Lakshmi Goel

Exploring the dynamics of blog communities: the case of MetaFilter

This paper explores the social processes and mechanisms that give form to a prominent type of online community: community blogs. We conducted an interpretive study that examines a particular community blog, MetaFilter, by drawing on the concepts of communities of practice as a theoretical lens. Theoretically, we contribute to the body of knowledge of online communities by identifying the structures of an emergent type of community that is brought together by blog technology. Our findings suggest that cohesion in a community blog is brought about by the following practices: (a) explicit ground rules regarding membership, (b) presence of moderators, (c) availability of profile information, (d) ‘net etiquette’, (e) tacit warrants for discerning pertinent posts, and (f) the deployment of specific techniques of discipline.

If you build it will they come?--An empirical investigation of consumer perceptions and strategy in virtual worlds

There is increased interest in, and accelerating technological development of, internet-based persistent three-dimensional (3D) virtual environments. The applications of these ‘virtual worlds’ are growing in the fields of entertainment and information assimilation such as virtual real estate, brand building, and marketing. Such applications could, in time, lead to serious economic and business transformation. However, there is a lack of empirical work examining differences between virtual worlds and traditional virtual channels such as websites, and suggesting effective entry strategies for organizations that seek to leverage their presence in virtual worlds. This paper attempts to provide a starting point for such a discussion. Results from our qualitative and quantitative analysis indicate that there is a significant difference in perceptions of trust, product diagnosticity, informativeness, and product descriptions between websites and virtual worlds. Results also suggest that organizations need to employ a synergy strategy when marketing experience goods in virtual worlds.

vCRM: virtual customer relationship management

Virtual worlds provide companies opportunities for valuable co-creation and co-production with their customers. In order to harness this potential, companies need to design effective entry strategies for virtual customer relationship management or vCRM. Understanding how self-expression and collaboration work in virtual worlds can help design better customer-facing strategies. In this paper, we provide a roadmap for companies that want to leverage virtual worlds for vCRM.

Toward a Comprehensive Framework of Study Abroad Intentions and Behaviors

Increased activity by U.S. students to study abroad has invited several studies that have investigated the reasons for U.S. students to study abroad. Literature in the context of study abroad choices has been fragmented, with each study presenting an ad-hoc set of factors the author/s deem as important or that have been shown to be important in previous literature. However, no study to date has attempted to identify a theoretical framework that explains why these factors should be important in explaining the intention to participate in a study abroad program. In this study, we use the theoretical background of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and trait theory to unify the existing body of literature and arrive at a model that predicts study abroad intentions. We test this model by means of a survey administered in a U.S. university.

How cues of what can be done in a virtual world influence learning: An affordance perspective

Abstract What we know about learning outcomes for collaborative tasks in virtual environments is a confusing set of results. Many organizations have been hesitant about their use of virtual environments for this reason. Virtual worlds (VWs) have received attention as environments for learning, yet little is known about their attributes, or how they affect learning in collaborative tasks. James Gibson proposed a theory of affordance to explain how cues in an environment are perceived and lead to some course of action. Based on his theory, we developed a model to describe how cues of what can be done in a VW influence learning. In doing so, we focused on the situativity afforded by VWs through context and social facilitation. We showed how VW artifacts and cues make it easier for users to understand the conditions and interactions in a VW. We used this as a basis for predicting a users mental state and its impact on perceived learning, learning satisfaction, and task participation. We tested our model in a lab experiment set in a VW, using a task that required collaboration between subjects. Our results supported our proposed model. Our work contributed by showing relationships between factors that are unique to a VW, but were not previously recognized. These factors suggest what can be done to influence learning in collaborative tasks in a VW.

Weblogging: Implementing Communities of Practice

This paper centers on the emergent phenomenon of weblogging. Even though the total number of weblogs is increasing at an exponential rate, little formal study has been done on this phenomenon. This paper provides two main contributions. First, it describes the phenomenon of weblogging and conceptualizes it, discussing significant attributes of weblogs that set it apart from traditional communication means. Second, it establishes a framework grounded in the theory of communities of practice that provides a lens to study the potential role of weblogging in organizational communication. The research approach is qualitative and analysis is done by interpreting the content of a weblog through a hermeneutic approach. Weblogging can be seen to foster social inclusion based on its characteristics and nature. Our study shows that by its features of interaction and informality, weblogging cultivates social inclusion, particularly that of employees working in a corporation. The paper concludes by reflecting on the potential of weblogging for enabling informal means of communication in organizations.

Virtual Worlds as Platforms for Communities of Practice

The problem of effective tacit knowledge transfer has long been identified and studied in the field of knowledge management. Communities of practice have been proposed as one way to facilitate tacit knowledge exchange. In this chapter, we propose virtual worlds, or computer simulated 3D environments, as potential platforms that can be used to facilitate communities of practice. We differentiate virtual worlds from other Web based communication technologies, and discuss four unique affordances, namely self-expression, co-creation, co-experience and crowd sourcing, as enablers of attributes of communities of practice.

A Proposed Framework for Designing Sustainable Communities for Knowledge Management Systems

Despite considerable academic and practitioner interest in knowledge management, success of knowledge management systems is elusive. This chapter provides a framework which suggests that KM success can be achieved by designing sustainable communities of practice. Communities of practice have proven to have significant economic and practical implications on organizational practices. A growing body of literature in KM recognizes the importance of communities that foster collaborative learning in organizations and almost all KMS have a ‘network’ component that facilitates connecting people in communities of practice. Evidence has shown that communities have been a key element in KMS of many companies including Xerox PARC, British Petroleum Co., Shell Oil Company, Halliburton, IBM, Proctor and Gamble, and Hewlett Packard.

Using information systems to achieve complementarity in SME innovation networks

Within dynamic innovation networks of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), complementarity between innovation partners is central to extend firm-level resources and capabilities and create synergies at the network level. Few guidelines exist for how information systems (IS) can be used to achieve fit between innovation partners. We conduct qualitative case studies of three innovation networks and investigate information technology (IT) affordances that undergird complementary activities. We provide evidence for three areas of fit and identify IT-based affordances, which foster synergy creation. These areas provide stimulus for developing IS strategies to networked innovation. We offer a conceptual model of how complementarity in SME innovation networks can be supported with the help of interorganizational systems.

An analysis of supply chain management research by topic

Purpose This paper aims to review logistics and supply chain management topics where theories have been applied to better understand the supply chain management (SCM) discipline identity. The purpose is threefold: to identify research topics in logistics and supply chain management where one or more theories have been examined; provide commentary on the theories that have been applied to the various logistics and SCM research topics; and to provide reference material and direction for future research. Design/methodology/approach This structured literature review (SLR) examines research papers in logistics and SCM from 1991 to 2015 published in eight leading academic journals. Papers in the data set are grouped by topic and further analyzed in terms of research method, purpose, year and journal. Findings This research categorizes papers by the topics that were studied to understand important insights about how these topics have been examined by researchers. Within each topic area, theories that researchers have used to investigate the topics are identified. This method exposes insights such as: how topics have evolved over time, which topics have lost prominence, which topics may be particularly promising for future research and how topics are treated in the literature. Originality/value Despite multiple calls for clarification regarding how theory has been used in logistics and SCM, the logistics and SCM disciplines continue to grow without adequate research on how theory has been used to examine SCM topics. This SLR therefore provides a broad compilation of logistics and SCM research that uses named theories and that is organized by SCM topic to better understand the SCM discipline.