Barney Tan

Demystifying case research: A structured-pragmatic-situational (SPS) approach to conducting case studies

Despite an abundance of prescriptions and examples for the conduct of case research in the literature, the fact that most prescriptions tend to (1) articulate general principles/guidelines that are difficult to translate into specific, actionable steps, (2) hold only under idealized conditions and may be unworkable in the field, and (3) emphasize the need to be flexible without explaining how flexibility can be achieved, is creating a steep learning curve. To address these gaps, a structured-pragmatic-situational (SPS) approach to conducting case research is proposed with detailed instructions provided for each of its eight steps. The eight steps include (1) access negotiation, (2)conceptualizing the phenomenon,(3) collecting and organizing the initial data, (4) constructing and extending the theoretical lens, (5) confirming and validating data, (6) selective coding, (7) ensuring theory-data-model alignment, and (8) writing the case report. With its prescriptions, the SPS approach introduces a number of conceptual innovations, integrates the different recommendations of some of the most frequently cited works on the case research method into a coherent whole, and suggests resolutions for a number of common issues that confront case researchers.

The Strategic Implications of Web Technologies: A Process Model of How Web Technologies Enhance Organizational Performance

The lack of knowledge on 1) how Web technologies support the business strategies of an organization and 2) how Web technologies enhance organizational performance are gaps in the existing literature that may account for the inability of the majority of Web-based firms to leverage their investments in Web technologies. To address these knowledge gaps, a theoretical lens is constructed from five core logics in organizational literature that represent the different possible ways of enhancing organizational performance. Applying the lens to analyze the case of a successful Singaporean dotcom, the ways through which Web technologies enhance organizational performance are identified. Specifically, our study reveals that the process through which Web technologies enhance organizational performance is contingent on the state of the organizational environment. When the environment is in a state of equilibrium, Web technologies can enhance organizational performance by facilitating the attainment of competitive advantage through three distinct mechanisms: the logics of positioning, leverage, and opportunity. Conversely, when the environment is in a state of revolution, Web technologies can give rise to performance gains by supporting the attainment of legitimacy through two distinct mechanisms: the logics of optimality and social congruence.

IT-enabled operational agility

Firms make large investments in enterprise information technology (IT) expecting positive impacts on their supply chain operations. Toward IT-enabled operational agility, an enterprise system facilitates the responsibilities of multiple stakeholders; however, its success is not determined merely by its adoption. Firms must contend with information asymmetries and resource interdependencies simultaneously. To this end, this study presents a model that illustrates how IT can be used to accomplish operational agility at a firm. The stagewise model suggests that toward IT-enabled operational agility, new capabilities are enacted to manage resource interdependencies, the process of negotiation and managerial practices that shape IT use in supply chain tasks. Through our findings, our study extends existing prescriptions on firm interdependencies and presents a set of actionable guidelines to help managers better engage with technology toward the attainment of IT-enabled operational agility.

Developing a Leading Digital Multi-sided Platform: Examining IT Affordances and Competitive Actions in Alibaba.com

In recent times, digital multi-sided platforms (DMSPs) have revolutionized electronic commerce by enabling new forms of competition and collaboration. Existing studies provide useful insights yet do not recognize the role of information technologies (IT) in examining the development of DMSPs. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a case study of Alibaba.com (henceforth simply Alibaba), the largest online B2B marketplace in the world with over 80 million members. We applied the theoretical notion of IT affordances to examine the possibilities for competitive action at a platform level based on organizational variables and IT features in the context of the environment in which they function. Our findings show that, toward market leadership, Alibaba has developed competitive actions from actualizing IT affordances. At Alibaba, actualizing IT affordances links closely with its defined organizational goals of developing: (1) a collectivist structure, (2) a coopetitive structure, and (3) an autonomous community among platform constituents. Our stage-wise model captures the relational aspects of IT affordances and proposes actionable prescriptions for a DMSP to achieve market leadership.

Managing organizational identity in the e-commerce industry: An ambidexterity perspective

In the e-commerce industry, organizations should maintain an enduring and stable organizational identity to gain long-term success while also adapting quickly to the increasingly volatile environment in order to ensure profitability and survival. These ongoing paradoxical challenges concerning the management of organizational identity have been left unaddressed in existing literature. Drawing upon the literature related to organizational ambidexterity and organizational identity, this paper proposes two theoretical frameworks for systematically examining the ways in which organizations, especially those in the e-commerce industry, should manage their organizational identities by leveraging four balancing forms of organizational ambidexterity. Based on these two models, we comprehensively analyzed the case of D.com, which is Chinas most successful online ticket vendor. Our study not only contributes to the field of knowledge surrounding organizational identity and ambidexterity but also provides a detailed means for practitioners to manage organizational identities at both the strategic and operational levels within the e-commerce industry.

