Exploring anchoring effect and the moderating role of repeated anchor in electronic commerce

Most of the anchoring studies conduct the experiments following two-stage experimental design in which a comparative judgement is followed by an absolute estimate. However, this design is impractical in many situations, especially in online auction environments where consumers cannot be asked to make comparisons before they make estimates. This study suggests and validates an alternative experimental design where no comparison process is needed to induce anchoring bias. Moreover, we postulate that repeated occurrence of anchoring points affect the strength of the anchoring effect on participants' price estimates. Two experiments were conducted to investigate the anchoring effect in both two-stage and one-stage designs. The results showed that the anchoring effect was robust under two-stage design, and repeated occurrence of the anchor did not reinforce the anchoring effect. Moreover, people's price estimates are susceptible to the anchoring effect even when they were not asked to make a comparative judgement before they determine the final estimate. However, the anchoring effect can be further consolidated when the anchor appears three times rather than once. Experimental design introduced in study 2 provides a promising website design direction and we suggest that high anchors should be embedded in a web page repeatedly to influence the buyers' value estimates to produce a premium.     

Legitimate by design: towards trusted socio-technical systems

Legitimacy or 'fairness' seems a key requirement for trust in computer-mediated social environments. Trust in turn seems necessary for productive community interactions like e-commerce. But unless legitimacy is built into social software, achieving trust may not be possible. This means expressing apparently vague social 'rights' as specific information system (IS) requirements, i.e. carrying out a legitimacy analysis. We suggest a framework for the systematic analysis of who 'owns' what in IS design, assuming basic object types and actions. This analysis not only allows social legitimacy concepts to be expressed in IS design terms, but could also reveal socio-technical system design choices for public review. The technique is illustrated by case examples. Legitimacy analysis can apply to wide variety of social software, from chat rooms to virtual realities. It could lead to future global standards for virtual social environment design, perhaps necessary for the emergence of a global online community.     

Dependable domestic systems design: A socio-technical approach

This paper describes a model that defines the attributes of domestic systems that lead to system dependability and a user-oriented specification method for support systems based on this model. We start by discussing technical dependability models and discuss how these have to be extended for use in a domestic context. We present an extended dependability model based on a socio-technical perspective. This extends the technical notion of dependability to take into account fitness for purpose, acceptability and adaptability. We then go on to discuss MDDS – a questionnaire-based method that reflects the socio-technical dependability model. It is intended for use by social care professionals who are specifying and designing support systems for older or disabled people. MDDS provides a basis for examining a design from a dependability perspective. We illustrate the use of the method and conclude with a discussion of its qualitative evaluation.     

Systems scenarios: a tool for facilitating the socio-technical design of work systems

Abstract

The socio-technical systems approach to design is well documented. Recognising the benefits of this approach, organisations are increasingly trying to work with systems, rather than their component parts. However, few tools attempt to analyse the complexity inherent in such systems, in ways that generate useful, practical outputs. In this paper, we outline the ‘System Scenarios Tool’ (SST), which is a novel, applied methodology that can be used by designers, end-users, consultants or researchers to help design or re-design work systems. The paper introduces the SST using examples of its application, and describes the potential benefits of its use, before reflecting on its limitations. Finally, we discuss potential opportunities for the tool, and describe sets of circumstances in which it might be used.

Practitioner Summary: The paper presents a novel, applied methodological tool, named the ‘Systems Scenarios Tool’. We believe this tool can be used as a point of reference by designers, end-users, consultants or researchers, to help design or re-design work systems. Included in the paper are two worked examples, demonstrating the tool’s application.     

Towards the design of secure systems

Within a programmed system, we may distinguish between different kinds of information in order to control the use of each kind by separate security policies, where each policy is tailored to the sensitivity and desired dissemination of that one kind of information. This paper analyses the implications of implementing security policies and describes mechanisms which can be used as the basis for constructing operating systems with the desired security attributes.     

Coordination mechanisms: Towards a conceptual foundation of CSCW systems design

The paper outlines an approach to CSCW systems design based on the concept of coordination mechanisms. The concept of coordination mechanisms has been developed as a generalization of phenomena described in empirical investigations of the use of artifacts for the purpose of coordinating cooperative activities in different work domains. On the basis of the evidence of this corpus of empirical studies, the paper outlines a theory of the use of artifacts for coordination purposes in cooperative work settings, derives a set of general requirements for computational coordination mechanisms, and sketches the architecture of Ariadne, a CSCW infrastructure for constructing and running such malleable and linkable computational coordination mechanisms.The first version of this paper was written while Carla Simone was with the University of Milano.     

