Argentine Fund to Invest in Internet Projects
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Mark,
Thank you for inviting me to serve as a reviewer to determine the “best published paper by an OCIS member in 2000.” Based on my review, I would rank the papers as follows:
1. “Bridging space over time: Global virtual team dynamics and effectiveness” by M. Maznewski and K. Chudoba.
2. “Using Technology and Constituting Structures: A Practices Lens for Studying Technology of Organizations” by W. Orlikowski.
3. “Coordinating Expertise in Software Development Teams” by S. Faraj and L. Sproull.
ABOUT THE PAPERS
Coordinating Expertise in Software Development Teams
The goal of this paper is to develop and test a model of expertise coordination in knowledge teams. It provides a theoretical argument for an expertise view of team work, and separates coordination into administrative and expertise components. By demonstrating the importance of expertise coordination above and beyond traditional factors, this research contributes to the literature on team coordination, extends previous conceptualizations of coordination, and sheds light on previously contradictory findings in coordination studies.
Data on software development teams were collected from the applications development division of a large high-tech firm specialized in software development. A total of 333 respondents from 69 team from 13 sites across the Unite States participated in the study. The empirical results suggest that expertise coordination plays a significant role in explaining team performance above and beyond traditional factors.
This study contributes to the debate on composition effects of teams by providing support for the role of social integration as a factor leading to superior performance. It also sheds light on previous inconclusive results regarding the link between coordination and performance which may be due to a lack of differentiation between efficiency and effectiveness dimension of performance. The study is noteworthy for its use of organizational teams in a field setting as well as the use of stakeholders for measuring performance. It is one of the first cross-sectional field studies to investigate distributed cognition and coordination in organizationally situated knowledge teams.
Limitations: Doesn’t tell us anything about how expertise coordination unfolds over time. Use of subjective rather than objective performance measures. Limited sample, limited to teams developing business application software.
Bridging space over time: Global virtual team dynamics and effectiveness This paper develops a theory of global virtual team dynamics and effectiveness, grounded both in the previous literature and in a qualitative, longitudinal field study. The authors propose that effective global virtual team outcomes are a function of appropriate interaction incidents and the structuring of those incidents into a temporal rhythm.
Within the structure of the technology available, effective interaction incidents match function and complexity, which are in turn affected by task and group characteristics. The temporal rhythm is structured by a defining beat of regular, intense face-to-face meetings, followed by less intensive, shorter interaction incidents using various media.
The authors studied three global virtual teams, collecting data over a period of 21 months. The study is helpful in better understanding that global virtual team effectiveness requires a complete description of process and structure, of technology and social systems, and of the interaction among these dimensions over time. It also provides a set of grounded propositions for the further study of global virtual teams. It demonstrates the value of the approach advocated by DeSanctis and Poole beyond the GDSS setting used to illustrate AST. For practitioners, the paper provides advice to team members concerning how to choose media between face-to-face meetings by identifying the important decision criteria.
Using Technology and Constituting Structures: A Practices Lens for Studying Technology of Organizations.
In this paper, the author seeks to augment the existing structurational perspective on technology by proposing a view of technology structures, not as embodied in given technological artifacts, but as enacted by the recurrent social practices of a community of users. This view directs researchers’ attention to what people do with technology in their everyday practices, and how such use is structured by the rules and resources implicated in their ongoing action. Rather than trying to understand why and how a given technology is more or less likely to be appropriated in various circumstances, a practical lens focuses on knowledgeable human action and how its recurrent engagement with a given technology constitutes and reconstitutes particular emergent structures of using the technology (technology-in-practice). Thus, the research orientation is inverted—from a focus on given technologies, embodied structures, and their influence on use— to a focus on human agency and the enactment of emergent structures in the recurrent use of technologies.
The paper derives its findings from secondary data from two different sites. In particular, the author uses data from previous studies on the use of Louts Notes software products at 1) a large, multinational consulting firm with offices in hundreds of cities around the world, employing thousands of consultants who work on project engagements to deliver professional services to clients, and 2) a top 50 U.S. software company producing an selling a range of powerful marketing analysis products. Coordinating Expertise in Software Development Teams
More research has been called on the development of shared understanding in teams, socially shared knowledge about groups, their members, and their work.
This research improves our understanding of the importance of coordination among team members. It provides a theoretical argument for an expertise view of team work, and separates coordination into administrative and expertise components. By demonstrating the imporatnace of expertise coordination above and beyond traditional factors, this research has contributed to the literature on team coordination, extended previous concpetualizations of coordination, and shed light on previously contradicctory findings in coordination studies.
The goal of this study was to develop and test a model of expertise coordination in knowledge teams. The empirical results suggest that expertise coordination plays a significant role in explaining team performance above and beyond traditional factors.
This study contributes to the debate on composition effects of teams by providing support for the role of social integration as a factor leading to superior performance.
It also shed light on previous inconclusive results regarding the link between coordination and performance may result from a lack of differentiation between efficiency and effectiveness dimension of performance.
The study is noteworthy for its use of organizational teams in a field setting as well as the use of stakeholders for measuring performance.
It is one of the first cross-sectional field studies to investigate distributed cognition and coordination in organizationally situated knowledge teams.
Limitations: Doesn’t tell us anything about how expertise coordination unfolds over time. Use of subjecstive rather than objecdtive performance measures. Limited sample, limited to teams developing business application software. One large organization.
Research:
Data on software development teams were collected from the applications development division of a large high-tech firm specialized in software development.
A total of 333 respondnads from 69 team from 13 sites across the U.S. participated in the study.
In addition, tdata was collected from 135 stakeholder respondents. Nine ouf to 78 teams in the sample did not participate or completed the study. Bridging space over time: Global virtual team dynamics and effectiveness
This paper develops a theory of global virtual teams dynamics and effectiveness, grounded both in previous literature and in a qualitative, longitudinal field study. The authors propose that effective global virtual team outcomes are a function of appropriate interaction incidents and the structuring of those incidents into a temporal rhythm.
Within the structure of the technology available, effective interaction incidents match form to function and complexity, which are in turn affected by task and group characteristics. The temporal rhythm is structured by a defining beat of regular, intense face-to-face meetings, followed by less intensive, shorter interaction incidents using various media.
It provides a set of grounded propositions for the further study of global virtual teams.
It demonstrates the value of the approach advocated by DeSanctis and Poole beyond the GDSS setting used to illustrate AST.
Understanding global virtual team effectiveness requires a complete description of process and structure, of technology and social systems, and of the interaction among these dimensions over time.
It suggests some future directions for group and organizational research.
Contributions to practice:
Provides advice to team members concerning hot to choose media between face-to-face meetings, identifying the important decision criteria.\
Research approach:
The authors studied three global virtual teams, collecting data over a period of 21 months
No limitations are stated. Using Technology and Constituting Structures: A Practices Lens for Studying Technology of Organizations.
