Situational influences on ethical decision-making in an IT context

Processes of ethical decision-making are thought to depend on the issue faced when making the decision. We examined the processes by examining student's reactions to five scenarios involving IT use. Data were collected using a questionnaire following a group discussion. The results showed that ethical decision-making processes did indeed vary by scenario, suggesting that a single-issue approach is inadequate for studying ethical decision-making. Perceived importance of the ethical issue was a factor in the scenarios, but it did not have an all-inclusive influence on the decision-making of the participants. The results were considered in the context of theories and Mason's ethical issues of the information age. We offer advice to managers on how to limit unethical behavior.     

What influences IT ethical behavior intentions—planned behavior,reasoned action,perceived importance,or individual characteristics?

This study extends IT ethics research by proposing an IT ethical behavioral model that includes attitude, perceived importance, subjective norms, situational factors, and individual characteristics. The proposed model integrates elements from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) as well as ethical decision-making models. It is hypothesized that behavioral intention is influenced by an individual’s attitude (which in turn is influenced by consequences of the action and the environment), obligation, and personal characteristics. The results of the study show that some factors are consistently significant in affecting attitude and behavioral intention. Other factors are significant only in certain scenarios. From the results, organizations may be able to develop realistic training programs for IT professionals and managers and incorporate deterrent and preventive measures that can curb the rising tide of undesired misuse.     

What influences IT ethical behavior intentions—planned behavior,reasoned action,perceived importance,or individual characteristics?

This study extends IT ethics research by proposing an IT ethical behavioral model that includes attitude, perceived importance, subjective norms, situational factors, and individual characteristics. The proposed model integrates elements from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) as well as ethical decision-making models. It is hypothesized that behavioral intention is influenced by an individual’s attitude (which in turn is influenced by consequences of the action and the environment), obligation, and personal characteristics. The results of the study show that some factors are consistently significant in affecting attitude and behavioral intention. Other factors are significant only in certain scenarios. From the results, organizations may be able to develop realistic training programs for IT professionals and managers and incorporate deterrent and preventive measures that can curb the rising tide of undesired misuse.     

Behavioral intention in social networking sites ethical dilemmas: An extended model based on Theory of Planned Behavior

The expanding use of social networking sites (SNSs) and their flexible functionalities allow individuals to use these sites in unexpected and unethical ways. SNS users face ethical dilemmas each day and they need to decide how to behave in these cases. The aim of this study was to identify the influential factors that have an impact on individuals' ethical decision-making and propose a model of the factors that are significant in the ethical decision-making process in the SNS context. This study employed the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and included personal normative beliefs, moral intensity, perceived threat of legal punishment to the main constructs of TPB namely attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control to predict the behavioral intention using a scenario based questionnaire. The moderating effects of several factors, including age, gender, level of income, ego strength, locus of control and religion, were investigated for the probable effect on the proposed model. Derived from a designed procedure, several scenarios were constructed, of which four were selected to be embedded in the survey instrument. With 441 returned questionnaires in hand, the collected data were analyzed using the partial least squares–structural equation modeling technique. The results showed attitude to be the most influential factor, followed by subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, personal normative beliefs, and moral intensity. Level of education, age, and scenario also showed a significant effect on the relation between predictors and behavioral intention.     

The development of an instrument to measure the degree of animation predisposition of agent users

The study reports on the development and operationalization of a construct that captures an individual’s degree of predisposition towards watching animated films. It is believed that this construct may potentially explicate a person’s perceptions and usage behavior towards animated agents in Microsoft Office applications. Animation predisposition is defined as an individual specific trait that reflects a person’s predisposition towards watching animated films. It is operationalized in form of a four-item Likert type scale, which was found highly reliable and valid. This construct does not correlate with two other individual specific traits: computer playfulness and personal innovativeness in the domain of information technology. As such, it is suggested that animation predisposition is a distinct and independent research construct exhibiting desirable psychometric properties. The analysis demonstrates that the degree of people’s animation predisposition is positively associated with their perceptions of enjoyment with an animated agent in MS Office. The computer users who have a higher degree of animation predisposition attempt to explore an agent’s personalization settings more frequently than those with a lower degree of animation predisposition. Overall, this study offers a new approach to the investigation of an untapped area aiming to improve the quality of the contemporary research on the usefulness and user acceptance of animated agents.     

