Does IT Enable Collusion or Competition: Examining the Effects of IT on Service Pricing in Multimarket Multihospital Systems

2023 | Management Information Systems Quarterly | Citations: 0

Authors: Du, Kui; Tanriverdi, Hüseyin

Abstract: In the U.S., multihospital systems (MHSs) charge significantly higher prices fo ... Expand

Abstract: In the U.S., multihospital systems (MHSs) charge significantly higher prices for hospital services than stand-alone hospitals. Rivalry restraint theory suggests that MHS with multimarket contact (MMC) can tacitly collude and mutually forebear from price competition to keep their prices above competitive levels. We posit that the success of such MMC-induced rivalry restraints (the truce) is affected by two conflicting roles of IT at the corporate level and market unit levels, respectively. The corporate parent seeks to standardize IT applications enterprise-wide to coordinate market units as a means of jointly implementing the rivalry restraint strategy and keeping prices high enterprise-wide. However, market units, i.e., the member hospitals of MHS clustered in geographic patient markets, face competitive pressures to reduce their service costs. Market units seek to use differentiated IT applications to achieve cost reductions, which then fuel price competition in local markets, jeopardize the sustainability of the truce, and weaken the enterprise-wide price effects of the corporate parent's rivalry restraint strategy. In a longitudinal study of 195 multihospital systems in the U.S. in the 2005-2013 time period, we found support for these ideas. The corporate-wide standardization of the operational IT of MHS complements the rivalry restraint strategy to increase enterprise-wide prices. Market units' use of differentiated analytical IT reduces costs in local markets and weakens the price effects of the rivalry restraint strategy. The study advances IS research and practice by theorizing how the corporate-level and the market unit-level IT of a multi-unit, multimarket (MUMM) organization can have opposing moderating effects on the link between MMC and the average prices charged by the MUMM organization. Collapse

Topics: analytical information system operational information system database system health information system decision making

Methods: theory development robustness check instrumental variables estimation longitudinal research data modeling

Exploring the Darkverse: A Multi-Perspective Analysis of the Negative Societal Impacts of the Metaverse

2023 | Information Systems Frontiers | Citations: 0

Authors: Dwivedi, Yogesh K.; Kshetri, Nir; Hughes, Laurie; Rana, Nripendra P.; Baabdullah, Abdullah M.; Kar, Arpan Kumar; Koohang, Alex; Ribeiro-Navarrete, Samuel; Belei, Nina; Balakrishnan, Janarthanan; Basu, Sriparna; Behl, Abhishek; Davies, Gareth H.; Dutot, Vincent; Dwivedi, Rohita; Evans, Leighton; Felix, Reto; Foster-Fletcher, Richard; Giannakis, Mihalis; Gupta, Ashish; Hinsch, Chris; Jain, Animesh; Jane Patel, Nina; Jung, Timothy; Juneja, Satinder; Kamran, Qeis; Mohamed AB, Sanjar; Pandey, Neeraj; Papagiannidis, Savvas; Raman, Ramakrishnan; Rauschnabel, Philipp A.; Tak, Preeti; Taylor, Alexandra; tom Dieck, M. Claudia; Viglia, Giampaolo; Wang, Yichuan; Yan, Meiyi

Abstract: The Metaverse has the potential to form the next pervasive computing archetype t ... Expand

Abstract: The Metaverse has the potential to form the next pervasive computing archetype that can transform many aspects of work and life at a societal level. Despite the many forecasted benefits from the metaverse, its negative outcomes have remained relatively unexplored with the majority of views grounded on logical thoughts derived from prior data points linked with similar technologies, somewhat lacking academic and expert perspective. This study responds to the dark side perspectives through informed and multifaceted narratives provided by invited leading academics and experts from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. The metaverse dark side perspectives covered include: technological and consumer vulnerability, privacy, and diminished reality, human–computer interface, identity theft, invasive advertising, misinformation, propaganda, phishing, financial crimes, terrorist activities, abuse, pornography, social inclusion, mental health, sexual harassment and metaverse-triggered unintended consequences. The paper concludes with a synthesis of common themes, formulating propositions, and presenting implications for practice and policy. Collapse

Topics: virtual reality privacy unintended consequence artificial intelligence IT security

Methods: digital trace data computational algorithm design guideline synthesis ethnography

Software in the Manufacturing Industry: A Review of Security Challenges and Implications

