IS

Pinsonneault, Alain

Topic Weight Topic Terms
1.530 group gss support groups systems brainstorming research process electronic members results paper effects individual ebs
0.736 effect impact affect results positive effects direct findings influence important positively model data suggest test
0.627 virtual world worlds co-creation flow users cognitive life settings environment place environments augmented second intention
0.569 alignment strategic business strategy performance technology value organizational orientation relationship information misalignment matched goals perspective
0.506 outcomes theory nature interaction theoretical paradox versus interpersonal literature provides individual levels understanding dimensions addition
0.463 market competition competitive network markets firms products competing competitor differentiation advantage competitors presence dominant structure
0.443 managers managerial manager decisions study middle use important manager's appropriate importance context organizations indicate field
0.441 executive information article systems presents eis executives overview computer-based scanning discusses investigation support empirical robert
0.375 users user new resistance likely benefits potential perspective status actual behavior recognition propose user's social
0.352 platform platforms dynamics ecosystem greater generation open ecosystems evolution two-sided technologies investigate generations migration services
0.324 e-commerce value returns initiatives market study announcements stock event abnormal companies significant growth positive using
0.309 industry industries firms relative different use concentration strategic acquisitions measure competitive examine increases competition influence
0.307 agility capital substitution non-it enablers significant inhibitors link dynamism does agile labor executives enabling dual
0.294 capital social ict communication rural icts cognitive society information well-being relational india societal empirically create
0.288 results study research experiment experiments influence implications conducted laboratory field different indicate impact effectiveness future
0.281 likelihood multiple test survival promotion reputation increase actions run term likely legitimacy important rates findings
0.270 effects effect research data studies empirical information literature different interaction analysis implications findings results important
0.268 technology organizational information organizations organization new work perspective innovation processes used technological understanding technologies transformation
0.264 career human professionals job turnover orientations careers capital study resource personnel advancement configurations employees mobility
0.254 model research data results study using theoretical influence findings theory support implications test collected tested
0.254 satisfaction information systems study characteristics data results using user related field survey empirical quality hypotheses
0.202 time use size second appears form larger benefits combined studies reasons selected underlying appear various
0.196 firms firm financial services firm's size examine new based result level including results industry important
0.192 adaptation patterns transition new adjustment different critical occur manner changes adapting concept novel temporary accomplish
0.191 research researchers framework future information systems important present agenda identify areas provide understanding contributions using
0.188 high low level levels increase associated related characterized terms study focus weak hand choose general
0.188 behavior behaviors behavioral study individuals affect model outcomes psychological individual responses negative influence explain hypotheses
0.187 critical realism theory case study context affordances activity causal key identifies evolutionary history generative paper
0.184 adoption diffusion technology adopters innovation adopt process information potential innovations influence new characteristics early adopting
0.177 emotions research fmri emotional neuroscience study brain neurois emotion functional neurophysiological distrust cognitive related imaging
0.173 theory theories theoretical paper new understanding work practical explain empirical contribution phenomenon literature second implications
0.173 social networks influence presence interactions network media networking diffusion implications individuals people results exchange paper
0.169 uncertainty contingency integration environmental theory data fit key using model flexibility perspective environment perspectives high
0.164 technology investments investment information firm firms profitability value performance impact data higher evidence diversification industry
0.161 outsourcing transaction cost partnership information economics relationships outsource large-scale contracts specificity perspective decisions long-term develop
0.159 strategies strategy based effort paper different findings approach suggest useful choice specific attributes explain effective
0.157 human awareness conditions point access humans images accountability situational violations result reduce moderation gain people
0.151 expectations expectation music disconfirmation sales analysis vector experiences modeling response polynomial surface discuss panel new
