bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Overview of PAKDD Competition 2007
Authors: Zhang Junping , Li Guo-Zheng
Published: February 2011

The PAKDD Competition 2007 involved the problem of predicting customers’ propensity to take up a home loan when a collection of data from credit card users are provided. It is rather difficult to address the problem because 1) the data set is extremely imbalanced; 2) the features are mixture types; and 3) there are many missing values. This article gives an overview on the competition, mainly consisting of three parts: 1) The background of the database and some statistical results of participants are introduced; 2) An analysis from the viewpoint of data preparation, resampling/reweighting and ensemble learning employed by different participants is given; and 3) Finally, some business insights are highlighted.
PaKDD-2007
Authors: de Merckt Thierry V. , Chevalier Jean-Francois
Published: February 2011

This article presents VADIS Consulting’s solution for the cross-selling problem of the PAKDD_2007 competition. For this competition, we have used our in-house developed tool RANK, which automates a lot of important tasks that must be done to provide a good solution for predictive modeling projects. It was for us a way of benchmarking our 3 years of investment effort against other tools and techniques. RANK encodes some important steps of the CRISP-DM methodology: Data Quality Audit, Data Transformation, Modeling, and Evaluation. We have used RANK as we would do in a normal project, however with much less access to the business information, and hence the task was quite elementary: we have audited the data quality and found some problems that were further corrected. We have then let RANK build a model by applying its standard recoding, and then applied automatic statistical evaluation for variable selection and pruning. The result was not extremely good in terms of prediction, but the model was extremely stable, which is what we were looking for.
A Methodology Supporting the Design and Evaluating the Final Quality of Data Warehouses
Authors: Pighin Maurizio , Ieronutti Lucio
Published: February 2011

The design and configuration of a data warehouse can be difficult tasks especially in the case of very large databases and in the presence of redundant information. In particular, the choice of which attributes have to be considered as dimensions and measures can be not trivial and it can heavily influence the effectiveness of the final system. In this article, we propose a methodology targeted at supporting the design and deriving information on the total quality of the final data warehouse. We tested our proposal on three real-word commercial ERP databases.
MILPRIT*
Authors: de Amo Sandra , Junior Waldecir P. , Giacometti Arnaud
Published: February 2011

In this article, we consider a new kind of temporal pattern where both interval and punctual time representation are considered. These patterns, which we call temporal point-interval patterns, aim at capturing how events taking place during different time periods or at different time instants relate to each other. The datasets where these kinds of patterns may appear are temporal relational databases whose relations contain point or interval timestamps. We use a simple extension of Allen’s Temporal Interval Logic as a formalism for specifying these temporal patterns. We also present the algorithm MILPRIT* for mining temporal point-interval patterns, which uses variants of the classical levelwise search algorithms. In addition, MILPRIT* allows a broad spectrum of constraints to be incorporated into the mining process. An extensive set of experiments of MILPRIT* executed over synthetic and real data is presented, showing its effectiveness for mining temporal relational patterns.
A Graph-Based Biomedical Literature Clustering Approach Utilizing Term's Global and Local Importance Information
Authors: Zhang Xiaodan , Hu Xiaohua , Xia Jiali , Zhou Xiaohua , Achananuparp Palakorn
Published: February 2011

In this article, we present a graph-based knowledge representation for biomedical digital library literature clustering. An efficient clustering method is developed to identify the ontology-enriched k-highest density term subgraphs that capture the core semantic relationship information about each document cluster. The distance between each document and the k term graph clusters is calculated. A document is then assigned to the closest term cluster. The extensive experimental results on two PubMed document sets (Disease10 and OHSUMED23) show that our approach is comparable to spherical k-means. The contributions of our approach are the following: (1) we provide two corpus-level graph representations to improve document clustering, a term co-occurrence graph and an abstract-title graph; (2) we develop an efficient and effective document clustering algorithm by identifying k distinguishable class-specific core term subgraphs using terms’ global and local importance information; and (3) the identified term clusters give a meaningful explanation for the document clustering results.
A Survey of Open Source Tools for Business Intelligence
Authors: Thomsen Christian , Pedersen Torben Bach
Published: February 2011