In this paper, the author seeks to augment the existing structurational perspective on technology by proposing a view of technology structures, not as embodied in given technological artifacts, but as enacted by the recurrent social practices of a community of users. This view directs researchers’ attention to what people do with technology in their everyday practices, and how such use is structured by the rules and resources implicated in their ongoing action. Rather than trying to understand why and how a given technology is more or less likely to be appropriated in various cirucumstances, a practical lens focuses on knowledgeable human action and how its recurrent engagement with a given technology constitutes and reconstitutes particular emergent structures of using the chnology (technology-in-practice). Thus, the research orientation is inverted—from a focus on given technologies, embodied structures, and their influence on use— to a focus on human agency and the enactment of emergent structures in the recurrent use of technologies.
Research: Secondary data from three different sites. The use of Louts Notes software products. A large, multinational consulting fimr with officies in hundreds of cities around the world, employing thousands of consultans who work on project engagements to deliver professional services to clients.
Zeta. A top 50 U.S. softare company producing an selling a range of powerful marketing analysis products. Jan and Mark,
I have carefully reviewed the paper entitled “Action and counteraction when you are at a loss: responding to failing projects.” I perfectly understand that this paper is aimed to have a similar flavor to the paper that Mark and I wrote for Sloan Management Review, but this time targeted to Global Focus.
Thank you for taking a first crack at preparing the paper. However, I have four main concerns that I recommend addressing before working further on this paper:
1. This paper is TOO closely crafted to the Sloan paper. If you remove the data from the VUE case, almost every paragraph had just been pasted from the original paper. We have to be VERY careful with this.
2. I can definitively understand that the VUE system is an IT project that failed. After reading the data in this article, however, I am not convinced that the project suffered from escalation of commitment. This needs to be clearly stated, before we start talking about de-escalation. It is not clear that during the course of the project countervailing forces (including psychological, social, and organizational forces) gradually but progressively strengthened the commitment toward the project in a way that made it difficult to withdraw when negative results began to appear.
In this project, it seems that there were many issues going on in the immediate context of the project (but outside the control of the project management team) that might had been more important than the “escalating commitment.” It appears that at the time that the VUE project began in 1991 the Ministry of Education and Research was a single entity. Then, it seems that the Ministry of Education took control over the project, and by 1998, the Ministry of Research was managing it. If this correct, my assumption is that the VUE management team changed over time.
Suggestion: Can we show that commitment toward the VUE project increased over time even when different management teams were responsible for its development (or is this more a case of a dead body being passed around, but no-one really taking full responsibility). Suggestion: If the management teams over time were the same, clearly separate factors that affected the project that were outside and inside the control of the project management team.
3. The VUE system case is hard to follow because its presentation is not chronologically organized. In addition, mapping the VUE project into the four-phase framework seems very force fitted. Please notice the four-phase framework present a process model in which the outcomes at each phase are implied by the preceding events. Thus, the sequence of events needs to be carefully reviewed. For example, from the description of the paper, it seems that “Recognizing the problem” (Phase 1) took place in January 1999, while “Rescoping the problem” (Phase 2) was in 1995. Another example: in page 15 last paragraph of the “responding to pressure from outside” section, it is stated that an independent investigation was commissioned, the final report was delivered in April 2000 (after the project had been closed down). Obviously the report of this investigation was not useful in the decision to close down the project. So, why present the action of commissioning the investigation in Phase 2 as important?
Suggestion: Maybe we can show (trace) here that there were several cycles of escalation and de-escalation over time. (This would be an incremental difference with the SMR paper).
4. All the advice provided at the end of the article, “Seven strategies to reduce commitment to failing project” is identical to that given in the Sloan paper.
Suggestion: It is important to provide a few strategies that came directly from the VUE project that built on the Sloan paper, but yet they are different.
If you want to talk more about it, please feel free to correspond or call me (303-492-0416).
Cheers, Bernard,
Thank you for the analyses that you and your student have conducted. I am sorry that the Guatemalan data was dropped from the study, but I have to agree with you that the results derived from that sample are not the “common” results expected from the Guatemalan society. So, I agree that the paper will be stronger without the data from Guatemala. Having said that, it doesn’t make too much sense for me to be part of this study. That’s OK with me.
Please let me know if I can be of any help in our other study using the data from Argentina, Costa Rica and Guatemala.
Best wishes,
Ramiro Journal of Management Information Systems
REVIEWER COMMENTS
Title of Paper: “Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Strategies to Improve the Technological Infrastructure for E-Commerce in Africa’s Least Developed Countries.”
R E V I E W
Purpose of the paper:
The paper builds on past IT literature to examine specific factors that hinder diffusion of e- commerce in Africa’s least developed countries (LDCs). In particular, the study surveyed 71 individuals involved in the adoption of e-commerce in Africa’s LDCs to better understand key obstacles. The authors then match the obstacles identified with specific strategies proposed by prior research. At the end, the authors discuss the findings and call for further research in this area.
Strengths
- In general, I agree with the authors about the importance of the topic. It is clear that the use of information and communication technologies is fundamentally changing organizations and enabling the development of new forms of work within them. Many predictions have been made about the economic and social benefits that less-developed countries will experience as a result of the advent of the information age. The Internet has been often portrayed as a kind of panacea for a multitude of the world’s problems, and as an important catalyst that will propel less-developed countries forward to a new position of strength in the world economy. Unfortunately, many of the “new” capabilities required to harness the economic value of information—abstract thinking, intellectual skills, and know-how—are very scarce in the vast majority of developing countries. In this context, the authors correctly point out the need for research to better understand obstacles to Internet technology diffusion and possible strategies to overcome these obstacles, particularly in the least developed nations of the world.
- Most of the current discussions on the adoption of the Internet emphasize its characteristics as a “global communications medium.” This article, however, provides very interesting data that clearly indicate that the use of the Internet differs a great deal depending on what part of the world we consider.
Weaknesses - The paper in its present form lacks sufficient motivation for researchers interested in information systems located in developed nations (the dominant audience of the Journal of Management Information Systems) to understand what new knowledge can be gained by reading it. The authors carefully portray the obstacles faced by adopters of e- commerce in Africa’s LDCs, but they stop short of offering a compelling case for the paper’s novel contribution that would merits its publication in the Journal of Management Information Systems. In particular, the motivation for the study needs to be better developed in the introduction.
- The authors fail to clearly present the research question of the study. It is not stated until page 12 that “the second research question centers on the differences in the importance of the strategies between the government and non-government stakeholders.” The first research question is never as clearly stated. Furthermore, I found the “Introduction” and “Background” sections to be very redundant.
