Knowledge Sharing Initiatives in a Chinese Professional Services Firm

Knowledge management has received increasing attention from both academics and practitioners in the past few years. However, much of what we know is limited to larger organisations in developed economies. In this study, we describe and analyse the impact of an knowledge sharing project in a medium sized Chinese professional services firm. Employing Canonical Action Research, we describe how we diagnosed the organisational situation, planned theory-driven changes, implemented a new knowledge sharing platform and then evaluated the outcomes of the implementation. Key findings relate to the importance of guanxi (relationships) between employees and the role of instant messaging technology. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings for knowledge management in the Chinese context are discussed. Recommendations for future research and additional technology applications are identified

Socio-Psychological Aspects of Group Processes

The original working paper had no abstract. The purpose of the working paper was to document previous research undertaken in group research (broadly) from the socio-psychological perspective. Some of this directly related to work on GSS, some of it was antecedent to that research

Inclusive or Exclusive? Methodological Practice and Policy for Organisationally and Socially Relevant IS Research

In this research essay, we argue that IS researchers demonstrate a high degree of methodological exclusiveness in their preference for a relatively small selection of research methods that primarily follow the positivist tradition. Such exclusiveness is unethical because it severely and unreasonably limits the extent to which IS research and researchers can contribute both to pressing organisational problems and the scholarly literature. We synthesise our position in four arguments that guide our discussion of the nature and consequences of methodological exclusiveness as well as possible solutions. We end the paper with an exposition of steps that could be taken to address the current situation

Professional Ethics in Information Systems: A Personal Perspective

In the Information Systems discipline, increasing attention is being paid to the issue of professional ethics. In this article, a personal perspective on the topic is offered. The academic philosophies of ethical theory are introduced, followed by detailed treatment of four fundamental issues: codes of ethics, intellectual property rights, professional accountability and data protection. The intention of the article is to arouse the interest of IS professionals and to stimulate debate. Through a discussion, future developments in the professionalism of information systems are explored, and questions are raised concerning the way in which information systems is regulated, and the role it may play in the future

Discussants and the Quality of Interactions at Conferences

Discussants play an important role in conferences, yet little practical advice exists to help them make best use of their time beyond informal guidelines. Two new approaches to the intellectual discussion of conference papers are introduced: Group Support Systems and Conversational Learning. The discussant\u27s role is illustrated with reference to each of these approaches. Recommendations for discussant practice are presented

Research Perspectives: Through Whose Eyes? The Critical Concept of Researcher Perspective

In this article, we explore the notion of “researcher perspective,” by which we mean the viewpoint from which the researcher observes phenomena in any specific research context. Inevitably, the adoption of a particular viewpoint means that the researcher privileges the interests of one or more stakeholders while downplaying the interests of other stakeholders. Preliminary empirical analysis of a corpus of 659 articles published in three separate years in the AIS Basket of Eight journals, undertaken in preparation for the present paper, revealed that around 90% of articles (1) adopted a single-perspective approach, (2) were committed solely to the interests of the entity central to the research design, and (3) considered only economic aspects of the phenomena investigated in the research. Taken together, we argue that these three characteristics are unhealthy for the discipline and are likely to lead to the neglect of important research opportunities. We suggest that the principle of triangulation be applied not only to data sources and research methods, but also to researcher perspectives and that a consequent broadening of the IS discipline’s scope is essential. We conclude the article with prescriptive recommendations for the practice of research that is relevant to multiple stakeholders

Research in Information Systems: Intra-Disciplinary and Inter-Disciplinary Approaches

The deep embeddedness of information systems (IS) in many areas of human activity poses a dual challenge to the IS discipline: advancing an expanding disciplinary boundary that includes an increasing set of IS topics; and engaging with other disciplines in order to understand IS-enabled phenomena. An inability to meet these challenges could lead to conceptually stunted development of the IS discipline, missed opportunities to inform other disciplines and a failure to effectively contribute to solving the pressing problems of our time. We undertook this study to investigate both how IS research has addressed these challenges in the past and how it can continue to do so in the future. Drawing on the concept of knowledge-materialization through knowledge-creating practice, and based on approaches for disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge creation, we theorize four different types of knowledge contribution that IS researchers can produce, encompassing both an intradisciplinary and an interdisciplinary view. We then analyze a wide-ranging sample of research studies published in 176 papers in the AIS basket of eight journals to investigate the nature of their contribution vis-à-vis these types. We find that the predominant types of knowledge contribution are intradisciplinary, with relatively few interdisciplinary contributions. Based on our analysis, we explain why each type of knowledge contribution is important to the IS discipline and provide guidance for IS scholars in planning their research strategies for these contributions. We comment on the implications of our study for IS scholars and for the vigor and growth of the IS discipline