Towards the design of intelligent CAD systems: An ontological approach

Although many sophisticated CAD integrated environments have been developed and are currently adopted by enterprises in the design of mechanical parts and components, such kinds of tools should be extended in order to reach higher levels of performance. To this aim, Artificial Intelligence techniques are particularly suitable to provide CAD tools with a sort of “intelligence” typical of human experts. In particular a complex mechanical object to be designed exploiting CAD systems can be considered as an aggregation of simpler components that have to be put together in order to satisfy precise design rules owned by expert designers core knowledge. This paper presents an ontological approach to the problem of representing relationships among step-by-step more complex parts, in order to obtain a final product that fully meets initial requirements.     

Designing socio-technical systems: from stakeholder goals to social networks

Software systems are becoming an integral part of everyday life influencing organizational and social activities. This aggravates the need for a socio-technical perspective for requirements engineering, which allows for modelling and analyzing the composition and interaction of hardware and software components with human and organizational actors. In this setting, alternative requirements models have to be evaluated and selected finding a right trade-off between the technical and social dimensions. To address this problem, we propose a tool-supported process of requirements analysis for socio-technical systems, which adopts planning techniques for exploring the space of requirements alternatives and a number of social criteria for their evaluation. We illustrate the proposed approach with the help of a case study, conducted within the context of an EU project.

Lean production in complex socio-technical systems: A systematic literature review

Although lean production (LP) is usually associated with complexity reduction, it has been increasingly applied in highly complex socio-technical systems (CSS) (e.g. healthcare), in which the complexity level cannot be reduced below a certain (high) threshold. This creates a paradoxical situation, which is not well understood in theory and can be underlying the frustrating results of many lean implementations. This article presents a systematic literature review of how LP has dealt with complexity, both in theory and in practice, from a complexity science perspective. The review was based on 94 papers, which were analyzed according to seven criteria: how the concept of complexity is being used in lean research; the complexity level of the studied systems; the compatibility between the methodological approach and the nature of complexity; how complexity is managed by LP; barriers to LP in CSS; side-effects of LP in CSS; and whether complexity is always detrimental to LP. A research agenda is also proposed.     

A socio-technical systems approach to studying interruptions: Understanding the interrupter's perspective

The purpose of this study was to understand the cognitive processes underlying nurses' decision to interrupt other nurses. The Institute of Medicine (2000) reported that interruptions are likely contributors to medical errors. Unfortunately, the research to date has been quite homogenous, focusing only on the healthcare provider being interrupted, ignoring the true complexities of interruptions. This study took a socio-technical approach being the first to examine interruptions from the viewpoint of the interrupting nurse. Over 15 h of observations and 10 open-ended interviews with expert nurses in a Neuroscience Surgical Intensive Care Unit were conducted. It was found that nurses conduct a quick cost-benefit assessment to determine the interruptibility of other nurses and whether an interruption is value-added vs. non-value added. To complete the assessment, nurses consider several conditional factors related to the interruptee, the interrupter, and the nature of the interruption content, and different potential consequences of the interruption.     

Model mismatch analysis: Towards a deeper explanation of users' usability problems

An evaluation method is proposed based on walkthrough analysis coupled with a taxonomic analysis of observed problems and causes of usability error. The model mismatch method identifies usability design flaws and missing requirements from user errors. The method is tested with a comparative evaluation of two information retrieval products. Different profiles of usability and requirements problems were found for the two products, even though their overall performance was similar.     

Moderating effects of localization differences on ERP use: A socio-technical systems perspective

Despite the promised benefits of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, more than two thirds of ERP system projects result in failure. In this study, we investigate some plausible reasons for their failure from the user’s perspective. Particularly, we propose the socio-technical factors that affect ERP system use. This study has two research objectives. First, it introduces and tests a theoretical model that views ERP systems as both an organizational change driver and a sophisticated information system to explain the phenomenon of ERP system use. For this purpose, the proposed model includes attitude toward change and computer self-efficacy; this may affect ERP system use behavior through perceived usefulness for the systems. Second, this paper attempts to shed some light on how the localization differences of ERP systems may affect users’ intention to use the ERP systems. The results based on survey data using subjects from two different ERP systems support the proposed research model. It identifies the moderating effect of the localization differences. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed along with its limitations.     

New treatments or old remedies: is business process reengineering really socio-technical design?

This paper discusses and compares two tools which are currently recommended to assist organizational redesign. One of these is the socio-technical approach developed by researchers at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations from the 1950s onwards. The other is business process reengineering which has recently emerged from researchers in the USA. These will be examined critically, compared with each other and their strengths and limitations discussed. The author argues that these approaches are similar in their procedures although, in her view, socio-technical design has a better theoretical basis and a stronger methodology. However, they differ greatly in their values. Socio-technical design argues that when new work systems are being designed equal weight should be given to social and technical factors. It places great emphasis on improving the quality of working life. Business process reengineering, in contrast, places most emphasis on gaining competitive advantage.     