The industrial use of open source Business Intelligence (BI) tools is becoming more common, but is still not as widespread as for other types of software. It is therefore of interest to explore which possibilities are available for open source BI and compare the tools. In this survey article, we consider the capabilities of a number of open source tools for BI. In the article, we consider a number of Extract-Transform-Load (ETL) tools, database management systems (DBMSs), On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) servers, and OLAP clients. We find that, unlike the situation a few years ago, there now exist mature and powerful tools in all these categories. However, the functionality still falls somewhat short of that found in commercial tools.
Evolution, Development and Growth of Electronic Money
Authors: Seetharaman A. , Raj John Rudolph
Published: February 2011

Traditional cash has long been envisioned to be replaced with ‘virtual’ or electronic cash. Electronic money and electronic payment systems for retail transactions are commanding widespread attention. Undeniably, electronic payment cites advantages such as efficiency and convenience to the consumers. However, with the rapid change and advances in technology, has posed significant risks, related to ensuring security and integrity of electronic payment systems in today’s cyber world. Therefore, this study attempts to understand the role of electronic payments for consumers, and to identify the problems and solutions in the emergence of electronic payments. This study also explores the challenges of electronic payments from a security perspective, in particular, and provides preliminary security countermeasures for each of the issues discussed. Beside that, the study also discusses further on the prospects of electronic payment systems. It is essential to put in place an integrated, overall risk-management approach to security, including independent security assessments as one of the components in the use of electronic payment products.
Digital Natives and H1N1
Authors: Woodhead Peter , Kennedy David M.
Published: February 2011

This paper examines what happens when young learners in a primary school in Hong Kong start from learning about information and communication technologies (ICTs) to learning with and through ICTs. The authors focus on how students used learning technologies when an H1N1 outbreak closed the school for three weeks and teachers were required to use ICTs to initiate at-home learning. This gave the researchers an opportunity to assess the capacity of young students using Web 2.0 technologies to support learning and the impact that these tools have on teacher views and practice. Data includes interviews with teachers and examples of students’ work. Findings demonstrate how confident and comfortable young learners are with new technologies, raising questions about prevailing assumptions that young students have the capacity to easily use the existing school-based learning management system and Web 2.0 applications. The authors provide evidence that students can effectively engage with ICTs and demonstrate very high levels of skills. However, students did not do so automatically, and required assessment tasks were often key drivers for initiating student engagement and learning.
Strategy and Structure in a Virtual Organization
Authors: Ahmed Nazim U. , Montagno Ray , Sharma Sushil
Published: February 2011

The business environment of the 21st century require organizations to respond quickly to market demands and thus traditional organization structures and strategy are no longer capable of sustaining the needs of this relentless pace. New forms of organizations in the form of virtual organization (VO) hold promise in the network world. Several organizations worldwide have already been experimenting virtual organizations’ structures and processes. These new virtual structures and processes, however, will require newer strategies to succeed. This paper attempts to highlight some strategy and structural issues of a VO. The study is conceptual in nature and inferences have been drawn from existing literature and practices.
Privacy Protection Via Technology
Authors: Ashrafi Noushin , Kuilboer Jean-Pierre
Published: February 2011

Increasingly, the Internet is used as a common tool for communication, information gathering, and online transactions. Information privacy is threatened as users are expected to reveal personal information without knowing the consequences of sharing their information. To that end, research groups, both from academia and industry, have embarked on the development of privacy enhancement technologies. One such technology is Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P). Developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), P3P has a number of prominent stakeholders such as IBM, Microsoft, and AT&T. Yet, there is little published information on what P3P is and to what extent it is being adopted by e-business organizations. This study is exploratory in nature and aims at addressing these questions; in particular, we look at P3P both as a new technology and as a standard. We use our empirical data on top 500 interactive companies to assess its adoption.
Business Process Modeling with URN
Authors: Weiss Michael , Amyot Daniel
Published: February 2011

This article demonstrates how the User Requirements Notation (URN) can be used to model business processes. URN combines goals and scenarios in order to help capture and reason about user requirements prior to detailed design. In terms of application areas, this emerging standard targets reactive systems in general, with a particular focus on telecommunications systems and services. This article argues that the URN also can be applied to business process modeling. To this end, it illustrates the notation, its use, and its benefits with a supply chain management case study. It then briefly compares this approach to related modeling approaches; namely, use case-driven design, service-oriented architecture analysis, and conceptual value modeling. The authors hope that a URN-based approach will provide usable and useful tools to assist researchers and practitioners with the modeling, analysis, integration, and evolution of existing and emerging business processes.
Monitoring and Controlling E-Mail Systems
Authors: Duane Aidan , Finnigan Patrick
Published: February 2011

