[AISWorld] Contents of Volume 19, Issue 9 (September) Journal of the Association for Information Systems (JAIS)

[JAIS]

Contents of Volume 19, Issue 9 (September) 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

When Institutional Logics Meet Information and Communication Technologies: Examining Hybrid Information Practices in Ghana’s Agriculture

Mira Slavova, University of Warwick and University of Pretoria
Stan Karanasios, RMIT University

Abstract

In this paper, we describe how changes in the availability of information artifacts—in particular, information and communication technologies (ICTs)—among smallholder farmers in Ghana, led to a process of hybridization of information practices, and how this process could be linked to underlying institutional change. We use the notions of institutional carriers and activity systems to study the evolution of the prevailing “smallholder” institutional logic of Ghanaian agriculture toward an incoming “value-chain” institutional logic concerned with linking farmers to output markets, improving the knowledge base in agriculture, and increasing its information intensity. We draw on a mixed-methods approach, including in-depth qualitative interviews, focus groups, observations, and detailed secondary quantitative data. We cultivate activity theory as a practice-based lens for structuring inquiry into institutional change. We find that information artifacts served to link the activities of farmers that were embedded in the smallholder logic with those of agricultural-development actors that promoted the value-chain logic. Hybridization occurred through the use of artifacts with different interaction modalities. In terms of conceptualizing change, our findings suggest that hybridization of the two logics may be an intermediary point in the long transition from the smallholder toward the value-chain logic.

To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below:
Available at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol19/iss9/4 


Paper

How Social Media-Enabled Communication Awareness Enhances Project Team Performance

Oliver Krancher, IT University of Copenhagen
Jens Dibbern, University of Bern
Paul Meyer, Meyer Werft, Germany

Abstract

Project teams increasingly rely on computer-mediated communication. In this paper, we propose that communication within these teams benefits from a communication-awareness feature that summarizes communication in one common place. We argue that such a feature pays off specifically during action episodes, when team members engage in taskwork. We conducted two studies of 51 and 35 project teams to examine how the amount of communication during action episodes relates to team performance under low- versus high-communication awareness. In both studies, we technologically designed communication awareness as the availability of a feed, known from social media platforms, that displays all team-internal, computer-mediated communication. The results show that the communication-awareness feature makes communication during action episodes more beneficial, both in term of effectiveness and efficiency. Zooming into the temporal patterns of communication during action episodes further reveals that high-performing teams in the high-communication-awareness condition stand out in terms of early and steady communication. We conclude by discussing implications for current and future research on team communication and awareness support.

To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below:
Available at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol19/iss9/3

Paper

Concentration, Competence, Confidence, and Capture: An Experimental Study of Age, Interruption-based Technostress, and Task Performance

Stefan Tams, HEC Montreal
Jason B. Thatcher, University of Alabama
Varun Grover, University of Arkansas

Abstract

Recently, information systems research has devoted increasing attention to formative measurements. However, current approaches to modeling formative constructs have potential validity problems and thus limited applicability. Here, we highlight two major problems in formative measurement—interpretational confounding and interpretational ambiguity—and propose a novel resolution. Interpretational confounding occurs when using the traditional free-estimation approach, because the weights of different formative indicators vary as the dependent variable changes, resulting in the distortion of the measurement weights of the focal formative construct and thus jeopardizing the generalizability of empirical tests. Another way to alleviate the interpretational-confounding issue is to include the multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) construct in the path model (i.e., MIMIC-path). Unfortunately, this method has led to the second major problem of interpretational ambiguity, the existence of more than one potential explanation of the formative model. More specifically, reflective indicators in the MIMIC model can be viewed as (1) indicators of the MIMIC construct, (2) dependent variables of the formative construct, or (3) indicators of a reflective construct affected by independent variables (formative indicators). To resolve these issues, we propose a two-stage fixed-weight redundancy model (FWRM) approach. We demonstrate the applicability of the FWRM approach with a set of survey data. We conducted a simulation study evaluating the FWRM approach by comparing it with the commonly used free-estimation and MIMIC-path methods. The results indicate that our FWRM approach can indeed improve the validity of formative construct modeling by mitigating confounding and ambiguity issues.

To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below:
Available at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol19/iss9/2


Editorial

Learning from First-Generation Qualitative Approaches in the IS Discipline: An Evolutionary View and Some Implications for Authors and Evaluators (Part 2/2)

Suprateek Sarker, University of Virginia
Xiao Xiao, Copenhagen Business School
Tanya Beaulieu, Utah State University
Allen S. Lee, Virginia Commonwealth University

Abstract

Qualitative research in the information systems (IS) discipline has come a long way, from being dismissed as “exploratory research” or “preresearch,” not worthy of being featured in “scientific” and authoritative journals in the discipline, to a state where such research is seen as legitimate and even welcome within much of the mainstream IS research community. Recent editorials have expressed concerns regarding the research community’s lack of awareness about the diverse nature of qualitative research and the apparent confusion regarding how these diverse approaches are different. In this two-part editorial, Part 1 focused on analyzing first-generation qualitative research approaches based on four key elements (theory, data, analysis, and claims), and discussed how each of these elements might vary depending on the type (i.e., genre) of the qualitative study. In Part 2, we examine qualitative studies published over the past 17 years in four leading journals for evidence related to the genres identified in Part 1 of this editorial. Specifically, our goal was to assess the recognition of various genres in the published papers, and to determine whether there was sufficient internal consistency for a given genre within each paper. Based on the results of the assessment, we offer lessons for authors, reviewers, and editors.

To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below:
Available at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol19/iss9/1


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