2023 | International Conference on Business Informatics | Citations: 0

Authors: Landeck, Yannick; Balta, Dian; Wimmer, Martin; Knierim, Christian

Abstract: Software defines digital infrastructures in the manufacturing industry, connect ... Expand

Abstract: Software defines digital infrastructures in the manufacturing industry, connecting services and computation resources to machines and devices. These infrastructures aim at increased flexibility, scalability, and a wider application portfolio for automated manufacturing processes. At the same time, the complexity of securing software increases dramatically. Threats to confidentiality, integrity, and availability of software can result in critical losses for automated industrial production and impact manufacturing companies. In order to map existing and emerging security challenges, we present the results of a hermeneutic literature review structured along abstraction levels and vertical integration of software. Based on this structure, we derive implications for academia and practice focused on system integrators, developers, and security auditors of digital infrastructures. Thereby, we discuss courses of action mapped to software security black boxes, infrastructure heterogeneity, and the adaptation of security for operational usage. Collapse

Topics: IT security enterprise application integration system integration cloud computing supply chain management

Methods: literature study interpretative method structured literature research

How Do Knowledge Management Strategy and Communication Channels Influence Innovation?

2023 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Xu, Zheyi; Mithas, Sunil; Vreede, Triparna de

Abstract: How do knowledge management (KM) strategy and communication channels influence ... Expand

