An investigation of the dark side of social networking sites

• Journal: European Journal of Information Systems
• Jun 13, 2019

Problem:

If you do not have access to your favorite social networking site (SNS) like Facebook or Instagram, does this mean that you simply miss a tool that you sometimes need in your daily life or does it touch you more deeply? It is an important observation of recent research that the use of social networking sites over several hours per day has to be understood as something more substantial than just the usage of a tool.

This article builds on the idea that information technology, here specifically social networking sites (SNS), is so intertwined with the daily life of their users that it has become for many of them a part of their identity. This idea has been conceptualized as “IT identity” in prior research and the authors take it one step further by investigating SNS identity. Presumable consequences of this conceptualization is that SNS usage becomes habit, which would partially explain the lack of self-control over the time of SNS usage.

Designing legitimacy into technology: The case of a crowdfunding platform

• Journal: European Journal of Information Systems
• Jun 12, 2019

Problem:

New platforms often struggle to get stakeholders to use it because of its newness and lack of legitimacy. Legitimacy is traditionally considered as a social and relational quality among people. The question addressed by this article is: “how can legitimacy be designed into the technology?” Specifically, it is concerned with how to design a platform so that different key users perceive it as legitimate and wants to engage in it.

There are two main challenges to address in designing legitimacy into a platform. First, in order for legitimacy to emerge, normative, structural and cognitive norms have to be fulfilled. These norms are related to financial, social or cognitive expectations of key actors, such as getting shares in the organization or being involved in decision making as a board member or advisor. Second, platforms are often multi-sided or two-sided, so they need to satisfy diverse—and often opposite—set of norms and expectations of different key users (e.g., a platform for crowdfunding needs to present projects that need funding as well as information for investors about interesting projects to get involved in).

Word-of-mouth in the era of digital social networks

• Journal: European Journal of Information Systems
• Jun 12, 2019

Problem:

Many online shoppers search social networks for information before making a purchase. The study, therefore, examines how shoppers use their social networks—that is, core network of online friends or extended network of strangers—to search for information.

Requirements acquisition from hard-to-reach populations

• Journal: European Journal of Information Systems
• Jan 23, 2019

Problem:

The development of services, products, and information systems should focus on customer needs and preferences. Understanding the customers requires frequent interactions with them. However, this procedure is often perceived costly, difficult, and even unproductive. Because of these issues, companies may fail to acquire important requirements from potential key customers. Missing such valuable insights during design and development is likely to lead in sub-optimal performance of the outcomes.

Issues, practice, and leadership of Information Technology in Europe

• Journal: European Journal of Information Systems
• Jan 23, 2019

Problem:

There is a need for high-quality research findings that can be applied to problems encountered by information technology (IT) practitioners. The practical difficulties associated with gaining access to IT executives often limit the practicality of such research. As an IT executive, it’s one thing to know what you’re thinking and what your organization is doing, but quite another to know what others in similar leadership positions have on their minds and what are their organizations doing in terms of technology investments, priorities, performance measures, outsourcing, cloud, and so on?

This paper reports the findings of a study of IT management issues and practices as reported by European IT executives. This study was conducted as an extension of a practice-oriented research study, conducted in the United States (U.S.) since 1980, which reports on a wide range of IT concerns, investments, skills, management practices, and leadership activities. 

Balancing the exploration for and exploitation of IT resources

• Journal: European Journal of Information Systems
• Sep 03, 2018

Problem:

Facing novel information technology (IT), organizations must invest in exploiting existing resources and assets to impact organizational performance. However, organizations must also invest in innovative, emerging technologies to strengthen their IT portfolios. Given the importance of both investments in IT capabilities and investments in digital-business intensity, the question concerning how the two types of investments interrelate arises.

How ECM workarounds emerge and how to avoid them

• Journal: European Journal of Information Systems
• Sep 03, 2018

Problem:

Companies increasingly use enterprise content management (ECM) systems to manage unstructured information assets, but employees often avoid using the new ECM systems in favor of other means of managing unstructured information, such as local file systems. However, such workarounds can lead to problems at the individual and organizational levels (e.g., poor collaboration). Against this background, the study explores how low levels of user satisfaction may result from poor information quality, and how such low-quality information may lead to the emergence of workarounds.

How to benefit from your supply chain partners' information?

• Journal: European Journal of Information Systems
• Dec 21, 2017

Problem:

Information technology enables supply-chain partners to share information, thereby fostering supply-chain performance. However, only a few organizations fully exploit their supply-chain partners’ information resources, leading to a large gap between the potential and practice of inter-organizational information systems. This study asks why only a few organizations benefit from their partners’ information.

How to develop sensemaking support systems?

• Journal: European Journal of Information Systems
• Sep 09, 2017

Problem:

Information systems can assist organizational sensemaking, which is crucial as organizations seek to improve their processes. In making sense, people collaboratively frame and label problems and situations through communication, and they do so to understand the past and to prepare for the future. But how can organizations implement systems that support organizational sensemaking?

How does CEO compensation influence the execution of IT-based environmental strategies?

• Journal: European Journal of Information Systems
• May 17, 2017

Problem:

Companies are increasingly expected to implement IT-based environmental strategies, either to reduce the negative environmental impacts that result from the use of IT (“green IT strategies”) or to increase the positive impacts that the use of IT can have on sustainability (“IT-enabled green strategies”). However, since the execution of both green IT strategies and IT-enabled green strategies is time-consuming, requires considerable financial investment, and adds complexity to organizational practices, CEOs face several uncertainties when deciding whether to execute IT-based environmental strategies. The study asks how the various forms of CEO compensation (fixed pay, bonus pay, stock-option pay) impact the execution of IT-based environmental strategies.

How to develop information systems for inter-organisational networks?

• Journal: European Journal of Information Systems
• Sep 09, 2016

Problem:

Business firms are increasingly part of inter-organisational networks, and information systems provide an essential infrastructure for these networks. Traditionally, strong alignment between information systems and business strategies is seen as prerequisite for organisational performance. But, how to reach IS-business alignment in case of several business strategies as they exist in inter-organisational networks?