[AISWorld] JAIS 2015 Volume 16, Issue 05 (May) Contents

[JAIS]

Contents of Volume 16, Issue 05 (May) 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
Generating and Justifying Design Theory
Munir Mandviwalla, Temple University
Abstract
This paper applies Simon’s (1996) sciences of the artificial to elaborate a set of structures and processes for developing design theory. Goals, kernel theory, and artifacts inform an inter-related prototyping cycle of design, evaluation, and appropriation / generation to produce strategic design theory. The paper identifies DSR project types to provide signposts for starting and ending the cycle, artifact and evaluation iteration to facilitate the process and provide a chain of evidence, a simplified format for representing design theory iterations, and stopping rules to end the cycle. We use a detailed example to illustrate the ideas, discuss related work, and identify limitations and future research opportunities.
To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below:
http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol16/iss5/3/


PAPER TWO
Conceptualizing Routing Decisions in Business Processes: Theoretical Analysis and Empirical Testing
Pnina Soffer, University of Haifa
Yair Wand, University of British Columbia
Maya Kaner, Ort Barude College
Abstract
Business process models are widely used for purposes such as analyzing information systems, improving operational efficiency, modeling supply chains, and re-engineering business processes. A critical aspect of process representation involves a choice among alternative or parallel routes. Such choices are usually represented in process models by routing structures that appear as “split” and “merge” nodes. However, evidence indicates that modelers face difficulties representing routing options correctly. Clearly, errors in representing routing options might negatively affect the effective use of business process models. We suggest that this difficulty can be mitigated by providing process modelers with a catalog of routing possibilities described in terms that are meaningful to analysts. Based on theoretical considerations, we develop such a catalog and demonstrate that its entries have business meaning and that it is complete with respect to a defined scope of process behaviors that do not depend on resources or on software features. The catalog includes some routing cases not previously recognized. We tested experimentally the catalog in helping subjects understand process behavior. The findings demonstrate that the catalog helps modelers understand and conceptualize process behavior and that the likely reasons are its completeness and the practical terms used to describe its entries.
To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below:
http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol16/iss5/2/


PAPER THREE
Exploring the Formation of a Healthcare Information Infrastructure: Hierarchy or Meshwork?
Joan Rodon, ESADE, Universitat Ramon Llull
Leiser Silva, University of Houston
Abstract
The digitalization of economic and social activity has brought information infrastructures (IIs) to the forefront of research. This paper studies II formation processes and their outcomes; namely, II architecture and distribution of control rights. We conduct an in-depth exploratory case study of an electronic prescription II and report on two formation processes: stratification and meshworking. The stratification process in our case study involved classifying the IIs’ diverse socio-technical components into homogeneous groups and consolidating them into a coherent hierarchical structure that standardized the components’ behavior. The outcome of this stratification was a dual and hierarchical architecture and a fairly centralized locus of control. The meshworking process, by contrast, assembled heterogeneous components without homogenizing them; the components were distributed in a way that enabled them to self-organize. The outcome of this meshworking process was a modular architecture that decoupled the central nodes from the users’ installed base and a more decentralized structure. Consequently, the final II architecture was a hybrid offering both centralized control and autonomy of the parts. Our research further illustrates how this architecture then influenced the project’s complexity and the actors’ position in the sector. We build our contribution on extant II research.
To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below:
http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol16/iss5/1/