Explaining the link between technostress and technology addiction for social networking sites: A study of distraction as a coping behavior

This paper investigates under what conditions stress from the use of SNS is linked to addiction to the use of the same SNS. Integrating three theoretical strands—the concept of feature‐rich Information Technology (IT), the theory of technology frames, and distraction as a coping behaviour—we theorize two types of coping behaviours in response to stressors experienced from the use of SNS. These are ‐ distraction through use of the same SNS and distraction through activities outside the use of the SNS. We hypothesize relationships between stressors from SNS use, the two coping behaviours and SNS addiction. We further articulate the role of SNS use habit. We test the hypotheses through a three‐wave survey of 444 Facebook users with data collected at three different points in time. The paper's contributions are to theorize and empirically validate the psychological concept of distraction as a coping behaviour in response to stress from the use of SNS and, in doing so, explain why there may be a link between technostress from and technology addiction to the use of the same SNS.     

Public Cellphone Use Does Not Activate Negative Responses in Others…Unless They Hate Cellphones

Ostracism dramatically reduces psychosocial well‐being. Many studies have examined ostracism within digital environments, but to our knowledge no one has examined ostracism as manifested through public cellphone use. Experimental data revealed that public texting or reading on a cellphone was less ostracizing to copresent others than face‐to‐face ostracism but more ostracizing than face‐to‐face inclusion. Though cellphone use was somewhat ostracizing it did not prompt negative psychological effects, supporting the notion of cellphone taken‐for‐grantedness. Exceptions were found for those reporting phone technostress; these individuals were negatively affected by exposure to someone reading on a cellphone. Findings extend the ostracism paradigm to a new context and support research on the importance of attitudes and norms in shaping the effects of public cellphone use.     

Evaluation on crowdsourcing research: Current status and future direction

Crowdsourcing is one of the emerging Web 2.0 based phenomenon and has attracted great attention from both practitioners and scholars over the years. It can facilitate the connectivity and collaboration of people, organizations, and societies. We believe that Information Systems scholars are in a unique position to make significant contributions to this emerging research area and consider it as a new research frontier. However, so far, few studies have elaborated what have been achieved and what should be done. This paper seeks to present a critical examination of the substrate of crowdsourcing research by surveying the landscape of existing studies, including theoretical foundations, research methods, and research foci, and identifies several important research directions for IS scholars from three perspectives—the participant, organization, and system—and which warrant further study. This research contributes to the IS literature and provides insights for researchers, designers, policy-makers, and managers to better understand various issues in crowdsourcing systems and projects.     

Design process knowledge for crisis-driven information systems solutions: Insights on building digital resilience from an action design research study

As global disruptions escalate, digital resilience (DR)—the capacity to anticipate, absorb, and adapt to external shocks by leveraging Information Systems (IS)—has become crucial for individuals and organisations confronting and managing unprecedented crises. This research advances understanding on how to develop DR, drawing on insights from an Action Design Research (ADR) study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our research explores a particular facet of DR: the capacity to manage exogenous shocks through the design  of new IS solutions. We introduce the ADAPT framework, comprising five key enablers—Agility, Designation, Alignment, Participation, and Trust—recommended to support design teams developing IS solutions during and for crises. Our ADR project, which resulted in the creation of a telemonitoring system used by over 115 frontline healthcare workers to monitor the symptoms of more than 1000 COVID-19 patients, demonstrates the instrumental role these five enablers play in supporting a crisis-propelled IS design process that is urgent, resource-limited, and multi-partite. By presenting new design process knowledge and practical recommendations that guide crisis-driven IS design, we aim to equip design teams with the understanding they need to effectively navigate similar challenges in the future. We also hope to inspire and support IS researchers to apply their expertise in the design, deployment, and use of IS solutions to contribute to crisis-driven design endeavours that tackle the pressing and urgent challenges of our time.     

Technostress: negative effect on performance and possible mitigations

We investigate the effect of conditions that create technostress, on technology‐enabled innovation, technology‐enabled performance and overall performance. We further look at the role of technology self‐efficacy, organizational mechanisms that inhibit technostress and technology competence as possible mitigations to the effects of technostress creators. Our findings show a negative association between technostress creators and performance. We find that, while traditional effort‐based mechanisms such as building technology competence reduce the impact of technostress creators on technology‐enabled innovation and performance, more empowering mechanisms such as developing technology self‐efficacy and information systems (IS) literacy enhancement and involvement in IS initiatives are required to counter the decrease in overall performance because of technostress creators. Noting that the professional sales context offers increasingly high expectations for technology‐enabled performance in an inherently interpersonal‐oriented and relationship‐oriented environment with regard to overall performance, and high failure rates for IS acceptance/use, the study uses survey data collected from 237 institutional sales professionals.     

