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The Effects of Social and Technical Factors on User Satisfaction, Sense of Belonging and Knowledge Community Usage
Abstract
Knowledge communities allow individuals to share knowledge and collaborate with each other based on common interests. The authors apply socio-technical theory as the overarching theoretical framework to propose a research model which posits that both technical factors system quality and information quality and social factors community governance and pro-sharing norms collectively influence user satisfaction, sense of belonging, and knowledge community usage. Survey data collected from members of a computer programming knowledge community show that community governance is an important social factor which affects users' perceptions of information quality, system quality, and pro-sharing norms. These factors in turn provide a nurturing atmosphere which results in increased user satisfaction, sense of belonging, and community usage. The implications for research and practice are discussed.
... Based on belongingness theory, individuals are motivated to develop and foster positive social relationships so they can experience a sense of belongingness (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Hence, belongingness plays an important role as a long-lasting internal state, and is developed and strengthened by the user's satisfaction with the use of the system (Lin et al., 2013). The significant positive impact of belongingness exerted on continuance intention was already examined in online virtual communities. ...
... For example, SNS users with higher overall satisfaction are more likely to feel an enhanced sense of belonging(H.-F. Lin, 2008;Lin et al., 2013;Zhang et al., 2014). ...
The continuous use intention in users is vital to the development strategy of video sharing platforms, and it creates intensive competition among providers. At present, academic research on video sharing platform users focuses on analysis of social behavior in the videos from the perspectives of the online community, media communications, social network fatigue, and motivations to use the video sharing platform, or looks at video classification based on user-generated text data. However, from the perspectives of belongingness and intentions to continue using the danmaku video sharing platform, there is a lack of quantitative analysis. Therefore, this paper intends to enrich this part of the research based on the stimulus organism response (SOR) theory, adding perceived interactivity and belongingness to constitute structural equation modeling (SEM). This study investigates the mediating effect of belongingness and the influence from five dimensions of perceived interactivity on satisfaction and belonging, and goes even further to continuance intentions in the context of the danmaku video sharing platform. The results indicate that belongingness mediates the impact on continuance intention from control, playfulness, and responsiveness. Satisfaction relates positively to belongingness in danmaku video sharing platform users, which further significantly impacts their continuance intentions.
... User commitment over the long term is not possible with continued dissatisfaction. Thus, user satisfaction is likely to result in continuous SNS usage [66]. Chu & Kim [67] used expectation-confirmation and rational behavior theory to show that satisfaction has an effect on the continuous intention of usage for SNS. ...
... A long-term commitment may not be possible with persistent dissatisfaction. Thus, user satisfaction can increase continuous SNS usage [66]. Trust in an online community has been suggested as crucially related to knowledge sharing [104,105]. ...
Mobile social apps have experienced enormous growth as online personal networking media. Social exchange theory (for individual motivation), theories of collective action and social capital theory (for social capital) can be applied in order to understand how an individual’s behavior may exert effects on or receive influences from other users with regard to the continuance usage intention of mobile social apps. This study examines individual motivations and social capital affecting relationship quality in terms of trust in and satisfaction with mobile social apps and how these factors influence continuance usage intentions of mobile social apps. An online survey is used to collect 320 responses from users of mobile social apps. Our results indicate that promotional motivation and innovativeness affect relationship quality levels. Maintaining relational enhancement, social homogeneity, and social identity along with service usefulness have effects on the relationship quality level, which in turn affects continuance usage intention. Given the lack of studies regarding the application of the theories of collective action and social capital to gain a better understanding of continuance usage intentions, this study provides additional insight into how individual motivations and social capital affect continuous usage.
... A good website quality may support consumers obtain the greatest potential of website. System quality is related to member satisfaction in online community (Lin, Fan, & Wallace, 2013;Lin et al., 2014). Further information and service quality allow users an easy navigation and efficient interaction using, for example, online chatting and messaging. ...
As previous literature on the effect of controls usage on the outcome of controls (controls effectiveness) are rare, this study intends to use controls framework to explain controls effectiveness as HIS (hotel information system) quality and user satisfaction. The purpose of our study is understanding of the critical role of security controls on qualities perceived by hotel employees and the satisfaction of hotel employees using HIS based on controls framework perspective. The research model was tested using a sample of 583 respondents who have worked with HIS. General controls directly and indirectly
contribute to the improvement of the satisfaction of hotel employees through their effects on qualities, while application
controls indirectly affect satisfaction. Although general controls affect information and system quality, application controls
influence information and service quality. The findings provide insights to the hotel industry by building a basis for designing
different level for general and application controls
... Additionally, the relationship between the sense of membership and community usage has been established in the literature (Lin et al., 2013). The sense of membership has been given similar labels, such as "social identity" or "user identification." ...
Purpose
This study aims to examine members’ perceptions of interactivity in brand communities on social networking sites in the Super Basketball League (SBL) context in Taiwan.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed model was empirically evaluated using survey data collected from 332 followers of the SBL teams’ Facebook pages on their perceptions of brand communities. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships in the research model.
Findings
The results suggest significant relationships between perceived interactivity and community benefits, including special treatment, social influence, sense of membership and the notion that community satisfaction has a strong and positive effect on brand loyalty. Both social influence and a sense of membership positively affect community satisfaction. However, special treatment negatively affects community satisfaction. Perceived interactivity positively affects a sense of membership and social influence, which, in turn, positively affect community satisfaction.
Originality/value
This study examines the effects of members’ perceived interactivity and community benefits. The results significantly advance the understanding of the antecedents of members’ loyalty to specific brands. The study offers insights into practical ways of improving community satisfaction and brand loyalty by running brand communities on social networking sites. The findings also augment the theory of brand management.
... Platform quality has been the object of several research in information IS and was tested in different context. Previous studies have emphasised the role of platform quality on user-satisfaction as well as the perception users have on the overall success of a virtual community [9,10]. In this study we argue that the quality of the technological functionalities available to users will enhance usersatisfaction. ...
Social networks sites (SNS) have increased in number and popularity this last decade. A recent report of china internet network and information centre has shown that an average of thirty-one per cent of users of SNS drop usage after adoption indication a timely concern of SNS providers in sustaining their platform. The current study proposed a research model based on self-regulation theory of Bagozzi to investigate the impact of SNS platform quality and pleasure on user-satisfaction and how the latter influence user-loyalty. The model was tested with survey data from Weibo users. The result has shown that are significantly related to user-satisfaction and satisfaction strongly associated with user-loyalty.
... A good website quality may support consumers obtain the greatest potential of website. System quality is related to member satisfaction in online community (Lin, Fan, & Wallace, 2013;Lin et al., 2014). Further information and service quality allow users an easy navigation and efficient interaction using, for example, online chatting and messaging. ...
