Level of contributors' activity around an Open Source Software (OSS) project is one of the ke... more Level of contributors' activity around an Open Source Software (OSS) project is one of the key factors in terms of its survival and success. There are several factors that affect a developer's decision to join an OSS project, yet little research examined the influence of third-party assessments on a developer's intention to join a project. Drawing on signaling theory, this manuscript explores how third-party assessment can influence a developers' decision to join an OSS project. In order to test it, vignette survey study was conducted manipulating reputation, development experience, and a number of current OSS projects of existing developers in the OSS project. The findings suggest that all three signals have a positive influence on developer's decision to join the OSS project. This suggests that projects seeking to expand the number of contributing developers should consider offering information about its "star developers".
The empirical research on the practice of telework indicates that there are a number of issues th... more The empirical research on the practice of telework indicates that there are a number of issues that seem to impede successful telework. The fear of lost managerial control is reported to be a significant factor preventing widespread adoption of telework (DeSanctis 1984; Duxbury, Higgins, and Irving 1987; Savage 1988). Managers are also concerned that telework may require them to change their management style since they cannot rely on visual contact for monitoring and control. Researchers suggest that a more results-oriented management style is needed (Duxbury, Higgins, and Irving 1987; Metzger and Von Glinow 1988; Olson 1988) and that a shift in management from being a passer of information to a leader or coach is necessary (Duxbury, Higgins, and Irving 1987; Lallande 1984; Savage 1988). Trust is suggested as being a key ingredient to effectively manage teleworkers (Duxbury, Higgins, and Irving 1987; Savage 1988). Managing perceptions of corporate culture in a remote worker is also seen as a possible obstacle, requiring additional investment from managers (Hendricks and McMains 1989; Olson 1988).
To get value from BI (Business Intelligence) and Big Data initiatives, organizations need to deve... more To get value from BI (Business Intelligence) and Big Data initiatives, organizations need to develop the capability to successfully execute their analytics projects. Via updating Chow and Cao's list of 12 success factors for agile projects, 43 attributes of these potential critical success factors (CSFs) were identified. Data from four case studies of analytics projects suggest that the critical success factors for analytics projects may be Strong Customer Involvement and a Methodical Project Definition Process.
International Conference on Information Systems, Dec 13, 1998
The value added by an organization's IT assets is a critical concern to both research and practic... more The value added by an organization's IT assets is a critical concern to both research and practice. Not surprisingly, a large number of IS effectiveness measures can be found in the IS literature. What is not clear in the literature is what measures are appropriate in a particular context. In this paper, we propose a twodimensional matrix for classifying IS effectiveness measures. The first dimension is the type of system studied. The second dimension is the stakeholder in whose interests the system is being evaluated. The matrix was tested by using it to classify IS effectiveness measures from 186 empirical papers in three major IS journals for the last nine years. The results indicate that the classifications are meaningful. This, in turn, means that the IS effectiveness matrix provides a useful guide for conceptualizing effectiveness measurement in IS research, and for choosing appropriate measures.
The current study is a first step in investigating how virtual organizations can manage remote em... more The current study is a first step in investigating how virtual organizations can manage remote employees effectively. The research used self-efficacy theory to build a model that predicts relationships between antecedents to employees' remote work self-efficacy assessments and their behavioral and attitudinal consequences. The model was tested using responses from 376 remote managed employees in 18 diverse organizations. Overall, the results indicated that remote employees' self-efficacy assessments play a critical role in influencing their remote work effectiveness, perceived productivity, job satisfaction, and ability to cope. Furthermore, strong relationships were observed between employees' remote work self-efficacy judgments and several antecedents, including remote work experience and training, best practices modeling by management, computer anxiety, and IT capabilities. Because many of these antecedents can be controlled managerially, these findings suggest important ways in which a remote employee's work performance can be enhanced, through the intermediary effect of improved remote work self-efficacy. The current study also provides a basis for future research in the remote work area through its development and testing of a remote management framework.
The sharing of knowledge within teams is critical to team functioning. However, working with team... more The sharing of knowledge within teams is critical to team functioning. However, working with team members who are in different locations (i.e. in virtual teams) may introduce communication challenges and reduce opportunities for rich interactions, potentially affecting knowledge sharing and its outcomes. Therefore, using questionnaire-based data, this study examined the potential effects of different aspects of virtuality on a knowledge-sharing model. Social exchange theory was used to develop a model relating trust to knowledge sharing and knowledge sharing to team effectiveness. The moderating effects of virtuality and task interdependence on these relationships were examined. A strong positive relationship was found between trust and knowledge sharing for all types of teams (local, hybrid and distributed), but the relationship was stronger when task interdependence was low, supporting the position that trust is more critical in weak structural situations. Knowledge sharing was positively associated with team effectiveness outcomes; however, this relationship was moderated by team imbalance and hybrid structures, such that the relationship between sharing and effectiveness was weaker. Organizations should therefore avoid creating unbalanced or hybrid virtual teams.