Information Systems Use: Construct conceptualization and scale development

Information Systems Use (ISU) is an essential part of the human behaviors in utilizing computers in organizations. The construct has been widely used to measure IS adoption or IS success. However, few studies attempt to understand ISU in a job and organizational setting where employees use various types of IS for different tasks. To better understand ISU, it is necessary to contextualize the construct in users’ overall work related activities. We classified the overall IS/IT use in an organization into three different types of IS; Information Reporting Systems (IRSs), Decision Support Systems (DSSs), and Group Support System (GSSs). Based on this classification, we developed four items for each type of ISU behaviors. The resulting ISU instrument was tested using a dataset of 231 responses collected in a survey. Both exploratory factor analysis and PLS are employed to successfully establish reliability, convergent/discriminate validity, and predictive validity. The contribution of this research is to provide better and more robust measurements for the ISU construct, which should help to lay a firmer foundation for further research on IS success.     

Information system success among manufacturing SMEs: case of developing countries

This research develops an integrated model of Information System (IS) success based on the DeLone and McLean (2003. The DeLone and McLean model of information systems success: A ten-year update. Journal of Management Information Systems, 19(4), 9–30) IS success model and the technology–organization–environment framework of the firm to provide small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the relative importance and knowledge of IS success. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to collect data from 316 Iranian and Malaysian manufacturing SMEs. Our findings show that the determinants of IS success among SMEs are not limited to the technological factors identified in the DeLone and McLean (2003) IS success model. We in effect found that IS success among SMEs is also determined by some key organizational and environmental determinants. We observed that the involvement of both top management and employees in different stages of IS implementation is important and IS success among SMEs requires internal and external support. The study contributes to the theory by extending and empirically testing the DeLone and McLean IS success model in a different setting than in previous studies. The study can serve as a basis for future research in this field through advancing the theoretical development in the area of IS success.     

Thematic orientation of the ISJ within a semantic space of IS research

This study examines research published in the first 24 years of Information Systems Journal's (ISJ) publication history using a thematic space of all information systems (IS) research as the backdrop. To that end, abstracts from all contributing articles published in eight prominent IS journals in the period 1991–2014 were analysed to extract a latent semantic space of five broad research areas. A two‐dimensional projection of the results was used to create a two‐by‐two map, where one dimension represents the European vs. North American style of IS research and another dimension represents a micro vs. macro level of IS research. The ISJ is positioned in the ‘micro and European school’ quadrant. Over the course of the journal's first 24 years, research in the ISJ started with a relative focus on the IT artefact and IS development and gradually moved towards a more balanced position that includes a considerable amount of research on IT for teamwork and collaboration, as well as on IT and individuals.     

User expertise in contemporary information systems: Conceptualization,measurement and application

The development of user expertise is a strategic imperative for organizations in hyper-competitive markets. This paper conceptualizes opreationalises and validates user expertise in contemporary Information Systems (IS) as a formative, multidimensional index. Such a validated and widely accepted index would facilitate progression of past research on user competence and efficacy of IS to complex contemporary IS, while at the same time providing a benchmark for organizations to track their user expertise. The validation involved three separate studies, including exploratory and confirmatory phases, using data from 244 respondents.     

Making the world a better place with fintech research

Financial technology (fintech) is seen as possessing significant potential to provide the poor access to financial services and help them escape the clutches of poverty. Surprisingly, Information Systems (IS) research has engaged little with fintech's promise of fostering financial inclusion for the poor. In the spirit of ‘making a better world with ICTs’, conducting ‘responsible IS research for a better world’ and ‘understanding and tackling societal grand challenges through management research’, we advance a framework for guiding IS research on fintech-led financial inclusion. Drawing on the IS literature and Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) scholarship, we extrapolate five areas of research that can better illuminate fintech's contributions to financial inclusion: (a) business strategies for fintech-led financial inclusion; (b) digital artifacts of fintech-led financial inclusion; (c) business environment of fintech-led financial inclusion; (d) microfoundations of fintech for financial inclusion; (e) developmental impacts of fintech. We conclude with a discussion of how the five areas offer opportunities for impactful research on fintech and the promise of building a financially inclusive society.     