As previous literature on the effect of controls usage on the outcome of controls (controls effectiveness) are rare, this study intends to use controls framework to explain controls effectiveness as HIS (hotel information system) quality and user satisfaction. The purpose of our study is understanding of the critical role of security controls on qualities perceived by hotel employees and the satisfaction of hotel employees using HIS based on controls framework perspective. The research model was tested using a sample of 583 respondents who have worked with HIS. General controls directly and indirectly contribute to the improvement of the satisfaction of hotel employees through their effects on qualities, while application controls indirectly affect satisfaction. Although general controls affect information and system quality, application controls influence information and service quality. The findings provide insights to the hotel industry by building a basis for designing different level for general and application controls.
... Similar to contact classes, all students in a group benefits from the question asked by a student and the answer supplied by the lecturer. The Discussion Forum technology provides the students with the opportunity to create a knowledge community where they can share their learning experiences (Lin, Fan & Wallace, 2013). ...
Incorporating social media in educational processes at institutions of higher learning in Lesotho: Student-Teacher Perspective
... Similar to contact classes, all students in a group benefits from the question asked by a student and the answer supplied by the lecturer. The Discussion Forum technology provides the students with the opportunity to create a knowledge community where they can share their learning experiences (Lin, Fan & Wallace, 2013). ...
... The sense of belonging is usually related to favorable outcomes, such as persistent usage intention (e.g. Lin et al., 2013Lin et al., , 2014. It is demonstrated that individuals who commit to the online group are more willing to participate more (Wasko and Faraj, 2005). ...
Purpose
Recently, the popularity and growth of social media have boosted the development of social commerce (s-commerce). The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumers’ decisions in s-commerce, for which this study conducted empirical research on WeChat, a very popular social media in China, to validate how guanxi elements (e.g. ganqing, renqing and xinren) affect consumers’ decisions in s-commerce.
Design/methodology/approach
To examine the research model, an online survey instrument was developed to gather data. The hypotheses were tested using partial least squares modeling.
Findings
The results confirm that guanxi elements are positively related to eWOM sharing intention and social shopping intention. Moreover, these effects are mediated by a sense of belonging.
Originality/value
This study enhances the existing literature by introducing the concept of guanxi elements to the context of s-commerce, and linking the concept of guanxi elements and consumers’ decisions. Moreover, this study improves the theoretical and empirical understanding of guanxi elements by investigating its impact on eWOM sharing intention and social shopping intention. Third, the results confirm that guanxi elements not only influence a sense of belonging but also conjointly impacts eWOM sharing intention and social shopping intention in s-commerce.
... Similar to contact classes, all students in a group benefits from the question asked by a student and the answer supplied by the lecturer. The Discussion Forum technology provides the students with the opportunity to create a knowledge community where they can share their learning experiences (Lin, Fan & Wallace, 2013). ...
... Furthermore, the relationship between community usage and the sense of membership has been clearly identified in the literature [42]. In some studies, the sense of membership was measured under other similar terms such as "social identity" or "user identification." ...
... Tsai et al. (2011) found that a SOVC significantly and positively affect purchasing intention. Prior research suggested that sense of belonging significantly and positively affects VC members' loyalty, knowledge community usage, continuance intention, intention to use information, and intention to share knowledge, respectively (Lin, 2008, Lin et al., 2013Teo et al., 2003;Zhao et al., 2012). In fact, emotional identification can facilitate organizational behavior (Bergami and Bagozzi, 2000) and illustrate members' willingness to sustain committed relationships with their virtual communities (Bagozzi and Dholakia, 2002;Dholakia et al., 2004). ...
Purpose – This paper explores the relationships among cognitive-based trust, affect-based trust, sense of belonging, self-image congruity, perceived community-brand similarity, and information intention in the context of Taiwanese social networking brand sites.
Design/methodology/approach - This study uses specific metrics to measure construct items. The respondents have used or currently use the Facebook Apple fan page for more than three months. This study conducts the online survey of mySurvey through the website and provides respondents with convenience store coupon rewards to increase the response rate. This study collects 319 samples with 242 valid samples and uses a structural equation modeling to test the research hypotheses.
Findings - The results confirm that cognitive-based trust has a significant and positive effect on affect-based trust. Cognitive-based trust and affect-based trust have significant and positive effects on sense of belonging, self-image congruity, and perceived community-brand similarity, respectively. In addition, sense of belonging and perceived community-brand similarity have significant and positive effects on intention to give information, intention to obtain information, and intention to pass information, respectively. Self-image congruity only has significant and positive effects on intention to obtain information and intention to pass information.
Practical implications - SNS members are eager to participate in e-WOM activities via affection and social interaction, care for each other, and a feeling of concern. SNS managers should focus on members’ interaction content and processes to foster long-term relationships and create value propositions. Managers need to use innovative online platforms to maintain communication and interaction in order to: i) provide cognitive trust among members; ii) acquire members’ trust; iii) retain members; and iv) enhance members’ connectivity. A main strategic concern should consist on maintaining relevant information to provide appropriate incentives for SNS managers to facilitate continuous participation and create trust and sense of belonging among members.
Social implications – In terms of the SNS members’ interaction and participation in interpersonal relationships, psychological perspectives can generate long-term reliance and sense of belonging. The willingness to exchange information and the involvement of continuous participation can affect the e-WOM behavior of giving and passing information. Brand fan page members are more willing to engage in e-WOM intentions when they have a higher sense of belonging and perceived community-brand similarities.
Originality/value - This study adopts the tricomponent attitude model to examine the relationship among cognition, affection, and behavioral intentions of community members between individuals and groups.
Keywords Trust, Sense of belonging, Self-image congruity, Perceived community-brand similarity, Intention of information
... So sind im Internet zahlreiche Online Communities entstanden, deren primäres Ziel das Zusammenbringen von Menschen mit ähnlichen Bildungs-, aber auch Unterhaltungsinteressen ist. Während Facebook oder Myspace vorwiegend Affiliations-und in geringerem Maße Lernbedürfnisse ansprechen (Sträfling und Krämer 2013), existieren zahllose lernbezogenen Online Communities, etwa zu Fragen des Programmierens von Computerprogrammen (Lin et al. 2013) oder der Gesundheitsfürsorge (Runde et al. 2006 ...
Digitalen Medien wird eine wichtige Rolle zur Förderung des Lernens im Erwachsenenbildungskontext zugeschrieben. Allerdings werden sie in der Praxis oft nicht auf Basis von Erkenntnissen der Lehr-Lernforschung gestaltet bzw. eingesetzt. In diesem Beitrag werden zunächst wichtige Theorien und Befunde zum Lernen mit digitalen Medien näher beschrieben. Danach stellen wir innovative Instruktionsansätze vor, die einen theoretischen Rahmen für Entwicklung und Einsatz mediengestützter Lehr-Lernszenarien in der Erwachsenenbildung bieten.
... Previous studies have highlighted the importance of sense of belonging in the online context. Sense of belonging is found to encourage the use of virtual communities (Teo et al., 2003), to positively impact the continued intention to use social networking (Lin, Fan, & Chau, 2014;Lin, 2007), and to significantly influence knowledge community use (Lin, Fan, & Wallace, 2013). Kim, Lee, and Hiemstra,(2004) also reveal that sense of belonging is a vital factor affecting user's loyalty to the online community. ...
