Dov Te'eni

Review: a cognitive-affective model of organizational communication for designing IT

There are several theories available to describe how managers choose a medium for communication. However, current technology can affect not only how we communicate but also what we communicate. As a result, the issue for designers of communication support systems has become broader: how should technology be designed to make communication more effective by changing the medium and the attributes of the message itself? The answer to this question requires a shift from current preoccupations with the medium of communication to a view that assesses the balance between medium and message form. There is also a need to look more closely at the process of communication in order to identify more precisely any potential areas of computer support. This paper provides the spadework for a new model of organizational communication, and uses it to review existing research, as well as to suggest directions for future research and development. Beginning with the crucial aspects of action, relationship, and choice, an integrated model of how people communicate is developed. This model incorporates three basic factors: (1) inputs to the communication process (task, sender-receiver distance, and values and norms of communication with a particular emphasis on inter-cultural communication); (2) a cognitive-affective process of communication; and (3) the communication impact on action and relationship. The glue that bonds these factors together is a set of communication strategies aimed at reducing the complexity of communication. The model provides a balance between relationship and action, between cognition and affect, and between message and medium. Such a balance has been lacking in previous work, and we believe it reflects a more realistic picture of communication behavior in organizations. A set of propositions generated from the model sets an agenda for studying the communication process as well as its inputs and outputs. Furthermore, this knowledge of the mechanisms that guide behavior is used to demonstrate the potential for developing design principles for future communication support systems.

Past purchase and intention to purchase in e‐commerce: The mediation of social presence and trust

Purpose – Purchasing on the internet has unique features that make it different from the traditional shopping process, particularly with regard to its social context. This study seeks to investigate the relationship between past online purchases and purchasing intentions, representing the social context by the notions of social presence and trust.Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 115 working MBA students purchased an item online (but were stopped at the stage of paying), and then completed a questionnaire on social presence and trust.Findings – The results show that past purchasing predicts intentions to purchase and that trust and social presence act as partial mediators.Practical implications – Social context is important for understanding how past behavior affects future purchasing. Designs should therefore enhance social presence and trust. Moreover, it may be beneficial to monitor these mediators to detect potential problems.Originality/value – The study demonstrates the important role of soc...

From generative fit to generative capacity: exploring an emerging dimension of information systems design and task performance

Information systems (IS) research has been long concerned with improving task‐related performance. The concept of fit is often used to explain how system design can improve performance and overall value. So far, the literature has focused mainly on performance evaluation criteria that are based on measures of task efficiency, accuracy, or productivity. However, nowadays, productivity gain is no longer the single evaluation criterion. In many instances, computer systems are expected to enhance our creativity, reveal opportunities and open new vistas of uncharted frontiers.

Why the old world cannot publish? Overcoming challenges in publishing high-impact IS research

We review the status of European publishing in high-impact Information System (IS) journals finding that the European publication record is disappointing. We consider popular explanations to this state of affairs and find them neither credible nor useful for improving the European record. We propose several constructive reasons for this including (1) the lack of appreciation of the article genre, (2) weak publishing cultures, (3) inadequate Ph.D. preparation for article publishing, (4) weak reviewing practices, (5) poorer command of research methods, (6) poorer understanding of the reviewing protocols, and (7) institutional shaping of research funding in Europe. We formulate several recommendations to affect these causes at the individual, institutional, journal, and European community level.

Cognitive feedback in GDSS: improving control and convergence

Cognitive feedback in group decision making is information that provides decision makers with a better understanding of their own decision processes and that of the other group members. It appears to be an effective aid in group decision making. Although it has been suggested as a potential feature of group decision support systems (GDSS), little research has examined its use and impact. This article investigates the effect of computer generated cognitive feedback in computer-supported group decision processes. It views group decision making as a combination of individual and collective activity. The article tests whether cognitive feedback can enhance control over the individual and collective decision making processes and can facilitate the process of convergence among group members. In a laboratory experiment with groups of three decision makers, 15 groups received online cognitive feedback and 15 groups did not. Users receiving cognitive feedback maintained a higher level of control over the decision-making process as their decision strategies converged. This research indicates that (1) developers should include cognitive feedback as an integral part of the GDSS at ever level, and (2) they should design the human-computer interaction so there is an intuitive and effective transaction across the components of feedback at all levels. Researchers should extend the concepts explored here to other models of conflict that deal with ill-structured decisions, as well as study the impact of cognitive feedback over time. Finally, researchers trying to enhance the capabilities of GDSS should continue examining how to take advantage of the differences between individual, interpersonal, and collective decision making.

Sharing perspectives in distributed decision making

Complex organizations are characterized by distributed decision making, and require a sharing of perspectives among distributed decision makers if they are to coordinate activity and adapt to changing circumstances. This paper explains the process of perspective taking and its roles in human communication, mutual trust, and organizational learning. SPIDER is a software environment for enriching communication among managers by improving their ability to represent and exchange understandings of the situations they face. Cognitive maps linked to underlying assumptions are used as a basis for sharing their perspectives and enabling coordination of distributed decision making.

Tying knowledge to action with kMail

The paper discusses the kMail system which integrates e-mail with organizational memories to deliver knowledge across the Internet in a timely relevant manner. kMail operates by providing context through metaknowledge-based memory-concept associations and by determining the appropriate memory items through the creation of OM views.

The changing role of nonprofits in the network economy

The new network economy presents fresh challenges to nonprofit organizations. Some of the relative advantages nonprofits now enjoy, compared to business and government, in providing services characterized by information asymmetry and public goods characteristics are likely to be eroded by changes in information technology. At the same time, the network economy also offers nonprofits special opportunities, including a role as trusted intermediaries to help people cope with a deluge of complex information. This article applies economic theory to derive expectations of the changing role of nonprofits in the information age and considers how nonprofits can respond effectively to the new circumstances.

The process of organizational communication: a model and field study

Research in computer-mediated communication has usually emphasized the cognitive over the social aspects of communication, the medium over the message, and the product of communication over the process. In contrast, this paper emphasizes three constructs of the communication process: goal-based communication strategies, message form and medium. We seek to balance cognitive and social communication strategies and to combine new and old measures of the message form (organization, formality and size). A field study in an academic institution examined the content of text-based communication delivered by letter, memo, fax and e-mail. As expected, people preferred certain message and medium attributes for certain strategies. These findings are further investigated using open-ended interviews. We conclude with examples of practical implications on designing and implementing computer-mediated communication.

Current Challenge in Consumer Health Informatics: Bridging the Gap between Access to Information and Information Understanding

The number of health-related websites has proliferated over the past few years. Health information consumers confront a myriad of health related resources on the internet that have varying levels of quality and are not always easy to comprehend. There is thus a need to help health information consumers to bridge the gap between access to information and information understanding–-i.e. to help consumers understand health related web-based resources so that they can act upon it. At the same time health information consumers are becoming not only more involved in their own health care but also more information technology minded. One way to address this issue is to provide consumers with tailored information that is contextualized and personalized e.g. directly relevant and easily comprehensible to the persons own health situation. This paper presents a current trend in Consumer Health Informatics which focuses on theory-based design and development of contextualized and personalized tools to allow the evolving consumer with varying backgrounds and interests to use online health information efficiently. The proposed approach uses a theoretical framework of communication in order to support the consumers capacity to understand health-related web-based resources.