Technostress under different organizational environments: An empirical investigation

Today’s pervasive information and communications technologies (ICTs) enable us to get connected almost anywhere at anytime. ICTs such as the Internet, the advanced wireless technologies and mobile communications networks are becoming increasingly indispensable in many aspects of business and everyday life. But to keep up with the fast advancing pace of the new ICTs, employees have to constantly renew their technical skills as well as enduring pressure from a more complex system and higher expectations for productivity. This often leads to ICT related technostress experienced by employees in many organizations. Studies have found technostress to have significant negative impact on employee productivity. Based on large-scale survey responses Chinese employees, this paper investigates the effects of different organizational environment settings on employee technostress levels. The results show that employees from more centralized companies often perceive more technostress. In addition, in organizations that are both highly centralized and highly innovative, the overall technostress level is the highest. On the other hand, in organizations with low centralization and low innovation, technostress is the lowest. This research will provide a foundation for organizations to understand and alleviate technostress, thus improving employee performance.     

Towards a distinctive body of knowledge for Information Systems experts: coding ISD process knowledge in two IS journals

Abstract.  This paper introduces the idea of coding a practically relevant body of knowledge (BoK) in Information Systems (IS) that could have major benefits for the field. In its main part, the paper focuses on the question if and how an underlying body of action-oriented knowledge for IS experts could be distilled from the IS research literature. For this purpose the paper identifies five knowledge areas as the most important parts for an IS expert's BoK. Two of these are claimed as distinct areas of competence for IS experts: IS application knowledge and IS development (ISD) process knowledge. The paper focuses particularly on ISD process knowledge because it allows the organizing of practically relevant IS knowledge in an action-oriented way. The paper presents some evidence for the claim that a considerable body of practically relevant IS process knowledge might, indeed, exist, but also notes that it is highly dispersed in the IS literature. It then argues that the IS research community should take stock of this knowledge and organize it in an action-oriented way. Based on results from prior work it proposes a four-level hierarchical coding scheme for this purpose. In order to test the idea of coding action-oriented knowledge for IS experts, the paper reports the results of a coded literature analysis of ISD research articles published from 1996 to 2000 in two leading IS journals – Information Systems Journal and MIS Quarterly. The results suggest that ISD approaches form a useful framework for organizing practically relevant IS knowledge.     

Strategic dependence on the IT resource and outsourcing: A test of the strategic control model

Using resource dependency theory (RDT), this research analyzes how organizations control their information technology resources to improve organizational performance. According to RDT, organizations must manage their dependency on external organizations and limit external dependencies when resources are considered critical. The current study proposes and tests a portion of a Strategic Control Model positing that managers seek to control important, strategic resources in order to create value for the firm and to avoid dependency on external entities. Utilizing a research design that captured extensive quantitative data on the control of IT functions and services, the research team gathered 5 years of data on 54 business units (BUs) in 27 global companies located in seven countries. Study examined the linkages of these 54 BUs to firm performance. Locating the Extent of Control within the firm in cases where the firm depends on IT as a strategic resource proves to be a good explanation for effective decisions leading to higher performance. Viewing IT as a strategic resource alone does not lead to positive business unit outcomes, but the moderating influence of Extent of Control is found to establish the complex statistical relationship with business unit performance. For these reasons, it is critical that a theoretically grounded firm-wide process for decisions on locating IT control is in place to capture business value.

Educating reflective Enterprise Systems practitioners: a design research study of the iterative building of a teaching framework

This research paper reports on the iterative design of a teaching framework developed for teaching Enterprise Systems (ES) classes for Information Systems (IS) graduates. These systems embed technical complexity and create organizational challenges when implemented in organizations. Therefore, teaching good ES classes is pedagogically challenging for faculty, and ES curricula are difficult for students. We have gradually designed and rebuilt curricula and teaching frameworks over 8 years. This has also resulted in a set of eight design principles. We report from our design and evaluation process and present our final artefact, the teaching framework. The aim is to educate reflective practitioners with multiple ES skills, enabling them to tackle the complexities of ES implementation contexts. The framework has implications for IS educational research and practice and has some generic values that are transferable to other academic institutions and adaptable to other IS learning environments. Further, the study contributes to IS design research by extending its application area. The ES teaching framework is a specific contribution to IS teaching frameworks as a class of problems.     

Integration technology: The reinvention of the linkage between information systems and computer science

The Computer Science (CS) and Information Systems (IS) fields are facing considerable challenges. At the same time, the Information Technology and Systems (ITS) community, which lies at the intersection of CS and IS, is uniquely positioned to address and solve important problems that are outside of the traditional domains of either CS or IS. An important development is the increasing criticality of Integration Technologies (IT) and the need for Integration Specialists (IS)¹. Examples are given of aspplications-driven integration technology-intensive research needed by business to support globalization, increased productivity, and rapid adaptation.     