Online customer reviews (OCRs) have become a primary source of product information and an important influence on customers’ purchase decision. This has resulted in a significant impact on consumer purchase decision making. The effects of OCRs on consumer behaviour have recently gained significant academic attention. Therefore, there is a need to provide a review on such effects. This paper, thus, examines the latest understandings in the links and relationships between OCRs and customers’ purchase intention. It reviews the main dimensions of the OCRs and how they affect customers’ purchase intention. It also addresses the issues of credibilities, roles, antecedents, helpfulness, measures and consequences of OCRs. In addition, a case study has been provided in which OCRs are analysed for a better understanding of the relationship between OCRs and consumer’s purchase intention.
Purpose
The problematic use of social media progressively worsens among a large proportion of users. However, the theory-driven investigation into social media addiction behavior remains far from adequate. Among the countable information system studies on the dark side of social media, the focus lies on users' subjective feelings and perceived value. The technical features of the social media platform have been ignored. Accordingly, this study explores the formation of social media addiction considering the perspectives of users and social media per se on the basis of extended motivational framework and attachment theory.
Design/methodology/approach
This study investigates the formation of social media addiction with particular focus on WeChat. A field survey with 505 subjects of WeChat users was conducted to investigate the research model.
Findings
Results demonstrate that social media addiction is determined by individuals' emotional and functional attachment to the platform. These attachments are in turn influenced by motivational (perceived enjoyment and social interaction) and technical (informational support, system quality and personalization) factors.
Originality/value
First, this study explains the underlying mechanism of how users develop social media addiction. Second, it highlights the importance of users' motivations and emotional dependence at this point. It also focuses on the technical system of the platform that plays a key role in the formation of addictive usage behavior. Third, it extends attachment theory to the context of social media addictive behavior.
Background
Clinical practice variation that results in poor patient outcomes remains a pressing problem for health care organizations. Some evidence suggests that a key factor may be ineffective internal and professional networks that limit knowledge exchange among health care professionals. Virtual communities have the potential to overcome professional and organizational barriers and facilitate knowledge flow.
Objective
This study aimed to explore why health care professionals belong to an exemplar virtual community, ICUConnect. The specific research objectives were to (1) understand why members join a virtual community and remain a member, (2) identify what purpose the virtual community serves in their professional lives, (3) identify how a member uses the virtual community, and (4) identify how members used the knowledge or resources shared on the virtual community.
Methods
A qualitative design, underpinned by pragmatism, was used to collect data from 3 asynchronous online focus groups and 4 key informant interviews, with participants allocated to a group based on their posting behaviors during the previous two years—between September 1, 2012, and August 31, 2014: (1) frequent (>5 times), (2) low (≤5 times), and (3) nonposters. A novel approach to focus group moderation, based on the principles of traditional focus groups, and e-moderating was developed. Thematic analysis was undertaken, applying the Diffusion of Innovation theory as the theoretical lens. NCapture (QRS International) was used to extract data from the focus groups, and NVivo was used to manage all data. A research diary and audit trail were maintained.
Results
There were 27 participants: 7 frequent posters, 13 low posters, and 7 nonposters. All participants displayed an external orientation, with the majority using other social media; however, listservs were perceived to be superior in terms of professional compatibility and complexity. The main theme was as follows: “Intensive care professionals are members of ICUConnect because by being a member of a broader community they have access to credible best-practice knowledge.” The virtual community facilitated access to all professionals caring for the critically ill and was characterized by a positive and collegial online culture. The knowledge found was credible because it was extensive and because the virtual community was moderated and sponsored by a government agency. This enabled members to benchmark and improve their unit practices and keep up to date.
Conclusions
This group of health care professionals made a strategic decision to be members of ICUConnect, as they understood that to provide up-to-date clinical practices, they needed to network with colleagues in other facilities. This demonstrated that a closed specialty-specific virtual community can create a broad heterogeneous professional network, overcoming current ineffective networks that may adversely impact knowledge exchange and creation in local practice settings. To address clinical practice variation, health care organizations can leverage low-cost social media technologies to improve interprofessional and interorganizational networks.
‘Friends’ circles’ on WeChat have helped make eWOM more easily accessible and influential than ever. Drawing from the social identity theory, literature on consumer engagement and eWOM, this study presents the first research that examines the influence of two personality traits, sense of belonging and need for self-enhancement, on consumer engagement and in turn leads to eWOM intention. The results suggest that the need for self-enhancement positively influences Chinese travellers’ engagement with WeChat. In addition, a partial positive relationship between consumer engagement and eWOM intention was identified: only dedication towards WeChat is directly related to travellers’ intention to engage in eWOM on WeChat. Dedication was found to mediate the influence of need for self-enhancement on eWOM intentions. Sense of belonging, however, does not have a significant impact on consumer engagement. These mixed results demonstrate changing cultural values of contemporary Chinese society. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Digitalen Medien wird eine wichtige Rolle zur Förderung des Lernens im Erwachsenenbildungskontext zugeschrieben. Allerdings werden sie in der Praxis oft nicht auf Basis von Erkenntnissen der Lehr-Lernforschung gestaltet bzw. eingesetzt. In diesem Beitrag werden zunächst wichtige Theorien und Befunde zum Lernen mit digitalen Medien näher beschrieben. Danach stellen wir innovative Instruktionsansätze vor, die einen theoretischen Rahmen für Entwicklung und Einsatz mediengestützter Lehr-Lernszenarien in der Erwachsenenbildung bieten.
Purpose
Although there are a number of studies on the factors affecting the continuance usage intention for social network services (SNS), the studies on the integrated model encompassing SNS qualities (information, system, and service quality, and hedonic value, which are gratifications for SNS usage), flow, relationship quality (which are trust and satisfaction), and continuance intention are almost non-existent. Based on Bagozzi’s self-regulation framework, the IS success model, uses and gratification theory, and flow theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine the qualities and hedonic value of SNS, which have an influence on flow experience and relationship quality which are posited to affect the continuance usage intention.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used an e-mail survey method to collect 460 questionnaires for the final sample. The sample of the study includes college students or job workers who have experience in using SNS. Various user categories in terms of gender, school degree, occupation, usage years, and daily time of usage were included.
Findings
The study results show that system, service quality, and hedonic value have an impact on flow experience, information and service quality, and hedonic value influence the relationship quality of SNS. The flow experience and relationship quality while using SNS affect the continuance usage intention of SNS. This results show that the consideration of various SNS qualities, hedonic value, flow experience, and relationship quality is necessary to actively explore the factors for continuance usage intention for SNS.
Practical implications
IS managers trying to understand reuse intent can use surveys on information, system, and service quality, and hedonic value. Practitioners should constantly incorporate and develop various activities or useful applications to allow people to reach out to each other, to reinforce users’ attention, interaction, and increase social connections, trust, satisfaction, and further intensify users’ intention to use, increasing SNS value. The findings explain a mechanism through which SNS users’ continuance intention is built. Understanding this mechanism provides valuable information for practitioners to understand the qualities driving SNS users’ intention to revisit SNS.