The story of socio-technical design: reflections on its successes, failures and potential

Abstract.  This paper traces the history of socio-technical design, emphasizing the set of values it embraces, the people espousing its theory and the organizations that practise it. Its role in the implementation of computer systems and its impact in a number of different countries are stressed. It also shows its relationship with action research, as a humanistic set of principles aimed at increasing human knowledge while improving practice in work situations. Its evolution in the 1960s and 1970s evidencing improved working practices and joint agreements between workers and management are contrasted with the much harsher economic climate of the 1980s and 1990s when such principled practices, with one or two notable exceptions, gave way to lean production, downsizing and cost cutting in a global economy, partly reflecting the impact of information and communications technology. Different future scenarios are discussed where socio-technical principles might return in a different guise to humanize the potential impact of technology in a world of work where consistent organizational and economic change are the norm.     

面向控制器设计的多变量系统辨识实验信号

给出一种当多交量系统辨识模型用于控制器设计时的开环实验输入信号．假定系统未楚模动态可以用加性不确定性表示，取实际输出和理想输出误差平方均值最小，将其与系统辨识最小二乘法相结合，得到一种最优输入信号的设计方法．因输入信号与控制性能的相关性，可获得比普通随机信号更好的辨识结果．仿真结果证明了该方法的有效性．     

What users want in e-commerce design: effects of age,education and income

Preferences for certain characteristics of an online shopping experience may be related to demographic data. This paper discusses the characteristics of that experience, demographic data and preferences by demographic group. The results of an online survey of 488 individuals in the United States indicate that respondents are generally satisfied with their online shopping experiences, with security, information quality and information quantity ranking first in importance overall. The sensory impact of a site ranked last overall of the seven characteristics measured. Preferences for these characteristics in e-commerce sites were differentiated by age, education and income. The sensory impact of sites became less important as respondents increased in age, income or education. As the income of respondents increased, the importance of the reputation of the vendor rose. Web site designers may incorporate these findings into the design of e-commerce sites in an attempt to increase the shopping satisfaction of their users. Results from the customer relationship management portion of the survey suggest that current push technologies and site personalization are not an effective means of achieving user satisfaction.     

Towards the design of secure and privacy-oriented information systems in the cloud: Identifying the major concepts

One of the major research challenges for the successful deployment of cloud services is a clear understanding of security and privacy issues on a cloud environment, since cloud architecture has dissimilarities compared to traditional distributed systems. Such differences might introduce new threats and require a different treatment of security and privacy issues. It is therefore important to understand security and privacy within the context of cloud computing and identify relevant security and privacy properties and threats that will support techniques and methodologies aimed to analyze and design secure cloud based systems.     

Towards a generic design method for reconfigurable manufacturing systems: Analysis and synthesis of current design methods and evaluation of supportive tools

In today’s global manufacturing environment, changes are inevitable and something that every manufacturer must respond to and take advantage of, whether it is in regards to technology changes, product changes, or changes in the manufacturing processes. The reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) meets this challenge through the ability to rapidly and efficiently change capacity and functionality, which is the reason why it has been widely labelled the manufacturing paradigm of the future. However, design of the RMS represents a significant challenge compared to the design of traditional manufacturing systems, as it should be designed for efficient production of multiple variants, as well as multiple product generations over its lifetime. Thus, critical decisions regarding the degree of scalability and convertibility of the system must be considered in the design phase, which affects the abilities to reconfigure the system in accordance with changes during its operating lifetime. However, in current research it is indicated that conventional manufacturing system design methods do not support the design of an RMS and that a systematic RMS design method is lacking, despite the fact that numerous contributions exist. Moreover, there is currently only limited evidence for the breakthrough of reconfigurability in industry. Therefore, the research presented in this paper aims at synthesizing current contributions into a generic method for RMS design. Initially, currently available design methods for RMS are reviewed, in terms of classifying and comparing their content, structure, and scope, which leads to a synthesis of the reviewed methods into a generic design method. In continuation of this, the paper includes a discussion of practical implications related to carrying out the design, including an identification of potential challenges and an assessment of which tools that can be applied to support the design. Conclusively, further areas for research are indicated, which provides valuable knowledge of how to develop and realize the benefits of reconfigurability in industry.     

The performance of recommender systems in online shopping: A user-centric study

This research investigates the effects of preference relaxation on decision-making performance of users in online preference-based product search contexts. We compare four recommender systems based on different preference relaxation methods in extensive user experiments with 111 subjects that use two real-world datasets: 1818 digital cameras and 45,278 used car advertisements gathered from popular e-commerce websites. Our results provide new insights into the positive impact of the Soft-Boundary Preference Relaxation methods on decision-making quality and effort. The paper extends previous studies on this topic and demonstrates that decision aids based on preference relaxation techniques can effectively enhance preference-based product search in online product catalogues and help alleviate common disadvantages of form-based filtering mechanisms.