Virtually homosexual: Technoromanticism,demarginalisation and identity formation among homosexual males

‘Coming out’ is a key stage in the identity formation process for the homosexual male when the individual discloses his homosexual status to himself and others. Although previous research has indicated that homosexual men often use the Internet and computer-mediated communication (CMC) during the identity formation process to discover and develop their sexual and self-identities, studies to date have focused on their use of text-based CMC with scant attention paid to experiences within virtual worlds. This study explored whether homosexual males use virtual worlds in the sexual identity formation process and, specifically, the applicability of technoromanticism within this context. Qualitative retrospective biographical interviews were undertaken with 12 self-selected individuals who had engaged with virtual worlds before or during their sexual identity development. The CASE model (Community, Anonymity, Sexual experimentation, and Escape) was developed to characterise the key themes emerging from the data and illustrate the enactment of technoromanticism by homosexual males within virtual worlds. It is concluded that technoromanticism in virtual worlds can only have a profound impact on individuals if the individual’s personal development online is transferred offline as there is a potential to become toxically immersed and thus stall or halt the identity development process altogether.     

Users’ attitudes toward Web-based collaborative learning systems for knowledge management

The Web-based technology is a potential tool for supported collaborative learning that may enrich learning performance, such as individual knowledge construction or group knowledge sharing. Thus, understanding Web-based collaborative learning for knowledge management is a critical issue. The present study is to investigate learners’ attitudes toward Web-based collaborative learning systems. Based on this research, the results of factor analysis show that five attitude factors (system functions, system satisfaction, collaborative activities, learners’ characteristics, and system acceptance) should be examined at the same time when building a Web-based collaborative learning system. The results also provide an acceptance model for understanding users’ behavioral intention of facilitating Web-based collaborative systems.     

Why provide an online review? An extended theory of planned behavior and the role of Big-Five personality traits

Online review, an important form of reputation systems, has been studied intensively because of its powerful impact on online retailers, intermediaries, and customers. However, to date, very little attention has been paid to factors that influence an individual’s intention to provide an online review. An extended theory of planned behavior and Big-Five personality framework are used in this study. We empirically examine our model by using a cross-sectional survey study, collecting data from a sample of 171 online shoppers. Results show that attitude, perceived pressure, neuroticism, and conscientiousness are significant predictors of an individual’s intention to provide an online review. Findings may help online retailers and/or intermediaries increase the number of online reviews provided, which will lead to more accurate rating information about transactions, products, or services and may serve as a stepping-stone to continuous improvements. Implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.     

Effects of innovativeness and trust on web survey participation

Responding to suggestions of prior research for examining the psychological constructs involved in a decision for or against participation in web surveys, this paper investigated the effects of trust in sponsor and personal innovativeness on potential respondents’ participation intention. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), two alternative models were empirically tested in which the roles of trust and innovativeness were theorized differently—either as moderators of the effects which perceived behavioral control and attitude have on participation intention (moderator model) or as direct determinants of the attitude, perceived behavioral control and intention (direct effects model). Data was collected from a sample of 131 university students enrolled in a computer course. The results of our study indicated that: (1) TPB could satisfactorily predict the behavioral intention with up to 44% variation of the intention being predicted by the model; (2) trust in sponsor and personal web innovativeness exerted direct determinant effects rather than moderate effects on participation attitude and perceived behavioral control, which in turn significantly affected participation intention; and (3) integrating the variables of trust and personal innovativeness into TPB model enhanced the prediction effect.     

Interactive genetic algorithms with individual’s fuzzy fitness

Interactive genetic algorithms are effective methods to solve an optimization problem with implicit or fuzzy indices, and have been successfully applied to many real-world optimization problems in recent years. In traditional interactive genetic algorithms, many researchers adopt an accurate number to express an individual’s fitness assigned by a user. But it is difficult for this expression to reasonably reflect a user’s fuzzy and gradual cognitive to an individual. We present an interactive genetic algorithm with an individual’s fuzzy fitness in this paper. Firstly, we adopt a fuzzy number described with a Gaussian membership function to express an individual’s fitness. Then, in order to compare different individuals, we generate a fitness interval based on α-cut set, and obtain the probability of individual dominance by use of the probability of interval dominance. Finally, we determine the superior individual in tournament selection with size two based on the probability of individual dominance, and perform the subsequent evolutions. We apply the proposed algorithm to a fashion evolutionary design system, a typical optimization problem with an implicit index, and compare it with two interactive genetic algorithms, i.e., an interactive genetic algorithm with an individual’s accurate fitness and an interactive genetic algorithm with an individual’s interval fitness. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is advantageous in alleviating user fatigue and looking for user’s satisfactory individuals.     