- The paper lacks a systematic description of current issues and debates on the topic. One of the main reasons for writing such a description is to set the stage for the research you intend to present. This means that your review of current issues and debates must provide a methodological rationalization for your research. The flow of the review should help lead the reader from one set of ideas to the next, which in turn provides systematic reasoning for the topic you have identified for your own research project. In its present form, the paper has no clear analytical theme to carry us along. At minimum, the authors should help their readers understand how this study fits within the existing body of literature on the topic.
- The authors chose Bernt and Weiss’s (1993) framework of technology diffusion as their theoretical lens to examine the obstacles of e-commerce diffusion in their study of Africa’s LDCs. However, it is not clear 1) what theoretical foundations this framework builds upon, 2) why this framework is appropriate for this study, and 3) why this specific framework was chosen. In addition, the arrows of the framework are never defined or labeled. Finally, it is not clear to me where the issues included within each category come from (for example: organizational issues include governmental monopoly versus competition, deregulation, and privatization. Question: why are these the only organizational issues?).
- The authors explain on page 4 that “currently there are 48 LDCs as defined by the United Nations, 30 of which are in Africa.” It is not clear, however, the representativeness of these countries in the data collected for this study. All we know is that 212 questionnaires were sent to individuals, and 71 responses were returned. “Sixty-one percent of the respondents were from Africa with another twenty-four percent from North America” (page 19, paragraph 19). Figure 2 provides some additional information: 10% of the responses came from Europe, and 5% from Asia. Question: Why is this sample appropriate for understanding perceptions to improve technological infrastructure of e-commerce in Africa’s LDCs? Did all the responses that come from Africa come from Africa’s 30 LDCs? What is the distribution of responses by LDCs?
- The authors also need to strengthen the section on research methodology. On page 4 paragraph 1, it is briefly stated that “Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from technology stakeholders to examine possible strategies to overcome the obstacles.” The “Methodology” section presents a description of data qualitative collection procedures. This section, however, lacks a clear discussion of the selection criteria of the data sources (such as, why were participants for the pilot test questionnaire selected from a list provided by the ITU report [page 14]? And what were the selection criteria for the participants of the final study, what were the selection criteria of the people interviewed for the qualitative portion of the study, and what was the focus of that inquiry). Even more worrisome, this section does not provide a discussion of how the quantitative and qualitative data were integrated. Therefore, how could a reader (who does not doubt the quality of the research in this paper) who would like to join the same school of thought as the authors proceed to replicate or extend the current study to a different research site?
- As stated in the first paragraph of the “Methodology” section, “a survey instrument was developed that listed strategies founded in past literature.” Stakeholders were then asked to rank these different strategies. Question: Given that most existing literature is derived from diffusion of technology in developed nations (as stated earlier in this paper), were the researchers able to capture “new” strategies not identified in the existing literature? How?
- In the “Discussion” section, the authors seem to take it upon themselves to synthesize and interpret the qualitative data in ways that the reader does not understand since he/she does not have the opportunity to “see” the data. The result is that the reader is left wondering if the opinions and values presented in this section are those of the stakeholders or of the researchers.
- Finally, it is important that the authors help their readers understand how the findings of the study differ from, or builds upon, prior research.
Overall, I believe that the topic is fascinating. However, in its present form this paper would not make a contribution to theory or practice, and certainly it is not yet ready for publication in JMIS. The “so what” question still needs to be answered carefully, the specific implications of the study need to be discussed, and the study’s integration with the existing body of diffusion of technology must be made explicit. LEVEL 3 CRM WEB-PORTAL STRATEGY (Praphawan Uaamporn, Jerrold Page, and Erik Monsen). The third team focused on the customer relationship management aspects of the portal development, which provide users with single sign-on and controlled access to all customer service and partner management functions.
The first objective was to conduct market research of level 3’s top customers. This information was formated into account development profiles that could be utilized by sales representatives and management to gather information to the development of strategic partnerships. Secondly, the team evaluated the profiles to determine the Best of Breed Online Practices that were being employed by their customers. This would serve to provide information concerning the technologies and applications that would be necessary to integrate into Level 3 portal to achieve the maximum benefits of managing their customer relationships.
Next, the team evaluated specific features and functionalities that top rated web sites were using, in search of any specialized applications that could significantly add value to Level 3’s sales and marketing initiatives. Finally, based on the review of the profiles, market analysis information, website investigation, consultation with course instructors, and literature review, the team sought to develop an evaluation and recommendation that was presented to Level 3 Management Team on May 10, 2001.
An additional value that this team chose to contribute to the project was in the design and distribution of an e-commerce supplier relationship survey. To expand the perspective of the team’s research, the members of the team felt that it was just as important to understand the supplier side of the business relationship, as it was to understand the customer side.
SIGNAL SOFT (Derek Kum, Dan Patten, Kate Tallman, and Sam Smith)
SignalSoft is a Boulder-based, software company which produces applications for wireless location services. SignalSoft started out producing software which would allow wireless carriers to comply with new E911 regulations, which requires wirelss carreirs to know the location of a user who makes and emergency call for their cell phone. Now SignalSoft is developing application for consumer wireless location services, which includes, for example, location specific information, call routing and tracking services.
This team assisted SignalSoft by delivering 1) a Needs Assessment which entailed determining what location based products and services will be demanded by consumers in the future; 2) a Market Assessment which required determining the market size for these services as a portion of mobile commerce in general; 3) augment an existing Signal Soft templete for new product development; 4) conduct a brief and general SWOT analysis of each of the major SignalSoft products; 5) based on the SWOT analysis and recommendations from the sponsor, elect a product to examine in depth; and 6) conduct a series of in depth interviews to begin filling out the new product template for one aspect of a specific product. This project was useful for SignalSoft in identifying issues in subsequent new product development. The results of the in depth interviews should give SignalSoft insight regarding exactly how consumers would use and pay for a specific product application. For the students, help in developing an understanding of the complexities and strategy involved in new product development and learning how to conduct in depth interviews with potential consumers.
Time Warner Telecom Inc. Electronic Billing presentation and payment solution (Richard Curran, Ofer Kashtan, Cynthia Russel, and John Svoboda).
Given that Time Warner Telecom Inc. intends to implement EBPP in the relative near term. Initially, the system was to be offered to their small and medium-sized customer segment. The results of the project was to provide background knolwedge and lay the groundwork for the anticipated request for proposal process thw will be select an EBPP application vendor. The team’s mission was to investigate the EBPP application industry, to assess TWTC needs in this are, to investigate the products and services of three leading vendors, to analyze and compare their products and finally to recommend a specific provider.
The project was initiated with a general project description provided by TWTC. The next step for the team was to meet with TWTC to gather background information and more detail on their specific needs. Next, the team collected and reivewed research reports and journal articles covering the EBPP industry. Moving forward with a clearer understanding, the team developed a set of questions to apply in determining the functional needs and preferences in EBPP functionality. Those questions were first posed to the TWTC. Then, assisted by Facultly, the team prepared borader questions and participated for an electronic research session. The session, conducted in the Business Schools’ COMET lab, included six TWTC managers as participants.
