Miguel A. Morales-Arroyo

Collaborative Learning in Wikis.

Yun-Ke Changa,∗, Miguel Angel Morales-Arroyob, Hla Thanc, Zarchi Tunc and Zhujun Wangc aWee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Jalan Bahar, Singapore bInstituto de Investigaciones en Matemáticas Aplicadas y en Sistemas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico cSchool of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Jalan Bahar, Singapore

The Emergence of Electronic Word-of-Mouth as a Marketing Channel for the Digital Marketplace

This study investigates the contribution of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) to the sales of music albums. We conducted an empirical investigation of twenty-two music albums for a period of eleven consecutive weeks. eWOM was identified as an uncertainty-reducing element in consumer decision-making. Generally, the research hypotheses were partially supported using a multi-variate linear regression model. We also found a stronger correlation between some eWOM channels and sales compared to other channels. eWOM has traditionally been considered an unstructured and ad-hoc source of sentiment. Our results suggest that eWOM generated in social networking when analysed appropriately is a fairly reliable predictor of market success. It is effective as a tacit suggestion, recommendation, or referral element with viral network effects. The intended contribution of this work is in identifying eWOM as a significant information contributor in the digital marketplace.

Identification of critical eWOM dimensions for music albums

Word-of-Mouth (WOM) is a popular communication mechanism. Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, user driven audio-video sharing platforms, and social media sites have provided a multitude of feedback channels. In the current study we explored the impact of electronic-word-of-mouth, eWOM, on music albums in the American market. We analyzed the impact of different eWOM dimensions on the sales over a period of 12 weeks. The results indicate that a combination of these dimensions impacts the sales more than the individual dimensions do.

Adding Value in Digital Media Networks

In this presentation we address the challenges facing new media service providers in offering value to the consumer. More specifically, we outline a framework for business modeling known as VISOR and adapt some ideas from the field (such as Value Nets) in order to investigate the digital media eco-system. Finally, we derive a set of research axioms for further investigation.

Developing Corporate Taxonomies for Knowledge Auditability - A Framework for Good Practices

The organisation of knowledge for exploitation and re-use in the modern enterprise is often a most perplexing challenge. The entire knowledge management life-cycle (for example - create, capture, organize, store, search, and transfer) is impacted by the organisation of intellectual capital into a corporate taxonomy or at the least a knowledge map (often incorrectly used interchangeably). Determining the extent to which such an objective is achieved is the focus of what is known as a knowledge audit. In this practice-oriented article, the authors review the fundamentals of creating a taxonomy, the use of meta-data in a necessary process known as classification and the role of expertise locators where the knowledge is not explicit but resides within experts in the form of tacit knowledge. The authors conclude with a framework for developing a corporate taxonomy and how such a project may be executed. The conceptual contribution of this article is the postulation that corporate taxonomies that are designed to facilitate knowledge audits lead to greater organizational impact.

Personal Digital Information Resources Management Behavior

With the growth and the increasing complexity of digital resources, it is clear that individuals may have to depend on various types of information management tools to organize and retrieve information needed to carry out their personal or professional tasks. With new web applications, “users are provided with the tools and platforms to undertake their own collaborative content creation and distribution”. However, it may also worsen the information retrieval problems, for more information resources means higher needs for proper management in order to find needed information in the right format at right time. We assume that user’s PIM behavior with PCs will have impact on how they will perform PIM in other environments. There is a need to reassess the existing PIM tools and testing formerly claimed theories of PIM behavior in the context of today’s digital information environment. This paper reports on the findings of a survey conducted with 118 computer users to investigate their information organization and retrieval strategy and the factors that affect their choices of adopting different strategies. The results should shed some light of personal information behavior that may aid the design and implementation of the future PIM tools that optimize advanced technology.

Coordination Mechanisms Illustrated with Project Management Using the Viable System Model (VSM) as Organizational Framework

Besides authors of classic management who devoted ample works to comprehend coordination, comparatively hardly any other scholar has given a meticulous consideration to the coordination problem in organizations. Coordination is a necessity when two or more entities are interdependent and have to interact to achieve objectives, and essentially, it is the integration of independent endeavors to achieve collective objectives. Individuals and teams need to share their resources, skills, and knowledge to carry out complex tasks and achieve shared goals. In other words, individuals and teams are interdependent. A number of the mechanisms of coordination are profoundly entrenched on social routines and rituals, which complicates the effort to understand its nature. This article conceptualizes mechanism of coordination using the Viable System Model (VSM) as an organizational framework. The Viable System Model also provides a platform that allows to show the coordination mechanisms in the organizational context. While VSM includes coordination processes, it is not very specific, and coordination issues involve the whole organization and cannot be addressed only with feedback and control mechanisms. Consequently, an application that allows extending the usual context of the VSM is discussed. The amalgamation of these concepts is applied to the specific subject, the problem of coordination, having project management as an illustration. Although information and communication technologies (ICTs) have contributed in the praxis to reduce coordination problems, little effort has been undertaken to understand this phenomena. To bridge this knowledge gap, the present article addressed partially this necessity, using project management as an example.

The Pervasiveness of Mobile Data Services: Do Usage and Attitudinal Divides Exist in Asia and North America?

Mobile Data Services (MDSs) are a wide array of applications provided via the mobile network and platform, where industry players are keenly exploring innovations to launch the next big thing, especially with the rapid increase and saturation of mobile voice subscriptions. This study investigates mobile user behavioural intentions towards MDS based on an adaptation of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). Data was collected in a survey of over 1600 mobile users in Singapore and Los Angeles (LA). The study found that LA-based mobile users have a far more positive disposition than Singaporean users towards MDS adoption, and that differences on account of prior experience were also more distinct amongst LA users than their Singapore counterparts. It is hoped that these findings will serve as design rules for mobile service providers in more sophisticated markets.

An Active Cinema Experience: A Study on User Expectation and Perceived Gratifications of a Real-time Animated Film System

Active Cinema is a brand-new cinematic experience in which the audiences emotion will be detected and the style of the scenes in the film will change in order to bring the audiences emotion to the state desirable by the film maker. This paper reports on a user study to understand the expectation and motivation of potential audience of the proposed active cinema, as well as to investigate the various aspects of gratification. The factors that may cause majority of data dispersion in our sample, and the overall users experience and expectations of interaction modes are also discussed.

A Comparison between Museum, Hotel, and Tourist Sector Sites in a Country in Southeast Asia

The objective of this study is to compare three different kinds of portals in a country in Southeast Asia using a comprehensive set of evaluation criteria for e-commerce sites. The three types of business including hotels, museums, and tourism sectors were selected randomly. Three independent observers evaluated fifteen sites, and their results were consolidated to a single data set for analysis. Multidimensional Scaling was used to reveal patterns found in the data. The two dimensions in the MDS map were found to be associated with user perceived trustworthiness and transaction speed. In general, tourism sites do better in navigation and content categories; hotel sites do better in interface and reliability categories. Museum sites have more similarity as they are closer to each other in the MDS map. However, foreign language support was not observed on websites.