Abstract: How do knowledge management (KM) strategy and communication channels influence individuals' innovative behavior?We answer this research question by drawing on media richness theory, and studying how two KM strategies (codification and personalization) and communication approaches with varying degree of media richness (i.e., telephone communication and email communication) shape innovative behavior at the individual level. Our analyses of the survey collected from more than 900 employees from several firms belonging to a leading conglomerate reveal three findings. First, we find that codification KM strategy has a positive effect on employees' innovative behavior. Second, we find that both face-to-face communication and telephone communication foster innovative behavior, but such an effect is absent for email communication presumably due to its lack of media richness. Finally, we find that the codification KM approach diminishes the advantages of face-to-face communication in innovative behavior. We discuss implications for research and practice. . Firms often adopt IT to mimic inperson interactions and implement enterprise social systems that are meant to overcome knowledge sharing challenges brought on by geographical separation (Malgonde et al., 2023;Ou et al., 2014;Susarla et al., 2012). However, not all communication tools are created equal and they provide different levels of communication cues (i.e., different levels of media richness) to facilitate innovative behavior. In particular, communication channels such as emails and voice communication, with or without video (e.g., telephone and online meetings), provide varying degree of communication cues (Gubbins & Dooley, 2014;Moffett et al., 2021). Besides communication channels, firms also use different types of knowledge management (KM) strategies to influence innovative behavior. These KM strategies can also influence the knowledge transfer by using different communication channels.Although prior research has made impressive strides to enhance our understanding of the individual roles of KM strategy and communication channels on innovation (Al Shaar et al., 2015;López-Nicolás & Meroño-Cerdán, 2011;Trantopoulos et al., 2017), few studies have examined the combined effect of KM strategies and communication channels on innovation. Accordingly, in this study, we investigate the following research questions: (1) How do different communication channels facilitate innovative behavior? (2) How do KM strategies and communication channels jointly facilitate innovative behavior? Drawing upon the media richness theory (Daft & Lengel, 1986;Ishii et al., 2019), we focus on three communication channels that vary in their media richness: face-to-face communication, telephone/voice communication, and text/email communication. In addition, we investigate the effect of two KM strategies (i.e., structured strategy termed as codification versus unstructured strategy termed as personalization) on innovative behavior and how two KM strategies moderate the effect of communication channels on innovative behavior. We test our hypotheses using survey data collected from teams participating in the innovation program at the Tata group, one of the most reputed and largest conglomerates in the world.Our results suggest that codification strategy is associated with innovative behavior. Face-to-face communication and telephone/voice communication leads to similar levels of improvement in innovative behavior. However, text/email communication does not improve innovation, presumably because of the lack of media richness. Further, we investigate the role of KM strategies in moderating the effect of communication channels, and find that the codification strategy diminishes the positive effect of face-toface communication on innovation. Collectively, these findings extend the growing literature on digital innovation and provide important implications for research and practice. CodificationThis describes whether the firm's innovation process or knowledge management process is standardized or not. It is a binary variable (codification=1, personalization=0).( Srivastava et al., 2013) f2f communicationThe extent to which employees communicate via face-to-face. It is measured using one items scoring from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) and is treated as a continuous variable.Self-developed Telephone communicationThe extent to which employees communicate via telephone/voice chat. It is measured using one items scoring from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) and is treated as a continuous variable.Self-developed Email communicationThe extent to which employees communicate via emails/text chat. It is measured using one item scoring from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) and is treated as a continuous variable.Self-developed innovative behavior at an individual level in teams. We leveraged data from more than 959 employees in a large multinational conglomerate to document several findings. First, we find that codification is better than personalization in eliciting individual's innovative behavior, presumably because of standardization and low complexity. Second, we find that face-to-face communication, telephone communication, and email communication can all facilitate team collaboration and innovation, but they show nuanced differences. Telephone communication is equivalent to face-to-face communication suggesting that knowledge sharing happens through verbal cues, requiring fewer non-verbal cues. We find that email communication is not effective in improving innovation, presumably because (1) email lacks the benefit of synchronous communication and immediate feedback, and (2) knowledge sharing requires not only textual information but also verbal cues, such as tones of voice.Finally, we find that the codification strategy negatively moderates the relationship between face-to-face communication and innovative behavior, but the moderating effect does not exist for telephone and email communication. These findings indicate that high level of codification tends to diminish the effects of interpersonal relationship and the rich media provided by face-to-face communication on innovation. As IT-supported communication channels lack the merits of building interpersonal relationships, codification would not affect innovative behavior initiated by telephone and email communication. In summary, our results suggest that knowledge sharing via non-verbal communication, which is enabled by face-to-face communication, is important to innovation, and management of non-verbal knowledge is better facilitated via personalization strategy instead of codification strategy. Together these findings provide important KM Strategy, Communication Channels, and InnovationOur findings provide several implications for research. First, our findings related to the effect of communication channels on innovative behavior provide a greater insight into the antecedents of individuals' innovative behavior. As an individual-level construct, innovative behavior has been explained by individual-level antecedents, such as interpersonal relationships (Abdullah et al., 2016;Li & Hsu, 2018), but there is limited understanding on how various communication channels facilitate innovation. This presents a critical gap in innovation research. We address this gap by examining the role of IT in supporting communication, knowledge sharing, and innovation (Matta et al., 2017;Saraf et al., 2013). We also show the need for differentiating among different types of communication channels because they influence innovative behavior differently. Thus, this research contributes to a more holistic understanding of innovative behavior by considering factors beyond the typically explored individual-level antecedents.Second, we extend our understanding of media richness theory from the KM perspective. Although media richness theory proposes that increased media richness results in better communication outcomes, our research shows that telephone communication is as effective as face-to-face communication in motivating innovative behavior. We further show that email communication is less effective than telephone communication in stimulating innovative behavior suggesting that synchronous communication with nonverbal cues may be an effective communication mode to facilitate innovation. In other words, by empirically establishing the limitations of email for innovative tasks, we offer evidence that IT-intensive methods might not always be suitable for knowledge sharing in innovation contexts. While both face-to-face and telephone communications have homogeneous effects on innovative behavior, non-verbal cues might actually introduce complexity rather than value.Third, we answer the call for the simultaneous examination of human knowledge artifacts and technical artifacts when investigating digital innovation (Hund et al., 2021;Majchrzak & Griffith, 2020). In addition, our findings provide empirical evidence of considering the joint effect of KM strategies (i.e., the human knowledge artifact) and communication channels (i.e., the technical artifact) on digital innovation. Although prior literature proposes that the choice of codification or personalization is contingent on their knowledge reuse contexts (Kumar & Ganesh, 2011;Liu et al., 2013), these studies do not provide clear guidance of how to choose between codification and personalization when considering different communication channels for knowledge management. Our research builds on this proposition and shows (1) that the choice of codification (versus personalization) depends on the use of communication channel, and (2) that high codification may diminish the beneficial effects of face-to-face communication. Managerial ImplicationsOur research also provides several practical implications. First, our findings suggest that firms should tailor their deployment of communication tools considering their impact on innovative behavior. Managers should emphasize face-to-face and telephone communications over email communications if the goal is to promote innovation. This finding is relevant in the post-pandemic era when many firms are rethinking or transforming their working mode temporarily or permanently. Understanding that telephone communication can be as effective as face-to-face interaction can help organizations to be more diverse in their collaboration approaches. Organizations can also promote innovation by developing IT solutions that mimic the benefits of face-to-face and telephone communication while retaining the efficiency of email communication. For instance, firms can allocate more budget to implement voice-based electronic communication tools that replace email communication.Second, our findings provide insights to firms to synchronize their KM strategy with the deployment of communication channels to improve innovation. Firms should choose between codification and personalization depending on what communication channel the innovation teams adopt. For instance, when team members mostly meet in person to discuss ideas, personalization through non-verbal communication is likely to be a better way for them to generate innovative ideas.Finally, the findings of the study underscore the critical need for organizations to carefully consider their communication and KM strategy. One strategy does not fit all needs. It is imperative that organizations not KM Strategy, Communication Channels, and Innovation Collapse

