Investigating the Performance Effects of Diversity Faultlines in IT Project Teams

To complete complex and knowledge-intensive tasks, IT work critically relies on the interaction of team members. While heralded as a contribution to performance, diversity is also linked to negative team outcomes. Given the critical role of team collaboration, we investigate the effects of diversity on performance in IT projects. Drawing on faultline theory as a measure of diversity, we develop and test hypotheses on the performance effects of the strength of identity- and knowledge-based faultlines and the number of resulting factions in 424 IT projects. While insignificant, knowledge-based faultlines positively relate to performance. The number of potential group divisions has a positive effect if identity-based and a negative effect if knowledge-based. Unexpectedly, we find identity-based faultlines to significantly improve performance. Findings are of value to research by furthering knowledge on the specifics of IT work and effects of diversity. For practice, we provide important considerations for how teams can be designed to achieve superior outcomes

HVS7: a chemically peculiar hyper-velocity star

Context: Hyper-velocity stars are suggested to originate from the dynamical interaction of binary stars with the supermassive black hole in the Galactic centre (GC), which accelerates one component of the binary to beyond the Galactic escape velocity. Aims: The evolutionary status and GC origin of the HVS SDSS J113312.12+010824.9 (HVS7) is constrained from a detailed study of its stellar parameters and chemical composition. Methods: High-resolution spectra of HVS7 obtained with UVES on the ESO VLT were analysed using state-of-the-art NLTE/LTE modelling techniques that can account for a chemically-peculiar composition via opacity sampling. Results: Instead of the expected slight enrichments of alpha-elements and near-solar Fe, huge chemical peculiarities of all elements are apparent. The He abundance is very low (<1/100 solar), C, N and O are below the detection limit, i.e they are underabundant (<1/100, <1/3 and <1/10 solar). Heavier elements, however, are overabundant: the iron group by a factor of ~10, P, Co and Cl by factors ~40, 80 and 440 and rare-earth elements and Hg even by ~10000. An additional finding, relevant also for other chemically peculiar stars are the large NLTE effects on abundances of TiII and FeII (~0.6-0.7dex). The derived abundance pattern of HVS7 is characteristic for the class of chemical peculiar magnetic B stars on the main sequence. The chemical composition and high vsini=55+-2km/s render a low mass nature of HVS7 as a blue horizontal branch star unlikely. Conclusions: Such a surface abundance pattern is caused by atomic diffusion in a possibly magnetically stabilised, non-convective atmosphere. Hence all chemical information on the star's place of birth and its evolution has been washed out. High precision astrometry is the only means to validate a GC origin for HVS7.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

“Primus inter Pares”?—The Perception of Emergent Leadership Behavior in Agile Software Development Teams

Despite being a key feature of Agile Software Development (ASD), self-organization within ASD teams has received limited research attention. Hence, this study furthers our understanding of how informal emergent leadership may develop within ASD teams by combining knowledge on ASD teams with extant research on emergent leadership. In an exploratory mixed-method study of two Scrum teams, we observed two specific types of emergent leaders, namely, a “detail-oriented structurer”, and a “big picture coordinator.” For emergent leadership to develop, the Scrum master had to create a “leadership gap.” Given this leadership gap, emergent leadership may develop in a circular manner: specific behaviors of team members and their perceptions may provide the basis for emergent leadership, which combined with implicit leadership theories of team members give rise to a leadership structure. Our results add to research on emergent leadership and increase our understanding of self-organization in ASD teams

Stray Off Topic to Stay On Topic: Preserving Interaction and Team Morale in a Highly Collaborative Course while at a Distance

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has prompted schools and universities to shift their teaching to virtual classrooms from one day to the other. As a unique example, we had to virtualize the second half of a two-semester course on human-centered innovation, which heavily relies on direct interaction with and among students in small groups. In going virtual, we found adapting assignments to be only the tip of the iceberg. Despite being familiar with the students, we faced challenges in preserving high levels of creative interaction and in surveying team morale and status. Reflecting on our experiences, we detail solutions related to the lack of creative interaction by fostering off-topic chit-chat and surveying team morale by introducing more explicit communication and seeking team consent. To help teachers adapt to virtual teaching, we discuss how our mitigation approaches, which we developed in an extreme setting that required close, creative collaboration, may apply to virtual teaching in general

Explaining How Agile Software Development Practices Moderate the Negative Effects of Faultlines in Teams