The resutls of the research session were then analyzed, both quantitively and qualitatively. TWTC had previously identified two of the three vendors they wished to be considered as candidates. The team applied the result form their EBPP industry research to select the remaining vendor cnadnidate and to veryfy the strenths of the two suggested candidates. The team then proceeded to structure the requirmeents and questions to be applied to the commercial software vendors and their products. The team interviewed the three vendors and collected responses about their capabilities in providing all of the functionalities sought by TWTC. Finally, the team evaluated the results of those interviews and determined a recommended course of action for TWTC.
LEVEL 3. PORTAL PROJECT (Sussannah Ferguson, Seth Goldhammer, Navapol Kittisubkul, Darin Miller, and Derek Walder).
The rapid growth of Level (3) has led to the propagation of multiple corporate Intranet and Extranet sites around the globe. To better understand the architecture and content of these web assets, Level 3 was planning on consolidating and reorganizing the disparate sites that have developed by the sales and marketing departmetns. The end product, a Global Portal, was to provide superior customer service by personalizing Level 3’s services for its employee-owners, customers, vendors, and partners. In addition, it was to contain a common interface and architecture across the three continents in which Level 3 currently serves. This team collaborated in an effort to design the web portal that will be used by internal and external customers and partners. The team set out to assess key functions and tasks for the portal, develop functional and technical requirements, and develop a criterion matrix to evaluate pertinent architecture and portal platforms. The team adhered to the technical requirements of Level (3) in addressing any new technology and make a platform recommendation based on the criteria developed and requirements set forth. The team worked with Level (3) internal and external users to develop the functional areas and featrues of the portal. The project centered on the Level (3) markeplace and the online customer servcie center as the two primary applications withing the poposed portal. Therefore, personnel associated with pre and post sales functions, partners, and customer relationship, and technical development were key in assessing the requirements of the portal. “The First Interdisciplinary Course in E-Business Offered by the CU College of Business”
There is little doubt that the Internet and its associated technologies are unleashing new forces and creating an upheaval that is leaving virtually no sector of the economy untouched. According to CU Professors Dipankar Chakravarti and Ramiro Montealegre, recent dot-com failures are a temporary phenomenon. When we come out of this recession, organizations ought to be able to be prepared to exploit Internet-based technologies for competitive advantage. And managers have to ensure that their companies are prepared to compete in the Internet age. Making fashionable investments without systematically analyzing needs and without understanding how to adopt these new technologies in accordance with their company’s situation is irresponsible.
This was what motivated Professors Chakravarti and Montealegre to put together a new Graduate Seminar in e-Business, which was taught at the CU College of Business in Spring 2001 for the first time. The seminar, which was sponsored by Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting), was designed to provide an advanced level analysis of key issues in e-business strategy. A set of nine specific topics were covered using a contemporary text, recent articles and advanced e-Business cases. The topics were:
1. Framing e-Business market opportunities 2. E-Business models 3. The customer interface for e-Business 4. Communications and branding issues in e-Business 5. Legal and privacy issues in the Internet age 6. Logistical support for e-Business 7. Valuation of e-Businesses 8. Implementation of e-Businesses 9. Metrics for evaluating e-Businesses Given the seminar format and the interdisciplinary nature of the topic, enrollment was limited to ten honor MBA students and seven honor graduate students from the CU Engineering’s Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program.
An additional critical element of the seminar was a team project that allowed students to log time on an e-Business setting to acquire a tangible sense of the economic transformation that is taking place. Like the pilot who must learn to fly by logging hours in the cockpit, to fully understand the implications of e-Business, the seminar participants experienced it by grappling first-hand with an e-Business setting. In particular students worked on four projects in three different companies:
Project 1. Level(3) Web-Portal (Students involved: Susannah Ferguson, Seth Goldhammer, Navapol Kittisubkul, Darin Miller, and Derek Walker).
The rapid growth of Level(3) has led to the propagation of multiple corporate Intranet and Extranet sites around the globe. To better understand the architecture and content of these web assets, Level 3 wanted to consolidate and reorganize the disparate sites that have developed by the sales and marketing departments. The end product, a global portal, was to provide personalized customer service to Level(3)’s employee-owners, customers, vendors, and partners.
The CU graduate seminar team collaborated in this effort by setting out to assess key functions and tasks for the portal, develop functional and technical requirements, and develop a criterion matrix to evaluate pertinent architecture and portal platforms. The team adhered to the technical requirements of Level(3) in addressing new technologies and made a platform recommendation based on the criteria developed and requirements set forth. The team worked with Level(3) internal and external users to develop the functional areas and features of the portal. The project centered on the Level(3) marketplace and the online customer service center as the two primary applications within the proposed portal. Therefore, personnel associated with pre and post sales functions, partners, and customer relationship, and technical development were key in assessing the requirements of the portal. Project 2. Level(3) Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy for the Web-Portal (Students involved: Praphawan Uaamporn, Jerrold Page, and Erik Monsen).
The second team from the CU e-business seminar focused on the customer relationship management aspects of the portal development, which provide users with single sign-on and controlled access to all customer service and partner management functions.
The first objective was to conduct market research of level(3)’s key customers. This information was used to create account development profiles that could be utilized by sales representatives and management in gathering information to the development of strategic partnerships. Secondly, the team evaluated the profiles to determine the Best of Breed Online Practices that were being employed by their customers. This would serve to provide information concerning the technologies and applications that would be necessary to integrate into Level(3) portal to achieve the maximum benefits of managing their customer relationships. Next, the team evaluated specific features and functionalities that top rated web sites were using, in search of any specialized applications that could significantly add value to Level(3)’s sales and marketing initiatives. Finally, based on the review of the profiles, market analysis information, website investigation, consultation with course instructors, and literature review, the team sought to develop an evaluation and recommendation that was presented to Level(3) management team. An additional value that this team chose to contribute to the project was in the design and distribution of an e-commerce supplier relationship survey.
Project 3. SignalSoft (Students included: Derek Kumm, Dan Patten, Kate Tallman, and Sam Smith)
SignalSoft is a Boulder-based, software company that produces applications for wireless location services. SignalSoft started out producing software which would allow wireless carriers to comply with new E911 regulations, which requires wirelss carreirs to know the location of a user who makes and emergency call for their cell phone. Now SignalSoft is developing application for consumer wireless location services, which includes, for example, location specific information, call routing and tracking services. The third team from the CU e-business seminar assisted SignalSoft by: 1) delivering a Needs Assessment which entailed determining what location based products and services will be demanded by consumers in the future; 2) executing a Market Assessment which required determining the market size for these services as a portion of mobile commerce in general; 3) augmenting an existing Signal Soft template for new product development; 4) conducting a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis of each of the major SignalSoft products; 5) examining in-depth the feasibility of a specific product based on the SWOT Analysis; and 6) conducting a series of in-depth interviews to begin filling out the new product template for one aspect of the specific product.
