Andrew M. Hardin

Efficacy in Technology-Mediated Distributed Teams

The concept of collective efficacy within virtual teams has yet to be studied. This study developed and rigorously validated a domain-specific measure of collective efficacy, entitled virtual team efficacy, within a comprehensive research framework. Over a two-year period we collected field study data from multiple samples of information systems project teams—in all, 52 virtual teams comprising 318 students from the United States, Great Britain, and Hong Kong. As we hypothesized, group potency and computer collective efficacy act as antecedents to virtual team efficacy, and virtual team efficacy is in turn predictive of perceptual and objective measures of performance. Further, consistent with efficacy theory, we also find that virtual team efficacy acts on performance outcomes through specific mediating processes. This paper contributes to the academic and practitioner communities by providing a comprehensive model of virtual team efficacy and performance and by providing validated instrumentation that can be immediately applied during further research in this area.

I Know I Can, But Can We? Culture and Efficacy Beliefs in Global Virtual Teams

Given the growing use of global virtual teams, one important factor to consider when examining team performance is the cultural backgrounds of the dispersed team members. Two hundred forty-three team members from universities in the United States and Hong Kong were administered three survey questionnaires during a series of virtual team projects. Results revealed that regardless of cultural background, team members reported less confidence in their ability to work in virtual team environments than traditional face-to-face environments and that team members from individualistic cultures reported higher self-efficacy beliefs (both group self-efficacy and virtual team self-efficacy) than team members from collectivist cultures. Furthermore, when the reference for efficacy beliefs changed from the individual to the group, the magnitude of change was greater for the collectivist versus individualistic team members. Implications and future research are also discussed.

The Impact of Virtual Worlds on Word-of-Mouth: Improving Social Networking and Servicescape in the Hospitality Industry

Bitner (1992) provided an important contribution to the hospitality literature by extending the discussion of environmental psychology to the field of service marketing research. Her study introduced the importance of viewing service marketing through an environmental psychology lens. Our study extends her work through the application of environmental psychology to better understand how hospitality companies can deliver virtual world social networking and servicescape opportunities. This study develops a research model proposing specific propositions describing the relationship between virtual world social networks and the creation of positive word-of-mouth (WOM), through improved customer-to-business interaction, and customer participation in servicescape opportunities. Practical implications and future research are also discussed.

Formative Measurement and Academic Research: In Search of Measurement Theory

The use of causal indicators to formatively measure latent constructs appears to be on the rise, despite what appears to be a troubling lack of consistency in their application. Scholars in any discipline are responsible not only for advancing theoretical knowledge in their domain of study but also for addressing methodological issues that threaten that advance. In that spirit, the current study traces causal indicators from their origins in causal modeling to their use in structural equation modeling today. Conclusions from this review suggest that unlike effect (reflective) indicators, whose application is based on classical test theory, today’s application of causal (formative) indicators is based on research demonstrating their practical application rather than on psychometric theory supporting their use. The authors suggest that this lack of theory has contributed to the confusion surrounding their implementation. Recent research has questioned the generalizability of formatively measured latent constructs. In the current study, the authors discuss how the use of fixed-weight composites may be one way to employ causal indicators so that they may be generalized to additional contexts. More specifically, they suggest the use of meta-analysis principles for identifying optimum causal indicator weights that can be used to generate fixed-weight composites. Finally, the authors explain how these fixed-weight composites can be implemented in both components-based and covariance-based statistical packages. Implications for the use of causal indicators in academic research are used to focus these discussions.

Measuring Group Efficacy in Virtual Teams New Questions in an Old Debate

Group efficacy has received renewed attention in the group literature. Although the relationship between group efficacy and group performance is well established, debate continues on how best to measure the construct. Although most research has explored this issue using collocated groups, this article examines the measurement of group efficacy in virtual teams and explores why some measurement methods may be more appropriate for use in noncollocated groups. Fifty-three senior-level university students involved in virtual team projects were administered questionnaires over the course of their project. As theorized, data analyses revealed that group efficacy beliefs reached by consensus were significantly higher than those measured by surveys administered to individual virtual team members. In addition, support for the greater predictability of an aggregated method over a group consensus method was demonstrated. Follow-up analyses show that group outcome perceptions were significantly related to team performance. Implications and future research are discussed.

