Traci A. Carte

In pursuit of moderation: nine common errors and teir solutions

One result of the increasing sophistication and complexity of MIS theory and research is the number of studies hypothesizing and testing for moderation effects. A review of the MIS and broader management literatures suggests researchers investigating moderated relationships often commit one or more errors falling into three broad categories: inappropriate use or interpretation of statistics, misalignment of research design with phenomena of interest, and measurement or scaling issues. Examples of nine common errors are presented. Commission of these errors is expected to yield literatures characterized by mixed results at best, and thoroughly erroneous results at worse. Procedures representing examples of best practice and reporting guidelines are provided to help MIS investigators avoid or minimize these errors.

Using Geographical Information Systems for Decision Making: Extending Cognitive Fit Theory to Map-Based Presentations

As the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) by business becomes more common, we need to better understand when these systems are and are not useful. This research uses a laboratory experiment to extend cognitive fit theory (Vessey 1991) to geographic tasks performed using either map-based presentations or tabular presentations. The experiment found that decision makers using a map-based presentation made faster and more accurate decisions when working on a geographic task in which there were adjacency relationships among the geographic areas. Decision makers using a map-based presentation made faster but less accurate decisions when working on a geographic task in which there were no relationships among the geographic areas.

Breaking the rules: success and failure in groupware-supported business process reengineering

In the information economy, businesses are changing more often and more rapidly than ever before. The lessons learned from a decade of business process reengineering (BPR) research may provide insights to researchers and managers trying to understand and successfully navigate these changes. This paper examines the successes and failures of groupware-supported BPR processes in four organizations. Two were successful and two were failures. Groupware allowed certain tasks to be performed faster, added structure to the BPR process and facilitated participation by more people. The key difference between the successful and the unsuccessful cases was when and how senior management was involved.

Research Report: The Effectiveness of Multiple Dialogues in Electronic Brainstorming

Members of brainstorming groups often pursue the same set of ideas rather than considering a wide and diverse range of ideas, which may reduce the number of ideas they produce. One way to reduce this cognitive inertia may be to encourage groups to engage in several simultaneous discussions or dialogues. This experiment, which studied groups brainstorming electronically, found that groups generated more ideas, more high-quality ideas, and more novel ideas when using multiple dialogues than when using single dialogues.

Cohesion in virtual teams: validating the perceived cohesion scale in a distributed setting

With the advent of new technology-enabled organizational forms, firms are increasingly relying on virtual teams to accomplish organizational objectives. For those studying these environments, sound measurement of work team phenomena, such as group cohesion, is the key to understanding the impact of these new technologies on team processes and performance. Bollen and Hoyle (1990) created a six-item Perceived Cohesion Scale (PCS) to measure cohesion in groups and employed a study of large groups to assess the psychometric qualities of their scale. Chin et al. (1999) validated the PCS measure using a study of small groups that were collocated. The present effort extends the Chin et al. (1999) adaptation of Bollen and Hoyles PCS scale to virtual teams and attempts to validate it in this setting. Our findings indicate support for the validity, reliability and factorial stability of the measure in this virtual team context.

It's the Thought that Counts: The Mediating Effects of Information Processing in Virtual Team Decision Making

Abstract Previous research shows that although collaboration technology can improve the exchange of information during team decision making, one of the challenges is that this better discussion often does not lead to better decisions. In this paper, we investigate the impact of individual information processing on team decision making. We investigated the effects of two types of collaboration technology when participants were either the member of a team majority or a team minority. There was little impact due to the majority/minority, but the use of collaboration technology that required users to categorize the comments they received from others resulted in increased information processing, which in turn led to better decisions and more satisfied participants.

A case study of project management practices in virtual settings: lessons from working in and managing virtual teams

In this paper we report a case study examining the communication processes engaged in by virtual project teams and their management. Twenty-two teams, using widely available groupware to communicate, work together, share documents, discuss ideas, and solve problems, designed and implemented a database. These teams were managed by a geographically-distributed management team. The case study is analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively, from two perspectives--working in, and managing, virtual teams--using a framework that integrates virtual team dynamics and project management practices. Through the critical examination of communication content from the longitudinal experiences of multiple virtual project teams and their virtual management team, we identify successful project practices and uncover underlying interaction processes. Specifically, we found that high performing project teams differed from low performing teams in terms of process management, relational development, and proactive technology use behaviors. The five-person management team paralleled the project teams in evolving its own process management and relational development over time.

Building IT capabilities: learning by doing

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are ubiquitous in much of the developed world. With the growing interest in business process outsourcing, further deployment of these technologies in developing countries is a valuable economic development tool. Unfortunately, digital inequity, stemming from shortcomings in National Information Infrastructure as well as lack of IT skills, language barriers, and illiteracy often constrain ICT adoption and use in developing countries. The case study presented here focuses on an e-learning initiative within Sri Lanka. A key government ministry selected 150 of its employees for inclusion in a hybrid learning post-graduate diploma program in public administration. While this program does not focus on teaching information technology skills, its hybrid context provides the added benefit of developing technology skills among participants. We followed the participants of the program from start to finish. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, we found that over the course of the program, participants became more aware of Internet availability and female participants displayed improvements in computer self-efficacy. These results suggest hybrid learning programs, such as the one studied may indeed serve to simultaneously deliver content and improve IT skills and awareness.

Group creativity and collaborative technologies: understanding the role of visual anonymity

This study expands on the current body of research examining technology-supported teams, individual creativity, and group diversity. By incorporating each of these elements into the experimental design, our objective was to determine how technology can best be leveraged to promote creativity in virtual teams.A lab experiment was conducted using 80 student teams by manipulating anonymity and capturing diversity characteristics. Preliminary results are presented which suggest that homogeneous teams generated more ideas; however, diverse teams were more satisfied with their output. Coding of the creativity of the ideas is on going.