Susan J. Winter

Creating bigger problems: grand challenges as boundary objects and the legitimacy of the information systems field

The impact of a disciplines research is constrained by its ability to articulate compelling problems. Well-crafted problems are the foundation for mobilizing the effort, resources, and attention essential to scientific progress and broader impact. We argue that Information Systems (IS) scholars, individually and collectively, must develop the practice of articulating and engaging large-scale, broad scope problems – or grand challenges. To support this position, we examine the role and value of grand challenge efforts in science and engineering based on a theory of grand challenges as socially constructed boundary objects. Conceptualizing grand challenges in these terms implies strategies and approaches for magnifying the impact of IS research by engaging these types of problems.

Misplaced resources? Factors associated with computer literacy among end-users

Abstract Some organizations provide a support infrastructure (e.g. information centers) and training to assist end-users and boost the computer knowledge of their workforce. Here we explore the relationship between support infrastructure, training, various computer configurations, and the computer literacy of work groups. Data were collected in a multi-year study of 77 computer-using work groups; this included two interviews with managers and two questionnaires completed by workers. Analyses showed that none of the measures of training were associated with computer literacy and only one kind of infrastructure support was found to be related to computer literacy: obtaining information from a resident expert in the work group. In contrast, many aspects of the configuration of the computer systems were associated with computer literacy. Implications of these findings for the management of end-user computing are discussed.

The Role of IT in the Transformation of Work: A Comparison of Post-Industrial, Industrial, and Proto-Industrial Organization

The mid-twentieth century was marked by the dominance of large, stable, centralized business; the late twentieth century is marked by a downsizing and disaggregation of the firm. This manuscript investigates this change and considers some possible causes for it using historical analysis. In order to explore the causes of the post-industrial organization of work, we compare it to the history of the industrial organization of work and to the early or proto-industrial system of artisanal and “putting out” manufacturing. We identify strong similarities between post-industrialization, which has been attributed to the use of Information Technology (IT) and an information-based economy; proto-industrialization, which was a goods-based manufacturing economy with little IT; and flexible specialization, a form of workplace organization common to the early industrial period and surviving in some areas today. These similarities cast doubt on the argument that the causal link between technology and the organization of work is a simple or direct one. We also review the literature on the role of technology in the organization of work in all three eras and determine that there is little support for technological determinism in any of them. Alternative determinants of organizational structures and avenues for future research are suggested.

A commentary on the pluralistic goals, logics of action, and institutional contexts of translational team science

Teams have emerged as a pivotal form for organizing science efforts. Team goals and issues such as goal alignment are generally considered to be essential to team success. However, given the interdisciplinary and pluralistic goals associated with translational science, team goals become a challenging area for studies that cannot be reconciled without attention to the broader institutional contexts of translational teams. In this commentary, we draw attention to how different goals in team science can be rooted in the broader institutional context and associated logics of action. For the science of team science (SciTS) to impact practice, it is imperative that we be clear about the logic of team goals and their relation to preferred patterns of organizing. We conclude with a reflection on how contextual issues should be at the foreground of SciTS along with the other important issues of team science.

The rise of cyberinfrastructure and grand challenges for eCommerce

Advances in ICT have enabled the transformation of commerce into eCommerce. The eCommerce revolution is well under way, but what grand challenges are on the horizon? This paper extrapolates from the past to understand the forces that shape the future. It focuses on cyberinfrastructure growing out of the Cold War and highlights the role of government, Big Science and of the National Science Foundation in that story. Big Science and eCommerce will continue to shape Web activities and to react to advances in ICT. Both are involved in the co-evolution of physical, social, organizational, economic and legal factors and face analogous issues arising from similarly disruptive transformations, though the manifestations of these transformations differ in their surface features. Each may lead in addressing a particular issue at a given time, but can learn from the other. Finally, this paper identifies three Extreme Grand Challenges for Big Science and eCommerce that represent important steps toward an even brighter future for both.

Entrepreneurial Alertness and Opportunity Identification: Where Are We Now?

Since its inception, entrepreneurship has struggled with the academic version of a new venture’s liability of newness; the field was considered pre-paradigmatic (Research methodology in strategy and management, New York, pp 1–32, 2005b), bereft of theory or conceptual frameworks (J Bus Ventur 19:617–620, 2004; Acad Manage Rev 26):8–11, 2001) and so lacking in understanding that investigators could not agree on what constituted the phenomenon of interest: any kind of self-employment? New venture creation? Corporate venturing? Something else? All of the above (J Bus Ventur 5:15–28, 1990; Acad Manage J 48:556–564, 2005a; Entrep Theory Pract 26:17–25, 2001, Encyclopedia of entrepreneurship, Englewood Cliffs, 1982)?

OCData Hackathon @ CSCW 2014: online communities data hackathon

Online Communities data is prevalent in CSCW research, but the approaches to collecting, managing, analyzing and visualizing large scale social data varies on a lab by lab basis. The OCData hackathon is aimed at creating a community opportunity to share approaches to online communities research at the level of data. Integrating data, tools and theories to address interesting research questions remains a challenge for the community.

A framework of the use of certifications by hiring personnel in it hiring decisions

IT certification represents a common and growing practice with significant implications for managing in-house IT workers and outsourcing contracts. Prior research is of limited value in understanding its use in common personnel decisions, such as hiring, and its role in the IS profession because of possible sponsor bias, conflicting findings, and inattention to the hiring process or the value of certification from the perspective of hiring personnel. Using an inductive approach, we developed a framework for understanding the use of IT certification in hiring. Contextual and proximate factors are identified, as are the various ways that IT certification is used. Our study provides a bridge between the beliefs of hiring personnel and existing theories to better understand a phenomenon of growing importance. Research questions for further empirical investigation are explored, showing that our conceptual framework provides a base for future research.

Entrepreneurial Alertness and Opportunity Identification 3.0: Yes, We Can Talk Empirical!

The Internet of Things and social media not only produce a plethora of radical innovations that clearly illustrate the concept of creative destruction; these events are also accompanied by detailed public records of innovations, companies, and entrepreneurs who have succeeded or failed. The sheer number of events and the amount of data represent a golden opportunity for the empirical investigation of alertness and opportunity identification. However, a reading of the literature 2009–2015 gives the impression that, with few exceptions, opportunity identification scholars have not taken full advantage of the new events but continued a discussion of the trends noted in our previousliterature review.

First Do No Harm: A Test of the Determinants of Negative Planning Outcomes

Although planning is widely accepted as an important element of every human endeavour and as such the very often the starting point of any decision in the business world, the value of strategic planning systems (Spas) has been debated for over three decades. It is still not clear how planning practices, processes and content are related to organizational effectiveness. This paper presents empirical evidence that some dimensions of planning practices can result in negative outcomes (inflexibility, compliance and resource depletion) that may actually impede organizational effectiveness. Conclusions regarding planning theory are described and recommendations for designing planning systems that minimize negative organizational outcomes and enhance potential benefits are provided.