There are many publicly accessible repositories on the Internet that are created by firms and pro... more There are many publicly accessible repositories on the Internet that are created by firms and professional bodies. Such repositories are created by the uncompensated efforts of individuals contributing content e.g. book reviews or review of attractions at tourist destinations for the benefit of unknown others who may be considering reading the books or planning visits to these destinations. While the potential value of such publicly accessible online repositories is recognized, there has been little prior work examining the motivations of individuals to make contributions to them. We draw on social psychological theory and theory on prosocial behavior and volunteerism to examine this phenomenon and highlight the factors motivating individuals to make contributions to online repositories. We examine these questions using data on the profiles of contributors of reviews to a publicly accessible review repository. We find that contributors have a varied set of motivations for contributi...
Abstract: This research examines how communication patterns within or between teams support probl... more Abstract: This research examines how communication patterns within or between teams support problem solving in design and engineering projects. We compare four different perspectives for their effectiveness on performance: the heavyweight project manager perspective, the internal communication perspective, the external communication perspective and the gatekeeper perspective. We also propose that project ambiguity-ie, the degree to which a project cannot be fully specified upfront-moderates how effective these ...
This material is brought to you by the Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) at AIS ... more This material is brought to you by the Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has been accepted for inclusion in AMCIS 1999 Proceedings by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please contact elibrary@ aisnet. org.
In spite of the importance of knowledge reuse much is still unknown about how knowledge managemen... more In spite of the importance of knowledge reuse much is still unknown about how knowledge management artifacts influence reuse in practice. In this paper we use the concept of scaffolding to explore how knowledge repositories influence knowledgeable action. We conceptualize anchoring and adjustment as the processes involved in the use of scaffolding such as knowledge repositories. By viewing reuse in terms of these mechanisms, we can begin to consider the reuse processes individually as involving (1) choice of ...
Advancement in communication technologies continues to fuel the growth of geographically distribu... more Advancement in communication technologies continues to fuel the growth of geographically distributed teams. Managers and team members have expressed concerns about negative impacts when individuals work at a distance from each other since such changes in work structure can affect social interactions among individuals in teams. The social relationships, shared experiences, and ongoing interpersonal interactions that often arise from colocation are recognized as contributing to the social capital of individuals. In ...
Academy of Management, Toronto, Canada, May 1, 2000
Recently, a growing body of empirical research has begun to examine the practice of electronic gr... more Recently, a growing body of empirical research has begun to examine the practice of electronic group communication. Electronic group communication is a key process through which people can maintain communities of practice and leverage the strength of weak ties. Even though prior empirical investigations of electronic group communication have been successful at providing evidence for its effectiveness, these prior studies have not adequately dealt with the differences in the types of technology implementations of ...
Abstract: Public document repositories comprise a major form of online forums on the Internet whe... more Abstract: Public document repositories comprise a major form of online forums on the Internet where people submit documents having content that is potentially useful to others, yet which is not specifically asked for by anyone. Among the various types of other forums such as listservs, bulletin boards, etc., there has been little research on repositories. Prior work has also mostly considered people contributing to such forums as a homogeneous group by treating them as being driven by the same motivations on average. In this study, ...
IT-business alignment in multi-business-unit firms that have a federated IT structure involves tw... more IT-business alignment in multi-business-unit firms that have a federated IT structure involves two types of alignment—local alignment and enterprise alignment. Local alignment efforts focus on serving the technology needs of an individual business unit and creating business value from such technology deployments. Enterprise alignment efforts involve coordinating potential economies and efficiencies across business units. In our study of a multi-business-unit company with federated IT governance, we found three components to ...
A new liaison role between Information Systems (IS) and users, the relationship manager (RM), has... more A new liaison role between Information Systems (IS) and users, the relationship manager (RM), has recently emerged. According to the prescriptive literature, RMs add value by deep understanding of the businesses they serve and technology leadership. Little is known, however, about their actual work practices. Is the RM an intermediary, filtering information and sometimes misinformation, from clients to IS, or do they play more pivotal roles as entrepreneurs and change agents? This article addresses these questions by ...
IT-business alignment in multi-business-unit firms that have a federated IT structure involves tw... more IT-business alignment in multi-business-unit firms that have a federated IT structure involves two types of alignmentâ€â€local alignment and enterprise alignment. Local alignment efforts focus on serving the technology needs of an individual business unit and creating business value from such technology deployments. Enterprise alignment efforts involve coordinating potential economies and efficiencies across business units. In our study of a multi-business-unit company with federated IT governance, we found three components to be key to successful enterprise alignment: (1) Building the capabilities of the shared IT services group so it can provide infrastructure services more reliably and professionally, (2) Introducing opportunities for IT and business managers to collaborate so they can develop mutual trust and understanding, and (3) Creating new mechanisms for business unit leaders to be better informed about IT investment trade-offs and corporate IT leaders to be better informed about the business value of specific shared services
Public document repositories (PDRs) are valuable resources available on the Internet and are a co... more Public document repositories (PDRs) are valuable resources available on the Internet and are a component of the broader information commons freely accessible to the public. Instances of PDRs include the repository of reviews at Amazon.com and the online encyclopedia at Wikipedia. These repositories are created and sustained by the voluntary contributions of individuals who are not compensated for their inputs. This paper draws on and extends critical mass theory in the context of PDRs. Using data on the reviews written by prolific reviewers at Amazon.com and the text of their personal profiles, we find the critical mass of contributors at the PDR not only to be prolific and contributing high-quality reviews, but also to be among the earliest contributors of reviews on products. Reviewer profiles revealed the presence of multiple self-oriented motives (self expression, personal development, utilitarian motives, and enjoyment) and other-oriented motives (social affiliation, altruism, ...
