[AISWorld] Contents of Volume 18, Issue 5 (May) Journal of the Association for Information Systems (JAIS)

[JAIS]

Contents of Volume 18, Issue 5 (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
Examining Real Options Exercise Decisions in Information Technology Investments

Sarah Shafiq Khan, NUST Business School, Pakistan
Kexin Zhao, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Ram L. Kumar, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Antonis Stylianou, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

Researchers have advocated real options thinking (ROT) for evaluating and managing risky IT investments to account for managerial decision flexibility. Effective ROT is a three-step process that requires managers to recognize, value, and exercise options embedded in IT projects. Prior research has 
illustrated the existence of managerial bias in the recognizing and valuing real options. However, little 
research has examined real options exercise decisions. Hence, we use prospect theory to examine whether IT managers demonstrate systematic biases while exercising real options in IT projects and portfolios. We also study whether one can control or mitigate such biases. We found evidence of biased (suboptimal) real option exercise decisions in IT projects and in IT portfolios. However, we found differences in biased decision making between a single project and a portfolio scenario. We also found that project scale and real option type influenced vulnerability of a project to biased decision making. In addition, simplifying the presentation of the net effects of real options exercise decisions can help reduce bias, especially for large project portfolios. We discuss the implications of these results on theory and practice.

To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below:
http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol18/iss5/2 


Paper

Heuristic Principles and Differential Judgments in the Assessment of Information Quality

Ofer Arazy, University of Haifa
Rick Kopak, University of British Columbia
Irit Hadar, University of Haifa

Abstract

Information quality (IQ) is a multidimensional construct and includes dimensions such as accuracy, completeness, objectivity, and representation that are difficult to measure. Recently, research has shown that independent assessors who rated IQ yielded high inter-rater agreement for some information quality dimensions as opposed to others. In this paper, we explore the reasons that underlie the differences in the “measurability” of IQ. Employing Gigerenzer’s “building blocks” framework, we conjecture that the feasibility of using a set of heuristic principles consistently when assessing different dimensions of IQ is a key factor driving inter-rater agreement in IQ judgments. We report on two studies. In the first study, we qualitatively explored the manner in which participants applied the heuristic principles of search rules, stopping rules, and decision rules in assessing the IQ dimensions of accuracy, completeness, objectivity, and representation. In the second study, we investigated the extent to which participants could reach an agreement in rating the quality of Wikipedia articles along these dimensions. Our findings show an alignment between the consistent application of heuristic principles and inter-rater agreement levels found on particular dimensions of IQ judgments. Specifically, on the dimensions of completeness and representation, assessors applied the heuristic principles consistently and tended to agree in their ratings, whereas, on the dimensions of accuracy and objectivity, they not apply the heuristic principles in a uniform manner and inter-rater agreement was relatively low. We discuss our findings implications for research and practice.

To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below:
http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol18/iss5/1 


Elizabeth White Baker, PhD
Production Managing Editor, Journal of the AIS
jais at comm.virginia.edu