Are Foreign and Domestic Information Technology Professionals Complements or Substitutes?

2022 | Management Information Systems Quarterly | Citations: 1

Authors: Mithas, Sunil; Chen, Yanzhen; Liu, Che-Wei; Han, Kunsoo

Abstract: The globalization of work raises important questions related to the employment o ... Expand

Abstract: The globalization of work raises important questions related to the employment of workers across geographies and how the complementarity or substitution of workers across country borders influences firm profitability. In particular, tension often exists regarding the substitution or complementarity of workers located outside the U.S. or within the U.S. for American firms. We investigate this question in the context of information technology (IT) professionals and assess how domestic and foreign IT professionals contribute to firm profit by utilizing a rare firm-level dataset with information on the locational composition of IT professionals within and outside the U.S. Exploiting a labor market supply-side exogenous shock induced by the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21), which increased the availability of H-1B visas in the U.S. in 2001, we find that foreign IT professionals located offshore and American IT professionals located onshore complement each other in generating profits. Our model and empirical findings are important both for informing firm choices and for shaping and creating public policies that so far appear to have been informed more by emotion than by data and science. Collapse

Topics: IT workforce IT job research and development outsourcing offshoring

Methods: instrumental variables estimation robustness check Compustat survey econometric modeling

Theories: theory of economic recessions economic production theory

Examining Assumptions: Provocations on the Nature, Impact, and Implications of IS Theory

2021 | Management Information Systems Quarterly | Citations: 0

Authors: Burton-Jones, Andrew; Butler, Brian S; Scott, Susan V; Xu, Sean Xin

Abstract: The Information Systems research community has a complex relationship with theo ... Expand

Abstract: The Information Systems research community has a complex relationship with theory and theorizing. As a community of scholars, our assumptions about theory and theorizing affect every aspect of our intellectual lives. Ideas about what theory is, who theorizes, where theory comes from, when we theorize, how theory is developed and changes, and why theory is (or isn't) important shapes the projects we do, the partnerships we have, the resources available to us, and phenomena that we find to be significant, interesting, and novel.Despite its prominent place in our thinking, it is often difficult to critically examine the assumptions we make about theory and theorizing. Our assumptions affect our priorities, decision, and actions. How we think about theory and its role in our individual and collective intellectual lives is a product of complex paths and multiple influences. Although we may try to stay mindful of how our assumptions shape our perspectives and ways of thinking, from time to time we need to look beyond them. Collapse

Topics: pandemic IT investment big data IT productivity online auction

Methods: theory development design guideline theoretical contribution design science survey

Theories: technology acceptance model sociomaterialism theory information systems theory privacy calculus theory

CEO Risk-Taking Incentives and IT Innovation: The Moderating Role of a CEO’s IT-Related Human Capital

2021 | Management Information Systems Quarterly | Citations: 0

Authors: Choi, Inmyung; Chung, Sunghun; Han, Kunsoo; Pinsonneault, Alain

Abstract: Despite the importance of information technology (IT) innovation in today’s digi ... Expand

Abstract: Despite the importance of information technology (IT) innovation in today’s digitalized world, little research attention has been paid to examining how firms can incentivize IT innovation. To fill this gap, the current study investigates the impact of managerial incentives provided to chief executive officers (CEOs) on IT innovation, measured by the number of IT patents. In particular, we examine the role of risk-taking incentives provided to CEOs, captured by the sensitivity of CEO wealth to stock return volatility (i.e., Vega). Vega can motivate CEOs to engage in risky IT innovation projects by aligning their wealth with firm-specific risk. In so doing, we focus on how CEOs’ IT-related human capital (i.e., IT education and IT experience) moderates the relationship between Vega and IT innovation. Our empirical analyses reveal that a higher Vega encourages CEOs to support more IT innovation; more importantly, the impact of Vega on the amount of IT patents is stronger for firms with CEOs who have higher levels of IT education and IT experience. Our study contributes to research and practice by conceptualizing a CEO’s IT-related human capital and validating its moderating role in the relationship between risk-taking incentives provided to the CEO and the amount of IT innovation. Collapse

Topics: digital innovation human resource management IS education IT career innovation management

Methods: descriptive statistic data transformation principal component analysis Compustat instrumental variables estimation

Theories: agency theory

The different effects of hardware and software on production interdependence in manufacturing

2021 | Decision Support Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Gong, Fengmei; Cheng, Zhuo (June); Nault, Barrie R.