As the criticality of e-mail for electronic business activity increases, ad hoc e-mail implementation, prolonged management neglect, and user abuse of e-mail systems have generated negative effects. However, management’s ability to rectify problems with e-mail systems is hindered by our understanding of its organizational use. Research on e-mail systems is often dated and based on quantitative methodologies that cannot explain the interaction between various controls in organizational settings. Updating our understanding of the organizational aspects of e-mail systems utilizing qualitative methods is necessary. This paper presents a multiple case study investigation of e-mail system monitoring and control. The study examines the interaction between key elements of e-mail control identified by previous researchers and considers the role of such controls at various implementation phases. The findings reveal the effectiveness of e-mail committees, training, policies, and sustained awareness when combined with e-mail monitoring, and concludes by identifying key formal, informal, and technical controls.
Modelling in Clinical Practice with Web Services and BPEL
Authors: Morrison Iain , Lewis Bryn , Nugrahanto Sony
Published: February 2011

The aim of increasing the quality of health care has led to the development of a number of “guideline” systems whereby clinicians receive assistance in decision making in a given care context — for example in areas such as prescribing or therapeutics. These guidelines range in complexity and functionality from simple textual references through to executable modules which can subsume some of the clinical decision making process. In the latter case, ensuring consistent and interoperable engagement between the guideline engine, clinical information system and patient record can become problematic. Critical areas include vocabulary and terminology (in differing use contexts) and the interfaces and interaction between different sub-systems where traditional approaches have been focussed on tightly coupling of sub-systems and in the generation of special purpose “glue” languages and logic. In this paper, we briefly describe an approach to clinical, information and service modelling. This approach uses tools and techniques gaining increasing acceptance in the e-commerce domain, which shares many of the technical and interoperability problems present in e-health.
An Exploratory Study of the Design Preferences of U.S. and Chinese Virtual Communities
Authors: Tan Felix B. , Lin Helen J. , Urquhart Cathy
Published: February 2011

With the increasing popularity of electronic commerce, businesses are starting to recognise that developing a good virtual community can help to generate more profits. Virtual communities can be an instrument for building relationships with customers, and retaining customers’ loyalty. Of interest are the similarities and differences in the design preferences of virtual communities across cultural groups. This paper, therefore, examined the design preferences of virtual communities in two cultural groups. The design preferences studied are Web design, tools used, and types of virtual communities preferred. Content analysis was employed to study 20 of the most popular Chinese and U.S. virtual communities. The study found that there are differences in the preference for the type of virtual communities and the tools used by Chinese and U.S. communities. The findings challenge aspects of Web site design across these cultural groups thought to be dissimilar based on prior research, indicating that designers of virtual communities must treat cultural differences with caution. Implications for research and practice are also discussed.
The Role of Trust in Business-to-Business E-Commerce Collaboration in a Unique Environment in Australia
Authors: Pollard Carol , Diggles Amanda
Published: February 2011

This research explores interorganisational collaboration in business-to-business e-commerce, and the factors that influence its development in a unique Australian environment. Using a qualitative case study approach, seven informants from four Tasmanian organisations were interviewed. The data confirmed trust was an important prerequisite for the establishment and development of both electronic and traditional interorganisational relationships. Collaborative relations such as communication and repeated interactions facilitated the development of trading-partner trust. Interestingly, trading-partner size did not influence trading partner trust, although “volume of business conducted” between trading partners was an influencing factor. Other factors included trading-partner reputation and length of preexisting relationship. Perceived benefits of trading partner trust included general business efficiencies, business growth, faster payment, increased information sharing and confidence, improved business relations, delivery, and reliability. The results enhance organisational awareness of similarities and differences between traditional and electronic business-to-business trading relationships, and contribute to the growing body of knowledge on interorganisational trust and business-to-business e-commerce. The influence of the unique Tasmanian environment was acknowledged and discussed as a mediating variable in considering the findings.
Pure Play vs. Bricks-and-Clicks
Authors: Zhuang Youlong , Lederer Albert L.
Published: February 2011