Originality/value
This study sheds light on the existing literature on website usage that focuses on the design qualities as this paper has combined website quality perspective, i.e., information, system, and service quality, and hedonic value, and the flow and relationship perspective to investigate how these constructs would affect users’ intention to continuously use SNS. On the basis of four theories, Bagozzi’s self-regulation framework, IS success model, users and gratification theory, and flow theory, this study extended the previous studies on SNS by adding information, system, and service quality, hedonic value, flow and relationship quality as second-order constructs affecting continuance intention.
Digitalen Medien wird eine wichtige Rolle zur Förderung des Lernens im Erwachsenenbildungskontext zugeschrieben. Allerdings werden sie in der Praxis oft nicht auf Basis von Erkenntnissen der Lehr-Lernforschung gestaltet bzw. eingesetzt. In diesem Beitrag werden zunächst wichtige Theorien und Befunde zum Lernen mit digitalen Medien näher beschrieben. Danach stellen wir innovative Instruktionsansätze vor, die einen theoretischen Rahmen für Entwicklung und Einsatz mediengestützter Lehr-Lernszenarien in der Erwachsenenbildung bieten.
This article proposes a growth framework for industry web portals which present a new opportunity in the Internet business. The proposed framework contains five stages: business plan stage, website development stage, attraction stage, entrenchment stage, and defense stage. The actions to be taken and strategies to be applied in each stage are set out. Two industry web portals are investigated in detail. The two examples illustrate the applicability of the proposed growth framework to the real world. The combination of a conceptual growth framework and the application of this conceptual framework to two real world examples yields a set of guidelines based in large part on lessons learned from the two examples. Thus, this paper provides a concept-based growth framework and a set of real world-based guidelines that will very possibly provide a practical benefit to industry web portal business practitioners.
Social media has flourished recently, and government agencies across different levels are experimenting with launching government social media (GSM) to socialize government services, processes, and data. Both researchers and practitioners are focusing on understanding the key success factors related to the launch of GSM. This study aims to identify the key success factors by exploring the formation mechanism of individuals' continuous usage intention. Through the theoretical lens of the uses and gratifications theory (UGT), we identify the gratification factors (i.e., information seeking, social activity, content consumption, collective intelligence, and network externality) that stimulate users' continuance intention toward GSM. Furthermore, we draw upon the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) framework to develop a model for exploring the effects of gratification factors (as stimulus in the SOR framework) on individuals' online experiential states (i.e., flow experience and sense of belonging) and, subsequently, their continuance intention. The results of our survey of 336 government microblogging residents indicate that usage continuance intention is in part determined by gratification factors. Furthermore, the associations among gratification factors and users' continuance intention can be mediated by the sense of belonging and flow experience.
Social networking sites (SNS) have transformed how individuals interact, build and maintain social relationships. We proposed a research model on the determinants of user continuance using Bagozzi's framework of self-regulation as the theoretical foundation. Following the process of appraisal → emotional reactions → coping responses, we developed the model by leveraging findings from social presence and IS continuance research. Based on survey data from Facebook users, we found that appraisal factors (pleasure, awareness, connectedness, and system quality) were strong determinants of emotional reaction (user satisfaction and sense of belonging). User satisfaction and sense of belonging together positively influenced continuance intention.
Provides a nontechnical introduction to the partial least squares (PLS) approach. As a logical base for comparison, the PLS approach for structural path estimation is contrasted to the covariance-based approach. In so doing, a set of considerations are then provided with the goal of helping the reader understand the conditions under which it might be reasonable or even more appropriate to employ this technique. This chapter builds up from various simple 2 latent variable models to a more complex one. The formal PLS model is provided along with a discussion of the properties of its estimates. An empirical example is provided as a basis for highlighting the various analytic considerations when using PLS and the set of tests that one can employ is assessing the validity of a PLS-based model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study examines how a listserv affects its members’ sense of community (SOC) with the sponsoring organization. It was expected that the listserv would increase members’ knowledge about and participation in the sponsoring organization department, which, in turn, would increase their SOC. The study examined listserv members and non-members before and after implementation of the listserv. As expected, listserv membership increased knowledge and face-to-face activity, and knowledge and face-to-face activity increased a sense of community. However, ironically, there was no effect of listserv membership on sense of community. These findings challenge previous theories about the development of sense of community while nonetheless demonstrating the positive effects of listserv membership. Purchase this article to continue reading all 19 pages >
Variance-based structural equation modeling is extensively used in information systems research, and many related findings may have been distorted by hidden collinearity. This is a problem that may extent to multivariate analyses in general, in the field of information systems as well as in many other fields. In multivariate analyses, collinearity is usually assessed as a predictor-predictor relationship phenomenon, where two or more predictors are checked for redundancy. This type of assessment addresses vertical, or “classic,” collinearity. However, another type of collinearity may also exist, called here “lateral” collinearity. It refers to predictor-criterion collinearity. Lateral collinearity problems are exemplified based on an illustrative variance-based structural equation modeling analysis. The analysis employs WarpPLS 2.0, with the results double-checked with other statistical analysis software tools. It is shown that standard validity and reliability tests do not properly capture lateral collinearity. A new approach for the assessment of both vertical and lateral collinearity in variance-based structural equation modeling is proposed and demonstrated in the context of the illustrative analysis.
Online gaming communities are an important class of virtual communities. They comprise complex and dynamic socio-technical systems, in which conflict is inevitable. Understanding how these communities manage conflict and how conflict management relates to other governance processes such as activity design and change management is essential to ensure their sustainability. This paper concerns a longitudinal case study of the role of conflict management in a successful virtual Formula 1 gaming community. The results of this study show that a carefully tailored system of conflict management and related community governance processes plays a significant role in fostering community health and growth.
Virtual communities have been the focus of research for some time. However, al-though many studies have provided recommendations on how to build, extend, and manage virtual communities, few have verified the success factors they have consid-ered essential for virtual communities. Conclusions made regarding basic preferences and distinct priorities of different stakeholders in virtual communities have not been empirically substantiated. Building on previous work on success factors of virtual communities, in this article, we present a ranking of success factors discussed in the lit-erature based on an online survey among operators and members of virtual communi-ties in the German speaking Internet. Consequently, we identified and analyzed incongruencies between members and operators. This research gains first empirically validated insights into success factors for establishing and managing virtual commu-nities. We derived recommendations for operators of virtual communities on the basis of the findings, and we present an agenda for future research in the field.
Knowledge-intensive firms (KIFs) specialize in expertise, especially esoteric knowledge that few other firms possess. KIFs must keep their knowledge up-to-date, so they need to learn continually. However, their ability to satisfy clients depends on the close relations that some of KIFs' personnel develop with specific clients.
Community governance is the set of small group social interactions that, with market and state, determine economic outcomes. We argue (i) community governance addresses some common market and state failures but typically relies on insider-outsider distinctions that may be morally repugnant and economically costly; (ii) the individual motivations supporting community governance are not captured by either selfishness or altruism; (iii) communities, markets and states are complements, not substitutes; (iv) when poorly designed, markets and states crowd out communities; (v) some distributions of property rights are better than others at fostering community governance; and (vi) communities will probably increase in importance in the future.