The Affordance of Gamification in Enabling a Digital Disruptor: A Case Study of the goCatch Taxi Booking App

Digital disruption refers to the implementation of digital technology-enabled changes to better meet customer needs and is drawing increasing scholarly attention. However, the way in which digital disruption is achieved is still relatively understudied. This study examines the affordance of gamification in enabling digital disruption. We present an exploratory case study and qualitative analysis of our observations on a mobile application platform and app, goCatch. goCatch is widely recognized as a digital disruptor in the taxi industry. From our empirical investigation, we find that goCatch uses gamification through situational and artifactual affordances to enable digital disruption. This study clarifies the relationship between the situated motivational affordances of gamification between the key players in a digital ecosystem and value creation in a mobile commerce business. The findings from the investigation provide the empirical premise for a model illustrating the role of gamification in digital disruption.

Harnessing collective IT resources for sustainability: Insights from the green leadership strategy of China mobile

Green information technology (IT) initiatives cannot be implemented in isolation if they are to have a significant and lasting impact on environmental sustainability. Instead, there is a need to harness the collective IT resources of the diverse stakeholders operating in the interorganizational business networks that characterize the contemporary business landscape. This, in turn, demands an appropriate leadership structure. However, the notion of “green leadership” has not received adequate research attention to date. Using a case study of green IT implementation at China Mobile, the worlds largest mobile telecommunications provider, this study seeks to shed light on the underlying process through which green leadership is achieved and subsequently enacted to facilitate collective green IT initiatives. With its findings, this study presents a process theory that complements the dominant, internally‐oriented perspective of green IT and provides practitioners with a useful reference for leveraging the collective IT resources of their network partners to contribute toward preserving the environment for future generations.

Nurturing a FinTech ecosystem

Financial technology, or FinTech, involves the design and delivery of financial products and services through technology. It impacts financial institutions, regulators, customers, and merchants across a wide range of industries. Pervasive digital technologies are challenging the fundamentals of the highly regulated financial sector, leading to the emergence of non-traditional payment systems, peer-to-peer money exchanges and increased turbulence in currency markets. This case study explores the development of a FinTech company in China that offers microloans to college students. Five lessons learned are presented for organizations to better manage the challenges and to leverage the opportunities amidst the disruption of financial sector. Our findings also shed light on how digital technology 1) offers the strategic capability for a firm to occupy a market niche in financial sector, 2) enables the generation of alternative credit scores based on non-traditional data, and 3) improves the financial inclusion of previously excluded market segments.

Research Note-Deliberation Without Attention: The Latent Benefits of Distracting Website Features for Online Purchase Decisions

Early studies on Web design typically caution against the use of distracting website features in electronic commerce, such as animated banners, pop-ups, and floating advertisements, because they may cause annoyance for online consumers and disrupt information processing, leading to poorer purchase decisions. Yet, the recently uncovered deliberation-without-attention D-W-A effect suggests that distracting consumers from the decision-making process may improve their decision quality when there are a large number of decision parameters to consider. To ascertain whether the D-W-A effect can be triggered through the use of distracting website features in the context of online shopping, two experiments are conducted. The first experiment reveals that the presence of distracting website features, in the form of pop-ups, gives rise to annoyance in general, but also leads to better purchase decisions when the decision to be made is complex. The second experiment supports the findings of the first and sheds further light on the underlying mode of thought triggered by these features. In particular, by eliminating a number of potential alternative mechanisms, including online judgments, the mere disruption of decision-related thought, and cognitively constrained conscious deliberation, the second experiment demonstrates that unconscious deliberation is likely to be the underlying cause of superior decision making. With these findings, this research supports a more balanced view in the recent human-computer interaction literature, which suggests that the usual advice to minimize the use of distracting website features should be examined more carefully. The research also uncovers evidence that contributes to the ongoing debate surrounding the D-W-A effect and unconscious thought theory.

The process of Technology Leapfrogging: Case analysis of the national ICT infrastructure development journey of Azerbaijan

Abstract Technology Leapfrogging is one of the most cost efficient and effective ways for developing countries to attain an advanced state of ICT development and connectivity. And yet, despite its numerous benefits, there is currently little research on the process of Technology Leapfrogging. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a case study of the national ICT infrastructure development journey of Azerbaijan, one of the top developing countries in the world in terms of ICT connectivity and development. With an in-depth exploration of how Azerbaijan charted the overall direction of ICT development, as well as the specific initiatives implemented in the areas of infrastructure development, e-government, information management and security, business and entrepreneurship, and research and education, a process model of Technology Leapfrogging was then inductively derived. More specifically, our study reveals that ICT development in Azerbaijan unfolded as a “stage-skipping” variant of Technology Leapfrogging that consists of four stages: (1) Psyching, (2) Planting, (3) Propelling and (4) Perpetuating. Analogous to the mechanics of a physical leapfrog, traversing the four stages enabled Azerbaijan to achieve an advanced state of ICT connectivity quickly and cost effectively in spite of its limited resources, which served to generate a variety of economic and social benefits for the country.