Abstract: Make or buy decisions are often decisions between investing in capital for produ ... Expand

Abstract: Make or buy decisions are often decisions between investing in capital for production or building supply chain relationships upstream. These are strategic decisions about production interdependence: the degree to which materials and services are provided internally versus purchased externally. Information technology (IT) has increased productivity with hardware and software such as robotics and flexible manufacturing systems. IT has also improved information sharing and coordination along the supply chain by integrating business processes with software. Within manufacturing, we examine whether hardware and software are related to choices of make versus buy differently. From a transaction cost perspective this can be due to differential impacts on reducing internal production costs versus external coordination costs. We find that in U.S. manufacturing industries from 1998 to 2016, hardware favors internal production suggesting hardware reduces costs of internal provision more; software increased purchases from upstream suppliers suggesting software reduces costs of external provision more. This result shows that hardware and software complementarity has limits in that each has distinct pro­ ductivity targets, and that empirically the decision of make versus buy is manifested by investments in these different types of IT capital. That is, when facing strategic decisions about make versus buy in manufacturing, hardware and software have opposite impacts. Collapse

Topics: computer hardware productivity intellectual property IT investment business process management

Methods: longitudinal research autocorrelation analysis econometric modeling chi squared test instrumental variables estimation

Theories: transaction cost economics economic production theory

Rationalizing Online Romance Fraud: In the Eyes of the Offender

2020 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Barnor, Jonathan; Boateng, Richard; Kolog, Emmanuel Awuni; Afful-Dadzie, Anthony

Abstract: This study seeks to understand romance scam from the offenders' perspective and ... Expand

Abstract: This study seeks to understand romance scam from the offenders' perspective and how they rationalize their motivations, opportunities and abilities towards the commission of the crime. To this end, we adopt the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability framework and the Rationalization dimension of the Fraud Triangle Theory. The study employed a qualitative methodological approach to analyze the opportunities presented by emerging technologies to cyber fraudsters amid socio-economic drivers. One is the interplay of various socio-economic factors being a major driving force behind the commission of cybercrime. These include peer recruitment and training, poverty, unemployment, low level of education and low income. The uniqueness of this study stems from the fact that it deviates from previous studies to investigate cybercrime from the perspective of the perpetrators. Again, this study is arguably one of the first to put all three dimensions of the MOA framework and the rationalization dimension of the Fraud Triangle to study romance scammers' behaviors. Collapse

Topics: computer crime criminality internet technology September 11 attack cyberbullying

Methods: triangulation personal interview

A Double-Edged Sword: Diversity Within Religion and Market Emergence

2020 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: Yan, Shipeng

Abstract: Although societies are becoming increasingly secularized, religion continues to ... Expand

Abstract: Although societies are becoming increasingly secularized, religion continues to play an important role worldwide. However, few studies have focused on how religion affects the entrepreneurial emergence novel markets. To address this gap, I examine the impact of Islam, as a decentralized belief system, on entrepreneurship in the context of developing Islamic investment fund markets across countries. I focus on religious diversity within Islam as an instance of intrainstitutional complexity and analyze a country-level panel dataset of Islamic investment funds in addition to complementary qualitative data. Intriguingly, I find that religious diversity within Islam plays a paradoxical role: it promotes the entrepreneurial supply of Islamic investment funds in a country, but it also reduces the investor demand for these funds. This complex effect is moderated by interinstitutional forces: the market logic positively moderates the effect on supply dynamics, whereas the state logic negatively moderates the effect on supply and positively that on demand. This study contributes to the research on religion and market emergence, institutional complexity, and Islamic finance. Collapse

Topics: September 11 attack entrepreneurship offshoring database system

Methods: robustness check regression analysis method descriptive statistic longitudinal research

Discontinuities in the Value of Relational Capital: The Effects on Employee Entrepreneurship and Mobility

2019 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: Byun, Heejung; Raffiee, Joseph; Ganco, Martin

Abstract: We examine how a discontinuous increase in the value of an employee’s relational ... Expand

