Knowledge Contribution Motivators – An Expectation-Confirmation Approach

Individual knowledge needs to be shared across IS developing organizations to provide information for all types of decisions. Considering knowledge management (KM) as a two-part process of knowledge contribution and knowledge seeking, we focus on the former one as it is (1) the required condition for knowledge sharing and (2) the greater challenge to accomplish by organizations compared to implementing successful knowledge seeking. Distinguishing different types of individual and organizational extrinsic motivators based on self-determination theory, we use expectation-confirmation theory (ECT) to analyze the extent to which software developers’ expectations towards knowledge contributions are fulfilled by organizations. Additionally, showing extrinsic motivators’ importance for software developers to contribute to KM systems, we provide organizations a roadmap for setting favorable conditions. Whereas our consolidation of previous research on knowledge contribution provides guidelines for future research on extrinsic motivators, we contribute to existing theory by applying ECT to the context of KM contribution

Spreading Kenya\u27s Mobile Payment Success to Neighboring Countries – The Case of Rwanda

Kenya\u27s highly successful mobile payment (m-payment) ecosystem ?and in particular its \u27star\u27 service \u27M-Pesa\u27 ?have been investigated in academic works (Foster and Heeks 2013; Jack et al. 2010; Orlikowski and Barrett 2014) and have attracted global media and policy attention. However, research on transferring such success to neighboring countries remains limited. In this paper, we examine m-payment services in Rwanda and compare the country\u27s dominant service offering \u27Mobile Money\u27 to its Kenyan role model. Along ten factors suitable for assessing the potential contribution and the adoption of m-payment services in developing countries, we find several anchor points where Rwanda ?to the better of its economy and national welfare ?could learn from Kenya. Thereupon, we recommend establishing a regulatory framework, promoting adequate electricity as well as telecommunication infrastructures, and requiring ?almost imposing ?collaboration among stakeholders. Further, we find the need for Rwandan m-payment providers to build comprehensive distribution network of properly incentivized agents, especially in the country\u27s rural areas with 85% of its population live

Coping with Requirements Uncertainty: An Interpretive Case Study

Information systems development projects (ISDPs) often face requirements uncertainty. Thus, coping with this issue is an important project management task in ISDPs. In order to gain insights into which different requirements uncertainty situations exist and how to cope with them, we conducted a longitudinal interpretive case study. We investigated the requirements analysis of an ISDP in an international insurance company for 17 months. Thereby, we identified eight distinct requirements uncertainty situation types, observed ten requirements engineering (RE) techniques applied in practice and their impact on requirements uncertainty situation types, and finally derived recommendations for applying RE techniques in requirements uncertainty situations based on our observations. We combine these findings and contribute to RE literature by making a first step towards a framework for coping with requirements uncertainty in ISDPs. We believe that RE researchers as well as practitioners in ISDPs can make use of this article’s insights

Opening the black box of knowledge management mechanisms: exploring knowledge flows at a consultancy

Purpose – Based on an exploratory case-based approach, the purpose of this paper is to open the KM black box and examine the relationships that link knowledge management (KM) inputs (i.e. knowledge resources and KM practices) via knowledge processes to KM performance. This paper aims to identify the underlying mechanisms and explain how KM performance is enabled. Design/methodology/approach – This in-depth case study conducted at a medium-sized consultancy in the supply chain management industry empirically examines knowledge flows to uncover the relationships between KM inputs, knowledge processes and KM performance. We adopt the viable system model (VSM) as a theoretical lens to identify KM mechanisms. Findings – By identifying six KM mechanisms, we contribute to the theoretical understanding of how KM inputs are interconnected and lead to KM performance via knowledge processes. Originality/value – Based on the insights gained, we provide propositions that organizations should consider in designing viable KM. Our findings help organizations in understanding their KM with the help of knowledge flow analysis and identifying how critical KM elements are interconnected

Towards Mindful Case Study Research in IS: A Critical Analysis of the Past Ten Years