Pure play and bricks-and-clicks represent today’s two major retailing models. The current study answers four questions comparing the two models in terms of the e-commerce benefits achieved and information systems management practices used to achieve them. It applies a Web-based survey to compare 69 pure plays to 348 bricks-and-clicks retailers in terms of the market expansion, customer service, back-end efficiency, inventory management, and cost reduction benefits reaped, as well as in terms of the benchmarking, process redesign, and planning practices used. It found market expansion as the top benefit for both types of retailers. Pure plays exceed bricks-and-clicks at achieving back-end efficiency, inventory management, and cost reduction benefits. Pure play retailers apply benchmarking to reap their benefits while bricks-and-clicks retailers use process redesign and planning to reap theirs. Pure play retailers are better able to utilize benchmarking to realize market expansion and customer service benefits. On the other hand, bricks-and-clicks retailers are better able to utilize process redesign to realize inventory management and cost reduction benefits. The findings suggest potential directions for future research as well as electronic retail practice.
Individual Trust in Online Firms
Authors: Bhattacherjee Anol
Published: February 2011

This study examines three trust-building processes (relational, calculative, and institutional) that shapes individual trust in online firms and compares how the effects of these processes change over time as users gain experience with the target firms. It hypothesizes three alternative belief structures resulting from the above processes as determinants of trust, theorizes how their effects on trust change as users observe and learn from the firm’s actual behavior, and empirically tests the hypothesized associations using data collected from a field survey of online banking users. The results indicate that relational, calculative, and institutional beliefs are significant drivers of trust. However, calculative and institutional beliefs have stronger initial effects than relational beliefs for new consumers of online firms. The effect of calculative belief on trust decreases with time, while that of relational beliefs increases and that of institutional beliefs remain relatively unchanged. Research and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Morethailand.com
Authors: Hoontrakul Pongsak , Sahadev Sunil
Published: February 2011

The case study showcases morethailand.com, an e-intermediary in the tourism industry. Based out of Thailand, the firm is in the process of finding a niche for itself through innovative online and offline marketing strategies with the constraint of limited resources. The case study attempts to focus on the e-business challenges in the travel and tourism sector especially in a developing country like Thailand. It specifically highlights the clash between the traditional and modern form of intermediaries in the travel and tourism sector and how it is bound to evolve in the future. A comparison between different approaches to search engine marketing offers an interesting perspective to the literature pertaining to online e-commerce. An economic view on the case is also presented.
Virtual Organization
Authors: Lee Jinyoul , Eom Mike ("Tae-In") , Kim Bonn-Oh , Katerattanakul Pairin
Published: February 2011

Virtual organization incorporates all the revolutionary practices in the global network and provides a unique opportunity for society. This study provides a new vision of the future organization with the revolution of communication technologies. Virtual organization is analyzed with the premises of time and space. The findings of this chapter show the strategic implication of virtual organization in terms of its life cycle through various stages and interactions based on structuration. A resource-based view is employed to identify more effective and strategic ways to operate virtual organization.
A Roadmap for Ambient E-Service
Authors: Hwang Yuan-Chu , Yuan Soe-Tsyr
Published: February 2011

Most of the existing mobile services were designed based on the client/server architecture. Those mobile services neither paid much attention to mobile users’ interactions with their environments nor considered the collective efforts between the mobile users in a dynamic peer group. In this article, the notion of ambient e-service is so defined as to identify a new scope of mobile e-service, which address dynamic collective efforts between mobile users (enabled by mobile peer-to-peer technology), dynamic interactions with ambient environments (envisioned by location-based service), the moment of value (empowered by wireless technologies), and low cost service provision. The notable features of ambient e-services are the exhilarated linkage based on social context and significantly rapid growth of connections. We also present an ambient e-service framework that characterizes ambient e-services with three dimensions (value stack, environment stack, and technology stack), followed by several exemplars of ambient e-service applications. Moreover, we present the ambient e-service embracing model (ASEM) that addresses the integrated consideration of trust, reputation, and privacy required for fostering the growth of ambient e-services and steers the directions of future fruitful relevant research.
Integration of E-CRM in Healthcare Services
Authors: Burr L. C. , Patterson R. A. , Rolland E. , Ward K. F.
Published: February 2011

The quality of service which could be delivered by the U.S. healthcare system is in contrast with the customer’s perceived expectations and reported levels of satisfaction. Due to the uncertainty about stakeholder views and the anomaly of the third-party payment system, healthcare service providers are accused of not relating to their patients. This article examines how—by using an analytical framework—a healthcare provider can develop competitive advantage through implementing electronic customer relationship management (e-CRM) systems that create per-ceived customer value for its patients. This framework allows the firm to systematically look at points where the customer interacts with specific organizational assets. By examining individual interactions and understanding how the customer perceives an interaction, the firm may then develop specific e-CRM systems to maximize the value a customer may realize through that in-teraction. Due to the in-depth and lengthy nature of most patient relationships with a healthcare provider, the healthcare industry is used as an example of how this framework can be used by all service providers.
What Has Been Learned from Emergent Music Business Models?
Authors: Papagiannidis Savvas , Berry Joanna
Published: February 2011