Abstract: We examine how a discontinuous increase in the value of an employee’s relational capital influences the employee’s mobility and entrepreneurship decisions in professional and business service contexts. Drawing on the unfolding model of voluntary turnover, we develop a theory proposing that positive shocks to external relational capital will catalyze employees to consider alternative employment options, thereby increasing the probability of exit. We further maintain that exit decisions in response to such shocks will be driven by a desire to appropriate more value, making these shocks strong predictors of employee entrepreneurship, especially when the employee works in an area that is peripheral to the firm’s core capabilities. Empirically, we construct a unique employee-employer linked database that tracks employment of lobbyists in the United States federal lobbying industry. Leveraging plausibly exogenous shocks to the value of an employee’s relational capital and a novel market-based measure of the employee’s position in the firm’s knowledge space, we report two sets of findings. First, an increase in the value of relational capital has a positive effect on the likelihood of mobility to established firms and employee entrepreneurship, with the effect for the latter stronger than the former. Second, the magnitude of the effect on employee entrepreneurship becomes stronger when the employee is peripheral to the firm’s core knowledge. Together, our results are consistent with a value creation-value appropriation rationale, where sudden increases in the value of an employee’s relational capital drive exit as a means to appropriate a greater portion of value created. Collapse

Topics: entrepreneurship value creation IT personell turnover database system human resource management

Methods: theory development statistical hypothesis test robustness check descriptive statistic computational algorithm

Avocados crossing borders: The problem of runaway objects and the solution of a shipping information pipeline for improving international trade

2018 | Information Systems Journal | Citations: 3

Authors: Jensen, Thomas; Vatrapu, Ravi; Bjørn‐Andersen, Niels

Abstract: This paper investigates the case of shipments of containers with avocados from f ... Expand

Abstract: This paper investigates the case of shipments of containers with avocados from farmers in Africa to grocery store shelves in the European Union. We find 3 predominant challenges to containerized shipping that effectively become trade barriers: international trade cost, lead time uncertainty, and security risks. We use activity theory to describe, understand, and analyze the shipping activity in the international trade ecosystem with focus on physical objects and their related information. We find that the shipment becomes problematic and can be characterized as a runaway object in the heterogeneous and multiple organizational setting of international trade. Our analysis of shipping reveals (1) inefficient collaboration across loosely coupled activity systems and (2) fragmented information infrastructures. We propose the solution of Shipping Information Pipeline, a shared information infrastructure, thus facilitating collaboration in containerized shipping and contributing to lowering trade barriers. Shipping Information Pipeline can significantly improve containerized shipping resulting in estimated potential benefits of up to 4.7% growth in global GDP. Collapse

Topics: electronic data interchange extensible markup language supply chain management electronic mail enterprise resource planning

Methods: case study qualitative interview focus group design theory design principle

Theories: boundary objects theory activity theory transaction cost economics

Improving crime count forecasts using Twitter and taxi data

2018 | Decision Support Systems | Citations: 13

Authors: Vomfell, Lara; Härdle, Wolfgang Karl; Lessmann, Stefan

Abstract: Crime prediction is crucial to criminal justice decision makers and efforts to p ... Expand

Abstract: Crime prediction is crucial to criminal justice decision makers and efforts to prevent crime. The paper evaluates the explanatory and predictive value of human activity patterns derived from taxi trip, Twitter and Foursquare data. Analysis of a six-month period of crime data for New York City shows that these data sources improve predictive accuracy for property crime by 19% compared to using only demographic data. This effect is strongest when the novel features are used together, yielding new insights into crime prediction. Notably and in line with social disorganisation theory, the novel features cannot improve predictions for violent crimes. Collapse

Topics: criminality Twitter social media resource allocation accounting

Methods: machine learning spatial analysis econometric model archival research random forest classification

Using Psycho-physiological Interaction Analysis with fMRI Data in IS Research: A Guideline

2017 | Communications of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Hubert, Marco; Linzmajer, Marc; Riedl, René; Hubert, Mirja; Kenning, Peter; Weber, Bernd

Abstract: The integration of neuroscientific methods in Information Systems (IS) research ... Expand

Abstract: The integration of neuroscientific methods in Information Systems (IS) research to better understand how the brain interacts with IS-relevant context has gained in importance. Many papers that highlight the potential of neuroIS and that discuss methodological issues associated with using functional brain imaging already exist. However, neuroIS researchers have to keep in mind that the emergence of complex mental processes such as trust in IS contexts is based on activity in a network of brain regions rather than on activity in one area alone. Accordingly, we introduce psycho-physiological interaction (PPI) analysis, a technique that one can use to analyze fMRI data. Specifically, we review how one can conduct PPI analysis, provide a concrete research example, and show how this analysis can inform IS trust research. Thus, we introduce neuroIS researchers working in the domain of functional brain imaging to advanced fMRI analyses methods and show, based on the example of trust, how these methods can enhance our understanding of the nature of IS constructs. Collapse

Topics: decision making social network electronic market website September 11 attack

Methods: functional magnetic resonance imaging parametric test longitudinal research regression analysis method literature sample

Theories: evolutionary theory argumentation theory