Project 4. Time Warner Telecom, Inc. (Students included: Richard Curran, Ofer Kashtan, Cynthia Russel, and John Svoboda).
Time Warner Telecom, Inc. (TWTC) is in the process of implementing a new Electronic Billing Presentation and Payment solution (EBPP) to be offered to their small and medium-sized customer segment. The objective of the fourth team from the CU e-business seminar was to provide background knowledge and lay the groundwork for the anticipated request for proposal process to be used in the selection of the EBPP application vendor. The project initiated with a general project description provided by TWTC. The next step for the team was to meet with TWTC to gather background information and more detail on their specific needs. Next, the team collected and reviewed research reports and journal articles covering the EBPP industry. Moving forward with a clearer understanding, the team developed a set of questions to apply in determining the functional needs and preferences in EBPP functionality. Those questions were first posed to the TWTC. Then, assisted by the instructors of the e-business seminar, the team prepared broader questions and participated for an electronic research session. The session, conducted in the CU Business Schools’ COMET lab, included six TWTC managers as participants. The results of the research session were then analyzed, both quantitatively and qualitatively. TWTC had previously identified two of the three vendors they wished to be considered as candidates. The team applied the result form their EBPP industry research to select the remaining vendor candidate and to verify the strengths of the two suggested candidates. The team then proceeded to structure the requirements and questions to be applied to the commercial software vendors and their products. The team interviewed the three vendors and collected responses about their capabilities in providing all of the functionalities sought by TWTC. Finally, the team evaluated the results of those interviews and determined a recommended course of action for TWTC.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS
Dipankar Chakravarti is Professor of Marketing and The Ortloff Professor of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He holds a B.Sc. with Honors in Physics from the University of Calcutta, India and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Industrial Administration from Carnegie-Mellon University. Dr. Chakravarti joined CU-Boulder in 1995 and has held prior faculty appointments at the University of Florida, Duke University, and at the University of Arizona, where he was Professor of Marketing & Psychology, and the Thomas Faculty Fellow. He served as Interim Dean of the College of Business at the University of Colorado, Boulder during 1998-99.
Ramiro Montealegre received his Doctorate in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School in the area of management information systems. His Master’s Degree in computer science is from Carleton University, Canada. He holds a Bachelor in Engineering degree from the Francisco Marroquin University, Guatemala. Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Information Systems at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He also teaches the courses: “Competing with Information Technology and the Internet” and “Business Strategies in the Internet Age.” He has been involved in studying Internet-based projects in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Central and South American regions. Information Technology & People
REVIEWER COMMENTS
Title of the Paper: “Situating Culture in the Global Information Sector”
R E V I E W
The aim of this paper is to present a theoretical approach, called situating culture by the authors, to understanding the local culture of firms in the multinational information sector. The theoretical approach is provided through four cases from workplace cultures of U.S. multinational IT firms operating in Ireland.
Strengths
1. The paper is clear, well written, and well organized.
2. In general, I agree with the authors about the importance of the topic. It is clear that the use of information and communication technologies is fundamentally changing organizations and enabling the development of new forms of work within them. It is also shaping and supporting different managerial initiatives in today’s global competitive landscape. In this dynamic environment, the authors correctly point out the need for research that leads to better understanding cultural and contextual issues surrounding the implementation of cross-cultural computer-based information systems.
3. The authors provide a systematic description of the literature related to the general topic of this research. They cite some of the classic and some of the latest literature.
Weaknesses
1. The authors need to strengthen the section on research methodology. Currently, it only presents a brief description of data collection procedures followed, and introduces the cultural characteristics articulated by Weinseger and Salipante and used in this study. The section lacks, however, a clear discussion of the selection criteria of the data sources (such as why were these four multinational IT firms in Ireland appropriate for this investigation, what was the selection criteria of the people interviewed, what was the relationship of the researcher with the research). Even more worrisome, this section does not provide a discussion of how the data was analyzed. This process is only briefly mentioned on page 11 where it is stated that “the characteristics of cultural knowing as articulated by Weisinger and Salipante (2000) were used to use examine the local cultures at these four IT firms” But, why were these cultural lenses adopted and how were they used? How could a reader (who does not doubt the quality of research in this paper) join the authors’ school of thought and proceed to replicate or extend the current study to a different research setting? Additionally, the authors mentioned that “the results of our analysis are organized around three management themes that are fundamental to the IT organization: knowledge management, managing knowledge, and managing diversity.” The authors, however, failed to present a clear definition of these themes, how they were derived, and why they merit to be adopted as the key organizing issues of the results.
2. Regarding the “Results” section, the findings of the study are very puzzling. The four cases and three themes presented are rich and interesting. However, the reader does not have the opportunity to “see” the data. The authors take upon themselves to synthesize and interpret the data. The result is that the descriptions within each theme are full of very strong opinions that are not explained in detail, and the reader is left wondering if these are the opinions and values of the actors or of the researcher. For example:
In Page 14, paragraph 2 it is stated: “The emphasis on interpersonal connection and community, common in Irish culture, meant that these two sites, knowledge management might be accomplished ‘naturally,’ (i.e. during tea breaks and at the pub), whereas computer-based knowledge management systems might become necessary in sites in the U.S.” Question: are you implying that tea breaks’ and pubs’ conversations are ‘natural’ knowledge management? Are you implying that more collectivisitic societies (like Irish Culture, and many other societies) have less need for computer-based knowledge management systems than more individualistic societies (such in the U.S.)? Have any other authors found this to be true?
In Page 14, paragraph 3 the following claim is made (the italicized word are provided by this reviewer to highlight the subjectivity of the interpretation): “Furthermore, in Firm B the American manager was able to effectively evolve his everyday practice of “management by wandering” because of its complementarity to this cultural emphasis on interpersonal connection. Comment: It would be helpful if the authors would report the research evidence by clearly separating the opinions and values of the actors and those of the authors. In addition, staying loyal to the terminology and approaches of the theoretical lenses employed is critical.
3. Given the weak presentation of the results explained above, it is not clear that the authors have developed a new theoretical approach, as stated in the introduction. In addition, it would be helpful to the reader to clearly present and discuss how the findings of this study differ from or complements what prior research has identified.
In sum, I believe that the topic is very interesting and the paper is appropriate for Information Technology & People readers. However, the problems highlighted here need to be solved first. I encourage the authors to pursue the required modifications, and I look forward to reading the next iteration of the manuscript. International Conference of Information Systems (ICIS) 2001
REVIEWER COMMENTS
Title of the Paper: “Project De-Escalation: The Role of Planning and Control Procedures”
R E V I E W
Strengths
This research-in-progress proposes to examine the relationship between planning and control procedures and escalation of IS projects. In general, I agree with the authors about the importance of the topic, and therefore, this study has the potential of being valuable not only for IS researchers, but also for practitioners involved in managing IS projects. It is clear that the use of information and communication technologies is fundamentally changing the work done in organizations, as well as enabling new forms of how works shapes and supports different managerial initiatives in today’s competitive landscape. In this dynamic environment, the authors correctly point out the need for research to better understand how to avoid over commitment to failing IS projects.