Theory of planning behavior (TPB) and customer satisfaction in the continued use of e-service: An integrated model

This study has devoted much effort to developing an integrated model designed to predict and explain an individual’s continued use of online services based on the concepts of the expectation disconfirmation model and the theory of planned behavior. Empirical data was collected from a field survey of Cyber University System (CUS) users to verify the fit of the hypothetical model. The measurement model indicates the theoretical constructs have adequate reliability and validity while the structured equation model is illustrated as having a high model fit for empirical data. Study’s findings show that a customer’s behavioral intention towards e-service continuance is mainly determined by customer satisfaction and additionally affected by perceived usefulness and subjective norm. Generally speaking, the integrated model can fully reflect the spirit of the expectation disconfirmation model and take advantage of planned behavior theory. After consideration of the impact of systemic features, personal characteristics, and social influence on customer behavior, the integrated model had a better explanatory advantage than other EDM-based models proposed in prior research.     

Exploring Chinese users’ acceptance of instant messaging using the theory of planned behavior,the technology acceptance model,and the flow theory

Instant messaging (IM) is a popular Internet application around the world. In China, the competition in the IM market is very intense and there are over 10 IM products available. We examine the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations that affect Chinese users’ acceptance of IM based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the technology acceptance model (TAM), and the flow theory. Results demonstrate that users’ perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment significantly influence their attitude towards using IM, which in turn impacts their behavioral intention. Furthermore, perceived usefulness, users’ concentration, and two components of the theory of planned behavior (TPB): subjective norm and perceived behavioral control, also have significant impact on the behavioral intention. Users’ intention determines their actual usage behavior.     

Perceived usefulness,user involvement and behavioral intention: an empirical study of ERP implementation

Many firms have implemented enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in the past few years. The expensive nature of these systems requires that effective usage of these systems be attained in order for an organization to derive the expected benefits from the technology. This study looks at the influence that perceived usefulness, user involvement, argument for change, prior usage and ease of use have on the behavioral intention to use an ERP system. A mail survey was used to collect data in an organization that was implementing an ERP system. A total of 571 responses were obtained. The results indicate that users perception of the perceived usefulness, ease of use of the technology, and the users’ level of intrinsic involvement all affect their intention to use the technology. The results seem to suggest that managerial efforts aimed at increasing the users’ perceptions of the usefulness and personal relevance of the technology will contribute to implementation success, where success is defined as effectual usage of the technology. The paper ends with possible extensions to this study.     

Guiding knowledge communication in CSCL via group knowledge awareness

Computer-mediated collaboration is not in and of itself a beneficial setting for learning. Environments for computer-mediated collaboration need to trigger learning-productive interactions. In this paper, we propose to implement tools providing group knowledge awareness (GKA), i.e., information about collaborators’ knowledge. GKA is typically restricted in CSCL environments. A GKA tool visualizing self-assessed learner knowledge, their partner’s self-assessed knowledge, and thus the distribution of knowledge, was studied in a computer-mediated collaborative learning scenario. Thirty-eight dyads were randomly assigned to either the GKA condition (GKA tool) or a control condition (only learner’s own knowledge was visualized). Results show that the GKA tool guided learners in their collaboration and, more specifically, in designing their communicative acts. Depending on the self- vs. partner-oriented purpose of the communicative act, the learner’s own vs. the partner’s knowledge guided communication. Guided communication was a mechanism for perceived learning gains and perceived knowledge convergence. A knowledge test failed to reveal a significant difference between the GKA and the control condition. In this paper, we will discuss characteristics of GKA tools and their impact on collaboration.     

An empirical investigation of end-users’ switching toward cloud computing: A two factor theory perspective

With the diffusion of cloud services, they are becoming an alternative to traditional information technology (IT). Despite the importance of cloud services, relatively few studies have been devoted to an empirical examination of the switching behavior from traditional IT to cloud services at the individual level. Therefore, this study attempts to explore the switching factors (i.e. switching enablers and switching inhibitors) and to empirically examine the relationships between those and users’ intention to switch to cloud services, based on the two-factor theoretic perspective. This study uses a longitudinal design to get survey data from undergraduate students at two universities in Korea in the context of IT switching to Google Apps settings. According to our findings, this study found that users’ switching intention to cloud services was not only positively influenced by expected switching benefits whose antecedents are omnipresence of cloud services and collaboration support, but also negatively influenced by expected switching costs whose antecedents are satisfaction with incumbent IT and breath use of inclement IT. The impacts of switching benefits and costs on switching intention were also positively moderated by end users’ personal innovativeness.     