0.150 response responses different survey questions results research activities respond benefits certain leads two-stage interactions study
0.150 options real investment option investments model valuation technology value analysis uncertainty portfolio models using context
0.149 approach conditions organizational actions emergence dynamics traditional theoretical emergent consequences developments case suggest make organization
0.146 value business benefits technology based economic creation related intangible cocreation assessing financial improved key economics
0.143 use support information effective behaviors work usage examine extent users expertise uses longitudinal focus routine
0.134 strategic benefits economic benefit potential systems technology long-term applications competitive company suggest additional companies industry
0.133 research study influence effects literature theoretical use understanding theory using impact behavior insights examine influences
0.132 boundary practices capacity new boundaries use practice absorptive organizational technology work field multiple study objects
0.131 approach analysis application approaches new used paper methodology simulation traditional techniques systems process based using
0.126 development systems methodology methodologies information framework approach approaches paper analysis use presented applied assumptions based
0.124 infrastructure information flexibility new paper technology building infrastructures flexible development human creating provide despite challenge
0.123 increased increase number response emergency monitoring warning study reduce messages using reduced decreased reduction decrease
0.123 evaluation effectiveness assessment evaluating paper objectives terms process assessing criteria evaluations methodology provides impact literature
0.122 role relationship positively light important understanding related moderating frequency intensity play stronger shed contribution past
0.119 power perspective process study rational political perspectives politics theoretical longitudinal case social rationality formation construction
0.115 mis management article resources sciences developing organization future recommendations procedures informing organizational assessment professional groups
0.107 participation activities different roles projects examined outcomes level benefits conditions key importance isd suggest situations
0.105 using subjects results study experiment did conducted task time used experienced use preference experimental presented
0.104 online evidence offline presence empirical large assurance likely effect seal place synchronous population sites friends
0.100 productivity information technology data production investment output investments impact returns using labor value research results

Focal Researcher     Coauthors of Focal Researcher (1st degree)     Coauthors of Coauthors (2nd degree)

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Oh, Wonseok 6 Animesh, Animesh 2 Barki, Henri 2 Beaudry, Anne 2
Chang, Ray M. 2 Gallupe, R. Brent 2 Hoppen, Norberto 2 Kraemer, Kenneth L. 2
Yang, Sung-Byung 2 Choudhary, Vidyanand 1 Dubé, Laurette 1 Han, Kunsoo 1
HEPPEL, NELSON 1 Im, Kun Shin 1 Jha, Srivardhini K. 1 Kwon, Dowan 1
Lim, Jee-Hae 1 MacCrory, Frank 1 Nevo, Saggi 1 Nevo, Dorit 1
Oh, Hyelim 1 Qu, Wen Guang 1 Rivard, Suzanne 1 Tallon, Paul P. 1
Brainstorming 2 Electronic Meeting Systems 2 event study 2 Group Decision Making 2
Laboratory Study 2 agent-based simulation 1 acceptance 1 adaptation behavoirs 1
appraisal theory 1 Agility 1 anonymity 1 business value of IT 1
capital-labor substitution 1 Coping theory 1 contingency approach 1 computer-based collaborative work 1
capital intensity 1 career concerns 1 collaboration 1 convergent innovation 1
digital competition 1 divisibility 1 Development 2.0 1 exploitative absorptive capacity 1
emotions 1 environmental change 1 econometrics 1 evolution 1
Group Processes 1 Group Process 1 group support systems 1 human agency 1
IP 1 impact on middle managers 1 increase/decrease in middle managers 1 Information technology 1
individual performance 1 IT appropriation 1 IT use 1 IT-related behaviors 1
IT infrastructure flexibility 1 IT rigidity traps 1 industry clockspeed 1 intention to purchase virtual products 1
interactivity 1 industry concentration 1 industry dynamism 1 industry environments 1
industry munificence 1 information technology outsourcing 1 IT turnover 1 IT reinvention 1
innovation diffusion 1 ICT-enabled ecosystem 1 ICT platform 1 ICT for sustainability 1
loosely coupled integration 1 managerial actionalism 1 management of IT human resources 1 mastery goals 1
nonlinear approaches 1 online sponsored advertising 1 organizational performance 1 Open innovation 1
open innovation alliances 1 prospective technological capabilities 1 performance goals 1 post-adoption 1
process theory 1 Poverty alleviation 1 real options 1 resource-centered view 1
research methodology 1 research of management information systems 1 SAs 1 switching force 1
strategic importance 1 structurational perspective 1 Strategic alignment of IT 1 strategic value of IT 1
strategic IT alignment 1 S-O-R framework 1 Second life 1 spatial environment 1
stability 1 symbolic consumption 1 survey research 1 scalability 1
societal transformation 1 technological determinism 1 technological environment 1 tournament theory 1
temporal orientation 1 technology adaptation 1 user adaptation 1 value creation 1
