Bradley C. Wheeler

Using IT to reengineer business education: an exploratory investigation of collaborative telelearning

This longitudinal field study (three work sessions plus an initial training session), investigates the efficacy of a new technology -- desktop videoconferencing (DVC) -- in support of collaborative telelearning (i.e., collaborative learning among non-proximate team members). Two types of collaborative telelearning environments are considered. One involves local groups (i.e., students on the same campus), and the other involves non-proximate distant groups (i.e., students on two separate campuses). The collaborative telelearning environments are compared to each other and to a traditional face-to-face collaborative learning environment.The study found that the three environments are equally effective in terms of student knowledge acquisition; however, higher critical-thinking skills were found in the distant DVC environment. The subjects in the three learning environments were equally satisfied with their learning process and outcomes. At the conclusion of the longitudinal assessment, the distant students using DVC were more committed and attracted to their groups compared to local students who worked face-to-face or through DVC.

NEBIC: A Dynamic Capabilities Theory for Assessing Net-Enablement

We propose the Net-Enabled Business Innovation Cycle (NEBIC) as an applied dynamic capabilities theory for measuring, predicting, and understanding a firms ability to create customer value through the business use of digital networks. The theory incorporates both a variance and process view of net-enabled business innovation. It identifies four sequenced constructs: Choosing new IT, Matching Economic Opportunities with technology, Executing Business Innovation for Growth, and Assessing Customer Value, along with the processes and events that interrelate them as a cycle. The sequence of these theorized relationships for net-enablement (NE)¹ asserts that choosing ITprecedes rather than aligns with corporate strategy. The theory offers a logically consistent and falsifiable basis for grounding research programs on metrics of net-enabled business innovation.

Facilitation, GSS, and Training as Sources of Process Restrictiveness and Guidance for Structured Group Decision Making: An Empirical Assessment

Structured decision techniques have been a mainstay of prescriptive decision theory for decades. Group Support Systems GSSs automate many of the features found in decision techniques, yet groups often choose to ignore both the technique and the technology in favor of more familiar decision processes. This research empirically tests propositions and hypotheses for a specific instantiation of Adaptive Structuration Theory. A controlled laboratory experiment tests the ability of three appropriation mediators e.g., facilitation, GSS configuration, and training to directively affect group decision making through guidance and restrictiveness. The experiment used a hidden-profile task and structured decision technique which directed group members to reach a decision by identifying the problem, choosing criteria, and selecting a solution. The results supported the proposition that appropriation mediators can increase the faithful use of structured decision techniques and that faithful use can improve decision quality.

The Effects of Media and Task on User Performance: A Test of the Task-Media Fit Hypothesis

This research was designed to examine the task-media fit hypothesis, an extension to media richness theory that predicts the objective performance of various media for a number of task types. To examine this model, dyads communicating through face-to-face, videophone, telephone (i.e., audio-only communication), or synchronous computer-mediated communication worked in a laboratory experiment to address an intellective or negotiation task. The intellective task required that each dyad member effectively share factual information that each individual independently held. The negotiation task required that each dyad member effectively share preferences based on personal values and reach an agreement. The results of the study provide mixed support for the task-media fit hypothesis. In general, the results for the negotiation task largely supported the theory while the results for the intellective task did not support the theory. These results help to clarify limitations and provide extensions to the theory by demonstrating how variations in task processes and communication media act to mediate task performance. The implications of these results for future research and practice are discussed.

Electronic Commerce Research: A Taxonomy and Synthesis

Electronic commerce (EC) can be defined as an online exchange of value. This article presents an analysis of 172 published research articles and synthesizes their content by theoretical perspective (organizational, economic, and technical) and dominant research methods. We use this analysis to identify specific research themes within a framework that have the potential to become cumulative streams of research. One conclusion is that EC research to date has been widely scattered in a variety of journals and is often not self-referencing. This analysis provides a step toward remedying this problem by specifically synthesizing what is known to date from EC research and by proposing directions for future efforts. A second conclusion is that the field of information systems (IS) has a window of opportunity to become a primary producer and conveyer of EC research knowledge if cumulative streams of research can be nurtured and published in top-tier journals. The analysis presents a context for examining IS opportunity and the necessary antecedents.

Tasks matter: modeling group task processes in experimental CSCW research

The authors present a model of how individuals process tasks in a group setting. They review the literature on tasks and integrate this literature in the context of experimental collaborative group work. The bulk of the task literature suggests that a workable and valid classification system must be built both on characteristics that are innate to a task and on characteristics of the task performer. Based on this framework, plus work done by J.R. Hackman (1969), a model of group task processing is proposed. As part of this model, a relatively unused type of task called a hidden profile task is documented and contrasted with other tasks which have been used in computer-supported group research. Hidden profile tasks have much to offer group laboratory research; these tasks distribute task relevant information among group members to induce heterogeneity within the group. The authors argue that the use of hidden profile tasks in laboratory research will help to close the gap between field and laboratory research since groups in field settings generally come together with heterogeneous information and perspectives.<<ETX>>

Groupware comes to the Internet: charting a new world

Early experiences with Web-based groupware point to new collaboration opportunities within and between organizations. We report the results of a study of more than 100 organizations that have used Web-based groupware to understand better how they are using it and what advantages and disadvantages they have experienced. We then use these data to develop a framework for analyzing and assessing the fit of groupware systems to organizational needs. We close with a discussion of the evolution and future of groupware.

Restrictive Group Support Systems as a Source of Process Structure for High and Low Procedural Order Groups

Most Group Support Systems (GSSs) have been designed to provide structure and process support for decision-making groups, but individuals and groups may have preferences for structuring group work that are not always compatible with the assumptions of GSS designers. This research reports a laboratory experiment which manipulated the degree of restrictive structure in a GSS and the preference for procedural order of the group. Performance was generally better when groups used the nonrestrictive GSS, although they were more satisfied with the restrictive environment. The results of this research suggest that preference for procedural order and restrictiveness moderates the manner in which technology-supported decision processes are used and perceived. These results have implications for the organizational implementation of current GSS configurations and for future GSS design.

Computer-mediated idea generation: the effects of group size and group heterogeneity

A laboratory experiment investigated the effects of physical group size (five- and ten-member) and logical group size (i.e., group heterogeneity in regard to task demands) on the performance of groups addressing an idea generation task. Logical size was manipulated by varying the amount of task-relevant information given to each group member. Larger logical group sizes (heterogeneous groups) were induced by distributing unique task-relevant information among group members; smaller logical group sizes were induced by providing all task information to all members (homogeneous groups). Ten-member groups outperformed five-member groups. Physical group size interacted with logical group size, resulting in greater performance gains for heterogeneous groups with more members. Average contributions per group member diminished with increased physical group size for homogeneous groups and increased for heterogeneous groups.<<ETX>>

A Framework for Technology-Mediated Inter-Institutional Telelearning Relationships.

This essay presents a framework for developing technology-mediated inter-institutional relationships for collaborative telelearning. This framework highlights the issues and implications of developing and maintaining partnering relationships among universities. The development of this framework is an outgrowth of two inter-institutional relationships among three large state universities: between the University of Maryland at College Park and Indiana University, and between the University of Maryland at College Park and the University of Arizona. The essay provides a description of both inter-institutional relationships, focusing specifically on inception, execution, and ongoing evaluation experiences. These experiences are subsequently used to illustrate how a framework for developing inter-institutional relationships can be used to both guide the design of new and the assessment of existing relationships. The essay concludes by discussing costs and benefits of inter-institutional relationships at the individual champion and the institutional levels.