Social anxiety and computer-mediated communication during initial interactions: Implications for the hyperpersonal perspective

The study examined how the reduced nonverbal cues characteristic of computer-mediated communication (CMC) moderated the potentially negative interpersonal outcomes of social anxiety in initial interactions. Hypotheses predicted that CMC would mitigate the extent to which social anxiety caused interpersonal perceptions of anxiety and that CMC would attenuate the negative association between one’s social anxiety and one’s partner’s conversational satisfaction. A sample (N = 206) of undergraduate students were paired in unacquainted dyads and then engaged in initial interaction conversations in either a face-to-face (FtF) or CMC context. The researchers measured social anxiety before the conversation and a number of outcomes after the conversation. The results revealed that CMC is a significant contingent condition to the association between social anxiety and one’s partner’s perception of this anxiety and a contingent condition to the association between social anxiety and one’s partner’s conversational satisfaction.     

Impact of two types of partner,perceived or actual,in human–human and human–agent interaction

Participants engaged in the Prisoner’s dilemma game with a partner through a computer terminal. We define two types of partner: a perceived partner and an actual partner, and manipulated the two factors independently. A perceived partner means a partner with whom participants imagined themselves to be interacting; instruction given by an experimenter controls the image of the perceived partner. An actual partner can change its behavior. In one scenario participants actually interacted with a human partner, in another scenario their partner was either a mostly cooperating computer agent or a mostly defecting computer agent. Three experiments were performed. The result suggested that the participants’ selection behavior was largely influenced by the instruction given about the partner by the experimenter and not influenced by the partner’s actual behavior. The analysis of the participants’ impressions of the partner showed that the effect of instruction about the partner disappeared. Individual likeability for a partner was very influenced by the partner’s behavior; as the participants incurred more defect actions from the partner, individual likeability for the partner decreased. On the other hand, social likeability for a partner was not so influenced by the partner’s behavior, but rather related to the participants’ own behavior. The participants who made more defect actions rated their partner’s social likeability lower.     

The effects of practice teaching sessions in second life on the change in pre-service teachers’ teaching efficacy

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of practice teaching in Second Life on the change of preservice teachers’ teaching efficacy, and the difference of changes between individual teaching practice and collaborative teaching practice in their teaching efficacy. Participants were placed into the individual teaching practice or collaborative teaching practice group as a part of a teaching methods and educational technology course. Both groups completed practice teaching sessions twice in Second Life and an instrument adopted for measuring of pre-service teachers’ teaching efficacy beliefs was administered after each of three stages. The researcher collected data from both groups before the first practice teaching, after the first practice teaching session, and after the second session. Results from a Repeated Measure ANOVA indicated that the practice sessions influenced changes in participants’ personal teaching efficacy but not teaching outcome expectancy. In addition, the results indicated significant difference between groups on their personal teaching efficacy after the second practice session, but not on teaching outcome expectancy. The difference between the two groups is attributed to the different methods in preparing for the practice session, practicing the teaching, and the reflection methods posed to each group of participants. This research suggests that pre-service teachers can gain valuable teaching practice in Second Life, and furthermore that collaborative practice teaching is more effective way than individual approaches to practicing teaching.     

The effect of uniform virtual appearance on conformity intention: Social identity model of deindividuation effects and optimal distinctiveness theory

This study integrates social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE) and optimal distinctiveness theory (ODT) in investigating the effect of uniform virtual appearance on individuals’ willingness to conform to a majority opinion in computer-mediated groups. SIDE posits that sharing the same visual cue can promote group identification process and eventually induce stronger conformity. Meanwhile, ODT indicates that too much visual similarity rather concerns individuals about their deprived uniqueness, so they would be reluctant to conform to a majority opinion as a way to restore their uniqueness. This study concurs with previous research based on SIDE by showing that group identification induced by uniform appearance increases conformity intention. It also showed that perceived deindividuation, another variable that is induced by a high level of visual similarity relative to others, decreases conformity intention. As a result, the current study shows that the effect of virtual uniform appearance on conformity intention is inconsistently mediated by group identification and perceived deindividuation.