This study explores several downstream effects of trust in virtual communities and the antecedents of trust in this unique type of environment. The data, applying an existing scale to measure two dimensions of trust (ability and benevolence/integrity), show that trust had a downstream effect on members' intentions to both give information and get information through the virtual community. Both these apparent dimensions of trust were increased through perceived responsive relationships in the virtual community, by a general disposition to trust, and by the belief that others confide personal information.
Knowledge management (KM) research has yielded extensive explanations regarding the individual's motivation to share knowledge, each with different sets of factors. Yet the study of continued knowledge sharing is rare. There has been little research investigating this issue from contributing and seeking perspectives—the two distinct, but closely interrelated, facets of continued knowledge sharing. We propose that knowledge management system (KMS) users' beliefs are contextually differentiated, and thus a distinction between knowledge-contribution and knowledge-seeking behaviors and an adequate emphasis on their variance in terms of user belief is needed. By incorporating the knowledge-contribution and knowledge-seeking perspectives in a single study, we model and examine the differences among driving factors in two behavioral contexts, provide the conceptual comparisons and preliminary discussions, and thus advance our understanding of continued knowledge sharing via the KMS.
Web-based knowledge communities (WKCs) allow individuals with similar interests to collectively engage in knowledge acquisition and exchange. In spite of increased research interest in the topic of on-line knowledge exchange and social interaction, few studies have identified factors that contribute to WKC success. In this study we apply Preece's community success framework of usability and sociability and the Information System (IS) success model as conceptual foundations for an investigation into the factors that lead to WKC success. We present and empirically test a research model for WKC success using survey data from an IT- related WKC. We find that both usability and sociability factors have a significant effect on user satisfaction which leads to increased sense of community and a greater frequency of WKC usage. This research is one of the first attempts to empirically examine Web-based knowledge community success. The implications for research and practice are also discussed.
In this study we report the findings of a survey on a virtual community of knowledge and interest for end- users. We approach a community participant both as a member and a user, who is also a virtual value initiator for other members. The central issue raised in this study is: what factors motivate a member to participate in a virtual community of knowledge? We utilize uses and gratifications theoretical framework which is grounded in the functionalist and communication research paradigm to develop scales to be empirically tested in the virtual community environment. We use member need satisfaction as a proxy measure for virtual community success. With the help of a community organizer, we posted our survey to develop the constructs and test the relationship with user satisfaction in a virtual community.
E-commerce strategists advise companies to create virtual communities for their customers. But what does this involve? Research on face-to-face communities identifies the concept of "sense of community:" a characteristic of successful communities distinguished by members' helping behaviors and members' emotional attachment to the community and other members. Does a sense of virtual community exist in online settings, and what does it consist of? Answering these questions is key, if we are to provide guidance to businesses attempting to create virtual communities.The paper explores the concept of sense of virtual community in a newsgroup we call Multiple Sports Newsgroup (MSN). We first demonstrate that MSN does indeed have a sense of virtual community, but that the dimensions of the sense of community in MSN differ somewhat from those reported for physical communities. The nature of these differences is plausibly related to the differences between electronic and face-to-face communication. We next describe the behavioral processes that contribute to the sense of virtual community at MSN-exchanging support, creating identities and making identifications, and the production of trust. Again, these processes are similar to those found in non-virtual communities, but they are related to the challenges of electronic communication. Lastly, we consider the question of how sense of community may come about and discuss the implications for electronic business.
Ten years ago, we presented the DeLone and McLean Information Sys- tems (IS) Success Model as a framework and model for measuring the complex- dependent variable in IS research. In this paper, we discuss many of the important IS success research contributions of the last decade, focusing especially on research efforts that apply, validate, challenge, and propose enhancements to our original model. Based on our evaluation of those contributions, we propose minor refinements to the model and propose an updated DeLone and McLean IS Success Model. We discuss the utility of the updated model for measuring e-commerce system success. Finally, we make a series of recommendations regarding current and future measurement of IS success.
The explosion in Internet usage and huge government funding initiatives in digital libraries have drawn attention to research on digital libraries. Whereas the traditional focus of digital library research has been on the technological development, there is now a call for user-focused research. Although millions of dollars have been spent on building 'usable' systems, research on digital libraries has shown that potential users may not use the systems in spite of their availability. There is a need for research to identify the factors that determine users’ adoption of digital libraries. Using the technology acceptance model (TAM) as a theoretical framework, this study investigates the effect of a set of individual differences (computer self-efficacy and knowledge of search domain) and system characteristics (relevance, terminology, and screen design) on intention to use digital libraries. Based on a sample of 585 users of a university’s award-winning digital library, the results strongly support the utilization of TAM in predicting users’ intention to adopt digital libraries, and demonstrate the effects of critical external variables on behavior intention through perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. All of the individual differences and system characteristics have significant effects on perceived ease of use of digital libraries. In addition, relevance has the strongest effect on perceived usefulness of digital libraries.
P> Although user satisfaction is widely used by researchers and practitioners to evaluate information system success, important issues related to its meaning and measurement across population subgroups have not been adequately resolved. To be most useful in decision-making, instruments like end-user computing satisfaction (EUCS), which are designed to evaluate system success, should be robust. That is, they should enable comparisons by providing equivalent measurement across diverse samples that represent the variety of conditions or population subgroups present in organizations.
Using a sample of 1,166 responses, the EUCS instrument is tested for measurement invariance across four dimensions--respondent positions, types of application, hardware platforms, and modes of development. While the results suggest that the meaning of user satisfaction is context sensitive and differs across population subgroups, the 12 measurement items are invariant across all four dimensions. The 12-item summed scale enables researchers or practitioners to compare EUCS scores across the instrument's originally intended universe of applicability.</P
The chief objective in many online communities is to allow for knowledge sharing and learning, which is enabled by technologies such as discussion forums. The value realized from these communities depends on ongoing participation in terms of two key activities i.e., knowledge seeking and contribution. However, a large number of communities fail, as they cannot sustain these activities. This poses the question of how these two activities can be simultaneously promoted. While previous research has separately explicated a number of different antecedents for the two activities, this study adopts a socio-technical perspective of an online community and considers usability and sociability as two salient antecedents applicable to both activities. Usability and sociability are multi-dimensional constructs, where individual's perceptions of the two may be determined by dimensions such as ease of use and social interactivity. This paper proposes that individuals may place different importance on these dimensions when seeking knowledge, compared to contributing knowledge. The research model is tested through a survey of users of a learning-focused community system. Our findings indicate that individuals do, indeed, differ in their emphasis on the identified dimensions when they engage in the two activities. Specifically, ease of use and system reliability are considered as more important for usability, and moderator perception as more important for sociability when individuals seek knowledge. On the other hand, individuals perceive tracking fulfillment as more important for usability and social interactivity as more important for sociability when they contribute knowledge. These differences have implications for future research and practice.