By viewing organisational usage of enterprise social software (ESS) as one of appropriation, this research-in-progress paper explores the juxtaposed relationship between two practices, that of client and consultant, as they work together to co-design a joint ESS solution for the client’s workplace. Such observations have been made through the lead researcher’s embedded relationship in a case organisation who specialise in ESS. We theorize that through a design and practice-based perspective, the taken-for-granted assumptions of both practices are revealed by practice breakdowns and are subsequently then animated through a type of useful tension as design-based activities unfold. In this regard, a double hermeneutic process is revealed in which the two practices try and understand each other’s understanding of the same project. This is in addition to their own practice’s understanding for how their role contributes to the ESS project

"Can't Get No Satisfaction?" – The Case for Broadening Information Systems Research on E-Commerce

Satisfaction is a crucial construct in information systems research, particularly for investigations of e-commerce. Given profound shifts in the scope and use of e-commerce and the associated proliferation of information systems, we ask whether research should adopt a more encompassing view of information systems in e-commerce. Based on recent propositions in marketing research, we identify "experience" as a construct apt to complement "satisfaction" by broadening the scope of inquiry to include the entire order process. In a systematic literature review, we identify a variety of definitions of key constructs but find very few contributions from information systems research that take experience into account. Based on these findings, we outline possibilities for future research to move from exclusively focusing on satisfaction to directing attention to experience as an affective response to technology on a systems level. Such a change carries several implications touching the very basis of information systems research, such as the role of the IT artifact. In addition, we discuss implications for practice

The More the Merrier? The Effect of Size of Core Team Subgroups on Success of Open Source Projects

Open source software (OSS) has become an important organizational form of building software. Given the desire to understand drivers of OSS project success and the known importance of social structure for team functioning, we investigate the effects of the relative size of contribution-based subgroups on community size of OSS projects. Drawing on extant research on OSS and faultline-based subgrouping, we investigate the relation with project community size of the relative size of subgroups based on reputation, issue focus, contribution extent and contribution persistence. While in several instances non-significant, results suggest a differential relation in which a large share of core members with high reputation, issue focus and persistent contributions positively relate to community size, whereas a large share of extensively contributing members in the core team is negatively related. Our findings are of value to research and practice by furthering the understanding of work in OSS projects

Striving for Global Optima in Digital Transformation: A Paradox Theory Approach

Inherent properties of digital technologies offer promising possibilities such as rapid scalability and exponential growth. However, we observe that firms pursuing digital transformation (DT) initiatives face difficulties in realizing these benefits, as they face competing organizational demands (tensions) in the DT context. By considering digital technologies’ unique properties and adopting a paradox theory lens, we conducted a qualitative study with 28 interviewees across three companies from which we derive six drivers of tensions and three novel paradoxical tensions within the DT context. We show how these drivers and tensions lead to firms pursuing short-term successes at the cost of strategic benefits that DT offers (what we call “local” instead of “global” optima). We provide scholars and practitioners with a fundamental understanding of how digital technologies define challenges in the DT process so that firms can proactively structure DT initiatives to reach global optima

The nature of the high Galactic latitude O-star HD93521: new results from X-ray and optical spectroscopy

Owing to its unusual location and its isolation, the nature of the high Galactic latitude O9.5Vp object HD93521 is still uncertain. We have collected X-ray and optical observations to characterize the star and its surroundings. X-ray images and spectra are analyzed to search for traces of a recent star formation event around HD93521 and to search for the signature of a possible compact companion. Optical echelle spectra are analysed with plane-parallel model atmosphere codes, assuming either a spherical star or a gravity darkened rotationally flattened star, to infer the effective temperature and surface gravity, and to derive the He, C, N and O abundances of HD93521. The X-ray images reveal no traces of a population of young low-mass stars coeval with HD93521. The X-ray spectrum of HD93521 is consistent with a normal late O-type star although with subsolar metallicity. No trace of a compact companion is found in the X-ray data. In the optical spectrum, He and N are found to be overabundant, in line with the effect of rotational mixing in this very fast rotator, whilst C and O are subsolar. A critical comparison with the properties of subdwarf OB stars, indicates that, despite some apparent similarities, HD93521 does not belong to this category. Despite some ambiguities on the runaway status of the star, the most likely explanation is that HD93521 is a Population I massive O-type star that was ejected from the Galactic plane either through dynamical interactions or a result of a supernova event in a binary system.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

The Anisotropic Spatial Distribution of Hypervelocity Stars

We study the distribution of angular positions and angular separations of unbound hypervelocity stars (HVSs). HVSs are spatially anisotropic at the 3-sigma level. The spatial anisotropy is significant in Galactic longitude, not in latitude, and the inclusion of lower velocity, possibly bound HVSs reduces the significance of the anisotropy. We discuss how the observed distribution of HVSs may be linked to their origin. In the future, measuring the distribution of HVSs in the southern sky will provide additional constraints on the spatial anisotropy and the origin of HVSs.Comment: 4 pages, accepted to ApJ Letter