Il Im

An international comparison of technology adoption

We examined the relationships of the constructs in the UTAUT model to determine how they are affected by culture. In our study, we used data from Korea and the U.S. to examine two technologies: the MP3 player and Internet banking. Results showed that the UTAUT model fits our data well. The comparison of Korea and the U.S. revealed that the effects of effort expectancy on behavioral intention and the effects of behavioral intention on use behavior were greater in the U.S. sample. The implications of this are discussed.

Exploring the underlying aspects of pair programming: The impact of personality

With the recent advent of agile software process methods, a number of seldom used and unorthodox practices have come to the forefront in the field of computer programming. One such practice is that of pair programming, which is characterized by two programmers sharing the same computer for collaborative programming purposes. The very nature of pair programming implies a psychological and social interaction between the participating programmers and thus brings into play a unique element that we do not see with the conventional individual programming model. This paper focuses on the effects that one of these psychosocial factors, a programmers personality type, may have on the pair programming environment. In this study, a group of university students, 68 undergraduate students and 60 masters degree graduate students, each of whom had been personality type profiled using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) model, was split into three sub-groups. One group consisted of subjects who were alike in MBTI type. Another group consisted of subjects who were opposite to each other in MBTI type, and the last group was comprised of subjects who were diverse - partially alike and partially opposite - in MBTI type. Through two pair programming sessions, the pairs in each group were assessed for their output, in code productivity. The result showed that the sub-group of subjects who were diverse in MBTI type exhibited higher productivity than both alike and opposite groups. In a comparison between alike and opposite groups, the productivity of the opposite group was greater than that of the alike group.

Pair dynamics in team collaboration

From a recent field survey with a group of professional pair programmers, it was revealed that the programmers perceive a partners personality, cognitive style and communication skills as the top three factors that lead to prudent pair programming. Based on this finding, the factors personality and communication skills, along with gender were selected for an experiment to analyze if a partners human, intrinsic values influence the pair programming experience, specifically in the levels of satisfaction, compatibility, communication, and confidence. A total of 128 students majoring in Management Information Systems, Information Systems, and Information Technology participated in the experiment. Of the 68 undergraduates, 40 were first-year students and 28 were juniors; the remaining 60 were Masters degree graduate students. The students were formed into a total of 64 pairs based on their personality, level of communication skills, and gender. A total of three visits were made. During the first two visits, a set of four programming problems was used in four programming sessions lasting 45min each; two were individual programming sessions and two were pair programming sessions. At the end of each visit, a questionnaire was administered and collected. The questionnaire results revealed that the various Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality combinations did not significantly influence the levels of communication, satisfaction, confidence, and compatibility. The pairs that exhibited a high level of communication between partners did not necessarily experience a high level of satisfaction or exhibit compatibility between partners, nor did they have a high level of confidence regarding the finished product. The communication skill level seemed to have an impact on communication only. Similar to many previous gender-focused literatures, the same gender pairs did exhibit significantly higher levels of communication, satisfaction and compatibility than the mixed gender pairs. Within the same gender pairs, the female-female pairs showed a much higher level than the male-male pairs in those categories. Contrariwise, the same gender pairs did not show a significantly higher confidence level than the mixed gender pairs about their finished product.

The effect of buyer feedback scores on internet auction prices

One of the major roles of Internet intermediaries is to help build trust between buyers and sellers for efficient and safe transactions. The buyer feedback system started in online auctions as one of the trust‐building mechanisms on the Internet. As the buyer feedback system is becoming a standard trust‐building mechanism in other e‐commerce sites as well as in online auction, there is an increasing interest about the impact of the buyer feedback system. On the top of recent studies investigating the effects of buyer feedback scores on auction prices, we provide empirical validations using more sophisticated methods. In this study, we tested the relationship between buyer feedback scores and bidding prices using an empirical data set from a leading consumer‐to‐consumer (C2C) Internet auction site. Data analysis results show a strong empirical validation of previous studies. Negative feedback is a significant price discount factor in the final auction price on the C2C Internet auction market. The results also show that potential buyers are more sensitive to negative feedback when they are considering buying inherently risky products such as used or refurbished products.

A cross-cultural comparative analysis of small group collaboration using mobile twitter

This study was undertaken to determine the distinctive user behaviors and patterns of participants communicating using Twitter on a mobile device in a small-group collaborative setting. Participants were from Western and Eastern cultures (the United States and Korea). Tweets were coded and classified and the results analyzed. Several cultural dimensions were utilized to detect subtle differences between participants from these two different cultures in their dynamic mobile exchanges. Systematic differences in microblogging behaviors were found mostly in the direction predicted by the findings of previous studies on differences in national culture; however, we also report new and interesting findings that contribute to the knowledge base. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings and how this mobile communication information technology can be leveraged to the advantage of individuals and organizations. This study extends cultural studies in CMC to mobile communications.This study develops a framework about cultural differences in mobile communications.This study provides a guideline for mobile service design in different cultures.