virtual world investments 1 volatility 1 virtual experience 1 value cocreation 1
wealth spillover 1

Articles (18)

Research Note‹Designing Promotion Ladders to Mitigate Turnover of IT Professionals (Information Systems Research, 2016)
Authors: Abstract:
    Chronic excessive turnover among information technology (IT) professionals has been costly to firms for decades with annual turnover rates as high as 24% even among Computerworld's Ò100 Best Places to Work in IT.Ó Prior information systems literature has identified two key factors affecting turnover: boundary-spanning roles and low promotability in one's current firm. We draw on tournament theory, which is primarily concerned with inducing effort in employees, to decompose promotability into two distinct constructs: the likelihood of promotion and benefit from promotion, and demonstrate that each has a distinct role in affecting turnover rates. Our key result is that a job ladder motivating IT professionals with large, infrequent promotions will lead to higher turnover than a job ladder with smaller, more frequent promotions. We describe the conditions under which rearranging the job ladder creates economic value for the firm. We also offer an explanation for the observation that jobs characterized by boundary-spanning activities have higher turnover, and show that such jobs are more sensitive to the effect of likelihood of promotion on turnover. We test our hypotheses on a detailed data set covering 5,704 IT professionals over a five-year period. We confirm that likelihood of promotion has the predicted effects on turnover of IT professionals. A one standard deviation increase in likelihood of promotion decreases turnover by over 99%, consistent with our prediction. The empirical analysis also confirms the predicted effects of boundary spanning activities.
A Temporally Situated Self-Agency Theory of Information Technology Reinvention (MIS Quarterly, 2016)
Authors: Abstract:
    Our knowledge of how users reinvent information technologies (IT) in ways that depart from their intended purposes to achieve new goals is relatively limited. Drawing on a human agency theory that situates actors in the flow of time, this paper develops a theory of IT reinvention. It identifies the key subprocesses of IT reinvention, describes two patterns of reinvention (performance-oriented and mastery-oriented), and explains how the present and the past influence the ambiguities, demands, and dilemmas inherent to each pattern. The outcomes associated with each pattern of IT reinvention are also discussed. The paper provides the theoretical foundations to understand how users reinvent IT as well as new insights into a broader range of post-adoption behaviors.
The Evolution of an ICT Platform-Enabled Ecosystem for Poverty Alleviation: The Case of eKutir (MIS Quarterly, 2016)
Authors: Abstract:
    This paper analyzes the pioneering work of eKutir, a social business in India that leverages an information and communication technology (ICT) platform to progressively build a self-sustaining ecosystem to address multiple facets of smallholder farmer poverty. The study reveals that eKutir's ecosystem has evolved through five distinct phases, each expanding the number and type of actors engaged and the breadth of ICT-supported services provided. The evolution displays a distinct pattern where the five elements of the ecosystem progressively evolve and reinforce one another to create a system that is economically sustainable, scalable, and can accelerate transformative change. The study has important implications for the design of emergent ICT platforms, which can enable an ecosystem-based approach to address complex problems.
Using Real Options to Investigate the Market Value of Virtual World Businesses. (Information Systems Research, 2012)
Authors: Abstract:
    Virtual worlds are relatively nascent IT platforms with the potential to radically transform business processes and generate significant payoffs. However, in striving to achieve specific outcomes, firms may incur significant risks. Although many companies claim to have attained substantial benefits from their virtual world initiatives, many others have recently scaled down or even abandoned their experimental virtual world projects. This paper assesses the value proposition of virtual world initiatives from the real options perspective. Specifically, we argue that virtual worlds act as a firm's growth option, and we adopt the lens of real options to evaluate the value of this emerging and uncertain technological platform. We employ the event study method to assess the stock market's perception of the future revenue streams of 261 virtual world initiatives announced between 2006 and 2008. Our results indicate that, overall, the market reacts positively to virtual world initiatives. Our findings also show that investors' reactions to virtual world initiatives are contingent on four key characteristics of virtual world initiatives: interpretive flexibility (i.e., technologies that allow managers to experiment), divisibility (i.e., ability to incrementally implement the technology), strategic importance (i.e., an initiative that affects a process of strategic importance to the firm), and exploitable absorptive capacity (i.e., ability to exploit the knowledge acquired through the initiative). We discuss the key implications for real-world practitioners and suggest directions for future research.
