derive important implications for future research on IT consumerization. Furthermore, we provide several conclusions for practitioners and discuss how to enhance IT satisfaction and choice self-efficacy