[AISWorld] JGIM 19(2) April-June 2011

[Felix Tan]

The contents of the latest issue of:
Journal of Global Information Management (JGIM)
Official Publication of the Information Resources Management
Association
Volume 19, Issue 2, April-June 2011
Published: Quarterly in Print and Electronically
ISSN: 1062-7375 EISSN: 1533-7995
Published by IGI Publishing, Hershey-New York, USA
www.igi-global.com/jgim 
 
Editor-in-Chief: Felix B. Tan, Auckland University of Technology, New
Zealand
 
Special Issue: Knowledge Management in a Local-Global Context
 
Guest Editors:
 
Samuel K.W. Chu, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Patrick Y.K. Chau, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
 
PAPER ONE
 
Contextual Factors, Knowledge Processes and Performance in Global
Sourcing of IT Services: An Investigation in China
 
Rong Du, Xidian University, China
Shizhong Ai, Xidian University, China
Pamela Abbott, Brunel University, UK
Yingqin Zheng, De Montfort University, UK
 
In this paper, the authors explore the influences of two major
contextual factors—supplier team members’ cultural understanding and
trust relationship—on knowledge processes and performance in global
sourcing of IT services. The authors discuss a joint investigation
conducted by a cross-cultural research team in China. Cultural
understanding is measured by individualism with guanxi and mianzi, two
Chinese cultural concepts, and trust relationship is measured by
adjusting trust, a notion reflecting the uniqueness of the Chinese
people. Knowledge processes are characterized by knowledge sharing.
Performance is measured by the outcomes of global sourcing, which is
represented by product success and personal satisfaction. Data are
collected in 13 companies in Xi’an Software Park, with 200 structured
questionnaires distributed to knowledge workers. The results of
quantitative data analysis indicate that cultural understanding
influences trust relationship greatly, as well as knowledge sharing and
performance in global sourcing of IT services. Trust relationship
significantly impacts knowledge sharing, whereas trust relationship and
knowledge sharing have no impact on performance. This study suggests
that special aspects of the Chinese context have significant direct
impacts on knowledge processes while no direct and immediate impacts on
performance in global sourcing of IT services.
 
To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below.
http://www.igi-global.com/bookstore/article.aspx?titleid=52806 
 
PAPER TWO
 
Knowledge Transfer in Offshore Outsourcing: A Case Study of Japanese
and Vietnamese Software Companies
 
Nguyen Thu Huong, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology,
Japan
Umemoto Katsuhiro, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology,
Japan
Dam Hieu Chi, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology,
Japan
 
This paper discusses the knowledge transfer process in offshore
outsourcing. The focus is a case study of software offshore outsourcing
from Japan to Vietnam. Initial results confirm that willingness to
cooperate and good impressions facilitate the knowledge transfer
process. In addition, communication barriers, cultural differences, lack
of equivalence in individual competence, and lack of common rules slow
down the transfer process. The study also identifies the Bridge System
Engineer (Bridge SE)-a type of coordinator who mediates and enhances the
relationship between Japanese clients and Vietnamese service providers.
Employing a Bridge SE is an effective way to fill the communication gap,
the cultural gap, and generally improve the business relationship.
Bridge SEs use their background of higher education and long-term
residence in Japan to give advice to Vietnamese software teams on
Japanese cultural characteristics, such as the apology culture and the
separation between work and private time. In other situations, Bridge
SEs use their IT background and communication skills to verify and
adjust communication contents before information is sent from one side
to another.
 
To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below.
http://www.igi-global.com/bookstore/article.aspx?titleid=52807 
 
PAPER THREE
 
Factors Affecting Usage of Information Technology in Support of
Knowledge Sharing: A Multiple Case Study of Service Organizations in
Hong Kong
 
Ngai-Keung Chow, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
 
This study explores key factors affecting the usage of information
technology (IT) tools in support of knowledge sharing in service
organizations in Hong Kong. In a case study of five firms, the usage of
IT tools is influenced by an array of factors acting as enablers,
barriers, and motivators. The findings support extant theories on
knowledge management (KM). This research discovers relationships between
multiple factors and the usage of IT tools for knowledge sharing at
various hierarchical levels. Operational factors like perceived
usefulness, perceived ease of use, staff capability, and nature of work
induce higher usage of IT for knowledge sharing. These findings and
related analyses have managerial implications for firms engaging in
service business.
 
To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below.
http://www.igi-global.com/bookstore/article.aspx?titleid=52808 
 
PAPER FOUR
 
Influence of Knowledge Management Infrastructure on Innovative Business
Processes and Market-Interrelationship Performance: An Empirical Study
of Hospitals in Taiwan
 
Wen-Ting Lee, National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan
Shin-Yuan Hung, National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan
Patrick Y. K. Chau, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
 
Knowledge management (KM) infrastructure is the foundation for managing
and embodying valuable knowledge in firms. Based on the resource-based
view (RBV) and process level analysis, this study investigates how KM
infrastructure influences market interrelationship performance through
innovative business processes. The study collected a sample of 126
hospitals in the Taiwanese healthcare industry. The results suggest that
technological capability and cultural capability positively affect
market interrelationships via innovative business processes. Cultural
capability is associated with market interrelationship performance
whereas structural capability is unrelated to innovative business
processes. The findings advance understanding of the influence of KM
infrastructure on market interrelationship performance as well as
provide managerial insights on the influence of innovative business
processes on market interrelationships performance.
 
To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below.
http://www.igi-global.com/bookstore/article.aspx?titleid=52809 
 
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For full copies of the above articles, check for this issue of the
Journal of Global Information Management (JGIM) in your institution's
library. This journal is also included in the IGI Global aggregated
"InfoSci-Journals" database:
http://www.igi-global.com/EResources/InfoSciJournals.aspx.
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CALL FOR PAPERS
 
Mission of JGIM: 
 
Prospective authors are invited to submit manuscripts for possible
publication in the Journal of Global Information Management (JGIM).
 
The journal publishes original material concerned with all aspects of
the development, use and management of information technology (IT) in a
global context. The mission of JGIM is to be the primary forum for
researchers and practitioners to disseminatethe evolving knowledge on
global IT. Original contributions concerning any aspect of global
information management from both scholars and practitioners are
welcome.
 
Submission Categories and Themes:
 
The journal accepts submissions in the following categories:
a. Research Article - Contributions to this section are full papers
reporting completed research
b. Research Note - Research frameworks, exploratory studies and
methodological papers
c. Research Review - Reviews are carefully crafted articles that
conceptualize research areas, synthesize prior research as well as help
identify and develop future research directions
 
Authors are encouraged to develop articles that are consistent with the
following themes:
a. Cross-National Studies. These need not be cross-culture per se.These
studies lead to an understanding of IT as it leaves one nation and is
built/bought/used in another.
b. Cross-Cultural Studies. These need not be cross-nation. Cultures
could be across regions that share a similar culture. They can also be
within nations(subcultures, ethnicities...etc). 
c. Single nation studies from under-represented nations. The idea here
is to look at existing literature from the better represented nations
and compare it to the findings in the under-represented nation. Authors
are also encouraged to weave the country context (ie. culture, firm
strategies, government policies, laws ...etc) in the development of the
research problem and in explaining the results.
d. Studies of the development, implementation, management and use of IT
in multinational, transnational, inter-national and global
organizations.
 
Interested authors should consult the journal's manuscript submission
guidelines at www.igi-global.com/jgim 
 
All inquiries and submissions should be sent to: 
Editor-in-Chief: Professor Felix B. Tan at jgim at aut.ac.nz