The article investigates lessons learned from the emergence of new music industry business models and assesses how these might inform the rapidly developing online video and television marketplace. It describes the background and traditionally prevailing business models for both content processes, providing a context against which technologically mediated changes can be understood. The practical effects of technological changes are illustrated through a series of case studies, subsequent to which alternative frameworks for music and video content online are proposed. The initial results of these changes are thus demonstrated, and the article identifies requirements for further research in this rapidly changing and increasingly turbulent field of research.
Decision Factors for the Adoption of an Online Payment System by Customers
Authors: He Fang , Mykytyn Peter P.
Published: February 2011

Along with the exponential increase in online business transactions, the online payment system has gained in popularity because vendors and creditors realize its growing importance as a foundation to improve their information infrastructure and to achieve “paperless” operating efficiency. However, due to per se different characteristics among customers and Web-systems, both sides’ perspectives and technology factors could cause a significant level of variation in customers’ acceptance of online payment methods. Our research involving 148 subjects who participated in a field survey examined the impact of a series of possible decision factors including perceived risk, perceived benefits, vendor’s system features, and customers’ characteristics on the intention to use an online payment system by customers. Some significant associations are observed and their implications are discussed.
Drivers and Inhibitors to XBRL adoption
Authors: Troshani Indrit , Rao Sally
Published: February 2011

The eXtensible business reporting language is an XML-based standard, which has the potential to significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of intra- and inter-organizational information supply chain. In this article, we present the case for using convergent interviews as an appropriate and efficient method for modelling factors impacting the adoption of emerging and under-researched innovations, such as XBRL. Using this method, we identify environmental, organizational and innovation-related factors as they apply to XBRL adoption and diffusion. Contentious factors, such as the role of government organizations, XBRL education and training, and the readiness of XBRL as an innovation and its supporting software solutions is examined in more detail. Further, practical adoptions strategies and their implications are also discussed.
Exploring Relationship Between Information Systems Strategic Orientation and Small Business Performance
Authors: Rajendran R. , Vivekanandan K
Published: February 2011

Businesses invest in developing information systems resources to gain competitive advantages. Literature has demonstrated the requirement of strategic alignment in converting these competitive advantages into sustained superior business performance. The knowledge of information systems strategic orientation and its relationship with business performance will enable these businesses to fine tune their strategic information systems applications portfolio in achieving required strategic alignment. This study focuses on the information systems strategic orientation of small businesses and investigates its relationship with their perceived business performance. The organizational impact of adoption of the initial stages of electronic business development is also examined. The data were collected from small businesses on nine strategy areas, through mail survey. The result reveals three multifaceted dimensions of information systems strategic orientation. These dimensions of strategic orientation have significantly influenced their business performance. For the adopters of Web presence, all these three dimensions remain significant in explaining their business performance.
E-Business Deployment in Nigerian Financial Firms
Authors: Eze Uchenna C.
Published: February 2011

This research provides empirical evidence on factors that influence e-business deployment among financial firms in Nigeria. It explores possible differences that exist among financial firms using in-house e-business capabilities and those that outsource their e-business capabilities. This research contributes to the few pieces of literature on e-business (EB) experiences among firms operating in Africa, particularly Nigeria. Technology-Organization-Environment [TOE] model underpins the framework and hypotheses development for this article. The independent variables are the firm, technological and environmental factors while EB use constitutes the dependent variable. The findings reveal that all the factors were significant, but that environmental factors were key determinants of EB use among the firms. In addition, this study reveals practitioners’ interests in Nigerian government agencies to maintain and enhance the existing EB legal, regulatory and security frameworks in the country. By extension, this could enable greater EB use in firms, which could improve the overall economy.
Analysis of Business Process Models in Enterprise Web Services
Authors: Kung Mabel T. , Zhang Jenny Y.
Published: February 2011

