[AISWorld] Journal of Information Technology (JIT) September 2020 Issue (35:3) Published

[Daniel Schlagwein]

Dear colleagues,

The September 2020 issue of the Journal of Information Technology (JIT) has
been published. This is the TOC:

pp. 182–194
Data mining fool’s gold
<https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0268396220915600>
Gary Smith

The scientific method is based on the rigorous testing of falsifiable
conjectures. Data mining, in contrast, puts data before theory by searching
for statistical patterns without being constrained by prespecified
hypotheses. Artificial intelligence and machine learning systems, for
example, often rely on data-mining algorithms to construct models with
little or no human guidance. However, a plethora of patterns are inevitable
in large data sets, and computer algorithms have no effective way of
assessing whether the patterns they unearth are truly useful or meaningless
coincidences. While data mining sometimes discovers useful relationships,
the data deluge has caused the number of possible patterns that can be
discovered relative to the number that are genuinely useful to grow
exponentially—which makes it increasingly likely that what data mining
unearths is likely to be fool’s gold.

pp. 195–213
Social media in times of crisis: Learning from Hurricane Harvey for the
coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic response
<https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0268396220929258>
Milad Mirbabaie, Deborah Bunker, Stefan Stieglitz, Julian Marx, Christian
Ehnis

In recent times societal crises such as the coronavirus disease 2019
outbreak have given rise to a tension between formal ‘command and control’
and informal social media activated self-organising information and
communication systems that are utilised for crisis management
decision-making. Social media distrust affects the dissemination of
disaster information as it entails shifts in media perception and
participation but also changes in the way individuals and organisations
make sense of information in critical situations. So far, a little
considered notion in this domain is the concept of sense-giving.
Originating from organisational theory, it is used to explain the
mechanisms behind intentional information provision that fosters collective
meaning creation. In our study, we seek to understand the potential impact
of sense-giving from Twitter crisis communication generated during the
Hurricane Harvey disaster event. Social network and content analyses
performed with a dataset of 9,414,463 tweets yielded insights into how
sense-giving occurs during a large-scale disaster event. Theoretically, we
specified (1) perpetual sense-giving, which relies primarily on topical
authority and frequency; as well as (2) intermittent sense-giving, which
occurs from high value of message content and leverage of popularity, that
is, retweets. Our findings emphasise the importance of information-rich
actors in communication networks and the leverage of their influence in
crises such as coronavirus disease 2019 to reduce social media distrust and
facilitate sense-making.

pp. 214–231
Protecting a whale in a sea of phish
<https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0268396220918594>
Daniel Pienta, Jason Bennett Thatcher, Allen Johnston

Whaling is one of the most financially damaging, well-known, effective
cyberattacks employed by sophisticated cybercriminals. Although whaling
largely consists of sending a simplistic email message to a whale (i.e. a
high-value target in an organization), it can result in large payoffs for
cybercriminals, in terms of money or data stolen from organizations. While
a legitimate cybersecurity threat, little information security research has
directed attention toward whaling. In this study, we begin to provide an
initial understanding of what makes whaling such a pernicious problem for
organizations, executives, or celebrities (e.g. whales), and those charged
with protecting them. We do this by defining whaling, delineating it from
general phishing and spear phishing, presenting real-world cases of
whaling, and provide guidance on future information security research on
whaling. We find that whaling is far more complex than general phishing and
spear phishing, spans multiple domains (e.g. work and personal), and
potentially results in spillover effects that ripple across the
organization. We conclude with a discussion of promising future directions
for whaling and information security research.

pp. 232–250
Paradox and the negotiation of tensions in globally distributed work
<https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0268396220936697>
Jade Wendy Brooks, MN Ravishankar, Ilan Oshri

Tensions are a major source of communication problems, coordination issues,
and conflict in globally distributed work. In this article, we argue that
extant literature falls short of addressing tensions in globally
distributed work at two levels. First, it fails to fully account for the
intrinsic and entrenched nature of tensions in globally distributed work,
suggesting instead that they can be resolved or made to disappear. Second,
it does not examine the key interactions among different kinds of tensions.
Drawing on qualitative data from a distributed finance organization and
applying concepts from paradox theory, we show how globally distributed
units negotiate knowledge, power, and identity tensions in collaborative
work. The findings illuminate how a sequential enactment of both formal and
informal solutions can better address tensions and generate collaborative
opportunities in globally distributed work. Building on the findings, we
develop a phasal model of tension evolution and management in globally
distributed work which explains how tensions evolve from a phase of
suppression through to a phase of attenuation. We demonstrate the
interactions of knowledge–power–identity tensions against a background of
defensive, interactive, and collaborative behaviors, and suggest several
practical implications for globally distributed work practice.

