Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa

Consumer trust in an Internet store

The study reported here raises some questions about the conventional wisdom that the Internet creates a “level playing field” for large and small retailers and for retailers with and without an established reputation. In our study, consumers recognized differences in size and reputation among Internet stores, and those differences influenced their assessments of store trustworthiness and their perception of risk, as well as their willingness to patronize the store. After describing our research methods and results, we draw some implications for Internet merchants.

Consumer Trust in an Internet Store: A Cross-Cultural Validation

Many have speculated that trust plays a critical role in stimulating consumer purchases over the Internet. Most of the speculations have rallied around U.S. consumers purchasing from U.S.–based online merchants. The global nature of the Internet raises questions about the robustness of trust effects across cultures. Culture may also affect the antecedents of consumer trust; that is, consumers in different cultures might have differing expectations of what makes a web merchant trustworthy. Here we report on a cross-cultural validation of an Internet consumer trust model. The model examined both antecedents and consequences of consumer trust in a Web merchant. The results provide tentative support for the generalizability of the model.

The use of information technology to enhance management school education: a theoretical view

To use information technology to improve learning processes, the pedagogical assumptions underlying the design of information technology for educational purposes must be understood. This paper reviews different models of learning, surfaces assumptions of electronic teaching technology, and relates those assumptions to the differing models of learning. Our analysis suggests that initial attempts to bring information technology to management education follow a classic story of automating rather than transforming. IT is primarily used to automate the information delivery function in classrooms. In the absence of fundamental changes to the teaching and learning process, such classrooms may do little but speed up ineffective processes and methods of teaching. Our mapping of technologies to learning models identifies sets of technologies in which management schools should invest in order to informate up and down and ultimately transform the educational environment and processes. For researchers interested in the use of information technology to improve learning processes, the paper provides a theoretical foundation for future work.

Toward Contextualized Theories of Trust: The Role of Trust in Global Virtual Teams

Although trust has received much attention in many streams of information systems research, there has been little theorizing to explain how trust evokes sentiments and affects task performance in IT-enabled relationships. Many studies unquestionably assume that trust is intrinsically beneficial, and dismiss the possibility that the effects of trust may be dependent on the situation (or conditions) at present. This paper theoretically and empirically examines outcomes of an individuals trust in global virtual teams under differing situations (or conditions). In Study 1, we find that early in a teams existence, a members trusting beliefs have a direct positive effect on his or her trust in the team and perceptions of team cohesiveness. Later on, however, a members trust in his team operates as a moderator, indirectly affecting the relationships between team communication and perceptual outcomes. Study 2 similarly suggests that trust effects are sensitive to the particular situation or condition. Combined, the studies find that trust affects virtual teams differently in different situations. Future studies on trust will need to consider situational contingencies. This paper contributes to the literature on IT-enabled relationships by theorizing and empirically testing how trust affects attitudes and behaviors.

Exploring the Implications of M-Commerce for Markets and Marketing

Business pundits have enthusiastically prognosticated about a seamless, mobile world where commerce occurs on an anywhere, anytime basis. This type of commerce has been referred to as mobile commerce or, more simply, m-commerce. However, there have been relatively few attempts to systematically explore the opportunities and challenges posed by m-commerce. This article investigates the implications of m-commerce for markets and marketing by means of a formal conceptualization of m-commerce, a space-time matrix that delineates the impact of mobile technologies, and a taxonomy of m-commerce applications.

The use of collaborative electronic media for information sharing: an exploratory study of determinants

This article reports an exploratory investigation of individual perceptions of factors that underlie the use of collaborative electronic media (electronic mail, World Wide Web, list serves, and other collaborative systems) for sharing information in a large state university in Australia. The model builds on the Constant et al.s theory of information sharing. We propose that perceptions of information culture, attitudes regarding information ownership and propensity to share, as well as task and personal factors influence peoples use of collaborative media. We found that task characteristics (task interdependence), perceived information usefulness and the users computer comfort were most strongly associated with the persons use of collaborative media. Consistent with Constant et al.s earlier findings, views of information ownership and propensity to share were significantly related to use. Interestingly, use of electronic media for sharing information and contacting people was weakly associated with a more structured, closed information culture. This implies that heavy users and sharers want more structured information flow in place, possibly due to their need to have reliable access to other individuals knowledge and information. Contrary to suggestions in the literature, a fully open, organic information culture may not always be most desirable. Implications for knowledge managers, practitioners and researchers are suggested.

Exploring Perceptions of Organizational Ownership of Information and Expertise

Beliefs of organizational ownership relate to whether information and knowledge created by an individual knowledge worker are believed to be owned by the organization. Beliefs about property rights affect information and knowledge sharing. This study explored factors that help determine an individuals beliefs about the organizational ownership of information and expertise that he or she has created. Four different situations of organizational ownership (information vs. expertise/internal vs. external sharing) were considered. The study found that a belief in self-ownership was positively associated with organizational ownership - suggesting a collaborative type of ownership situation for both information and expertise and for both internal (intraorganizational) and external (interorganizational) sharing situations. Organizational culture and the type of employee also influenced the beliefs of organizational ownership in all four scenarios. We conclude the paper with implications for practice and future research.

Applications of global information technology: key issues for management

Carefully crafted investments in global information technology offer firms an opportunity to increase control and enhance coordination, while opening access to new global markets and businesses. But engineering such global systems presents numerous challenges to management. In this article, we relate these challenges as they were described to us by 25 senior managers from Fortune 500 firms responsible for implementing and managing global applications of information technology. Among the findings of the interviews are four common approaches for managing global information technology.

An Information Company in Mexico: Extending the Resource-Based View of the Firm to a Developing Country Context

The information industry assumes that information is seen as a valued resource that enables organizations and individuals to improve their effectiveness, efficiency, and overall competitiveness. For the information industry to bridge rather than divide further the global economy to information rich and information poor, we need to understand how firms, particularly local firms, can pioneer or participate in the information industry in emerging economies that do not inherently embrace information as a valued business resource. This research examines how one local firm shaped the external environment to pioneer a local information industry in Mexico and how it competes in a newly opened local market against foreign competitors. In doing so, the paper extends the resource-based view of the firm to a developing country context. The dynamic capabilities of strategic foresight and flexibility, coupled with a core competency of trustworthiness, are found to be critical in effecting internal and external change in an unstable environment.

Managing the Paradoxes of Mobile Technology

Abstract This article reports on a large-scale, international focus group study that examined the experiences of mobile technology users in Hong Kong, Japan, Finland, and the United States. It identifies eight central mobile technology paradoxes that shape user experience and behavior, suggests possible design features that relate to the experienced paradoxes, and discusses how these features could be better managed.