Weaknesses
1. The paper in its present form, lacks the sufficient motivation in the introduction to understand what new knowledge we can gain by reading it. The research question is not clearly stated. Instead, the authors go directly to a presentation of the theoretical foundation of the study. The paper can be enriched by directing the readers’ attention to understand the particular problems raised.
2. The authors seem to believe that “well-defined” planning and control procedures can always be developed. They failed, however, to provide a clear explanation of the relationship of these procedures with dimensions like uncertainty, complexity, and size of the task being computerized. The authors, for example, provide the following analogies, page 2, paragraph 1:
“ in our personal decisions, we allocate specific amount of money toward this week’s entertainment or household expenses, and we plan, or predetermine, our expense limits. In other words, planning is explicitly considered as a way to control oneself, thus resisting tempting items (e.g. alcohol) and consuming valued ones (e.g. opera) and is implicit in previous work that examined how people manage expenses over time.”
Comment: These seem like very structured and even trivial tasks. What happens when you visit a different country where levels of expenditures are not well known to you as a traveler? You will be surprised to find that many societies tend to “hide” expenses that you will be aware of until after the service or product has been provided. All these make a “budgeting” process more difficult. In the same way, many of the IS projects that suffer escalation of commitment have a lot of uncertainty and complexity throughout its life-cycle. Usually they are trying to introduce technologies that are new to their settings, and the task or technologies involved are moving targets.
3. Hypothesis 1 states, page 2: “Projects with greater planning and control procedures will exhibit less escalation of commitment.” Question: What does “greater planning and control procedures” mean? Do you mean “more” procedures, “a more complete set” of procedures, or something else? 4. Hypothesis 2, presented in page 3, states: “Projects with high risk factors will be more likely to generate escalation of commitment.” Comment: This hypothesis seems tautological.
5. Hypothesis 3a states, page 4: “Projects with no alternatives will exhibit less escalation of commitment.” Question: What do you mean by “no alternatives”? It is difficult to imagine managing an IS project with no alternatives. At the very least the project manager should be able to decide between canceling or following the project.
6. In page 4, paragraph 2, it is mentioned that “The only [organizational] factor considered here is slack.” Question: Why is “slack” the only factor considered? Why is this factor so important, or why were other organizational factors not considered in this study?
7. The authors also need to strengthen the section on research methodology. Currently, it only presents a set of activities-to-do, without a clear explanation of why. The section does not provide a discussion of the data, the data gathering, or the analysis strategy that will be followed. Presently, the section states that a “multi-phased research approach will be followed,” that “project managers and auditors will be surveyed,” and that the study will take place “in two organizations.” The measures of the various factors are also provided. However, the paper lacks a clear discussion of the selection criteria of these data sources and the theoretical framework that will be used to interpret the data. Therefore, how could a reader (who does not doubt the quality of the researchers) understand the validity, generalizability, and replicability of expected findings from the proposed study.
8. Finally, the paper can be enriched by presenting the implications of the expected findings for expanding theory or practice. Even that this is a research-in-progress, the “so what” question still needs to be answered carefully, and the specific expected implications need to be discussed.
To reiterate, I believe that the topic is fascinating, but the work is still in early stages—even for a research-in-progress paper. I encourage the authors to pursue the required modifications of this study proposal because the topic needs to be explored further, and I look forward to the presentation of their findings in a near future. Information Technology & People
REVIEWER COMMENTS
Title of the Paper: “Situating Culture in the Global Information Sector”
R E V I E W
The aim of this paper is to present a theoretical approach, called situating culture by the authors, to understanding the local culture of firms in the multinational information sector. The theoretical approach is provided through four cases from workplace cultures of U.S. multinational IT firms operating in Ireland.
Strengths
4. The paper is clear, well written, and well organized.
5. In general, I agree with the authors about the importance of the topic. It is clear that the use of information and communication technologies is fundamentally changing organizations and enabling the development of new forms of work within them. It is also shaping and supporting different managerial initiatives in today’s global competitive landscape. In this dynamic environment, the authors correctly point out the need for research that leads to better understanding cultural and contextual issues surrounding the implementation of cross-cultural computer-based information systems.
6. The authors provide a systematic description of the literature related to the general topic of this research. They cite some of the classic and some of the latest literature.
Weaknesses
4. The authors need to strengthen the section on research methodology. Currently, it only presents a brief description of data collection procedures followed, and introduces the cultural characteristics articulated by Weinseger and Salipante and used in this study. The section lacks, however, a clear discussion of the selection criteria of the data sources (such as why were these four multinational IT firms in Ireland appropriate for this investigation, what was the selection criteria of the people interviewed, what was the relationship of the researcher with the research). Even more worrisome, this section does not provide a discussion of how the data was analyzed. This process is only briefly mentioned on page 11 where it is stated that “the characteristics of cultural knowing as articulated by Weisinger and Salipante (2000) were used to use examine the local cultures at these four IT firms” But, why were these cultural lenses adopted and how were they used? How could a reader (who does not doubt the quality of research in this paper) join the authors’ school of thought and proceed to replicate or extend the current study to a different research setting? Additionally, the authors mentioned that “the results of our analysis are organized around three management themes that are fundamental to the IT organization: knowledge management, managing knowledge, and managing diversity.” The authors, however, failed to present a clear definition of these themes, how they were derived, and why they merit to be adopted as the key organizing issues of the results.
5. Regarding the “Results” section, the findings of the study are very puzzling. The four cases and three themes presented are rich and interesting. However, the reader does not have the opportunity to “see” the data. The authors take upon themselves to synthesize and interpret the data. The result is that the descriptions within each theme are full of very strong opinions that are not explained in detail, and the reader is left wondering if these are the opinions and values of the actors or of the researcher. For example:
In Page 14, paragraph 2 it is stated: “The emphasis on interpersonal connection and community, common in Irish culture, meant that these two sites, knowledge management might be accomplished ‘naturally,’ (i.e. during tea breaks and at the pub), whereas computer-based knowledge management systems might become necessary in sites in the U.S.” Question: are you implying that tea breaks’ and pubs’ conversations are ‘natural’ knowledge management? Are you implying that more collectivisitic societies (like Irish Culture, and many other societies) have less need for computer-based knowledge management systems than more individualistic societies (such in the U.S.)? Have any other authors found this to be true?