There are many publicly accessible repositories on the Internet that are created by firms and pro... more There are many publicly accessible repositories on the Internet that are created by firms and professional bodies. Such repositories are created by the uncompensated efforts of individuals contributing content e.g. book reviews or review of attractions at tourist destinations for the benefit of unknown others who may be considering reading the books or planning visits to these destinations. While the potential value of such publicly accessible online repositories is recognized, there has been little prior work examining the motivations of individuals to make contributions to them. We draw on social psychological theory and theory on prosocial behavior and volunteerism to examine this phenomenon and highlight the factors motivating individuals to make contributions to online repositories. We examine these questions using data on the profiles of contributors of reviews to a publicly accessible review repository. We find that contributors have a varied set of motivations for contributi...
Abstract: This research examines how communication patterns within or between teams support probl... more Abstract: This research examines how communication patterns within or between teams support problem solving in design and engineering projects. We compare four different perspectives for their effectiveness on performance: the heavyweight project manager perspective, the internal communication perspective, the external communication perspective and the gatekeeper perspective. We also propose that project ambiguity-ie, the degree to which a project cannot be fully specified upfront-moderates how effective these ...
This material is brought to you by the Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) at AIS ... more This material is brought to you by the Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has been accepted for inclusion in AMCIS 1999 Proceedings by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please contact elibrary@ aisnet. org.
In spite of the importance of knowledge reuse much is still unknown about how knowledge managemen... more In spite of the importance of knowledge reuse much is still unknown about how knowledge management artifacts influence reuse in practice. In this paper we use the concept of scaffolding to explore how knowledge repositories influence knowledgeable action. We conceptualize anchoring and adjustment as the processes involved in the use of scaffolding such as knowledge repositories. By viewing reuse in terms of these mechanisms, we can begin to consider the reuse processes individually as involving (1) choice of ...
Advancement in communication technologies continues to fuel the growth of geographically distribu... more Advancement in communication technologies continues to fuel the growth of geographically distributed teams. Managers and team members have expressed concerns about negative impacts when individuals work at a distance from each other since such changes in work structure can affect social interactions among individuals in teams. The social relationships, shared experiences, and ongoing interpersonal interactions that often arise from colocation are recognized as contributing to the social capital of individuals. In ...
Academy of Management, Toronto, Canada, May 1, 2000
Recently, a growing body of empirical research has begun to examine the practice of electronic gr... more Recently, a growing body of empirical research has begun to examine the practice of electronic group communication. Electronic group communication is a key process through which people can maintain communities of practice and leverage the strength of weak ties. Even though prior empirical investigations of electronic group communication have been successful at providing evidence for its effectiveness, these prior studies have not adequately dealt with the differences in the types of technology implementations of ...
Abstract: Public document repositories comprise a major form of online forums on the Internet whe... more Abstract: Public document repositories comprise a major form of online forums on the Internet where people submit documents having content that is potentially useful to others, yet which is not specifically asked for by anyone. Among the various types of other forums such as listservs, bulletin boards, etc., there has been little research on repositories. Prior work has also mostly considered people contributing to such forums as a homogeneous group by treating them as being driven by the same motivations on average. In this study, ...
IT-business alignment in multi-business-unit firms that have a federated IT structure involves tw... more IT-business alignment in multi-business-unit firms that have a federated IT structure involves two types of alignment—local alignment and enterprise alignment. Local alignment efforts focus on serving the technology needs of an individual business unit and creating business value from such technology deployments. Enterprise alignment efforts involve coordinating potential economies and efficiencies across business units. In our study of a multi-business-unit company with federated IT governance, we found three components to ...
A new liaison role between Information Systems (IS) and users, the relationship manager (RM), has... more A new liaison role between Information Systems (IS) and users, the relationship manager (RM), has recently emerged. According to the prescriptive literature, RMs add value by deep understanding of the businesses they serve and technology leadership. Little is known, however, about their actual work practices. Is the RM an intermediary, filtering information and sometimes misinformation, from clients to IS, or do they play more pivotal roles as entrepreneurs and change agents? This article addresses these questions by ...
IT-business alignment in multi-business-unit firms that have a federated IT structure involves tw... more IT-business alignment in multi-business-unit firms that have a federated IT structure involves two types of alignmentâ€â€local alignment and enterprise alignment. Local alignment efforts focus on serving the technology needs of an individual business unit and creating business value from such technology deployments. Enterprise alignment efforts involve coordinating potential economies and efficiencies across business units. In our study of a multi-business-unit company with federated IT governance, we found three components to be key to successful enterprise alignment: (1) Building the capabilities of the shared IT services group so it can provide infrastructure services more reliably and professionally, (2) Introducing opportunities for IT and business managers to collaborate so they can develop mutual trust and understanding, and (3) Creating new mechanisms for business unit leaders to be better informed about IT investment trade-offs and corporate IT leaders to be better informed about the business value of specific shared services
Public document repositories (PDRs) are valuable resources available on the Internet and are a co... more Public document repositories (PDRs) are valuable resources available on the Internet and are a component of the broader information commons freely accessible to the public. Instances of PDRs include the repository of reviews at Amazon.com and the online encyclopedia at Wikipedia. These repositories are created and sustained by the voluntary contributions of individuals who are not compensated for their inputs. This paper draws on and extends critical mass theory in the context of PDRs. Using data on the reviews written by prolific reviewers at Amazon.com and the text of their personal profiles, we find the critical mass of contributors at the PDR not only to be prolific and contributing high-quality reviews, but also to be among the earliest contributors of reviews on products. Reviewer profiles revealed the presence of multiple self-oriented motives (self expression, personal development, utilitarian motives, and enjoyment) and other-oriented motives (social affiliation, altruism, ...
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