Topics: innovation management electronic mail knowledge management strategy usability telephone

Methods: statistical hypothesis test survey descriptive statistic theory development cross sectional survey

Theories: media richness theory

DyPolDroid: Protecting Against Permission-Abuse Attacks in Android

2023 | Information Systems Frontiers | Citations: 0

Authors: Rubio-Medrano, Carlos E.; Soundrapandian, Pradeep Kumar Duraisamy; Hill, Matthew; Claramunt, Luis; Baek, Jaejong; S, Geetha; Ahn, Gail-Joon

Abstract: Android applications are extremely popular, as they are widely used for banking, ... Expand

Abstract: Android applications are extremely popular, as they are widely used for banking, social media, e-commerce, etc. Such applications typically leverage a series of Permissions, which serve as a convenient abstraction for mediating access to security-sensitive functionality within the Android Ecosystem, e.g., sending data over the Internet. However, several malicious applications have recently deployed attacks such as data leaks and spurious credit card charges by abusing the Permissions granted initially to them by unaware users in good faith. To alleviate this pressing concern, we present DyPolDroid, a dynamic and semi-automated security framework that builds upon Android Enterprise, a device-management framework for organizations, to allow for users and administrators to design and enforce so-called Counter-Policies, a convenient user-friendly abstraction to restrict the sets of Permissions granted to potential malicious applications, thus effectively protecting against serious attacks without requiring advanced security and technical expertise. Additionally, as a part of our experimental procedures, we introduce Laverna, a fully operational application that uses permissions to provide benign functionality at the same time it also abuses them for malicious purposes. To fully support the reproducibility of our results, and to encourage future work, the source code of both DyPolDroid and Laverna is publicly available as open-source. Collapse

Topics: mobile application Android bring your own device digital distribution mobile application market

Methods: experimental task computational algorithm experiment design artifact literature study

The Impact of National Culture on Strategic IT Alignment: A Multiple-case Study of Subsidiaries of Multinational Corporations

2022 | Information Systems Management | Citations: 0

Authors: Adaba, Godfried B.; Wilson, David W.; Sims, Julian

Abstract: Through a multiple-case study of three subsidiaries of multinational corporation ... Expand

Abstract: Through a multiple-case study of three subsidiaries of multinational corporations (MNCs), we examined the impact of national culture on strategic information technology (IT) alignment. We found that the headquarters and subsidiary host national cultures affect alignment indirectly, through variables in the organizational context, including intercultural communications, IT governance, management style, differences in work values and practices, and cultural conflict and mistrust. Based on the findings, we propose a model of national culture and alignment. Collapse

Topics: national culture IT governance organizational context offshoring IT workforce

Methods: qualitative interview case study multiple case study personal interview qualitative coding

Theories: cultural dimensions theory theory of economic development

Bids for speed: An empirical study of investment strategy automation in a peer-to-business lending platform

2022 | Decision Support Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Darmon, Eric; Oriol, Nathalie; Rufini, Alexandra

Abstract: We investigate how introducing a bidding agent impacts the process and outcome o ... Expand

Abstract: We investigate how introducing a bidding agent impacts the process and outcome of an online reverse auction in the context of a crowdlending platform. We consider this issue in the context of a peer-to-business platform that connects individual lenders to small and medium-sized enterprises. Using a before/after study design, we perform an econometric analysis and find that introducing a bidding agent had a positive and dramatic impact on the number of bids and bidders and reduced the time necessary to collect the funds. For projects with lower ratings, it also positively impacted the number of lenders and indirectly enhanced portfolio diversification. We find that after the bidding agent was introduced, well-rated projects benefited from lower interest rates, the magnitude of the change depending positively on their rating. These results provide evidence that the bidding agent generates savings in the screening and bidding costs incurred by lenders and benefits both sides of the platform. Our contribution documents the role of bidding agent as a strategic tool to enhance financial inter­ mediation. It also sheds light on how two types of decision support systems (rating-based and bidding agent) interact and shows that this interaction is of crucial importance with respect to the financial regulation of platforms if the crowd has low financial literacy. Collapse