In Page 14, paragraph 3 the following claim is made (the italicized word are provided by this reviewer to highlight the subjectivity of the interpretation): “Furthermore, in Firm B the American manager was able to effectively evolve his everyday practice of “management by wandering” because of its complementarity to this cultural emphasis on interpersonal connection. Comment: It would be helpful if the authors would report the research evidence by clearly separating the opinions and values of the actors and those of the authors. In addition, staying loyal to the terminology and approaches of the theoretical lenses employed is critical.
6. Given the weak presentation of the results explained above, it is not clear that the authors have developed a new theoretical approach, as stated in the introduction. In addition, it would be helpful to the reader to clearly present and discuss how the findings of this study differ from or complements what prior research has identified.
In sum, I believe that the topic is very interesting and the paper is appropriate for Information Technology & People readers. However, the problems highlighted here need to be solved first. I encourage the authors to pursue the required modifications, and I look forward to reading the next iteration of the manuscript. Therefore, how could a reader (who does not doubt the quality of the researchers) understand the validity, generalizability, and replicability of expected findings from the proposed study.
9. Finally, the paper can be enriched by presenting the implications of the expected findings for expanding theory or practice. Even that this is a research-in-progress, the “so what” question still needs to be answered question carefully, and the specific expected implications need to be discussed. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education
REVIEWER COMMENTS
Manuscript #: 99002 Title of the Paper: “Testing for the Transfer of Tacit Knowledge” Reviewer #: 808
R E V I E W
The aim of this paper is to quantify and test for change in tacit and explicit knowledge. The authors used an active learning exercise with student subjects to show observable changes in explicit and tacit knowledge.
Strengths
- In general, I agree with the authors about the importance of the topic. It is clear that data, information, and knowledge are key resources for organizations today. Further understanding of how can we manage these resources is very important. In particular, a better understanding of how can we measure tacit knowledge is clearly needed.
- The paper is clearly written.
Weaknesses
- The paper in its present form lacks sufficient motivation for researchers interested in teaching and learning issues in the decision sciences (the dominant audience of the Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education) to understand what new knowledge can be gained by reading it. The authors carefully portray the differences between data, information, and knowledge, and even highlight the need to better understand how can we explicitly measure tacit knowledge. They stop short, however, of offering a compelling case for the paper’s novel contribution that would merit its publication in Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education. In particular, the motivation for the study needs to be better developed in the introduction.
- The paper lacks a systematic description of current issues and debates on the topic. One of the main reasons for writing such a description is to set the stage for the research you intend to present. This means that your review of current issues and debates must provide a methodological rationalization for your research. The flow of the review should help lead the reader from one set of ideas to the next, which in turn provides systematic reasoning for the topic you have identified for your own research project. In its present form, the paper has no clear analytical theme to carry us along. At minimum, the authors should help their readers understand how this study fits within the existing body of literature on the topic. - The authors chose Horton’s (1984) and Cleveland’s (1984) characteristics of information as a resource as their theoretical lens for their study. However, it is not clear (1) what theoretical foundations these characteristics build upon, (2) why these categories are appropriate for this study, and (3) why these specific categories were chosen.
- The authors also need to strengthen the section on research methodology. Presently, this section presents descriptions of: (1) the topic of the investigation, (2) the activity that was used measure knowledge, (3) the questionnaire used, and (4) the hypotheses of the study. However, this section lacks a clear discussion of how these subsections are tied together. More importantly, it is missing a discussion on the selection criteria for the activity, the participants of the study, the research model, and the questionnaire, and how the hypotheses were derived.
- The subsection entitled “Research Model” provides a description not of the research model, but of how the data collection was operationalized. It describes the format of the questionnaire and the way in which the subjects were grouped to collect the data. In addition to changing the title of the section, it is important to strengthen the content by explaining not only the number of questions on the questionnaire, but more importantly how these questions were developed; how was the questionnaire validated, and why students were selected as subjects for the study.
- The hypotheses presented in the “Relating Explicit and Tacit Knowledge” subsection don’t seem to flow from the literature review presented.
- The “Results and Discussion” section should be divided into two sections. The first one should focus exclusively on the analysis of the data. Then, in the discussion section, it is important that the authors help their readers understand how the findings of the study differ from, or build upon, prior research, as well as how readers could use this study to improve their classroom teaching and learning.
- A description of the limitations of the study and suggestions for further research would also help strengthening this manuscript.
Overall, I believe that the topic is fascinating. However, in its present form this paper would not make a contribution to theory or practice, and it is certainly not ready for publication in Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education. The “so what” question still needs to be answered carefully, the specific implications of the study need to be discussed, and the study’s integration with the existing body of literature must be made explicit. Information Technology & People
REVIEWER COMMENTS
Title: “Empowerment or Enslavement? A Case of Process Redesign in Hong Kong”
R E V I E W
In this paper, the authors present the analysis of a business process re-engineering project in Hong Kong to show an example of how an attempt to empower team members paradoxically resulted in their enslavement. A claim of the effects of culture on empowerment is made, and recommendations for avoiding enslavement are discussed.
Strengths
- In general, I agree with the authors about the importance of the topic. It is clear that many claims have been made that empowerment of employees is an essential part of various organizational development and change initiatives. Employee empowerment has often been portrayed as an important force to propel a company to a new position of strength. Procedures and practices required to harness employee empowerment, however, are intimately connected with the values that are encapsulated in the culture of organizations and societies. In this context, the authors correctly point out the need for research to better understand obstacles to employee empowerment, particularly in those cases that result in enslaving employees instead of empowering them. Therefore, studying empowerment initiatives in different cultures might prove a very fruitful endeavor.
Weaknesses
- The paper in its present form lacks sufficient motivation for researchers interested in information systems (the dominant audience of Information Technology & People) to understand what new knowledge can be gained by reading it. The authors carefully portray the obstacles to empowerment of individuals in different cultures, and present the potential consequence of enslaving them instead. However, they stop short of offering a compelling case for the paper’s novel contribution that would merit its publication in Information Technology & People. In particular, the motivation for the study needs to be better developed in the introduction.
- The paper lacks a systematic description of current issues and debates on the topic. As stated in page 4, “we briefly review the literatures of empowerment, process improvement, GSS, action research, and societal culture.” One of the main reasons for writing a literature review is to set the stage for the research you intend to present. This calls for an in-depth (rather than a “brief”) review of current issues and debates to support a methodological rationalization for your research. The flow of the review should help lead the reader from one set of ideas to the next, which in turn provides systematic reasoning for the topic you have identified for your own research project. In its present form, the paper has no clear analytical theme to carry us along. At minimum, the authors should help their readers understand how these five literatures fit with each other, and how this study fits within these existing bodies of literature. In addition, I found the “Introduction” section and the “Empowerment” subsection in the literature review to be very redundant.
- Even more worrisome, the paper lacks a section on research methodology. This section should describe data collection procedures and the approach used to analyze the data. It should clearly discuss the selection criteria of the research site, the data sources, and the subjects interviewed, as well as the focus of that inquiry. Without this section, how could a reader (who does not doubt the quality of the research in this paper) who would like to join the same school of thought as the authors proceed to replicate or extend the current study to a different research site?