Web-based knowledge communities (WKCs) have become prevalent in recent years for individuals with similar interests to collectively engage in knowledge acquisition and exchange in a global context. The growing popularity of WKCs and their fast penetration into almost all aspects of life call for more research on this important area. In this study, we explore and examine success factors of WKCs. To accomplish this research objective, we conducted a qualitative study to uncover a list of success factors that would affect the success of WKCs. Through open and axial data coding techniques using a grounded theory approach, we identified four main success factors: information quality, system quality, community governance, and pro-sharing norms. We further categorized dimensions of information quality, system quality, and community governance. Based on the results, we proposed a conceptual framework to examine WKC success. The implications are also discussed.
This is a follow-up on two previous articles on WarpPLS and e-collaboration. The first discussed the five main steps through which a variance-based nonlinear structural equation modeling analysis could be conducted with the software WarpPLS (Kock, 2010b). The second covered specific features related to grouped descriptive statistics, viewing and changing analysis algorithm and resampling settings, and viewing and saving various results (Kock, 2011). This and the previous articles use data from the same e-collaboration study as a basis for the discussion of important WarpPLS features. Unlike the previous articles, the focus here is on a brief discussion of more advanced issues, such as: testing the significance of mediating effects, including control variables in an analysis, using second order latent variables, choosing the right warping algorithm, and using bootstrapping and jackknifing in combination.
Understanding the attraction of virtual communities is crucial to organizations that want to tap into their enormous information potential. Existing literature theorizes that people join virtual communities to exchange information and/or social support. Theories of broader Internet use have indicated both entertainment and searching for friendship as motivational forces. This exploratory study empirically examines the importance of these reasons in assessing why people come to virtual communities by directly asking virtual community members why they joined.The responses to the open-ended question “Why did you join?” were categorized based upon the reasons suggested in the literature. Across 27 communities in 5 different broad types, 569 different reasons from 399 people indicated that most sought either friendship or exchange of information, and a markedly lower percent sought social support or recreation. The reasons were significantly dependent on the grouping of the communities into types. In all the community types information exchange was the most popular reason for joining. Thereafter, however, the reason varied depending on community type. Social support was the second most popular reason for members in communities with health/wellness and professional/occupational topics, but friendship was the second most popular reason among members in communities dealing with personal interests/hobbies, pets, or recreation. These findings suggest that virtual community managers should emphasize not only the content but also encourage the friendship and social support aspects as well if they wish to increase the success of their virtual community.
In the early days of the Internet, an occasional sarcastic or confrontational remark was considered part of its "charm."
Times have changed.
Organizations are attempting to leverage their knowledge resources by employing knowledge management (KM) systems, a key form of which are electronic knowledge repositories (EKRs). A large number of KM initiatives fail due to the reluctance of employees to share knowledge through these systems. Motivated by such concerns, this study formulates and tests a theoretical model to explain EKR usage by knowledge contributors. The model employs social exchange theory to identify cost and benefit factors affecting EKR usage, and social capital theory to account for the moderating influence of contextual factors. The model is validated through a large-scale survey of public sector organizations. The results reveal that knowledge self-efficacy and enjoyment in helping others significantly impact EKR usage by knowledge contributors. Contextual factors (generalized trust, pro-sharing norms, and identification) moderate the impact of codification effort, reciprocity, and organizational reward on EKR usage, respectively. It can be seen that extrinsic benefits (reciprocity and organizational reward) impact EKR usage contingent on particular contextual factors whereas the effects of intrinsic benefits (knowledge self-efficacy and enjoyment in helping others) on EKR usage are not moderated by contextual factors. The loss of knowledge power and image do not appear to impact EKR usage by knowledge contributors. Besides contributing to theory building in KM, the results of this study inform KM practice.
Online shopping provides convenience to Web shoppers, yet its electronic format changes information-gathering methods traditionally used by customers. This change raises questions concerning customer satisfaction with the online purchasing process. Web shopping involves a number of phases, including the information phase, in which customers search for information regarding their intended purchases. The purpose of this paper is to develop theoretically justifiable constructs for measuring Web-customer satisfaction during the information phase.
By synthesizing the expectation-disconfirmation paradigm with empirical theories in user satisfaction, we separate Web site quality into information quality (IQ) and system quality (SQ), and propose nine key constructs for Web-customer satisfaction. The measurements for these constructs are developed and tested in a two-phase study. In the first phase, the IQ and SQ dimensions are identified, and instruments for measuring them are developed and tested. In the second phase, using the salient dimensions of Web-IQ and Web-SQ as the basis for formulating first-order factors, we develop and empirically test instruments for measuring IQ and SQ-satisfaction. Moreover, this phase involves the design and test of second-order factors for measuring Web-customer expectations, disconfirmation, and perceived performance regarding IQ and SQ. The analysis of the measurement model indicates that the proposed metrics have a relatively high degree of validity and reliability. The results of the study provide reliable instruments for operationalizing the key constructs in the analysis of Web-customer satisfaction within the expectation-disconfirmation paradigm.
As telecommunication networks become more common, there is an increasing interest in the factors underlying the development of online social structures. It has been proposed that these structures are new forms of organizing which are not subject to the same constraints as traditional social structures. However, from anecdotal evidence and case studies it is difficult to evaluate whether online social structures are subject to the same problems as traditional social structures. Drawing from prior studies of traditional social structures and empirical analyses of longitudinal data from a sample of Internet-based groups, this exploratory work considers the role of size and communication activity in sustainable online social structures.
A resource-based theory of sustainable social structures is presented. Members contribute time, energy, and other resources, enabling a social structure to provide benefits for individuals. These benefits, which include information, influence, and social support, are the basis for a social structure's ability to attract and retain members. This model focuses on the system of opposing forces that link membership size as a component of resource availability and communication activity as an aspect of benefit provision to the sustainability of an online social structure. Analyses of data from a random sample of e-mail-based Internet social structures (listservs) indicate that communication activity and size have both positive and negative effects on a structure's sustainability. These results suggest that while the use of networked communication technologies may alter the form of communication, balancing the opposing impacts of membership size and communication activity in order to maintain resource availability and provide benefits for current members remains a fundamental problem underlying the development of sustainable online social structures.
Executive Overview
Organizations are operating in increasingly complex worlds that require them to apply large amounts of knowledge to their activities. Because knowledge is continuously changing and evolving, most organizations cannot possess all required knowledge within their formal boundaries. Accordingly, they need to acquire large amounts of knowledge from outside the organization by tapping their linkages to external organizations and individuals.
A variety of methods can be used to access knowledge that lies outside the organization's boundaries. Such methods vary from tapping the social networks of executives to more involved efforts such as alliances. The method used must be appropriate to the volume and kind of knowledge needed.
However, benefiting from the knowledge of outsiders has several additional complexities, and executives need to prepare their organizations to take advantage of social capital. For instance, they need to ensure that the organization has an adequate level of knowledge in the areas to which it is importing knowledge so that it can understand and effectively use the new knowledge. They also need to ensure that they possess some unique proprietary knowledge within their boundaries. Additionally, as organizations develop their relationships with external entities, they need to continuously monitor the quality of knowledge derived from such sources; there is always the danger of such relationships becoming a liability without the organization being aware of it. This article details the various ways through which such pitfalls may be avoided.