This article reports a series of process-based models for the development of e-business using enterprise software applications. Merging management technology in workflow systems is a critical step to provide service-oriented architecture and on-demand business. We propose a value-oriented process technique as a strategic alignment to improve investment value. Our framework focuses on the guidelines for traditional users to identify the structural conflicts in integrating Web services. A comparative study of workflow models for intra-and inter-organizational process control is presented. This article identifies the current progress in the adaptability in the design of process models coupled with structural changes of workflow views. The study provides a resource list of successful implementations for practitioners in organizational management. The research highlights the motivation of market facilitation, expert sharing and collaboration that enable commercial applications to support complex heterogeneous, autonomous and distributed information systems.
The Measurement of Electronic Service Quality
Authors: Bressolles Grégory , Nantel Jacques
Published: February 2011

Several measurement scales have been designed by both practitioners and researchers to evaluate perceptions of electronic service Quality. This article tests three of the main academically developed scales: Sitequal (Yoo & Donthu, 2001), Webqual 4 (Barnes & Vidgen, 2003) and EtailQ (Wolfinbarger & Gilly, 2003) and compares them against the scale ensuing from our research: NetQual (Bressolles, 2006). Based on 204 evaluations of consumers that participated in a laboratory experiment involving two Canadian Web sites in travel and online insurance, NetQual best fits the data and offers the highest explanatory power. Then the impact of nature of task and success or failure to complete the task on the evaluation process of electronic service quality and attitude toward the site is examined and discussed on over 700 respondents that navigated on six different Web sites.
Organizational Slack and Information Technology Innovation Adoption in SMEs
Authors: Franquesa Jaume , Brandyberry Alan
Published: February 2011

This study explores the relevant dimensions of organizational slack in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and investigates their impact on adoption of different types of information technology (IT) innovations. Using recent data from a representative sample of 2,296 U.S. SMEs, we find that the slack-innovation relationships previously described in larger firms do not hold well for SMEs. Our results show potential slack (measured as access to external credit) to be a strong predictor of technology adoption in SMEs. By contrast, available slack appeared not to be a significant factor in SME innovation adoption. Moreover, the direction of the effects of potential slack was moderated by the capital-intensity of the innovation. In particular, e-commerce, which required lesser financial resources for SME adoption, was found to be pursued by those with lesser potential slack. We argue that, in some cases, innovation adoption may represent a form of “bricolage” by resource constrained SMEs.
Business Process Digitalization and New Product Development
Authors: Li Jun , Merenda Michael , Venkatachalam A.R.
Published: February 2011

Previous research has largely ignored how business process digitalization across the value chain enhances firm innovation. This article examines the relationship between the extensiveness of business process digitalization (BPD) and new product development (NPD) in a sample of 85 small U.S. manufacturers. Scores of extensiveness was derived from the number of adopted e-business practices regarding inter and intra-firm activities such as: customer and supplier services (computer-aided design and manufacturing), employee services (education/training), and industry scanning (technology sourcing). We found that (1) NPD is positively related to the extensive use of BPD, and (2) the relationship between NPD and the extensiveness of BPD is stronger in more mature firms than that in younger firms. We conclude that small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) production innovation strategies are positively associated with the strategic use of BPD and span spatial, temporal, organizational, and industry boundaries thus aiding SME global competitiveness.
Coping with Manufacturers’ Dilemma in the E-Commerce Era
Authors: Li Xiaolin
Published: February 2011

From a channel conflict perspective, this paper proposes a Relational Model identifying key determinants of manufacturers’ intentions to establish an online direct sales channel (ODSC). The paper also develops a Strategic Framework as a guideline for manufacturers to formulate their Internet channel strategies. Unlike most other studies on channel conflicts that focus on channel management after the manufacturer has already established its ODSC, this study provides a comprehensive strategic analysis of channel conflicts based on a pre-ODSC context, which prevents unnecessary losses from channel conflicts before they occur.
Virtual Teams
Authors: Pinsonneault Alain , Caya Olivier
Published: February 2011

This article reviews the extant empirical literature on virtual teams and presents what we know and what we don’t know about them. Drawing upon the literature from both organization behavior (OB) and information systems (IS), we propose a framework that integrates the most important variables affecting virtual teams. The framework is then used to assess the effects of virtual teamwork on group processes and outcomes. The paper also discusses the challenges facing researchers studying virtual teams and presents an agenda for future research.
The Relationship Between e-Collaboration and Cognition
Authors: Hayne Stephen C. , Smith C.A.P.
Published: February 2011

