The New Normal of Virtual Team Cohesion – a Qualitative Study to Investigate the Impact of COVID-19

A strong sense of virtual team cohesion can have a variety of positive effects, such as increased performance or self-esteem. For several decades information systems researchers have been studying both task and social cohesion and how to maintain such cohesion in the virtual. However, since one of the major challenges of the pandemic is dealing with feelings of social isolation, research outlines that COVID-19 had and still has a significant impact on virtual team cohesion. Our study examines the “new normal” of virtual team cohesion i.e., how virtual team cohesion strengthening measures have changed in times of the pandemic. To this end, our study presents the findings of a qualitative study with 26 individuals. We were able to shed light on how such measures changed on-the-job, in breaktimes, and after work. Therefore, we provide insights in the “new normal” of virtual team cohesion, which can inform research and practice

The sweet escape - A research agenda on escapism in information systems research

Escapism is often defined as temporally getting away from unpleasant situations or thoughts. Since technology creates new opportunities to escape from something unpleasant, the interest in studying escapism has recently increased in information system (IS) research. However, despite growing interest on escapism, research is still in its very beginning stages. To explore IS phenomena more comprehensively this paper proposes a research agenda that highlights current shortcomings and the need to address these shortcomings. Thus, this paper provides a point of departure for future research on escapism and encourages IS-research to further investigate the effects of escapism in IS-related settings

Geplante und krisenbedingte digitale Transformation der Arbeit

Die digitale Transformation der Arbeit umfasst tiefgreifende Veränderungen in Arbeitsprozessen, -abläufen und -praktiken. Diese Transformation kann sowohl durch strategische Planung als auch durch Krisen hervorgerufen werden. Diese kumulative Dissertation schafft neue Einblicke sowohl in die geplante als auch krisenbedingte digitale Transformationen der Arbeit. Es werden Ergebnisse aus der Perspektive von Individuen, Teams und Organisationen vorgestellt.The digital transformation of work encompasses profound changes in work processes, workflows, and practices. This transformation can be driven both by strategic planning and by crises. This cumulative dissertation aims to provide insights into both planned and crisis-driven digital transformations of work. Findings from the perspective of individuals, teams and organizations are presented

INFLUENCERS OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: A NEW CONCEPT OF USER PARTICIPATION IN IS PROJECTS

Influencers are very common in online marketing. Our study claims that the influencer concept can also be applied to digital transformation projects. Influencers of digital transformation projects may contribute to visualise the benefits and to convince the end users of these projects. Therefore, we introduce the “influencer” as a new concept for user participation and investigate how it enhances the conversational key-user concept. We conducted an explorative study in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which implemented either the key user or the influencer as participation concepts for digital transformation projects. We explored the relevance of influencers, by highlighting the differences of both concepts (i.e. influencer and key user) in terms of focus, role, motivation, communication, function, direction and objective. Finally, we investigated the success factors of digital transformation in this influencer concept. Based on our results, we formalise the influencer concept enabling the further implementation within organisations

Bittersweet Virtual Reality Collaboration: Necessary and Sufficient Conditions

The spread of COVID-19 has led to new challenges on organizations of every size. This also affects collaboration, which since then has had to be more digital than ever. While traditional collaboration tools, such as video- and audioconferences have reached their limits in terms of interactive and flexible collaboration, the development of multi-user virtual reality (VR) technology is introducing new possibilities. We investigate which conditions have an impact on the intention to collaborate in VR environments. To this end, we conducted a multi-user VR experiment and then interviewed participants individually and in focus groups on their collaboration behaviors. We were able to identify technological-, task-, and user-related conditions, which could be distinguished in necessary and sufficient conditions. Our research has helped to create evaluation opportunities to determine what conditions should be met to foster collaboration in VR

Happy Together - How can Virtual Leaders Foster Team Cohesion?

The impact of COVID-19 on teamwork came abrupt and transformed nearly all teams into virtual teams. A special challenge for leaders of virtual teams, not only in the pandemic, is to foster team cohesion, which positive influences team performance. However, many virtual leaders do not implement cohe-sion-empowering measures, which in turn can reduce team members’ feeling of belonging to both the team and the organization. Our research responds to this short-coming and presents measures which virtual leaders can integrate to strengthen cohesion. Within 40 interviews in 24 organizations, we identi-fy a wide and comprehensible overview of measures, which can be categorized into “on the job” and “off the job”. Hereby, we not only want to help to overcome the feeling of “loneliness” and “isolation” in the pandemic, but rather contribute to develop a profound feeling of cohesion in virtual teams in the long-term

Cognitive Biases in IS Research: A Framework Based on a Systematic Literature Review

Cognitive biases are worth considering in Information Systems (IS) research because they explain non-rational usage behavior and extend scientific understanding. Since the first publication in 1994, many papers in major IS outlets have appeared. However, although IS researchers increasingly acknowledge several specific biases (e.g., framing), other biases remain largely neglected (e.g., reference point dependency). In this article, we compile existing literature to create an overview of the growing body of IS research on cognitive biases. On this basis, we propose a framework that focuses on distinct biases regarding the IS topic they affect. Our framework will allow for more systematic research and analysis of the non-rational behavior of developers, managers, and users of information technology. Thereupon, future research will close existing theoretical gaps, e.g., the systematic combination with technology acceptance models. Besides, we also highlight tangible implications for practitioners