Consumer brand companies need skills new management skills, and brand managers must understand outline behavior if they wish to develop strong, sustainable, and beneficial online communities around their brands.
The authors examine two aspects of brand loyalty, purchase loyalty and attitudinal loyalty, as linking variables in the chain of effects from brand trust and brand affect to brand performance (market share and relative price). The model includes product-level, category-related controls (hedonic value and utilitarian value) and brand-level controls (brand differentiation and share of voice). The authors compile an aggregate data set for 107 brands from three separate surveys of consumers and brand managers. The results indicate that when the product- and brand-level variables are controlled for, brand trust and brand affect combine to determine purchase loyalty and attitudinal loyalty. Purchase loyalty, in turn, leads to greater market share, and attitudinal loyalty leads to a higher relative price for the brand. The authors discuss the managerial implications of these results.
Although there is growing interest in virtual communities, few studies have examined them from an integrated viewpoint including technical and social perspectives. By expanding on DeLone and McLean’s IS success model, the author constructed a model of the impact of system characteristics (e.g., information and system quality) and social factors (e.g., trust and social usefulness) in implementing successful virtual communities. Data collected from 198 community members provided support for the model. Results showed that both member satisfaction and a sense of belonging were determinants of member loyalty in the community. Additionally, information and system quality were found to affect member satisfaction, while trust influenced the members’ sense of belonging to the community. Finally, the findings provided understanding of the factors that measured virtual community success. Implications of my study are discussed.
Virtual communities have been identified as the “killer applications” on the Internet Information Superhighway. Their impact is increasingly pervasive, with activities ranging from the economic and marketing to the social and educational. Despite their popularity, little is understood as to what factors contribute to the sustainability of virtual communities. This study focuses on a specific type of virtual communities—the virtual learning communities. It employs an experiment to examine the impact of two critical issues in system design—information accessibility and community adaptivity—on the sustainability of virtual learning communities. Adopting an extended Technology Acceptance Model, the experiment exposed 69 subjects to six different virtual learning communities differentiated by two levels of information accessibility and three levels of community adaptivity, solicited their feelings and perceptions, and measured their intentions to use the virtual learning communities. Results indicate that both information accessibility and community adaptivity have significant effects on user perceptions and behavioural intention. Implications for theory and practice are drawn and discussed.
Collaboration increasingly takes place in virtual communities using the Internet. These communities are socio-technical systems that tend to evolve strongly and become more complex over time. To ensure that the changes to these complex socio-technical systems are meaningful and acceptable to the community as a whole, the relevant members of the community need to be involved in their specification. The RENISYS method conceptualizes community specification processes as conversations for specification by relevant members. It supports this process in two steps. First, it uses formal composition norms to select the relevant community members who need to be involved in a particular conversation for specification. It then uses a formal model of conversations for specification to determine the acceptable conversational moves that the selected community members can make, as well as the status of their responsibilities and accomplishments at each point in time. By combining composition norms with conversations for specification, the specification processes can be precisely tailored to the specification support needs of the community.
Advances in information and communication technologies have fundamentally heightened organizational interest in knowledge as a critical strategic resource. However, organizations are finding that members are often reluctant to exchange knowledge with others in the organization. This paper examines why. We review current knowledge management practices and find that organizations are treating knowledge as a private good, owned either by the organization or by organization members. We propose that knowledge can also be considered a public good, owned and maintained by a community. When knowledge is considered a public good, knowledge exchange is motivated by moral obligation and community interest rather than by narrow self-interest. We provide support for the public good perspective by providing results from a survey examining why people participate and share knowledge in three electronic communities of practice. The results indicate that people participate primarily out of community interest, generalized reciprocity and pro-social behavior.
This article reports an exploratory investigation of individual perceptions of factors that underlie the use of collaborative electronic media (electronic mail, World Wide Web, list serves, and other collaborative systems) for sharing information in a large state university in Australia. The model builds on the Constant et al.'s theory of information sharing. We propose that perceptions of information culture, attitudes regarding information ownership and propensity to share, as well as task and personal factors influence people's use of collaborative media. We found that task characteristics (task interdependence), perceived information usefulness and the user's computer comfort were most strongly associated with the person's use of collaborative media. Consistent with Constant et al.'s earlier findings, views of information ownership and propensity to share were significantly related to use. Interestingly, use of electronic media for sharing information and contacting people was weakly associated with a more structured, closed information culture. This implies that heavy users and sharers want more structured information flow in place, possibly due to their need to have reliable access to other individual's knowledge and information. Contrary to suggestions in the literature, a fully open, organic information culture may not always be most desirable. Implications for knowledge managers, practitioners and researchers are suggested.
The biggest challenge in fostering a virtual community is the supply of knowledge, namely the willingness to share knowledge with other members. This paper integrates the Social Cognitive Theory and the Social Capital Theory to construct a model for investigating the motivations behind people's knowledge sharing in virtual communities. The study holds that the facets of social capital — social interaction ties, trust, norm of reciprocity, identification, shared vision and shared language — will influence individuals' knowledge sharing in virtual communities. We also argue that outcome expectations — community-related outcome expectations and personal outcome expectations — can engender knowledge sharing in virtual communities. Data collected from 310 members of one professional virtual community provide support for the proposed model. The results help in identifying the motivation underlying individuals' knowledge sharing behavior in professional virtual communities. The implications for theory and practice and future research directions are discussed.
Nous investiguons comment les membres d'une communauté de pratiques (CP) de textes en ligne adopte des connaissances d'autres membres. Les études précédentes portant sur l'adoption des connaissances dans des environnements informatisés se sont appuyées surles théories du processus dual du traitement de l'information pour comprendre le rôle des indices heuristiques et des probabilités d'élaboration. Ici nous étendons ce courant de recherche en explorant deux nouveaux indices heuristiques : la conformité de genre et la cohérence de l'information. De plus, nous examinons le rôle de la recherche focalisée et de l'information disconfirmatoire pour comprendre comment elles pourraient induire des processus cognitif non heuristiques. Cette étude avance notre compréhension du partage de connaissance dans les CP en ligne. Les résultats suggèrent que le contexte d'une CP en ligne peut jouer un rôle dynamique sur la façon dont les membres traitent la composante contenu de cette CP. En se concentrant sur des technologies de type pull , elle offre un autre lien théorique entre les communications médiatisées par ordinateur et la gestion des connaissances. Pratiquement, elle apporte aussi des éclairages sur les CP en ligne comme moyen d'améliorer la gestion des connaissances dans les organisations.
While there is growing interest in the phenomenon of virtual communities, to date we know little about the structural dynamics underlying one type of virtual community, open source software communities. Open source communities (OSCs) are used to coordinate the voluntary efforts of members to create complex software products. We propose that OSCs utilize a network form of governance to coordinate activities to ensure collective interests are achieved. In contrast to the formal exchange structures of market transactions based on contracts and bureaucratic structures based on hierarchical controls, network structures are an alternative governance form based on social interactions and informal controls. In this paper, we present a theoretical model examining network governance in OSCs, and suggest that OSC project success is dependent upon the ability of individuals to coordinate and safeguard interactions, which is enhanced by the use of social controls. We conclude by presenting our strategy for empirically testing the theoretical model.