VALUE COCREATION AND WEALTH SPILLOVER IN OPEN INNOVATION ALLIANCES. (MIS Quarterly, 2012)
Authors: Abstract:
    In this study, we investigate the economic and strategic value of open innovation alliances (OIAs), in which collaborators and competitors integrate in the pursuit of the codevelopment of technological innovations. Given that OIAs differ substantially from traditional, closed alliances in many aspects, including their strategic scope and scale, governing mechanisms, and member composition, it is important to understand and assess the potential value inherent in these new modes of collaboration. Furthermore, OIAs evolve over time as the participating members are free to enter and leave at will. Therefore, we also examine the on-going value creation and wealth spillover that result from changes in membership. Moreover, we investigate how a firm's participation in an IT-based open alliance alters the market value of its rivals operating within the same marketplace. To gain additional insight into the factors that moderate the market valuation of OIA participation, several contextual factors, including the degree of partner heterogeneity, innovation type, and degree of openness of the OIAs are used to account for variability in abnormal returns. Based on 194 observations,we found that allying firms realize significant positive abnormal returns when their entry into an OIA is made public. The results also suggest that substantial excessive returns accrue to the allying firms with the related entry of a market leader firm. Furthermore, we discovered that a firm's entry into an OIA increases, rather than decreases, the market valuation of its rivals. Interestingly, an incumbent rival that did not participate in the alliance appears to gain greater "free-riding" benefits from the OIA, as compared to peer rivals. Innovation type and openness were significantly associated with the amount of abnormal returns accruing to allying firms, while no significance was found for partner heterogeneity. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of the implications of our findings for research and practice with respect to value cocreation in multifirm environments.
Influence of Industry Characteristics on Information Technology Outsourcing. (Journal of Management Information Systems, 2011)
Authors: Abstract:
    Despite the extensive research on information technology (IT) outsourcing, our knowledge and understanding of how industry characteristics impact the use of IT outsourcing remain limited. Drawing upon theories from organization behavior and industrial economics, this study identifies four major industry characteristics (i.e., munificence, dynamism, concentration, and capital intensity) and investigates how each of these factors affects the use of IT outsourcing. Specifically, we postulate that the extent of industry munificence is positively related to the utilization of IT outsourcing. Since timely strategic actions are the crucial aspects of leveraging munificent resources, IT outsourcing, which can be implemented in short periods of time, is considered to be a preferred option in such environments. Furthermore, industry dynamism is also positively associated with IT outsourcing, given that firms in dynamically evolving industries tend to look for flexibility and avoid a large amount of fixed investments (e.g., IT development in-house). In contrast to these hypotheses, we predict that industry concentration is negatively related to IT outsourcing. Firms in concentrated industries are likely to develop their own IT infrastructures, as they are not constrained by institutional pressures or cost-driven strategic actions. Finally, because firms in capital-intensive industries tend to conform to long-standing traditional practices, and do not highly value novel and risky practices, they will be less likely to use IT outsourcing than firms in industries with low capital intensity. The data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis along with Compustat empirically validated all of the proposed hypotheses; however, only marginal support was found for the association between industry concentration and IT outsourcing. Our findings offer business executives and IT service providers strategic and managerial insights into the dynamics and complexities involved in the diverse aspects of industry environments and IT outsourcing decisions.
COMPETING PERSPECTIVES ON THE LINK BETWEEN STRATEGIC INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ALIGNMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL AGILITY: INSIGHTS FROM A MEDIATION MODEL. (MIS Quarterly, 2011)
Authors: Abstract:
    Strategic information technology alignment remains a top priority for business and IT executives. Yet with a recent rise in environmental volatility, firms are asking how to be more agile in identifying and responding to market-based threats and opportunities. Whether alignment helps or hurts agility is an unresolved issue. This paper presents a variety of arguments from the literature that alternately predict a positive or negative relationship between alignment and agility. This relationship is then tested using a model in which agility mediates the link between alignment and firm performance under varying conditions of IT infrastructure flexibility and environmental volatility. Using data from a matched survey of IT and business executives in 241 firms, we uncover a positive and significant link between alignment and agility and between agility and firm performance. We also show that the effect of alignment on performance is fully mediated by agility, that environmental volatility positively moderates the link between agility and firm performance, and that agility has a greater impact on firm performance in more volatile markets. While IT infrastructure flexibility does not moderate the link between alignment and agility, except in a volatile environment, we reveal that IT infrastructure flexibility has a positive and significant main effect on agility. In fact, the effect of IT infrastructure flexibility on agility is as strong as the effect of alignment on agility. This research extends and integrates the literature on strategic IT alignment and organizational agility at a time when both alignment and agility are recognized as critical and concurrent organizational goals.
