Cybersecurity and smart home devices: A resource governance model

A yet to be explored area of cybersecurity, as experienced through the security embedded within a focal firm’s products, is cloud-based smart home devices being rapidly adopted in homes. Adoption of these cloud-based products is growing some 22%, indicating the potential of the home market for future revenue and profit growth. With the uncovering of generous data collection functionality currently built-into these products and the seeming routineness of data breaches in general, security and data privacy of smart home devices has been identified as a critical concern of consumers. As a first step in addressing this concern, we propose a theoretical model of cybersecurity in smart home devices based on a foundation of information governance and resource dependence theories. The Resource Governance Model provides a framework for smart home device firms to help ensure products incorporate their chosen cybersecurity design. Future direction for application of the Resource Governance Model is then discussed

Beneficial True Bugs: Minute Pirate Bugs

This fact sheet describes beneficial true bugs: minute pirate bugs. It includes their life cycle and tips for promoting beneficial insects such as conservation and enhancement, predator release, and the predator release process

Resilience through Technology Intensity and International Related Management Experience: An Explorative Examination of European Firms during the COVID-19 Crisis

Recovering from disruption and responding to a crisis is becoming a major concern for firms, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior research suggests that in the presence of uncertainty and disruption, resilience is influential in retaining performance. Less is known, however, about how organizational and technological factors come together to build a resilient firm. Using organizational information processing theory (OIPT), our study helps to fill this gap by examining the interplay between technology intensity and international related management experience to build a resilient mechanism. The empirical findings show this resilience mechanism can strengthen business performance during times of crisis. Moreover, further analysis provides new insights based on the scope of a firm’s market, supply dependency, and its business sector. Specifically, the interaction of technology intensity with international related management experience makes a greater impact on the performance for firms that are operating and selling their products or services internationally, have more dependency on an international supply, and service firms. Our findings support the complementary role of international related management experience to build a resilient firm and provide managerial insights for crisis response strategies

The Impact of Corporate Sustainability and Technology Investment on Firm Innovation

Corporate sustainability is becoming an important component of corporate strategy, resulting in new areas of goal setting, planning, and process-level change. Despite the growing importance of corporate sustainability in organizations, there is a lack of research examining how the coexistence of corporate sustainability practices and a firm’s technology investment impacts critical processes such as innovation. In this study, we use resource orchestration theory and the information disclosure perspective to examine how the combination of a firm’s corporate sustainability efforts and technology investment can influence and impact a firm’s innovation process. Using a longitudinal data of S&P firms, from 2017 to 2020, we show that corporate sustainability performance, as reflected through ESG (environmental, social, and governance) measures, and technology investment positively impact a firm’s innovation process outcomes. Surprisingly however, the combination of these two individually contributing factors leads to a lower innovation performance. Implications for practitioners and academics are discussed. Keywords Corporate sustainability, ESG, innovation, information disclosure, resource orchestration, technolog

Service Innovation for Knowledge Intensive Services in the Digital Age: A Framework

This study develops a framework for service innovation in knowledge intensive services (KIS). Developments in digital technologies have provided unprecedented speed and enabled innovative techniques to initiate and launch new knowledge-oriented services. The potential value of these services raises questions regarding the identification of critical resources, their role, and how they interact with new technologies in service delivery. Building upon service-dominant logic, this research study theorizes that digital technologies, as operand and operant resources, interact with intangible resources to generate digitalization for service innovation. Unlike product innovation, the service innovation process is modularized based on projects. With digitization benefits, the project evaluation timeline is shorter and faster, conveying a sense of information immediacy. This study presents a new framework for service innovation in the digital age and suggests future research paths to confirm, expand, and validate the framework in knowledge intensive services context of academic libraries in higher education institutions

Health, Healthcare Access, and Use of Traditional Versus Modern Medicine in Remote Peruvian Amazon Communities: A Descriptive Study of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices

