Yunjie Calvin Xu

A context-based investigation into source use by information seekers

An important question in information-seeking behavior is where people go for information and why information seekers prefer to use one source type rather than another when faced with an information-seeking task or need for information. Prior studies have paid little attention to contingent variables that could change the cost-benefit calculus in source use. They also defined source use in one way or the other, or considered source use as a monolithic construct. Through an empirical survey of 352 working professionals in Singapore, this study carried out a context-based investigation into source use by information seekers. Different measures of source use have been incorporated, and various contextual variables that could affect the use of source types have been identified. The findings suggest that source quality and access difficulty are important antecedents of source use, regardless of the source type. Moreover, seekers place more weight on source quality when the task is important. Other contextual factors, however, are generally less important to source use. Seekers also demonstrate a strong pecking order in the use of source types, with online information and face-to-face being the two most preferred types.

Brand extension of online technology products: Evidence from search engine to virtual communities and online news

Brand extension has been a subject of increasing interest and scholarly investigation for researchers in over a decade; however, little research has been directed toward understanding brand extension in the online context. The current study examines brand extension of online products and tries to find the key factors that determine the popularity of extended products in the online channels. Drawing upon the categorization theory, we propose a research model and validate it in the context of a search engines brand extension to a virtual community service and an online news service. The findings indicate that perceived quality of a parent brand can be transferred to its extensions. Moreover, the perceived fit between the parent brand and a new product positively influences perceived quality of the extension. This study also finds that, in the online environment, the perceived tie between the existing product and the extension positively influences perceived quality of the extension. This research advances our understanding of the usage behavior between technology products sharing the same brand and provides insights into the marketing promotion strategies for IT products in electronic markets.

Integrating social networking support for dyadic knowledge exchange

We provide a justification of why social networks boost knowledge exchange.We propose a set of measurable outcome indicators for knowledge exchange research.We justify the investment on social networking for virtual community of practice.We verify the impact of social networking support on knowledge exchange. Virtual community of practice (VCoP) is an important form of knowledge management systems. Would the integration of social networking support into traditional forum-based VCoP benefit knowledge exchange in the community? If so, why? Based on social capital theory and transactive memory system research, this study suggests that social networking support will enhance knowledge exchange in VCoP. In a field study, this study found that social networking support intensifies dyadic knowledge exchange among friends and reduces the probability that dyads stop knowledge exchange. These findings empirically confirm the effect of social networking support integration in VCoP, offering an investment justification for practitioners.

Information Seeking in an Information Systems Project Team

Why does a team member prefer some colleagues to others in information seeking? Past literature suggests that the physical accessibility of a knowledge source, the information quality of the source, and relational concerns influence such a choice. This study extends past literature by suggesting that formal structural factors are also important. Particularly, job interdependence, competition, and supervisory relationships are hypothesized to affect information-sourcing frequency. Our social-network analysis of an information systems project team indicates that formal structural factors are important to the development of informal networks and the perception of the information quality of a source. They have direct and indirect impacts on sourcing behavior. Implications for information systems project management are discussed.

Creativity in IS usage and workgroup performance: The mediating role of ambidextrous usage

Abstract Creativity in the use of information systems (IS) is critical to the performance and long-term success of organizations. Building on an organizational ambidexterity perspective, we investigate ambidexterity in IS usage which is defined as the capacity to simultaneously achieve exploitative usage and explorative usage at a workgroup level. This paper seeks to test the relationships among creative process, usage ambidexterity, and group performance. Based on a sample of 55 workgroups, we found that exploitative usage negatively influences usage ambidexterity while explorative usage positively influences it, and that usage ambidexterity positively influences group performance. Moreover, the findings indicate that usage ambidexterity mediates the effect of exploitative and explorative usage on group performance. Overall, the study contributes to greater clarity and a better understanding of how the creative process influences group performance.

Effect of Institutional Factors on Source and Channel Use by Medical Residents

An important question in information-seeking behavior is how people decide on which information source to use when they need information for their work-related tasks. This question becomes especially pertinent in light of the varying degree of legitimacy accorded to digital sources, and the use of new channels of access such as mobiles and tablets. Building upon an earlier study on source use, and using the institutional theory, this is a report of a survey-inprogress of medical residents in one or more Boston hospitals. The study will also examine the role of serendipity in source choice when residents encounter information when not consciously looking for it. Insights gained from the study will build on past work on information behavior and source choice, as well as the application of institutional theory to hospital settings. It will help hospitals make optimal provision of information source types based on their preference and usage by medical residents.

Internet usage and patient's trust in physician during diagnoses: A knowledge power perspective

Does patients’ Internet search of disease information affect their trust in physicians during diagnosis? This study proposes a research model from a knowledge power perspective, that is, Internet search affects patients’ perception of their knowledge level. Our empirical study of more than 400 subjects suggests that for patients who searched online for disease information, the inconsistency between their self‐diagnosis expectations and their physicians diagnosis reduces their trust in their physician. The effect is stronger for those who spent more time on Internet search. Patients with chronic conditions are less affected by the inconsistency, as are patients of physicians with a higher professional status. This study also found that physicians’ interaction quality in the diagnosis process—how well they communicate with their patient—still plays a dominant role in gaining patients trust. This finding suggests that even in the high‐tech age, high‐touch remains an important factor to physician‐patient trust.

Usage Diversity, Task Interdependence and Group Innovation

Investments on information stems (IS) are costly. After the initial adoption of Information Systems, the value of IS to an organization depends on employees’ innovative use of various features of IS in the infusion stage. Innovative use of IS, a key activity of technology infusion, depends not only on individual effort, but also on group effort of teams. Grounded on the research of individual-collective process, this paper seeks to build a situational contingency model of how individual innovative use of IS affects group innovative use.