research-article

The “Mail-Order-Bride” (MOB) Phenomenon in the Cyberworld: An Interpretive Investigation

Authors:

Suprateek Sarker,

Suranjan Chakraborty,

Patriya Silpakit Tansuhaj,

Mark Mulder, and

Kivilcim Dogerlioglu-DemirAuthors Info & Claims

ACM Transactions on Management Information Systems (TMIS), Volume 4, Issue 3

Article No.: 10, Pages 1 - 36

https://doi.org/10.1145/2524263

Published: 01 October 2013 Publication History

Abstract

Information technology (IT) is often an enabler in bringing people together. In the context of this study, IT helps connect matchmaking service providers with those looking for love, particularly when a male seeks to meet and possibly marry a female from another country: a process which results in over 16,500 such ‘mail-order-bride’ (MOB) marriages a year in the United States alone. Past research in business disciplines has been largely silent about the way in which this process unfolds, the perspectives of the participants at different points of time, and the role of IT underlying the MOB matchmaking service. Adopting an interpretivist stance, and utilizing some of the methodological guidelines associated with the Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM), we develop a process model which highlights: a) the key states of the process through which the relationship between the MOB seeker (the man) and the MOB (the woman) unfolds, b) the transitions between states, and c) the triggering conditions for the transitions from one state to another. This study also highlights key motivations of the individuals participating in the MOB process, the effect of power and the role it plays in the dynamics of the relationships, the status of women and how their status evolves during the MOB process, and the unique affordance provided by IT as the relationships evolve.

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Cited By

Chen Y(2022)Medical use and costs for native fathers and children from transnational marriage families in Taiwan from 2004 to 2017Frontiers in Public Health10.3389/fpubh.2022.87085910Online publication date: 4-Oct-2022
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.870859
Pal AHerath TDe' RRaghav Rao H(2021)Why do people use mobile payment technologies and why would they continue? An examination and implications from IndiaResearch Policy10.1016/j.respol.2021.10422850:6(104228)Online publication date: Jul-2021
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2021.104228
Morewitz SMorewitz S(2019)Human TraffickingKidnapping and Violence10.1007/978-1-4939-2117-1_9(87-126)Online publication date: 5-Sep-2019
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2117-1_9

Index Terms

The “Mail-Order-Bride” (MOB) Phenomenon in the Cyberworld: An Interpretive Investigation
1. Computing methodologies
  1. Artificial intelligence
    1. Philosophical/theoretical foundations of artificial intelligence
      1. Cognitive science
2. Human-centered computing
  1. Collaborative and social computing
    1. Collaborative and social computing theory, concepts and paradigms
  2. Human computer interaction (HCI)

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cover image ACM Transactions on Management Information Systems

ACM Transactions on Management Information Systems Volume 4, Issue 3

October 2013

113 pages

ISSN:2158-656X

EISSN:2158-6578

DOI:10.1145/2523025

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Copyright © 2013 ACM.

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Publication History

Published: 01 October 2013

Accepted: 01 September 2013

Revised: 01 August 2013

Received: 01 August 2011

Published in TMIS Volume 4, Issue 3

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Cited By

Chen Y(2022)Medical use and costs for native fathers and children from transnational marriage families in Taiwan from 2004 to 2017Frontiers in Public Health10.3389/fpubh.2022.87085910Online publication date: 4-Oct-2022
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.870859
Pal AHerath TDe' RRaghav Rao H(2021)Why do people use mobile payment technologies and why would they continue? An examination and implications from IndiaResearch Policy10.1016/j.respol.2021.10422850:6(104228)Online publication date: Jul-2021
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2021.104228
Morewitz SMorewitz S(2019)Human TraffickingKidnapping and Violence10.1007/978-1-4939-2117-1_9(87-126)Online publication date: 5-Sep-2019
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2117-1_9

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