Turnover intentions of Indian IS professionals

One of the major challenges facing the Indian IT services industry is the high rate of turnover among Indian IS professionals. Turnover rates have been reported as high as 100% annually. Despite the serious problem, we are unaware of any academic research that has studied the determinants of turnover among Indian IS professionals. We aim to contribute to the literature by understanding Turnover Intentions of Indian IS professionals. We developed an initial model of Turnover Intentions based on the IS and Organizational Behavior literatures. The most commonly identified determinants of Turnover Intentions in these literatures were Organizational Commitment (emotional attachment to an organization) and Job Satisfaction. However, the research that identified these determinants was primarily tested on Western workers. We assessed the applicability of this model by interviewing 25 Indian IS professionals. We found strong support that Job Satisfaction affects Turnover Intentions among Indian IS professionals. However, Organizational Commitment was found to be a troublesome construct. Many Indian participants did not relate to the concept of an emotional attachment to an organization. Instead, they talked in terms that better mapped to the construct Organizational Satisfaction. The interviews also uncovered another important determinant of Turnover Intention: Social Norms. Social Norms, as evidenced by significant family pressure to reside in the same city as the employee’s family, emerged as a major reason for Turnover Intentions. Our revised model identifies Job Satisfaction, Organizational Satisfaction, and Social Norms as the main determinants of Turnover Intentions among Indian IS Professionals. We also identify four implications for practice. The most worrisome implication for Western clients is that Indian IS professionals do not like performing routine IT maintenance work or merely programming from predefined specifications—the bulk of work sent offshore. Indian IS professionals preferred client-facing activities, design and development work.

Profiling a decade of Information Systems Frontiers’ research

This article analyses the first 10 years of research published in the Information Systems Frontiers (ISF) from 1999 to 2008. The analysis of the published material includes examining variables such as most productive authors, citation analysis, universities associated with the most publications, geographic diversity, authors’ backgrounds and research methods. The keyword analysis suggests that ISF research has evolved from establishing concepts and domain of information systems (IS), technology and management to contemporary issues such as outsourcing, web services and security. The analysis presented in this paper has identified intellectually significant studies that have contributed to the development and accumulation of intellectual wealth of ISF. The analysis has also identified authors published in other journals whose work largely shaped and guided the researchers published in ISF. This research has implications for researchers, journal editors, and research institutions.

A characteristics framework for Semantic Information Systems Standards

Semantic Information Systems (IS) Standards play a critical role in the development of the networked economy. While their importance is undoubted by all stakeholders—such as businesses, policy makers, researchers, developers—the current state of research leaves a number of questions unaddressed. Terminological confusion exists around the notions of “business semantics”, “business-to-business interoperability”, and “interoperability standards” amongst others. And, moreover, a comprehensive understanding about the characteristics of Semantic IS Standards is missing. The paper addresses this gap in literature by developing a characteristics framework for Semantic IS Standards. Two case studies are used to check the applicability of the framework in a “real-life” context. The framework lays the foundation for future research in an important field of the IS discipline and supports practitioners in their efforts to analyze, compare, and evaluate Semantic IS Standards.     

Formal and relational governance of artificial intelligence outsourcing

Outsourcing emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) are expected to impact organisations significantly, due to a tight labour market for AI expertise. However, how formal and relational governance effects Information Systems suppliers who provide AI services has not been studied. Based on an exploratory research amongst eight suppliers and two market research advisors, we conducted 18 expert interviews and found evidence how formal contractual and relational governance affects AI outsourcing. The results indicate various forms of contractual models in which some cater for clients’ needs specifically, e.g. outcome-based, experience-driven Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Our examination provides insights that formal and relational Information Systems (IS) outsourcing governance are complementary in cases where clients and suppliers co-develop AI. For our research, we adapted the outsourcing governance model of Lioliou et al. (Inf Syst J 24:503–535, 2014), including their emphasis on the psychological contract. We contribute to IS outsourcing literature by exploring, beyond contract management insights, differences between suppliers in providing AI services. Our study acknowledges that AI outsourcing shift the emphasis from a transactional type of arrangement to a relational type of outsourcing arrangement. In addition, the combination of both formal and relational governance mechanisms positively contributes to IS governance. Our study also confirms that the innovative character of AI positively contributes to the psychological contract in outsourcing AI.