Recent research has proposed that groupware performance may be strongly affected by the fit between the task and the groupware structures selected for use. We suggest that the link is deeper; there needs to be a fit between the task and the group’s cognitive structures as mapped to the groupware structures. In this paper, we address this shortcoming by integrating recent theories of cognition (distributed cognition, transactive memory, and template theory) from the perspective of electronic collaboration. We refine the concept of cognitive fit as applied to group work and offer propositions for further study. We suggest that template core data is used during situation assessment and that slot data refines response selection. Finally, we propose several techniques by which the group cognitive effort can be minimized, thereby leaving more capacity for the collective task. This approach is especially applicable to naturalistic group decision situations.
Innovation Diffusion and E-Collaboration
Authors: Miranda Shaila M. , Carter Pamela E.
Published: February 2011

Organizational arrangements such as telework are often believed to disrupt workers’ social networks. This raises a concern regarding teleworkers’ abilities to adjust to technological changes in organizations. Based on innovation diffusion theory, this chapter considers telework and interdependence as parallel dimensions of social proximity that may be expected to affect the diffusion of innovation in terms of users’ social information processing (i.e., their technology beliefs, communication channels, and information sources). This proposition is investigated in a field-study conducted during the migration of a business unit to a new communications system. Technology users at the business unit were surveyed three times over a 12-week period—right before the conversion to the new system and at two six-week intervals following the conversion. These surveys assessed the impact of telework on respondents’ beliefs toward the communication technology. Findings partially supported our hypotheses regarding the negative effect of remoteness on beliefs about technology. Users were then surveyed to investigate the media and sources they utilized to stay informed about the new technology. As anticipated, telework was related to an increased use of electronic media and of individual and authority information sources. Contrary to our expectations, though, results indicated a positive effect of telework on the use of collective sources and face-to-face media. Therefore, we conclude that teleworkers make a special effort to preserve their social networks.
Hacker Wars
Authors: Baskerville Richard
Published: February 2011

This article develops an analytical framework for new forms of information warfare that may threaten commercial and government computing systems by using e-collaboration in new ways. The framework covers (1) strategic model, (2) strategic arena, (3) e-collaboration, and (4) ethics and law. The framework then is used to compare two recorded instances of major hacker wars that erupted in the shadow of kinetic conflicts. In both cases, the hacker war appears to have been a grassroots collaborative enterprise by loosely organized civilians with neither government control nor permission. Collaborating across networks to coordinate their attacks, such hacker wars can attack both government and commercial computer networks without warning. The analysis shows how hacker wars demonstrate characteristics found in the frameworks and that there are forms of e-collaboration that represent a potentially difficult new source of threat for globalized information systems.
The Role of Culture in Knowledge Management
Authors: Leidner Dorothy , Alavi Maryam , Kayworth Timothy
Published: February 2011

Knowledge management (KM) approaches have been broadly considered to entail either a focus on organizing communities or a focus on the process of knowledge creation, sharing, and distribution. While these two approaches are not mutually exclusive and organizations may adopt aspects of both, the two approaches entail different challenges. Some organizational cultures might be more receptive to the community approach, whereas others may be more receptive to the process approach. Although culture has been cited widely as a challenge in knowledge management initiatives, and although many studies have considered the implications of organizational culture on knowledge sharing, few empirical studies address the influence of culture on the approach taken to knowledge management. Using a case study approach to compare and contrast the cultures and knowledge management approaches of two organizations, the study suggests ways in which organizational culture influences knowledge management initiatives as well as the evolution of knowledge management in organizations. Whereas in one organization, the KM effort became little more than an information repository, in the second organization, the KM effort evolved into a highly collaborative system fostering the formation of electronic communities.
Perceived Behaviors of Emergent and Assigned Leaders in Virtual Groups
Authors: Wickham Kathryn R. , Walther Joseph B.
Published: February 2011

While considerable research has explored perceptions of groups and members in computer-mediated communication (CMC), and leadership behaviors in face-to-face groups, little research has examined how leadership is identified in CMC groups. Contemporary CMC theories alternatively stress the impact of salient, stereotyped roles on CMC groups’ perceptions, or the accretion of exaggerated impressions based on behavioral cues. These perspectives, in turn, coincide with predictions about the predominance of alternative forms of leadership: Assigned versus emergent. This study draws on traditional leadership theories from face-to-face group research and applies them to CMC to examine dynamics related to assigned and emergent leaders in online groups. The results of the study demonstrate that CMC groups may identify more than one leader. When identifying emergent leaders, regardless of whether a leader was assigned or not, group members consider perceived amounts of communication, intelligence, and encouraging and authoritarian behaviors.
Virtual Team Leadership
Authors: Hambley Laura A. , O’Neill Thomas A. , Kline Theresa J.B.
Published: February 2011