pp. 251–269
The ownership of digital infrastructure: Exploring the deployment of
software libraries in a digital innovation cluster
<https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0268396220936705>
Lior Fink, Jianhua Shao, Yossi Lichtenstein, Stefan Haefliger

Boundary resources have been shown to enable the arm’s-length relationships
between platform owners and third-party developers that underlie digital
innovation in platform ecosystems. While boundary resources that are owned
by open-source communities and small-scale software vendors are also
critical components in the digital infrastructure, their role in digital
innovation has yet to be systematically explored. In particular, software
libraries are popular boundary resources that provide functionality without
the need for continued interaction with their owners. They are used
extensively by commercial vendors to enable customization of their software
products, by communities to disseminate open-source software, and by
big-tech platform owners to provide functionality that does not involve
control. This article reports on the deployment of such software libraries
in the web and mobile (Android) contexts by 107 start-up companies in
London. Our findings show that libraries owned by big-tech companies,
product vendors, and communities coexist; that the deployment of big-tech
libraries is unaffected by the scale of the deploying start-up; and that
context evolution paths are consequential for library deployment. These
findings portray a balanced picture of digital infrastructure as neither
the community-based utopia of early open-source research nor the dystopia
of the recent digital dominance literature.

pp. 270–282
Theory borrowing in IT-rich contexts: Lessons from IS strategy research
<https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0268396220912745>
Mohammad Moeini, Boyka Simeonova, Robert D Galliers, Alex Wilson

While indigenous theorizing in information systems has clear merits, theory
borrowing will not, and should not, be eschewed given its appeal and
usefulness. In this article, we aim at increasing our understanding of
modifying of borrowed theories in IT-rich contexts. We present a framework
in which we discuss how two recontextualization approaches of specification
and distinction help with increasing the IT-richness of borrowed constructs
and relationships. In doing so, we use several illustrative examples from
information systems strategy. The framework can be used by researchers as a
tool to explore the multitude of ways in which a theory from another
discipline can yield the understanding of IT phenomena.

Special Issue Call for Papers:

*Regulation in the Age of Digitalization
<https://journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/cmscontent/JIN/JIT%20CFP%20SI%20Regulation%20and%20IT%202020-03-08%20DS.pdf>*
(deadline
2020-12-31)
Editors: Danny Gozman, Kalle Lyytinen, Tom Butler

*Emerging Technologies and IS Sourcing*
<https://journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/cmscontent/JIT%20CFP%20SI%20Emerging%20Technologies%20IS%20Sourcing%20FINAL-1588000712277.pdf>
(deadline 2021-02-26 / abstract 2020-09-30)
Editors: Julia Kotlarsky, Ilan Oshri, Oliver Krancher, Rajiv Sabherwal

Subscribe to receive JIT's special issue call for papers and online-first
publications alerts:
https://journals.sagepub.com/connected/JIN#email-alert
<https://journals.sagepub.com/connected/JIN#email-alert>

JIT homepage (note, we are publishing now with SAGE, not Palgrave/Springer
as previously)
https://journals.sagepub.com/home/jin

Best wishes,

Daniel

------------------------------
*Dr Daniel Schlagwein*
Associate Professor | The University of Sydney Business School | Business
Information Systems <http://sydney.edu.au/business/information_systems>
Co-Editor-in-Chief | Journal of Information Technology
<https://journals.sagepub.com/home/jin>

*The University of Sydney*
Abercrombie Building (H70), Room 4070 | The University of Sydney NSW 2006 |
Australia
+61286277407 | schlagwein at sydney.edu.au | sydney.edu.au/business/schlagwein
<https://sydney.edu.au/business/about/our-people/academic-staff/schlagwein.html>
/

USYD Profile <https://business.sydney.edu.au/staff/schlagwein> |
Research: Digital
Work <https://www.researchgate.net/project/Digital-Work-Digital-Nomadism>
| Digital
Nomadism
<https://www.researchgate.net/project/Digital-Work-Digital-Nomadism> |
Crowdsourcing <https://www.researchgate.net/project/Crowdsourcing-24> |
Openness
<https://www.researchgate.net/project/Openness-and-Information-Technology>