AN ODYSSEY INTO VIRTUAL WORLDS: EXPLORING THE IMPACTS OF TECHNOLOGICAL AND SPATIAL ENVIRONMENTS ON INTENTION TO PURCHASE VIRTUAL PRODUCTS1. (MIS Quarterly, 2011)
Authors: Abstract:
    Although research on three-dimensional virtual environments abounds, little is known about the social and business aspects of virtual worlds. Given the emergence of large-scale social virtual worlds, such as Second Life, and the dramatic growth in sales of virtual goods, it is important to understand the dynamics that govern the purchase of virtual goods in virtual worlds. Employing the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework, we investigate how technological (interactivity and sociability) and spatial (density and stability) environments in virtual worlds influence the participants' virtual experiences (telepresence, social presence, and flow), and how experiences subsequently affect their response (intention to purchase virtual goods). The results of our survey of 354 Second Life residents indicate that interactivity, which enhances the interaction with objects, has a significant positive impact on telepresence and flow. Also, sociability, which fosters interactions with participants, is significantly associated with social presence, although no such significant impact was observed on flow. Furthermore, both density and stability are found to significantly influence participants' virtual experiences; stability helps users to develop strong social bonds, thereby increasing both social presence and flow. However, contrary to our prediction of curvilinear patterns, density is linearly associated with flow and social presence. Interestingly, the results exhibit two opposing effects of density: while it reduces the extent of flow, density increases the amount of social presence. Since social presence is found to increase flow, the net impact of density on flow depends heavily on the relative strength of the associations involving these three constructs. Finally, we find that flow mediates the impacts of technological and spatial environments on intention to purchase virtual products. We conclude the paper with a discussion of the theoretical and practical contributions of our findings.
A Network Perspective of Digital Competition in Online Advertising Industries: A Simulation-Based Approach. (Information Systems Research, 2010)
Authors: Abstract:
    Using agent-based simulation experiments, we investigate the outcome of SAs between two smaller online search engine companies in competition with a dominant market leader in settings where an advertiser's decision making is the consequence of a combination of NI (e.g., an individual's willingness to follow others' decisions) and IP. In particular, we focus on a context in which the combined search engine company competes with a market leader holding a larger share of the market than the two runner-up "underdogs" combined. Our results indicate that, with the presence of NI and cascading effects, an alliance with "only" 35%-40% combined market share could compete with a leader whose market share, at the time of an alliance, is 60%-65%. Although important, size alone might be insufficient to build the market as suggested by the "vanilla" network effect theory. Another noteworthy finding is that a nonlinear association exists between NI and an alliance outcome; the combined runner-up companies have the best chance of success when the extent of NI is midrange, rather than on the high or low end of continuum. Contrary to the conventional view, this finding might also stimulate discussions among network science researchers. Furthermore, our results suggest that NI substantially moderates the relationship between the combined market share at the time of an alliance and the likelihood of resulting alliance success.
THE OTHER SIDE OF ACCEPTANCE: STUDYING THE DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS OF EMOTIONS ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY USE. (MIS Quarterly, 2010)
Authors: Abstract:
    Much ado has been made regarding user acceptance of new information technologies. However, research has been primarily based on cognitive models and little attention has been given to emotions. This paper argues that emotions are important drivers of behaviors and examines how emotions experienced early in the implementation of new IT applications relate to IT use. We develop a framework that classifies emotions into four distinct types: challenge, achievement, loss, and deterrence emotions. The direct and indirect relationships between four emotions (excitement, happiness, anger, and anxiety) and IT use were studied through a survey of 249 bank account managers. Our results indicate that excitement was positively related to IT use through task adaptation. Happiness was directly positively related to IT use and, surprisingly, was negatively associated with task adaptation, which is a facilitator of IT use. Anger was not related to IT use directly, but it was positively related to seeking social support, which in turn was positively related to IT use. Finally, anxiety was negatively related to IT use, both directly and indirectly through psychological distancing. Anxiety was also indirectly positively related to IT use through seeking social support, which countered the original negative effect of anxiety. Post hoc ANOVAs were conducted to compare IT usage of different groups of users experiencing similar emotions but relying on different adaptation behaviors. Thepaper shows that emotions felt by users early in the implementation of a new IT have important effects on IT use. As such, the paper provides a complementary perspective to understanding acceptance and antecedents of IT use. By showing the importance and complexity of the relationships between emotions and IT use, the paper calls for more research on the topic.