The purpose of this study was to improve the understanding of virtual team leadership occurring within existing virtual teams in a range of organizations. Qualitative data were collected through comprehensive interviews with nine virtual team leaders and members from six different organizations. A semi-structured interview format was used to elicit extensive information about effective and ineffective virtual team leadership behaviours. Content analysis was used to code the interview transcripts and detailed notes obtained from these interviews. Two independent raters categorized results into themes and sub-themes. These results provide real-world examples and recommendations above and beyond what can be learned from simulated laboratory experiments. The four most important overarching findings are described using the following headings: 1) Leadership critical in virtual teams, 2) Virtual team meeting effectiveness, 3) Personalizing virtual teamwork, and 4) Learning to effectively use different media. These findings represent the most significant and pertinent results from this qualitative data and provide direction for future research, as well as practical recommendations for leaders and members of virtual teams.
Vive la Différence
Authors: Gefen David , Geri Nitza , Paravastu Narasimha
Published: February 2011

In the ITC cross-cultural literature, we often talk about the differences among peoples and how their respective culture and history may affect their adoption and preference usage patterns of ITC. However, do we really need to look that far to find such crosscultural differences? Considering language is one of the major defining attributes of culture, this article takes a sociolinguistic approach to argue that there is also a crosscultural aspect to ITC adoption within the same culture. Sociolinguists have claimed for years that, to a large extent, the communication between men and women, even within the supposedly same culture, has such characteristics because men and women communicate with different underlying social objectives and so their communication patterns are very different. This article examines this sociolinguistic perspective in the context of online courses. A key finding is that although the stage is set to smother cultural and gender differences if participants wish to do so through ITC, gender based cultural patterns still emerge. These differences were actually strong enough to allow us to significantly identify the gender of the student, despite the gender neutral context of the course discussions. Implications for ITC, in general, in view of this Vive la Différence, are discussed.
Searching for Value in Researching the Adoption and Use of M-services
Authors: Standing Craig , McManus Patricia , Standing Susan , Karjaluoto Heikki
Published: February 2011

Mobile services (m-services) have become an important part of the e-commerce landscape. Although research has been conducted on which services people use and the benefits they attach to those services, the values associated with the adoption and use of m-services at the individual level is still unclear. This article addresses the question of why and how individuals adopt and appropriate m-services with a particular focus on m-communication? In the information systems field, various technology adoption models have been proposed and validated in relation to technology adoption within an organisational setting, but personal adoption and use of technology is less researched. We propose the use of means-end chains and laddering techniques to determine the basic primitive values that are fulfilled for the individual by using various m-services. The examples presented show that mobile services often fulfill such basic needs as selfesteem, achievement, individuality, belonging, and well-being. Exploring the realization of values as a theoretical framework offers researchers a way forward in environments characterised by individual technology decisions.
Leadership and Performance in Virtual Teams
Authors: Glückler Johannes , Schrott Gregor
Published: February 2011

This article explores the structural foundations of leadership and performance in virtual project teams. In an experimental business case, the article demonstrates the effect of structural brokerage in team communication on leadership and team performance. This research suggests that social roles as well as the acknowledgement of leadership and performance are conditional to the way individuals and teams relate to their environment. It supports structural hole theory in that leaders and a winner team achieved the highest values of flow betweenness and network efficiency. Strategically, managers of virtual knowledge networks should focus their attention not only on the qualifications of individuals, but also on communication structures within their work groups.
Modeling Collaborative Design Competence with Ontologies
Authors: Tarasov Vladimir , Lundqvist Magnus
Published: February 2011

Collaborative design in dispersed groups of engineers creates various kinds of challenges to technology, organization, and social environment. This article presents an approach to description and representation of the competences needed for a planned collaborative design project. The most important competence areas are identified starting from the nature of design work, problem solving in design teams, and working in distributed groups. The competence model is built structuring these areas according to three perspectives: general, cultural, and occupational competences. An ontological representation is proposed to implement the described model for collaborative design competence. Using an ontology language for representation of collaborative design competence models makes it possible to identify those individuals who are best suited for the collaboration by ontology matching. Finally, a software design team consisting of two persons was interviewed and two competence profiles were created using the developed ontological representation of the model. The modeling of the team members has proved that the proposed approach can be applied to modeling competences needed for collaborative design in engineering fields.