Reza Barkhi

Determining the Intention to Use Biometric Devices: An Application and Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model

Protection of physical assets and digital information is of growing importance to society. As with any new technology, user acceptance of new software and hardware devices is often hard to gauge, and policies to introduce and ensure adequate and correct usage of such technologies are often lacking. Security technologies have widespread applicability to different organizational contexts that may present unusual and varied adoption considerations. This study adapts the technology acceptance model (TAM) and extends it to study the intention to use biometrics devices across a wide variety of organizational contexts. Due to the use of physiological characteristics, biometrics present unique adoption concerns. TAM is extended in this study to include constructs for perceived need for privacy, perceived need for security and perceived physical invasiveness of biometric devices as factors that influence intention to use. The model is shown to be a good predictor of intention to use biometric devices.

A Model of the Determinants of Purchasing from Virtual Stores

Virtual stores are Internet-based innovations that influence the dynamics of consumer choice making. Utilizing the attitude-to-behavior theory, theory of reasoned action, technology acceptance model, functional theory of attitude, causal theory of action, and prior literature, we develop and empirically evaluate a model that describes consumer purchase decisions in a virtual store. We test the model using data collected from validated survey instruments for each of the constructs utilizing the structured equation modeling technique. The model helps in the design of virtual stores by describing how individuals who visit such stores can be induced to purchase from virtual stores. It describes that perceived usefulness, perceived behavioral control, and perceived peer influence impact attitude toward purchasing from a virtual store. Attitude toward purchasing from a virtual store, in turn, influences the actual purchasing from a virtual store. We discuss the implications for the design of virtual stores that lead to purchase decisions.

An Experimental Analysis of Face to Face versus Computer Mediated Communication Channels

Experimental research on Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS) has generally focused on democratic groups whose members typically share the same objectives. In organizations, however, there are many situations where groups have a leader who has the power to override the groups recommendation, the objective of the leader may not be the same as the objective of each member, and not everyone may have the same information. This paper reports the results of an experiment in which the groups, having a designated leader, worked on a mixed-motive task. Within this context, we analyze group decision outcomes and processes for groups that use a face-to-face channel of cormnunication and those that utilize computer mediated communication. We compare performance of the leader and members with respect to an objective measure of performance, the efficient frontier. The results indicate that for this task groups using face-to-face channel outperform groups using computer mediated communication.

The impact of personality type on purchasing decisions in virtual stores

Despite the proliferation of virtual stores, research into the consumer personality characteristics that influence consumer interactions with virtual stores has been lagging. In this paper we propose and test a model linking consumer personality type with a decision to purchase from a virtual store. The results indicate that a consumer’s personality type has an effect on perceived ease of use and peer influence; and those two variables, together with perceived usefulness, have an effect on a consumer’s eventual decision to purchase from a virtual store. The practical implications of the findings are that consumer perceptions and attitudes towards virtual stores can be altered by personalizing virtual stores in a manner which will increase their likelihood of making a purchase.

Cognitive style may mitigate the impact of communication mode

With the proliferation of Internet-based applications for collaborative work such as group decision support system (GDSS), traditional face-to-face (FTF) interactions are being augmented or replaced by screen-to-face (STF) technology. Extant research results find that some individuals prefer FTF mode for interaction and would feel frustrated under an STF mode, but others may feel very comfortable using electronic STF applications. This paper evaluates the influence of cognitive style on the perception of individuals negotiating over FTF or STF communication modes. Cognitive style explains how individuals prefer to receive information and what methods they use to process that information. The results suggest that when individuals are faced with a mixed-motive negotiation task, some cognitive styles mitigate the effects of communication modes while other cognitive styles are not sensitive to it. Hence, cognitive style and communication modes have interaction effects.

The Effects of Decision Guidance and Problem Modeling on Group Decision-Making

Despite the advances in group decision support system (GDSS) research, few GDSS studies concentrate on problem-modeling tools to support decisions that cross boundaries of functional areas within the business. These decisions have a substantial effect on the profitability of the firm and account for much time and effort of senior management. This research investigates the effect of problem structuring and modeling with a GDSS on coordinated decision-making of managers in a group faced with a mixed-motive production-planning task. In a laboratory experiment, a GDSS with features supporting problem modeling is contrasted with a GDSS without such features. The results indicate that the groups using a GDSS with a problem-modeling tool outperformed the groups using a GDSS without a problem-modeling tool, but they were less efficient with respect to the time and number of messages it takes the group to converge to a final solution. User confidence in the solution did not differ between the two groups. The results of this study indicate that the problem modeling feature of a GDSS significantly influences group decision process and outcomes.

A study of the effect of communication channel and authority on group decision processes and outcomes

Abstract Experimental research on Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS) has generally focused on idea generation and choice tasks. The experiments have typically consisted of groups whose members share the same objectives and do not have a formally designated leader. This paper reports on the results of an experiment in which the groups worked on a mixed-motive task. A key feature of the study is that the participants did not have the same information (information asymmetry). The experimental study consisted of a 2×2 factorial design. The two factors were communication channel (face-to-face vs. computer mediated communication) and group leadership mode (group with a leader vs. groups without leader). The results indicate that there are differences in perceived as well as actual performance between groups meeting same place/same time (decision room) and groups meeting same time/different places (distributed communications environment). The presence or absence of a formal leader did not appear to have substantive effects.

The influence of communication mode and incentive structure on GDSS process and outcomes

Given the orientation towards groups and the increase in the use of Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS) for distributed groups, we study communication mode and incentive structure to learn how these two factors influence group decision making. This paper compares the decision process and outcomes of groups that use a face-to-face GDSS (FGDSS) to those that use a distributed GDSS (DGDSS) operating under two different incentive structures. Results indicate that communication mode and incentive structure can influence the effects of each other. Hence, the appropriate design of incentive structures may be important to the success of virtual organizations.

A Study of Communication and Coordination in Collaborative Software Development

Abstract A virtual software development team consists of members who may not be physically at the same location at the same time and use electronic modes of communication. We examine the communication, coordination, and satisfaction of members as they work with both co-located and remote members in virtual software development teams. We perform an interpretive evaluation of the qualitative comments. The results of this study indicate that virtual teams can have communication and coordination problems if not properly managed but successful virtual teams can work effectively despite the lean electronic communication. Members who use a lean communication mode are more likely to break communication with their team members and tend to be more critical of the contributions of their remote members. Our results suggest that successful teams communicate information that is perceived to have value and develop a shared context within the communication and coordination structure. We discuss the implications of this study for collaborative software development.

Decision support system induced guidance for model formulation and solution

One of the critical functions of Decision Support System (DSS) is to provide system induced decision guidance for proper model formulation and solution. We show how to incorporate this type of system induced decision guidance into the design of the next generation of DSS. We suggest that a DSS should make decisions, or at least recommendations, regarding what models should be executed to solve problems most effectively and this information should be generated inductively and used deductively. This information then becomes the meta-model to induce the user to make appropriate choices. We provide an example that will illustrate how two specific problem characteristics, namely the tightness of constraints and the linearity of constraints, influence the solution quality and solution times for a specific class of test problems. We argue that a DSS should execute different formulations of the problem that lead to satisficing solutions guiding DSS users in finding the best approach to solve complex problems.