ON THE ASSESSMENT OF THE STRATEGIC VALUE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES: CONCEPTUAL AND ANALYTICAL APPROACHES. (MIS Quarterly, 2007)
Authors: Abstract:
    This study compares two conceptual (resource-centered and contingency-based) and two analytical (linear and nonlinear) approaches that can be used to assess the strategic value of information technology. Two hypotheses related to these approaches are developed and tested based on matched survey data collected from the CEOs and CIOs of 110 firms. The results indicate that the resource-centered and contingency-based approaches provide complementary understanding of the strategic value of IT. On the one hand, the contingency-based approach is better at explaining the impact of cost-related IT applications on firm performance. Alignment between business strategy and information systems strategy on cost reduction was found to have a significant negative association with firm expense. On the other hand, the resource-centered perspective has a stronger predictive ability of IT impact on firm revenue and profitability. Our results indicate that investments in growth-oriented applications were directly and positively related to firm revenue. An ANOVA test indicates that the nonlinear approaches provide additional insights that help to better understand the relationship between alignment and performance. The response surface method (RSM) shows that high-end strategic alignment (i.e., fit occurring when business strategy and IT strategy are both high) leads to superior performance compared to low-end strategic alignment (i.e., fit occurring when business strategy and IT strategy are both low). We discuss the implications of this study for research and practice and conclude with suggestions for future research directions.
UNDERSTANDING USER RESPONSES TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: A COPING MODEL OF USER ADAPTATION. (MIS Quarterly, 2005)
Authors: Abstract:
    This paper defines user adaptation as the cognitive and behavioral efforts performed by users to cope with significant information technology events that occur in their work environment. Drawing on coping theory, we posit that users choose different adaptation strategies based on a combination of primary appraisal (i.e., a user's assessment of the expected consequences of an IT event) and secondary appraisal (i.e., a user's assessment of his/her control over the situation). On that basis, we identify four adaptation strategies (benefits maximizing, benefits satisficing, disturbance handling, and self-preservation) which are hypothesized to result in three different individual-level outcomes: restoring emotional stability, minimizing the perceived threats of the technology, and improving user effectiveness and efficiency. A study of the adaptation behaviors of six account managers in two large North American banks provides preliminary support for our model. By explaining adaptation patterns based on users' initial appraisal and subsequent responses to an IT event, our model offers predictive power while retaining an agency view of user adaptation. Also, by focusing on user cognitive and behavioral adaptation responses related to the technology, the work system, and the self, our model accounts for a wide range of user behaviors such as technology appropriation, avoidance, and resistance.
Electronic Brainstorming: The Illusion of Productivity. (Information Systems Research, 1999)
Authors: Abstract:
    Electronic brainstorming (EBS) has been proposed as a superior approach to both nominal brainstorming (working alone) and face-to-face brainstorming (verbal). However, existing empirical evidence regarding EBS's superiority over nominal brainstorming is weak. Through a comprehensive examination of the process gains and process losses inherent to different brainstorming approaches, this paper explains past results. The paper also suggests that the process gain versus process loss advantages of EBS technologies may not be large enough to enable EBS groups to outperform nominal groups. In an effort to find alternate ways of using EBS more productively, three conditions thought to increase EBS's process gains and decrease its process losses (thus improving its productivity) are identified. A laboratory experiment designed to compare the productivity of ad hoc and established groups using four brainstorming technologies (nominal, EBS-anonymous, EBS-nonanonymous, verbal), generating ideas on socially sensitive and less sensitive topics, in the presence and absence of contextual cues, is then described. The results of the experiment showed that overall, groups using nominal brainstorming significantly outperformed groups using the other three brainstorming approaches. Further, even under conditions thought to be favorable to EBS, nominal brainstorming groups were at least as productive as EBS groups. The paper explains these results by suggesting that the process gains of EBS may not be as large as expected and that the presence of four additional process losses inherent to EBS technologies impair its productivity. It is also argued that the prevailing popularity of group brainstorming (verbal or electronic) in organizations may be explained by the perceived productivity of those approaches. These perceptions, which are at odds with reality, create the illusion of productivity. A similar misperception may also cause an illusion of EBS productivity in the research comm...
