Suzanne D. Pawlowski

Bridging user organizations: knowledge brokering and the work of information technology professionals

This interpretive case study examines knowledge brokering as an aspect of the work of information technology professionals. The purpose of this exploratory study is to understand knowledge brokering from the perspective of IT professionals as they reflect upon their work practice. As knowledge brokers, IT professionals see themselves as facilitating the flow of knowledge about both IT and business practices across the boundaries that separate work units within organizations. A qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with 23 IT professionals and business users in a large manufacturing and distribution company is summarized in a conceptual framework showing the conditions, practices, and consequences of knowledge brokering by IT professionals. The framework suggests that brokering practices are conditioned by structural conditions, including decentralization and a federated IT management organization, and by technical conditions, specifically shared IT systems that serve as boundary objects. Brokering practices include gaining permission to cross organizational boundaries, surfacing and challenging assumptions made by IT users, translation and interpretation, and relinquishing ownership of knowledge. Consequences of brokering are the transfer of both business and IT knowledge across units in the organization.

ERP systems as an enabler of sustained business process innovation: A knowledge-based view

This research examines the relationship between ERP systems and innovation from a knowledge-based perspective. Building upon the multi-dimensional conceptualization of absorptive capacity by Zahra and George [Zahra, S.A., George, G., 2002. Absorptive capacity: a review, reconceptualization, and extension. Academy of Management Journal 27 (2), 185-203], a theoretical framework is developed to specify the relationships between ERP-related knowledge impacts and potential/realized absorptive capacity for business process innovation. The implication of the knowledge-based analysis in this paper is that ERP systems present dialectical contradictions, both enabling and constraining business process innovation. The model highlights areas where active management has potential to enhance the capabilities of a firm for sustained innovation of its business processes. Future research directions are also outlined.

'Why didn't somebody tell me?': climate, information asymmetry, and bad news about troubled projects

The reluctance to transmit bad news is a problem that is endemic to many organizations. When large projects go awry, it often takes weeks, months, and sometimes even years, before senior management becomes fully aware of what has happened. Accurate communication concerning a project and its status is therefore critical if organizations are to avoid costly and embarrassing debacles. This paper describes the results of an experiment designed to explore some key variables that may influence an individuals willingness to report bad news in an information systems project context. We extend a basic theoretical model derived from the whistle-blowing literature by considering relevant constructs from agency theory. We then test the entire model using a controlled experiment that employs a role-playing scenario. The results explain a significant portion of the variance in the reluctance to report negative status information. Implications for research and practice are discussed, along with directions for future research.

To share or not to share? Examining the factors influencing local agency electronic information sharing

The ability of local government agencies to effectively utilise technologies to share information constitutes a critical element in nationwide efforts to fight terrorism, combat crime, and protect citizen safety. Alarmingly, current practices have neither effectively transferred information that local government agencies need, nor adequately captured and propagated information generated by local authorities. The objective of this study is to understand the factors influencing local agency electronic information sharing. The results of an in-depth case study provide a comprehensive understanding of the technological, agency and environmental factors that promote or inhibit electronic information sharing by local agencies. An extensive set of recommendations is put forth to enable government officials to enhance the success of electronic information sharing initiatives. Moreover, the findings carry several important implications for theory and practice.

VIRTUAL REALITY: A TECHNOLOGY IN NEED OF IS RESEARCH

Although virtual reality (VR) technology has been available since the 1970’s, it is becoming increasingly sophisticated and cost effective. Architecture, education, medicine, electronic commerce, collaboration, and data visualization are some of areas where VR is beginning to be applied. Much of the reported research on VR is technological rather than social, leaving only a limited understanding of its behavioral and organizational impacts and its potential for novel situations. Immersion, interactivity, and presence are intriguing concepts that emerged as important to VR research, but are yet ill-defined. In this paper we argue that the information system research community offers a unique and valuable perspective on VR research, and that this capability represents a logical extension of the work in several IS research domains. Multimethodological approaches using both positivist and emergent perspectives are needed. A research framework that can be used to begin this work is described.

Investigating the "Knowledge" in Knowledge Management: A Social Representations Perspective

A panel at ICIS 2005 in Las Vegas, NV questioned how social representations (SR) theory could illuminate central questions related to the research and practice of Knowledge Management (KM). The panel included IS researchers who examined different aspects of SR theory and their implications for the understanding of knowledge and knowledge management dynamics. The topics covered in the panel and this report include: the representations of knowledge in the history of KM systems, the role of discursive processes in the emergence of new representations and knowledge, the non-consensual nature of knowledge of various communities, and the potential contributions of a structural approach to SR for situated learning research. This paper elaborates on the presentations of the panel and summarizes the issues raised during its discussion session.

The (gradually) changing face of state IT jobs

Working for the state once meant long hours, low pay, and lots of red tape. That picture has certainly changed in recent years, as state governments plan to compete with the private sector for top IT talent.

Work Commitments of Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers in the it Profession: Generational Differences or Myth?

The study presented in this paper examines generational (age-cohort) differences in the work commitments of Baby Boomer (born between 1946 and 1962) and Gen-X (born between 1963 and 1981) information technology (IT) professionals. Data were obtained from 382 IT workers in 23 state agencies and universities. The work commitments examined include work involvement, job involvement, work group attachment, organizational commitment and professional commitment. Contrary to profiles of these two generations common in the popular and business press, results suggest that the work commitments of these generations of IT professionals are more homogeneous than different. Implications for research and for IT management are offered.

An examination of interdependencies among major barriers to coordination in disaster response

This paper reports two exploratory research studies conducted to identify major barriers to coordination in disaster response and to understand causal relationships among those barriers. In the first study, two expert panels (emergency operations centre directors and firefighters) participated in a Delphi survey to identify and prioritise major barriers. In the second study, five focus group sessions were conducted with state and parish (county) emergency operations centre directors and response professionals. Each group created a conceptual map of major barriers and the causal relationships among them. Results are integrated in a Coordination Barrier Classification Framework that incorporates the relative importance and interdependencies among the six major barriers (planning, resources, training, chain of command, politics, and communication). Differences by stakeholder group are also identified. Preliminary implications and avenues for future research are suggested.

Exploring associations between young adults’ facebook use and psychological well-being: A goal hierarchy approach

Clicking the Like is an idiosyncratic and essential activity in Facebook.Users pursuit diverse goals in Facebook.Overall goals in Facebook have significant relations with psychological well-being.Relationships between the goals for SNS use and the dimensions of psychological well-being.Enjoyment in Facebook has a negative relation with psychological well-being. There is scant research on the broader outcomes of IT in users life contexts beyond adoption. This study uses a goal hierarchy approach to deepen our understanding of the relationship between the use of Facebook and psychological well-being (PWB) in young adults. The study applies a mixed-method design that combines means-end analysis and regression analysis to examine data collected from laddering interviews with 161 Facebook users. The means-end chain analysis provided knowledge of the hierarchical goal structure in Facebook (i.e., activitiesmediated goalsultimate goals). Regression analysis was used to identify the relationships between the ultimate goals of Facebook use (e.g., psychological stability, belongingness) and the dimensions of PWB (e.g., self-acceptance, autonomy). The findings explain the significant association of Facebook use with well-being and the dual outcomes of enjoyment (positive in SNS; negative in users lives). Prior research focused on relationships among abstract factors, but this study delivers a more specific and nuanced explanation of user behavior on SNSs by providing knowledge of how specific Facebook activities relate to goals and PWB.