Guido Lang

The role of external and internal signals in E-commerce

Online markets present a challenging environment to evaluate experience products, especially products sold by unknown online sellers. To alleviate this problem, unknown online sellers may choose to signal quality using website signals. However, signals are not useful unless buyers notice these signals and believe that these signals are true. In this study, we evaluate the effect of the believability of external and internal website signals on the buyers evaluation of seller and product quality and purchase intentions when interacting with unknown online sellers. The results suggest that external and internal signals, if believable, have a significant effect on buyer perceptions. While both types of signals are important, buyers find external signals more salient than internal ones. These results enhance our understanding of signals in e-commerce because they help online sellers to refine their digital business strategies and inform online buyers about the importance of website signals. We enhanced the literature review by adding discussion on trust and website signals.We strengthened the theoretical part of the paper by integrating trust and signaling theories by including trust transference theory and relating the theory to external signals.We revised the theoretical implications by including additional discussion on the role of external and internal signals and believability.We improved the research design and modified the model by adding the relationship between trust and perceived deception.We included post hoc analyses to demonstrate the differences by believability among respondents.

Can Personalized Nudges Improve Learning in Hybrid Classes? Experimental Evidence From an Introductory Undergraduate Course

Abstract A field experiment was conducted to investigate whether personalized e-mail reminders can improve study consistency and learning outcomes in an introductory-level undergraduate course. By randomly assigning whether nearly 300 students would receive occasional e-mail messages encouraging out-of-class study, we find that these reminders increased exam performance by 0.2 standard deviations. Using detailed information on the timing and duration of study effort, we find two distinct patterns explaining this increase. Reminders increased weekend study time slightly, and weekday studying remained constant although it was shifted approximately 2 to 3 hours earlier for those who received reminders. A follow-up survey corroborates these channels, and suggests a third mechanism: increased cognitive effort during study. These findings highlight the potential for low-cost behavioral interventions to improve student performance. (Keywords: e-mail reminders; personalized nudges; hybrid learning; higher education)

Desired Skills for Entry Level IS Positions: Identification and Assessment

ABSTRACT The present study sheds light on what employers believe to be important hard skills and soft skills for entry-level information systems (IS) positions. Results from a survey of N = 73 U.S.-based and international employers suggest that soft skills are significantly more important than hard skills for entry-level IS positions. The most important hard skills are Microsoft Office, database/data warehouse/SQL, and knowledge of security, while the most important soft skills are willingness to learn, critical thinking, and attitude. Employer characteristics (e.g., industry, size, location) do not affect the importance of hard skills and soft skills. Findings of this study are discussed in light of previous research. Results of this study can help to guide universities in IS curriculum development.