[AISWorld] JAIS 2015 Volume 16, Issue 04 (April) Contents

[JAIS]

Contents of Volume 16, Issue 04 (April) Journal of the Association for Information Systems (JAIS), Official Publication of the Association for Information Systems
Published: Monthly Electronically
ISSN: 1536-9323
Published by the Association for Information Systems, Atlanta, USA (http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/)

Editor-in-Chief:  Professor Suprateek Sarker, University of Virginia, USA


PAPER ONE
Rethinking Lurking: Invisible Leading and Following in a Knowledge Transfer Ecosystem

Jocelyn Cranefield, Victoria University of Wellington
Pak Yoong, Victoria University of Wellington
Sid L. Huff, Victoria University of Wellington

Abstract
The term lurker connotes a low-value role in online communities. Despite making up the majority of members, these invisible individuals are often cast as peripheral players who should be encouraged to participate more fully. We argue that the lurker concept is problematic and that online communities, and the roles associated with them, need to be reconceptualized. We report on a study of online communities in a New Zealand professional development program. We found that two knowledge broker types played key roles in transferring knowledge: connector-leaders, who had a strong online presence, and follower-feeders, who communicated largely invisibly, via side-channels. Despite their different online profiles, both brokers used “lurking” purposively to perform two sets of invisible online activities: managing the knowledge agenda, and mentoring/being mentored. These activities supported their roles as leaders and followers, and sustained a symbiotic relationship. Decisions to “lurk” arose from the need for these brokers to negotiate diverse boundaries: the boundaries of micro-culture associated with communication contexts, the theory-practice boundary, role boundaries, and the online-offline boundary. Combining the concept of polycontextuality with boundary spanning theory, we propose an alternative way of understanding both lurking and online communities: the three-tier knowledge transfer ecosystem (KTE), a system of engagement spaces comprising diverse online and offline contexts in which individuals make continual decisions to cross between less- or more-visible settings. The study illustrates how key phenomena may remain invisible without a shift in level of analysis, and how using an anachronistic concept to frame a study can unintentionally constrain its value.

To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below:
http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol16/iss4/3/


PAPER TWO
The Role of IS Capabilities in the Development of Multi-Sided Platforms: The Digital Ecosystem Strategy of Alibaba.com

Barney Tan, University of Sydney
Shan L. Pan, University of New South Wales
Xianghua Lu (corresponding author), Fudan University
Lihua Huang, Fudan University

Abstract
Multi-sided platforms (MSP) are revolutionizing the global competitive landscape in the new networked economy. Yet, although these MSPs are underpinned by information systems (IS), there is currently little research on how the IS capabilities of the platform sponsor can influence, and co-evolve with, the development of the platform over time. The lack of knowledge in this area may account for the difficulties faced by a significant number of platform sponsors in developing their MSPs effectively. Using a case study of Alibaba.com, one of the world’s largest and most commercially successful online MSP, we inductively derive a process theory of MSP development from an IS capability perspective to address this knowledge gap. The process model reveals that the role of IS capabilities in MSP development is evolutionary in nature, and the antecedent IS capabilities, nature, and outcomes of MSP development can be dramatically different in the various stages of development.

To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below:
http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol16/iss4/2/


PAPER Three
Does Professionalism Matter in the IT Workforce? An Empirical Examination of IT Professionals

Michael Dinger, University of South Carolina Upstate
Jason B Thatcher, Clemson University
Darren Treadway, SUNY Buffalo
Lee Stepina, Florida State University
Jacob Breland, University of Southern Mississippi

Abstract
This paper investigates the role of professionalism in the information technology (IT) workforce. We develop a model that describes how professionalism relates to attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors among IT professionals. Specifically, we hypothesize that dimensions of professionalism influence attitudes (including intrinsic motivation, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment), perceived job alternatives, job performance, and turnover. We test the research model with data, which includes supervisor evaluations and actual turnover data drawn from 214 IT professionals. Results show that some dimensions of professionalism demonstrate a positive relationship with intrinsic motivation, job satisfaction, and job performance. Other dimensions have no effect or positively influence awareness of job alternatives, driving turnover intention. As the IT workforce grows increasingly professional, managers may benefit from more satisfied, harder-working IT personnel at the cost of having a workforce more connected to the labor market.

To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below:
http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol16/iss4/1/