There is an urgent need for healthcare research, funding, and infrastructure in the Peruvian Amazon. We performed a descriptive study of health, health knowledge and practice, and healthcare access of 13 remote communities of the Manatí and Amazon Rivers in northeastern Peru. Eighty-five adults attending a medical boat service were interviewed to collect data on socioeconomic position, health, diagnosed illnesses, pain, healthcare access, and traditional versus modern medicine use. In this setting, poverty and gender inequality were prevalent, and healthcare access was limited by long distances to the health post and long waiting times. There was a high burden of reported pain (mainly head and musculoskeletal) and chronic non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension (19%). Nearly all participants felt that they did not completely understand their diagnosed illnesses and wanted to know more. Participants preferred modern over traditional medicine, predominantly because of mistrust or lack of belief in traditional medicine. Our findings provide novel evidence concerning transitional health beliefs, hidden pain, and chronic non-communicable disease prevalence in marginalized communities of the Peruvian Amazon. Healthcare provision was limited by a breach between health education, knowledge, and access. Additional participatory research with similar rural populations is required to inform regional healthcare policy and decision-making

Blockchain for Supply Chain Management: Practice-Based View

In the context of supply chain management, technological and strategic management practices play a critical role in managing supply chain processes that generate operational performance gains for firms. In this paper, we investigate the potential implications of blockchain for both supply chain management and operational processes management practices to develop the higher-order capability of information system integration. This capability enables firms to manage information flow from operational processes and allows information sharing with supply chain partners. From the perspective of practice-based view (PBV), we developed our research model and propositions to address the authenticity of food safety issues and sustainability in the context of the supply chain. We also highlight the need for blockchain implementation within the food industries that create an information-based approach for better operational performance

The Impact of Data Analytics on Hospital Performance

The healthcare industry has yet to harness the full potential of data analytics in administrative and clinical care operations. Indeed, evidence of data analytics impacts on hospital operations is sparse. This study helps close this research gap by examining the effect of data analytics on hospital clinical operations. A conceptual model is proposed, anchored to dynamic capabilities theory. Using ten years of secondary data for more than 2,500 US hospitals, econometrics analyses provide evidence of a positive impact of clinical data analytical systems (CDAS) on patient experience. However, no similar evidence is found with overall hospital operational performance. Thus, while data analytics can have a targeted impact, organizational-wide effects appear to be more complex. Implications for practitioners and academics are discussed

Digital Transformation in Police Work: A Sociomaterial Perspective on Police Body Worn Cameras (BWC)

The need to augment human capabilities through computer-based technologies, and a belief in the “objectivity” of data has contributed to the popularity of wearables. Such is the case with BWCs and their proliferation in police organizations. Unfortunately, BWCs have not been studied from an IS perspective, using specific or complementary theories applied in IS. We address this gap with a case study of a mid-sized police department, using a sociomaterial lens. We find that BWCs have triggered significant unanticipated changes in police practice. The impacts of these changes are not uniformly distributed. Rank-and-file patrol officers carry the burden upfront, while evidence technicians are burdened on the backend. We contribute by providing an actual account of the changes and impacts of BWCs in policing; providing initial evidence of how BWCs meet policing goals; and demonstrating the applicability of sociomateriality in explicating wearable technologies in general, and BWCs in particular

How Board of Directors’ Social Capital Enhances the Effectiveness of IT and R&D Resources Toward More Effective Innovation

A board of directors (BOD) plays a critical governance and strategic oversight role in an organization; acting as a fiduciary for shareholders, advising strategic decision making, and providing supportive resources and information to key decision makers. Especially critical is the role and contribution of corporate governance in guiding firm innovation. Such guidance has implications for investment in new products and services. In this paper, we examine the synergistic relationship between a firm’s BOD and technology and R&D inputs to innovation. We focus on the influence of the social capital of a BOD on different types of innovation. Our longitudinal findings show IT, R&D, and BOD social capital individually contribute to innovation performance, reflected in exploitative and exploratory innovation productivity. Moreover, BOD social capital enhances innovation enabled by IT activities. However, the combination of R&D activities and dimensions of BOD social capital leads to both negative and positive innovation performance