- In the “Case Description” section, the authors seem to take it upon themselves to synthesize and interpret the qualitative data in ways that the reader does not understand since he/she does not have the opportunity to “see” the data. The result is that the reader is left wondering if the opinions and values presented in this section are those of the stakeholders or of the researchers.
- In the “Discussion” section, it is important that the authors help their readers understand how the findings of the study differ from, or build upon, prior research. At the very least, given that this is case study research, the authors should provide a set of propositions providing a foundation for future research.
- A description of the limitations of the study and suggestions for further research would also help to strengthen this manuscript.
Overall, I believe that the topic is fascinating. However, in its present form this paper would not make a contribution to theory or practice, and it is certainly not yet ready for publication in Information Technology & People. The “so what” question still needs to be answered carefully, the specific implications of the study need to be discussed, and the study’s integration with the existing bodies of literature must be made explicit. Journal of High Technology Management Research
REVIEWER COMMENTS
Title: “Perceptions of No Name Recognition Business to Consumer E-Commerce Trustworthiness: The Effectiveness of Potential Influence Tactics”
R E V I E W
This study integrates relevant trust literature and builds on Murphy and Smart’s (2000) model of perceived organizational legitimacy and trust for new and small e-commerce ventures. Based on the literature review, the authors identified 16 trust-building strategies to enhance perception of ability, benevolence, and overall trustworthiness. A Web survey depicting a mock e-commerce Web page was used by the authors to sample potential e-commerce customers. The sample of respondents was derived from users of an existing e-business, PregnancyToday.com, supplemented with responses from approximately 65 senior-level undergraduates student.
Strengths
- This paper provides a systematic description of current issues and debates on trust and its link to e-commerce. The authors cite some of the classic as well as some of the latest litera- ture.
- The paper is clear and well written.
- In general, I agree with the authors that trust is critical to success of business to consumer e- commerce. I also agree that small firms seem to face significant barriers in their attempts to attract customers. The sheer number of new Web businesses reduce the number of people visiting their Web stores; the firms lack the resources to use large marketing and advertising expenditures to get noticed. Despite the increasing sales activity on the Web, lack of trust remains a strong inhibitor. Little-known virtual stores seem to be experienced problems due to lack of trust. They are competing with established companies whose brand names are known worldwide. Therefore, further investigations on how no-name e-commerce ventures can develop tactics that help improve customers’ perceptions of their trustworthiness is very relevant.
Weaknesses
- The introduction lacks the sufficient motivation to understand what new knowledge we can gain by reading this paper. The authors are careful in describing the existing literature on trust, factors of trustworthiness, and even trust development, but they stop short of offering a compelling case for the novel contribution of this research. Furthermore, the focus of the paper is not presented until page 5: “the paper will focus on the perceived trustworthiness of no name recognition e-commerce ventures.” The authors also fail to clearly present the research question of the study. Finally, the motivation for the study needs to be better developed in the introduction.
- I found the description of the existing research on trust in the “Introduction” and “Trust in E-Commerce” sections to be very redundant.
- The authors chose Murphy and Smart’s (2000) model of perceived organizational legitimacy and trust for new and small e-commerce ventures as their theoretical lens for this investigation. However, it is not clear why this framework is appropriate for this study, and why this specific framework was chosen.
- The authors also need to strengthen the section on the “Instrument.” On page 19, paragraph 2, it is briefly stated that “the first three questions were parsimoniously worded to fit Mayer, Davis, and Schoorman’s (1995) definitions of ability, benevolence, and integrity respectively as factors of trustworthiness. The wording of the second question is also very consistent with Doney and Cannon’s (1997) consideration of benevolence. The fourth question was included as a direct measure of perceived trustworthiness. A fifth question was included to assess the respondent’s likely behavioral reaction to the information presented on the viewed page.” Given this lack of clarity in the survey’s design, how could a reader (who does not doubt the quality of the research in this paper) who would like to join the same school of thought as the authors proceed to replicate or extend the current study to a different research site? Even more worrisome, this section does not discuss how the survey was piloted and validated prior to the data collection.
- In the “Discussion” section, the authors clearly present the limitations of the study and recommendations for future research. Two of the findings are summarized: “isomorphism and strategic manipulation tactics are capable of increasing trustworthiness in the absence of prior familiarity,” and the broad characterization that the paper had offered “a broad range of potential strategies to significantly enhance perceived trust.” However, the paper could be further enriched by clearly presenting how the findings of the study differ from, or fit within, the existing body of literature on the topic. In other words, the “so what” question still needs to be answered carefully.
In sum, I believe that the topic is very interesting and the paper is appropriate for the Journal of High Technology Management Research readers. However, the problems highlighted here need to be solved first. I encourage the authors to pursue the required modifications, and I look forward to reading the next iteration of the manuscript. MANUSCRIPT EVALUATION FORM
Title: “Perceptions of No Name Recognition Business to Consumer E-Commerce Trustworthiness: The Effectiveness of Potential Influence Tactics”
Reviewer: Ramiro Montealegre
Due Date : October 15, 2001
I. Please evaluate this paper on the criteria listed below. For each dimension, indicate the extent to which you agree using the following rating format:
1 = Strongly disagree 4 = Agree 2 = Disagree 5 = Strongly Agree 3 = Neutral
Circle One
This paper makes a significant contribution to the field 1 2 3 4 5 X The conceptual framework is well developed and convincing 1 2 3 4 5 X The methodology is appropriate and easy to understand 1 2 3 4 5 X The material is presented clearly 1 2 3 4 5 X
II. Your recommendation: Circle One
1 2 3 4 5
Clear Very weak; Promising but X Accept reject may be difficult needs extensive Tentative as is to salvage revisions acceptance subject to few revisions
III. Comments for editor: (Attach additional pages if necessary)
IV. Please type comments intended for the author(s) below. The comments should allow the authors to understand the reason behind your recommendation and provide specific directions for any revisions that you recommend.
See attachment UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Ramiro Montealegre Campus Box 419 Associate Professor Boulder, Colorado 80309-0419 (303) 492-0416 (303) 492-5962 Facsimile E-Mail: [email protected]
October 8, 2001
Luis Gomez-Mejia, Management Department, College of Business, Arizona State University Tempe, AZ 85287-4006
Dear Luis,
Enclosed you will find the review of manuscript “Perceptions of No Name Recognition Business to Consumer E-Commerce Trustworthiness: The Effectiveness of Potential Influence Tactics” submitted for publication in the Journal of High Technology Management Research. My overall reaction is that the paper should be accepted for publication. The problems and questions raised in my review call for a minor revision of the paper’s format. I hope that the authors will find my comments useful. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely yours, .