Modes of Governance in Inter-Organizational Data Collaborations

Big data and data-driven innovation are drivers for economic growth. To capture this growth, data often need to be shared among organisations. However, many challenges to sharing data among organisations exist. This paper investigates how governance is organised in inter-organisational data collaborations. First, based on literature, four archetypical modes of governance are identified: Market, Hierarchy, Bazaar and Network. Subsequently, these theoretical modes are investigated empirically by exploring governance modes in four use cases. Based on a cross-case comparison, we find that major challenges to data sharing are the commercially sensitive nature of data and privacy risks. Due to legal implications, sharing of personal data always takes place hierarchically. Therefore, coordination and control over data need to be firmly in place before organisations engage in data sharing. Further research should look into how these aspects can be organised in inter-organisational data collaborations to foster innovation

Determine the User Country of a Tweet

In the widely used message platform Twitter, about 2% of the tweets contains the geographical location through exact GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude). Knowing the location of a tweet is useful for many data analytics questions. This research is looking at the determination of a location for tweets that do not contain GPS coordinates. An accuracy of 82% was achieved using a Naive Bayes model trained on features such as the users' timezone, the user's language, and the parsed user location. The classifier performs well on active Twitter countries such as the Netherlands and United Kingdom. An analysis of errors made by the classifier shows that mistakes were made due to limited information and shared properties between countries such as shared timezone. A feature analysis was performed in order to see the effect of different features. The features timezone and parsed user location were the most informative features.Comment: CTIT Technical Report, University of Twent

It takes two to tango: the fit between network context and inter-organizational strategic information systems planning

The view of evaluating Strategic Information Systems Planning (Grover & Segars, 2005) process and effectiveness has matured. However, the inter-organizational view or network view is understudied. The introduction of information strategy in networks seems more reactive than proactive; many organizations continue to use SISP as a way to support their internal decision-making process without actually cooperating with their business partners. This article aims to qualitatively explore and validate, respectively, context and process dimensions in two inter-organizational cases: a network of municipalities in Finland and a network of healthcare organizations in the Netherlands. The first case study explores the network context and theorizes how network context influences inter-organizational SISP, discovering that the inter-organisational SISP process is influenced by the context, especially by the role of trust and complexity. The second case study is the exploration of three process dimensions: contingency, certainty and contractual agreements

Public Services 2.0: The Impact of Social Computing on Public Services

This report presents the findings of the study on "Public Services 2.0: The Impact of Social Computing on Public Services" conducted by TNO and DTI on behalf of IPTS from 2008 to 2009. The report gives an overview of the main trends of Social Computing, in the wider context of an evolving public sector, and in relation to relevant government trends and normative policy visions on future public services within and across EU Member States. It then provides an exhaustive literature review of research and practice in the area of Social Computing and identifies its key impact areas in the public sector. The report goes on to discuss four case studies of Social Computing-enabled communities in different areas: education (Connexions), health (Doctors.net.uk), inclusion (PatientsLikeMe) and governance (Wikileaks). This is followed by the findings of a scenario-building exercise in which two alternative scenarios were developed and related future opportunities and risks discussed. Additionally, the report presents the results of a cross-case analysis and an ad-hoc online survey which identifies the level of usage, the general characteristics and the key drivers of Social Computing for public services. The report concludes with a summary of research challenges and policy-relevant recommendations. Evidence from the study indicates that Social Computing technologies, applications and values have already been adopted in many areas of government activity. Social Computing affects several aspects of public service, related to both the front office (citizen-government relations) and the back office activities of public administrations. Social Computing is leading to new forms of ICT-enabled participation, capable of enhancing users¿ social awareness and involvement. Social Computing is also transforming relationships and ways of working within and between public sector organisations and opens the way to innovative service delivery mechanisms.JRC.J.4-Information Societ

A Form of Environmental Turbulence

The online environment offers a fertile breeding ground for anti-brand herds of disgruntled consumers. Firms are often caught off guard by the unpredictability of such herds and, as a consequence, are forced into a reactive, defensive stance. We conduct a social media analysis that aims to shed light on the formation, growth, and dissolution of online anti-brand herds. First we expand on the concept of environmental turbulence to advance core properties unique to online herd behavior. Next, based on evidence gathered from 40 online anti-brand herd episodes targeting two prominent firms from the Netherlands, we develop an analytical model to investigate drivers of herd formation, growth, and dissolution. Finally, combining environmental turbulence literature with our empirical findings, we derive a novel typology of online anti-brand herd behaviors, and put forward six propositions to guide theory development in this area

Farm biosecurity measures to prevent hepatitis E virus infection in finishing pigs on endemically infected pig farms

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) can be transmitted from pigs to humans and cause liver inflammation. Pigs are a major reservoir of HEV and most slaughter pigs show evidence of infection by presence of antibodies (ELISA) or viral RNA (PCR). Reducing the number of HEV infected pigs at slaughter would likely reduce human exposure, yet how this can be achieved, is unknown. We aimed to identify and quantify the effect of biosecurity measures to deliver HEV negative batches of pigs to slaughter. A case-control study was performed with Dutch pig farms selected based on results of multiple slaughter batches. Case farms delivered at least one PCR and ELISA negative batch to slaughter (PCR−ELISA−), indicating absence of HEV infection, and control farms had the highest proportion of PCR and/or ELISA positive batches (PCR+ELISA+), indicating high within-farm transmission. Data about biosecurity and housing were collected via a questionnaire and an audit. Variables were selected by regularization (LASSO regression) and ranked, based the frequency of variable selection. The odds ratios (OR) for the relation between case-control status and the highest ranked variables were determined via grouped logistic regression. Thirty-five case farms, with 10 to 60% PCR−ELISA− batches, and 38 control farms with on average 40% PCR+ELISA+ batches, were included. Rubber and steel floor material in fattening pens had the highest ranking and increased the odds of a PCR−ELISA− batch by 5.87 (95%CI 3.03–11.6) and 7.13 (95%CI 3.05–16.9) respectively. Cleaning pig driving boards weekly (OR 1.99 (95%CI 1.07–3.80)), and fly control with predatory flies (OR 4.52 (95%CI 1.59–13.5)) were protective, whereas a long fattening period was a risk. This study shows that cleaning and cleanability of floors and fomites and adequate fly control are measures to consider for HEV control in infected farms. Yet, intervention studies are needed to confirm the robustness of these outcomes

When slacktivism matters: on the organization and outcomes of online protests targeting firms

Activists increasingly organize online protests to pressurize firms into changing their policies or practices. These online protests often require little effort from participants, such as retweeting a Twitter hashtag. Hence, critics consider online protests requiring little effort as slacktivism: An easy and worthless substitute for more strenuous forms of activism. This dissertation takes a multimethod approach to study when online slacktivism matters. The findings show that slacktivism does matter when it is well-organized. First, digital media have spurred the emergence of internet-based protest organizations – dotcauses – that require less resources than formal activist groups and employ more entrepreneurial strategies. Second, the effects of online protests depend on how they are embedded in broader campaign strategies. A confrontational frame required to mobilize protest participants on the internet may conflict with a cooperative frame of lobbying efforts. Third, protest organizers need to adapt the design and framing of their online protests to slacktivists as these protest participants are more receptive to design cues and identify more strongly with the oppressed group protests side with. Last, the impact study demonstrates that online protests, when sufficiently large, decrease firms’ share value, reputation, and revenue. A response that approaches the protesters' demands may mitigate the damage done to the firm’s revenue, but not the damage done to the firm’s reputation