Deal-Seeking Versus Brand-Seeking: Search Behaviors and Purchase Propensities in Sponsored Search Platforms

Using a database of 11,001 unique sponsored search keywords, we investigate the relationship between the characteristics of keywords oriented around deal-seeking and brand-seeking and consumer search behaviors and buying propensities. On the basis of the search depth versus search breadth framework, we hypothesize that deal-seeking keywords elicit a search of greater breadth, whereas brand-seeking keywords induce a search of greater depth. We also explore the moderating effect of product type (search or experience goods) on the relationship between keyword characteristics and consumer search behaviors and how high-demand seasons (e.g., scheduled sales) influence consumers’ search and purchase behaviors. In addition, we estimate the effectiveness of keywords on the basis of their sales-per-cost performance. The findings indicate that search queries containing deal-seeking keywords are associated with higher click-through rates and conversion rates than are search queries without such keywords. We also find that the positive effect of deal-seeking keywords on click-through rates is more pronounced for experience goods than for search goods. However, we identify a negative interaction between experience goods and brand-seeking keywords. A comparison of deal-seeking and brand-seeking keywords in terms of cost effectiveness reveals that deal-seeking keywords generate approximately three times the sales of those produced by brand-seeking keywords.

A clickstream-based collaborative filtering recommendation model for e-commerce

In recent years, clickstream-based collaborative filtering (CCF) recommendation models have received much attention mainly due to their scalability. The common CCF recommendation models are Markov models, sequential association rules, association rules, and clustering. The models have shown the trade-off relationship between precision and recall in performance. To address the trade-off relationship, some study has combined two or more different models or applied multi-order models. The increase of recommendation effectiveness by these models is also at best marginal. To increase recall while minimizing the loss of precision and therefore to increase overall performance measured by the F value, we build a sequentially applied model (SAM) by applying the individual models in tandem in an order determined through a learning process. We evaluated SAM over the individual models with Web usage data, and the result is promising.

Comparative Analysis of the Use of Mobile Microblogging and Nonmobile Online Message Board for Group Collaboration

ABSTRACT Microblogging (e.g., Twitter) used in tandem with a mobile device as one integrated unit is rapidly emerging as the preferred choice for group communication among mobile users. To better understand this phenomenon and leverage its potential, more empirical studies are required. In this study, we empirically examine the saliencies of mobile conversations and user experiences of mobile microblogging via Twitter on a mobile device (TMD), in a comparative analysis including nonmobile online message boards (OMB) by using a participant pool of 423 business students. Mobile-mediated communication is presented as a subdomain of computer-mediated communication and used in describing TMD conversationality. The experiment revealed significant differences in the process-related messages, communication satisfaction, and perceived outcome of TMD small group communication compared to those of OMB. These results imply that Twitter mobile can be an effective group communication tool in an ad hoc dispersed small group setting.

A study of Information Processing effectiveness in inter-organisational collaboration in Software Development

Effective coordination and collaboration are key success factors in management of inter-organisational alliances, although questions related to best practices remain unanswered. Few studies have identified communication, effective information sharing and knowledge extraction as integral components of inter-organisational collaboration. This research focuses on the role and effectiveness of Information Processing (IP), as well as information utilisation across organisational boundaries. Proposed is a set of factors in three categories related to organisational background, contingency process and information technology processing capacity to investigate if higher levels of these factors will result in higher levels of IP, and if this will result in higher levels of Software Development (SD) effectiveness.

Is social networking a waste of time? The impact of social network and knowledge characteristics on job performance

People use social media to help them solve problems and enhance performance. Users may engage in diverse social interactions online, increasing their knowledge base through both weak and strong ties. In this study we investigate the impact of social networks on job performance, focusing on knowledge quality and diversity based on social network theory and the knowledge-based view. The empirical analysis reveals that the strength of social network ties is strongly associated with knowledge quality in offline interactions, while social network diversity is associated with knowledge quality in online interactions. Knowledge quality acquired from social network has a significant impact on both creativity and productivity of job performance in the workplace. However, knowledge diversity acquired from diverse social network interactions is strongly associated with creativity, but not with productivity. The results of this study increase our understanding of the knowledge sourcing behaviors of workers.