Research Note. The Illusion of Electronic Brainstorming Productivity: Theoretical and Empirical Issues. (Information Systems Research, 1999)
Authors: Abstract:
    A After discussing how group size might affect the effectiveness of electronic brainstorming (EBS) as an idea generating tool, Dennis and Valacich (1999) conclude that EBS is not likely to surpass nominal brainstorming for small groups, but that for large groups (i.e., nine or more members), "EBS offers clear performance benefits over nominal group brainstorming, as well as verbal brainstorming." However, in our view, the existing theoretical and empirical evidence does not provide sufficient justification to clearly establish EBS' superiority over nominal brainstorming for large groups.
Information Technology and the Nature of Managerial Work: From the Productivity Paradox to the Icarus Paradox? (MIS Quarterly, 1998)
Authors: Abstract:
    This article presents an executive overview of the article "Information Technology and the Nature of Managerial Work: From the Productivity Paradox to the Icarus Paradox," by Alain Pinsonneault and Suzanne Rivard.
Anonymity in Group Support Systems Research: A New Conceptualization, Measure, and Contingency Framework. (Journal of Management Information Systems, 1997)
Authors: Abstract:
    Anonymity is a fundamental concept in group support systems (GSS) research. It is expected to reduce fear of social disapproval and of evaluation, and to lower inhibition and censorship. This is believed to create an environment that improves participation and communication, that promotes more objective and honest evaluation of ideas, and that enhances the productivity of groups and their decision-making process. However, empirical evidence about what are the effects of anonymity in GSS is inconclusive. This paper argues that there are two main reasons for the lack of consistent findings. First is the fact that anonymity has been defined too narrowly as the nonidentification of participants when, in fact, the literature in social psychology suggests that anonymity is multidimensional and subjective in nature. Second is the fact that the effects of anonymity interacts with other situational variables, making its relation to disinhibition complex. This paper argues that one critical situational variable is the importance of social evaluation of group members. A measure of the new conceptualization of anonymity and of the importance of social evaluation is proposed and the results of a preliminary test are presented. A contingency approach for studying the effects of anonymity is presented and the implications for future research and for practice are discussed.
Survey Research Methodology in Management Information Systems: An Assessment. (Journal of Management Information Systems, 1993)
Authors: Abstract:
    Survey research is believed to be well understood and applied by management information systems (MIS) scholars. It has been applied for several years and it has precise procedures which, when followed closely, yield valid and easily interpretable data. Our assessment of the use of survey research in the MIS field between 1980 and 1990 indicates that this perception is at odds with reality. Our analysis indicates that survey methodology is often misapplied and is plagued by five important weaknesses: (1) single-method designs where multiple methods are needed, (2) unsystematic and often inadequate sampling procedures, (3) low response rates, (4) weak linkages between units of analysis and respondents, and (5) overreliance on cross-sectional surveys where longitudinal surveys are really needed. Our assessment also shows that the quality of survey research varies considerably among studies of different purposes: explanatory studies are of good quality overall, exploratory and descriptive studies are of moderate to poor quality. This article presents a general framework for classifying and examining survey research and uses this framework to analyze the usage of survey research conducted in the past decade in the MIS field. In an effort to improve the quality of survey research, this article makes specific recommendations that directly address the major problems highlighted in the review.
The Impact of Information Technology on Middle Managers. (MIS Quarterly, 1993)
Authors: Abstract:
    This article reviews studies that examine the impact of information technology (IT) on the number of middle managers in organizations. Contradictory evidence is found to suggest, paradoxically, that IT both increases and decreases the number of the middle managers. This "empirical paradox" is resolved by looking at the effects of IT on middle managers as contingent upon the degree of centralization of computing decisions, and of organizational decisions more broadly. When both computing decisions and organizational decisions are centralized, top managers tend to use IT to reduce the number of middle managers. When these decisions are decentralized, middle managers use IT to increase their numbers. A recent case study provides preliminary support for this perspective by showing an interesting case of reduction in middle managers.