A Commentary on the Use of Formative Measurement

The recent flurry of articles on formative measurement, particularly in the information systems literature, appears to be symptomatic of a much larger problem. Despite significant objections by methodological experts, these articles continue to deliver a predominately pro formative measurement message to researchers who rapidly incorporate these recommendations into their research. This commentary argues that many of these articles misinform readers due to the lack of theory underlying formative measurement and a misinterpretation of the early psychometric literature. The authors suggest that to avoid further confusing the consumers of this research, the prudent course of action may be to consider temporarily suspending the use of formative measurement. They further contend that the debate on formative measurement should be restricted primarily to premier methods journals where experts can ultimately develop a theoretical perspective that supports or rejects its implementation. Combined, these steps should help alleviate the rapid adoption of such controversial methods before they have been thoroughly vetted.

Usage and impact of technology enabled job learning

Individuals use technology to experiment with new ways of carrying out their tasks and in doing so they learn more about their jobs. The current study examines the role of technology enabled job learning as a key component in the complex relationship between information systems use and technology outcomes. Data from 308 end-users were analyzed to evaluate the relationships between system use and technology enabled job learning, and technology enabled job learning and technology outcomes. Technology enabled job learning was conceptualized in terms of how computer applications helped individuals learn and better perform their jobs. System use was conceptualized in terms of decision support, work integration, and customer service. Technology outcomes were conceptualized in terms of management control, task innovation, task productivity, and customer satisfaction. Results suggest that systems use has a significant, positive effect on job learning, and that job learning has a significant, positive effect on technology outcomes. Post hoc analyses were then conducted to examine the potential mediating role of job learning between systems use and technology outcomes. The findings from this research lead to a greater understanding of how patterns of systems use influence organizationally relevant outcomes through technology-enabled job learning.

Self-efficacy, learning method appropriation and software skills acquisition in learner-controlled CSSTS environments

A computer‐simulated software training system (CSSTS) delivers a specific form of computer‐based training in which participants are allowed to select various training features within a simulated software environment. Given the growing use of these systems as end‐user training (EUT) aids, there is a need for greater understanding of how participants use these systems, as well as whether participant‐controlled learning environments are truly effective. The present research examines how a particular learner characteristic, software self‐efficacy, drives appropriation in a high learner control, CSSTS environment. Contrary to notions in the literature, results from spreadsheet and database software training courses reveal that pre‐training specific software self‐efficacy constitutes a significant, negative predictor of faithful appropriations of the CSSTS. This research also establishes a positive relationship between faithful appropriation and increases in software self‐efficacy (SSE). In essence, faithful appropriations lead to greater increases in SSE, which influences software skills performance. In addition, the research validates prior EUT research by extending prior findings to a database training environment. A psychometrically sound measure is put forth to capture database self‐efficacy.

Strategic Relevance of Organizational Virtues Enabled by Information Technology in Organizational Innovation

Abstract The central theme of this paper is that information technology (IT) can serve to create ethical organizations endowed with virtuous characteristics, and that such ethical organizations can innovate better in today’s dynamic market environment. Drawing on the notion of virtue ethics propounded by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, we theorize that core organizational IT affordances influence the development of organizational virtues, which in turn influence organizational improvisational capabilities and innovation. We propose the “IT-virtues-innovation” (IVI) model and test it using a cross-organizational survey of 250 employees from various organizations in the United States. Our findings largely support our proposal that IT affordances positively influence organizational virtues, which then influence organizational improvisational capabilities, thus improving organizational innovation. This paper contributes to the understanding of organizational innovation by articulating the strategic usefulness of IT-enabled organizational ethics, and it explains how IT-enabled ethical competence (virtues) influences strategic competence (improvisational capabilities and innovation).

Virtual World Experiential Promotion

Given that virtual worlds as a promotional vehicle may dramatically alter the existing customer experience, we seek to understand the impact of the virtual environment through interdisciplinary research. We present a conceptual framework, beginning with a qualitative study, and finishing with a quantitative study that includes hypothesis testing. Our findings indicate that virtual world experiential promotion (VWEP) provides better hedonic attributes, such as atmospherics, social experience, and personal/adaptive selling, when compared to “e-tail” environments. Results for the the provision of utilitarian attributes were more mixed, revealing that time savings and convenience were perceived as being less advantageous in VWEP environments than in retail environments, while ease of switching was perceived as being not significantly different across the two channels. As hypothesized, avoiding salesperson pressure was seen as an advantage of VWEP environments over retail environments. In summary, we conceptually introduce the virtual world promotional vehicle, show the importance of the consumer experience within such via two studies, and provide a framework for future research in the virtual world promotion context.