Topics: crowdsourcing peer-to-peer lending decision support system crowdfunding website

Methods: robustness check statistical hypothesis test econometric modeling proportional hazards model literature sample

Theories: transaction cost economics

IWARN: A people-centered approach for early warning

2022 | HICSS | Citations: 0

Authors: Diaz, Paloma; Sanchez-Francisco, Monica; Onorati, Teresa; Montero, Alvaro; Aedo, Ignacio

Abstract: Early warning is the activity of the mitigation phase concerned with monitoring ... Expand

Abstract: Early warning is the activity of the mitigation phase concerned with monitoring precursors of a potential hazard to decide whether it is evolving to real risk and eventually initiate an early response. The first step consists of collecting updated and reliable data to support situational awareness from emergency operators. Data-centered Early Warning Systems (EWS) are focused on gathering data and run simulations to support decision-makers. A more sustainable approach consists of a people-centered EWS that takes profit from citizens who act as intelligent sensors collecting and sharing purposeful information. This people-centered approach can contribute to raising community awareness of the local environment and its vulnerabilities. In this paper, we introduce iWarn, a system relying upon mobile computing and gamification to integrate citizens in this process. The system has been developed following an action research approach to involve different stakeholders, including professionals, volunteers, and citizens. Collapse

Topics: mobile application mobile system gamification usability electronic mail

Methods: experiment focus group action research design artifact survey

IS incident recovery and service value: a service-dominant logic view

2022 | European Journal of Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Najjar, Mohammad S.; Kettinger, William J.; Kettinger, Lynda D.

Abstract: IS service delivery failures inside companies are value diminishing events. Info ... Expand

Abstract: IS service delivery failures inside companies are value diminishing events. Information systems service providers seek to limit this value destruction but lack guidance on IS incident resolution actions that satisfy users and preserve IS service value. We apply Service-Dominant Logic (SDL) to explore what is relevant to users’ recovery service experiences while interacting with IS service providers. We use an integrated research approach including qualitative and quantitative data. We uncover actions that lead to a satisfying incident recovery and categorise them into three recovery components (responsive handling interactions, supportive communicating interactions, and effective resolving actions) that reflect IS provider resource exchanges of information, knowledge, and service skills with users in resolving incidents. We integrate these three recovery components as factors in our research model and test direct and moderating effects on value outcomes. We find that users’ recovery satisfaction results from both a “fix it fast and fully” perspective and a sense of effort and fairness conveyed. Results point to managers preserving overall IS service satisfaction and service quality by facilitating proper resource exchanges during an incident recovery. Collapse

Topics: service quality IS satisfaction IS service quality participatory design IS failure

Methods: qualitative interview design methodology survey theory development survey design

Theories: service-dominant logic

Shifting ML value creation mechanisms: A process model of ML value creation

2022 | Journal of Strategic Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Shollo, Arisa; Hopf, Konstantin; Thiess, Tiemo; Müller, Oliver

Abstract: Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are rapidly changing t ... Expand

Abstract: Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are rapidly changing the competitive landscape. In the search for an appropriate strategic response, firms are currently engaging in a large variety of AI projects. However, recent studies suggest that many companies are falling short in creating tangible business value through AI. As the current scientific body of knowledge lacks empirically-grounded research studies for explaining this phenomenon, we conducted an exploratory interview study focusing on 56 applications of machine learning (ML) in 29 different companies. Through an inductive qualitative analysis, we uncover three broad types and five subtypes of ML value creation mechanisms, identify necessary but not sufficient conditions for successfully leveraging them, and observe that organizations, in their efforts to create value, dynamically shift from one ML value creation mechanism to another by reconfiguring their ML applications (i.e., the shifting practice). We synthesize these findings into a process model of ML value creation, which illustrates how organizations engage in (resource) orchestration by shifting between ML value creation mechanisms as their capabilities evolve and business conditions change. Our model provides an alternative explanation for the current high failure rate of ML projects. Collapse

Topics: value creation artificial intelligence knowledge creation decision making operational information system

Methods: qualitative interview business process modeling qualitative coding theory development design artifact

Theories: resource based view of the firm theory of task technology fit organizational knowledge creation