Growing up local: A value chain analysis of local produce in Iowa

This was the original project description: Investigators will detail a value chain analysis of locally grown produce in Iowa. Investigators will identify supply chain structures that support production and distribution using methodologies compatible with sustainable agriculture

An Experimental Examination of Group Information Sharing, Group Size, and Meeting Structures for Groups Using a Group Support System

This paper reports on an experimental study of information sharing for groups using a group support system (GSS). Information sharing is important because a group member\u27s success or failure in sharing unique information that he or she alone possesses can have important impacts onthe group\u27s success. This research builds on work by Stasser and colleagues (Stasser & Titus, 1985, 1987, Stasser, Taylor, & Hanna, 1989, Stasser, 1992) which examined various factors that impact on group information sharing performance. To examine these issues, groups processed a hidden profile task; that is, a task with an asymmetrical distribution of information. In addition, group size (groups of size four and size seven) and the type of structure used during the meeting (structured or unstructured meeting agenda) were manipulated. The results for group size indicate that smaller sized groups were more likely to select a better solution, however, no significant differences were found related to group size for other performance measures or for the perceptual variables. The results for the meeting structure manipulation indicate that a structured agenda leads to better information sharing performance but that it also results in more negative perceptions about the meeting. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and the implications for future research and GSS us

Power Interactions in Enterprise System Assimilation

The assimilation of enterprise systems has extensive influence on power interactions within organizations. Previousassimilation research has typically focused on organizational-level assimilation processes, and the impact of individualcharacteristics, including personal power, has been overlooked. Social network analysis provides a useful way to empiricallyexamine the changes to personal power during the acceptance, routinization, and infusion stages of the organizationalassimilation processes. Enterprise system assimilation involves the empowerment of a firm’s employees to utilize thetechnical capabilities of the system, and the employees’ extensive business knowledge, to make effective strategic decisions.Nevertheless, power is multidimensional and the relative prominences of the idiosyncratic bases of power in organizationalinteractions vary asymmetrically in response to system assimilation. A longitudinal examination of the stages of assimilationusing a valued network approach to study the power interactions of individuals within an organization can provide a valuablenew perspective inside the assimilation process

Spatial Data in the Data Warehouse: A Nomenclature for Design and Use

The fields of both computer-based mapping and geographic information systems (GIS) have developed rapidly in the past two decades. However, in many organizations locational data is not easily leveraged by users. The fact that this type of data is collected and stored indicates that it is considered important by the businesses that collect it, but their operational needs often do not entail producing a map or generating geographic queries. Generally, it is a basic operational function -- such as shipping products to the customer -- that necessitates the collection of locational data. Because many organizations have, in effect, out-sourced their basic operational functions to companies like FedEx, they have distanced themselves from many of the impacts of geography. Therefore, in many industry sectors GIS usage is still somewhat limited, if it is used at all

A Study of the Factors That Influence Consumer Attitudes Toward Beef Products Using the Conjoint Market Analysis Tool

This study utilizes an analysis technique commonly used in marketing, the conjoint analysis method, to examine the relative utilities of a set of beef steak characteristics considered by a national sample of 1,432 US consumers, as well as additional localized samples representing undergraduate students at a business college and in an animal science department. The analyses indicate that among all respondents, region of origin is by far the most important characteristic; this is followed by animal breed, traceability, animal feed, and beef quality. Alternatively, the cost of cut, farm ownership, the use (or nonuse) of growth promoters, and whether the product is guaranteed tender were the least important factors. Results for animal science undergraduates are similar to the aggregate results, except that these students emphasized beef quality at the expense of traceability and the nonuse of growth promoters. Business students also emphasized region of origin but then emphasized traceability and cost. The ideal steak for the national sample is from a locally produced, choice Angus fed a mixture of grain and grass that is traceable to the farm of origin. If the product was not produced locally, respondents indicated that their preferred production states are, in order from most to least preferred, Iowa, Texas, Nebraska, and Kansas.

THE EFFECTS OF RESTRICTIVENESS AND PREFERENCE FOR PROCEDURAL ORDER ON THE APPROPRIATION OF GROUP DECISION HEURISTICS IN A GSS ENVIRONMENT

This research examines two research questions. First, does restrictiveness (i.e., the manner in which use of group resources is limited or channeled) (Silver 1988, 1990; DeSanclis et al. 1989) influence group performance and member perceptions as measured by decision quality and satisfaction? Second, does the composition of a GSS supported group in terms of individual preference for procedural order (PPO) (Putnam 1979) influence group performance and member perceptions? 7\u27his research tests and extends the Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) (Poole and DeSanctis 1990). AST argues that GSSs are a social technology through which groups may choose to faithfully or ironically appropriate GSS structures. The PPO construct was also examined in this research. The PPO construct suggests that individuals enter group work with predispositions for particular work habits. For instance. High Procedural Order (HPO) individuals prefer planned, sequential patterns of organizing task activities and will seek to structure activities by sending procedural messages while Low Procedural Order (LPO) individuals send fewer procedural messages and prefer a cyclical ordering of activities. We suggest lhat a group member\u27 s PPO may be an important source of contextual structures for the appropriation processes described by AST. A laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate the impacts of GSS- and facilitator-based restrictiveness on group processes and outcomes. The independent variables in this study were restrictiveness and the group\u27s PPO composition. Twenty-eight 5-member groups composed entirely of all HPO individuals (fourteen groups) or all LPO individuals (fourteen groups) were randomly assigned to either a restrictive or nonrestrictive treatment. The restrictive treatment was operationalized by activating three sources of restrictiveness: user-based training, facilitator-based process guidance, and GSS-based (via a level-2 GSS - VisionQuest™). The nonrestrictive treatment did not specifically impose any form of restricliveness. The comprehensive heuristic was a modification of Dewey\u27s (1910) reflective thinking process. The $OB Policy Task. a hidden profile task (Stasser 1992), was developed and used for this experimenL This task is designed so that information from all members is essential for identifying the dominant problems and for finding a jointly acceptable solution. In tenns of decision quality. an ANOVA found no significant difference between groups in each of the treatment conditions; however, the trends in the data are suggestive and imply that I-PO groups in the non-reslrictive condition tend to produce better quality solutions (F = 1.594. p = 0.219). Further. a one-way analysis for groups in the non-restrictive condition across the PPO dimension approached significance (F = 3.0846; p = 0.105) and suggests that groups composed of LPO me:nbers performed this task better than groups composed of }IPO members, Results for satisfaction (Green and Taber 1980) indicate that I IPO group members reported greater participation in the discussion (F = 12.27, p = 0.001), that they were more satisfied with their group\u27s solution (F = 10.94, p = 0.001), and that they were also more satisfied with the process than were LPO members (F = 6.61, p = 0.011). No significant difference was identified for participation in terms of the restrictiveness treatment; however, groups in the restrictive condition were more satisfied with the solution (F = 5.78, p = 0.018) and with the process (F = 6.43, p = 0.012). In terms of qualitative results, the facilitators noted that groups in the non-restrictive treatment generally could not or chose not to appropriate the heuristic. Even when groups requested the GSS tool specified by the heuristic, they often misappropriated the heuristic or the GSS. These preliminary results are intriguing and suggest that PPO is a useful construct for understanding how group members appropriate and react to GSS technology and structured heuristics. A better understanding of the intlicacies and differences in this appropriation process in the various conditions will be gained Lhrough a detailed examination of the decision-making process adopted by each group