Stephanie M. Bryant

Accounting Information Systems Research Opportunities Using Personality Type Theory and the Myers‐Briggs Type Indicator

The cognitive science paradigm, with its computational and information processing models of the human mind, dominates much of current accounting information systems (AIS) research. While these models aid our understanding of cognition, it is unclear how much of the mind they explain. Personality type theory (PTT) is one supplement to cognitive science. PTT is especially useful for AIS researchers because an extensively tested and validated psychometric instrument based on PTT, the Myers‐Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), is available for use in practice and research. We provide an overview of PTT and the MBTI and discuss how AIS researchers can use PTT to complement and extend current research initiatives. We highlight opportunities for PTT‐based AIS research by posing research questions, the investigation of which contributes to the AIS literature.

The effects of reward structure, media richness and gender on virtual teams

This study explores the dynamics of virtual teams. We hypothesize that the use of a mixed-incentive reward structure will increase team member satisfaction, affect group cohesion and decrease perceived social loafing in a virtual team environment. We also hypothesize that team member satisfaction and team cohesion will increase and perceived social loafing will decrease with the use of a richer technology medium in a virtual team environment. In addition, we hypothesize that in a virtual team environment, team member satisfaction, group cohesion and perceived social loafing will differ between males and females. Using eighty-nine MBA students at a large southeastern university as participants for our study, we find that perceived social loafing decreases with the use of a mixed-incentive reward structure in a virtual team environment. We also find that perceived social loafing decreases with the use of a richer technology medium in a virtual team environment. Finally, we find that perceived social loafing differs between males and females and that females perceive more social loafing when there is not a mixed-incentive scheme. The results shed light on the role of gender in virtual teams.

A Blueprint for an AIS Consulting Course

Although a myriad of commissions, committees, and reports has called for a change in accounting education, accounting educators have been relatively slow to respond. The recent monograph, Accounting Education: Charting the Course through a Perilous Future (Albrecht and Sack 2000), submits that while some positive changes have been made, far more dramatic changes are needed in accounting education. Skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, team building, and communication—while highly valued by the accounting profession—are not emphasized in most accounting curricula. One way to help bridge this gap is to include a course in consulting that provides an opportunity for students to develop many of these essential skills. This article provides practical guidance to educators on how to design and administer a consulting course in the accounting information systems (AIS) program. This blueprint is based on actual experiences with an AIS consulting course taught at James Madison University. The consulti...