Models used to study information technology (IT) adoption were adapted and applied to the group support systems (GSS) domain to determine their applicability and to assess the relative importance of beliefs about GSS in the context of adoption. The beliefs examined were relative advantage, ease of use, compatibility, and enjoyment. Four methods of measuring the relative importance of the belief constructs in predicting GSS adoption intention were evaluated. The methods involved Likert-scaled measures, conjoint measures, direct ratings of importance, and paired comparisons. Compositional analyses using three distinct models, regression, molar, and molecular, were conducted to examine the data collected under the first method. The results of the study demonstrated that the models and constructs used in other IT domains are indeed applicable in the GSS context. The relative importance of the beliefs did not converge across methods, although there was some agreement among the three compositional approaches as well as among the conjoint, direct rating, and paired comparison methods. The results point to the need for caution in utilizing and interpreting regression results and demonstrate the viability of alternative methods of studying adoption.
Understanding the successful adoption of information technology is largely based upon understanding the linkages among quality, satisfaction, and usage. Although the satisfaction and usage constructs have been well studied in the information systems literature, there has been only limited attention to information and system quality over the past decade. To address this shortcoming, we developed a model consisting of nine fundamental determinants of quality in an information technology context, four under the rubric of information quality (the output of an information system) and five that describe system quality (the information processing system required to produce the output). We then empirically examined the aptness of our model using a sample of 465 data warehouse users from seven different organizations that employed report-based, query-based, and analytical business intelligence tools. The results suggest that our determinants are indeed predictive of overall information and system quality in data warehouse environments, and that our model strikes a balance between comprehensiveness and parsimony. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for both theory and the development and implementation of information technology applications in practice.
A number of socio-technical aspects that influence interorganizational research collaboration are embedded in local work contexts. Thus, they should be a main concern for the design of virtual research environments. A review of forty papers from different research fields provided an understanding of the influence of eleven socio-technical aspects grouped according to the following categories: nature of work; common ground; collaboration readiness; management style and leadership; technology readiness. There are five main implications for the design of virtual research environments. Emphasis is placed on the importance of consulting the stakeholders so that they suggest solutions and ideas, and imbue the collaborative environment with the values required for it to be sustainable.
This paper examines the role of computer-aided systems (CAS) for enhancing organizational learning in distributed environments. The basic research questions are: how do features of CAS enhance organizational learning, and how does organizational context influence the role of CAS in organizational learning?The theoretical framework focuses on the decision to contribute and adopt knowledge in distributed environments. Specifically, we investigate the intersections between the features of CAS and inhibitors to contributing or adopting knowledge, in the light of different organizational context variables.Two cases of information environments for knowledge sharing are examined: a formal electronic library system and an informal community that uses a variety of communication technologies. The cases are used to illustrate how the intersection between CAS features and the decisions to adopt and contribute enhance or inhibit knowledge sharing.
This research aims at improving our understanding of the concept of the business competence of information technology professionals and at exploring the contribution of this competence to the development of partnerships between IT professionals and their business clients. Business competence focuses on the areas of knowledge that are not specifically IT-related. At a broad level, it comprises the organization-specific knowledge and the interpersonal and management knowledge possessed by IT professionals. Each of these categories is in turn inclusive of more specific areas of knowledge. Organizational overview, organizational unit, organizational responsibility, and IT-business integration form the organization-specific knowledge, while interpersonal communication, leadership, and knowledge networking form the interpersonal and management knowledge. Such competence is hypothesized to be instrumental in increasing the intentions of IT professionals to develop and strengthen the relationship with their clients. The first step in the study was to develop a scale to measure business competence of IT professionals. The scale was validated and then used to test the model that relates competence to intentions to form IT-business partnerships. The results support the suggested structure for business competence and indicate that business competence significantly influences the intentions of IT professionals to develop partnerships with their business clients.
Electronic networks of practice are computer-mediated discussion forums focused on problems of practice that enable individuals to exchange advice and ideas with others based on common interests. However, why individuals help strangers in these electronic networks is not well understood: there is no immediate benefit to the contributor, and free-riders are able to acquire the same knowledge as everyone else. To understand this paradox, we apply theories of collective action to examine how individual motivations and social capital influence knowledge contribution in electronic networks. This study reports on the activities of one electronic network supporting a professional legal association. Using archival, network, survey, and content analysis data, we empirically test a model of knowledge contribution. We find that people contribute their knowledge when they perceive that it enhances their professional reputations, when they have the experience to share, and when they are structurally embedded in the network. Surprisingly, contributions occur without regard to expectations of reciprocity from others or high levels of commitment to the network.
This paper examines cognitive beliefs and affect influencing one's intention to continue using (con- tinuance) information systems (IS). Expectation- confirmation theory is adapted from the consumer behavior literature and integrated with theoretical and empirical findings from prior IS usage research to theorize a model of IS continuance. Five research hypotheses derived from this model are empirically validated using a field survey of online banking users. The results suggest that users' continuance intention is determined by their satisfaction with IS use and perceived usefulness of continued IS use. User satisfaction, in turn, is influenced by their confirmation of expectation from prior IS use and perceived usefulness. Post- acceptance perceived usefulness is influenced by 1 Ron Weber was the accepting senior editor for this paper. users' confirmation level. This study draws atten- tion to the substantive differences between accep- tance and continuance behaviors, theorizes and validates one of the earliest theoretical models of IS continuance, integrates confirmation and user satisfaction constructs within our current under- standing of IS use, conceptualizes and creates an initial scale for measuring IS continuance, and offers an initial explanation for the acceptance- discontinuance anomaly.
Although online communities can significantly facilitate collaboration among Internet users, the determinants of success of online communities have seldom been studied empirically. Using the updated DeLone and McLean information systems success model as a theoretical framework, this study proposes a research model to examine the determinants for successful use of online communities. Based on a survey of 165 community members, this study uses structural equation modelling (SEM) approach to investigate the research model. The analytical results strongly support the appropriateness of the research model in identifying the determinants of success of online communities. The analytical results also showed that system quality, information quality and service quality had a significant effect on member loyalty through user satisfaction and behavioural intention to use the online community. Finally, this study discusses the implications of these findings and offer directions for future research.
Little attention has focused so far on evaluating the success of online communities. This paper starts to identify some key determinants of sociability and usability that help to determine their success. Determinants of sociability include obvious measures such as the number of participants in a community, the number of messages per unit of time, members' satisfaction, and some less obvious measures such as amount of reciprocity, the number of on-topic messages, trustworthiness and several others. Measures of usability include numbers of errors, productivity, user satisfaction and others. The list is not exhaustive but it is intended to provide a starting point for research on this important topic that will lead to develop of metrics. To avoid creating false impressions it is advisable to use several measures and to triangulate with qualitative data, particularly from ethnographic studies.