Case study research (CSR) has gained strong acceptance in information systems (IS) research in the recent decades. This article examines how CSR has been used in IS research practice. Contrasting the currently used CSR approaches to methodological prescriptions can lead to recommendations for researchers applying this research strategy as well as to advances in the methodological literature. Our study design comprises two steps. First, we identified case studies published in six major IS journals from 2001 to 2010. Second, we critically examined CSR practices in the identified studies. We observed a dualism, as CSR currently consists of a positivist and an equally strong interpretive research stream. Case studies with other philosophical underpinnings were rarely found. We describe the CSR practice and contrast it to the methodological prescriptions. Thereby, we clearly point out the shortcomings, aiming to initiate a debate on how our community should further develop its use of CSR to become more mindful. This study is the first broad examination of CSR in IS (focusing on more than just the positivist research stream) and thus contributes to the methodological literature by providing recommendations for improvements

Acceptance and Use of Interactive Whiteboards in Schools: The Teachers’ Point of View

While information technology in general offers potential to improve learning and teaching processes, interactive whiteboards (IWBs) as a specific technology can increase flexibility, efficiency, interactivity, and motivation in classroom settings. Despite substantial investments, many teachers are reluctant to use IWBs. Insights from previous research to explain this reluctance are limited since the voluntary nature of teachers’ decision to use IWBs has been disregarded so far. To overcome this shortcoming, we rely on different theories concerning technology acceptance to develop and test a research model that advances the understanding of factors that contribute to teachers’ behavioral intention and use behavior regarding IWBs. Our study reveals hedonic motivation, habit, social influence, and compatibility as important factors. While we discuss contributions of our work such as the general role of hedonic motivation and habit in voluntary contexts of technology acceptance research, we also offer implications that schools should consider for successful IWB adoption

Learning for life and/or work: The status quo of pre-vocational education in India, China, Germany and the USA

The role of pre-vocational education in general compulsory education has become increasingly relevant over recent years, with the international debate focussing particularly on its importance in school-to-work transitions. This study considers curriculum design and the implementation of pre-vocational education in four countries with radically different cultures: India, China, Germany and the USA. Using a theoretically framed concept of relevance to inform curriculum analysis, it compares the widely divergent content of curricula. In addition to this, interviews with teachers in all four countries flesh out how the curriculum is implemented in practice. The study, which is based on the 'prescribed curriculum' and 'enacted curriculum' approach, demonstrates that a range of factors means implementation varies widely from country to country but that teachers in all four countries focus in pre-vocational education on equipping students with life-skills

Extracellular vesicles and PD-L1 suppress macrophages, inducing therapy resistance in TP53-deficient B-cell malignancies

Genetic alterations in the DNA damage response (DDR) pathway are a frequent mechanism of resistance to chemoimmunotherapy (CIT) in B-cell malignancies. We have previously shown that the synergy of CIT relies on secretory crosstalk elicited by chemotherapy between the tumor cells and macrophages. Here, we show that loss of multiple different members of the DDR pathway inhibits macrophage phagocytic capacity in vitro and in vivo. Particularly, loss of TP53 led to decreased phagocytic capacity ex vivo across multiple B-cell malignancies. We demonstrate via in vivo cyclophosphamide treatment using the Em-TCL1 mouse model that loss of macrophage phagocytic capacity in Tp53-deleted leukemia is driven by a significant downregulation of a phagocytic transcriptomic signature using small conditional RNA sequencing. By analyzing the tumor B-cell proteome, we identified a TP53-specific upregulation of proteins associated with extracellular vesicles (EVs). We abrogated EV biogenesis in tumor B-cells via clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-knockout (KO) of RAB27A and confirmed that the EVs from TP53-deleted lymphoma cells were responsible for the reduced phagocytic capacity and the in vivo CIT resistance. Furthermore, we observed that TP53 loss led to an upregulation of both PD-L1 cell surface expression and secretion of EVs by lymphoma cells. Disruption of EV bound PD-L1 by anti-PD-L1 antibodies or PD-L1 CRISPR-KO improved macrophage phagocytic capacity and in vivo therapy response. Thus, we demonstrate enhanced EV release and increased PD-L1 expression in TP53-deficient B-cell lymphomas as novel mechanisms of macrophage function alteration in CIT resistance. This study indicates the use of checkpoint inhibition in the combination treatment of B-cell malignancies with TP53 loss