Agile project management methods have been widely adopted since the publication of the Agile mani... more Agile project management methods have been widely adopted since the publication of the Agile manifesto. However, the nature of project agility needs further theoretical development and empirical support. Consequently, this study defines project agility and then explores the factors that influence project teams' achievement of agility. Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) theory is adopted as a theoretical lens suitable to address the emerging, co-evolving nature of projects. A case-based research methodology is used to examine several analytics projects, the activities and interactions associated with each project, and the outcomes. Overall, the proposed study is designed to contribute to the project agility literature by applying CAS theory in the context of business analytics.
Australasian Journal of Information Systems, Nov 1, 1998
Business process reengineering (BPR) is being used in many organisations worldwide to realign ope... more Business process reengineering (BPR) is being used in many organisations worldwide to realign operations. Most of the research undertaken has been focused on North American or European practices. The study reported here replicates a US reengineering study in an Australian context by surveying large public and private sector Australian organisations. The study makes three main contributions by: (1) presenting a picture of BPR practices in Australia, (2) clarifying factors critical to the success of reengineering projects in Australia, and (3) providing a comparison of factors leading to success in Australian BPR projects with those found in the US.
Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 2001
operations; or a properly implemented business strategy using technology. It is not a one-time ac... more operations; or a properly implemented business strategy using technology. It is not a one-time activity, but rather an ongoing process of identification, assessment, and action, which needs to be well integrated into every part of IS management. IS managers must learn to control both the problems and the potential that risk represents. Several general principles to help IS managers deal effectively with risks were identified. Effective risk management involves taking a holistic approach to risk, developing a risk management policy, establishing clear accountabilities and responsibilities, balancing risk exposure against controls, being open about risks to reduce conflict and information hiding, enforcing risk management practices, and learning what works and doesn't from past experience.
Faced with growing pressures to become more environmentally sustainable, many companies are explo... more Faced with growing pressures to become more environmentally sustainable, many companies are exploring innovative ways to incorporate "green" practices into their business processes. We focus on employees and their pro-environmental behaviours in the workplace. Drawing on gamification and persuasive design principles, we utilized five design cycles to develop and test a system that tracks employees' electricity usage on their computerrelated equipment, engages them through a mobile application using a garden metaphor, and encourages them to reduce their energy consumption. The results of the design cycles built on each other, demonstrating that the system decreases employees' electricity consumption and increases their motivation to continue engaging in proenvironmental behaviours. Possible extensions to the system were also explored. Reflecting on our experiences, seven guidelines emerged related to gamification design and the wider field of design science research. Limitations and future research directions for gamification and environmental sustainability research are discussed.
Advances in semantic web and information systems series, May 19, 2010
This chapter describes one of the Web 2.0 technologies, Social Networking Sites (SNS). A definiti... more This chapter describes one of the Web 2.0 technologies, Social Networking Sites (SNS). A definition of SNS is offered, as is a short history of these sites. The existing research is reviewed and organized to summarize what we know about SNS usage (from the perspectives of student use, general population use and organizational use), and what we know about the antecedents and outcomes of SNS use. The chapter concludes with discussion of new developments, challenges and opportunities. There are many opportunities for future research and organizational applications of SNS as SNS adoption grows at incredible rates.
manager and employee was associated with higher levels of interpersonal trust only with the remot... more manager and employee was associated with higher levels of interpersonal trust only with the remote workers. Cognition-based trust was also found to be more important than affect-based trust in a remote work environment, suggesting that managers of remote employees should focus on activities that demonstrate competence, responsibility and professionalism.
The use of teams as fundamental building blocks in organizations is growing (Furst, Blackburn &am... more The use of teams as fundamental building blocks in organizations is growing (Furst, Blackburn & Rosen, 1999), as is the frequency of teams to be distributed geographically (which we call virtual teams). Virtual teams are now being used by many organizations to enhance the productivity of their employees and to reach a diversity of skills and resources (Majchrzak, Malhotra, Stamps & Lipnack, 2004). Virtual teams are groups of individuals who work on interdependent tasks, who share responsibility for outcomes, and who work together from different locations. While the use of virtual teams is more common in today’s organization, the practices that make virtual teams most effective are not fully understood and challenges remain (Markus, 2004).
Based on Cohen's [4] model of traditional teams, the effectiveness of members of six virtual team... more Based on Cohen's [4] model of traditional teams, the effectiveness of members of six virtual teams were investigated. Case studies in three different industries were conducted. Thirty-nine team members, along with the teams' manager/sponsor, were interviewed. Previously published analysis of this data [18]investigated patterns between various team input factors and the resultant virtual team member attitudes (i.e., satisfaction and motivation). In this study, the relationship between input factors and a team member's perception of team performance was examined. Positive patterns were found between team performance and interpersonal skills, team size, team turnover, team potency, team spirit, and innovations. In order to fully understand virtual team effectiveness, the results of both this performance study and the previous attitudes study are discussed. Taken as a whole, this research program has important implications for organizations with virtual teams and the researchers who study this new work.
The quality of information systems (IS) has been considered by many as critically important for c... more The quality of information systems (IS) has been considered by many as critically important for companies to derive a return on their investments in IS technology. The literature contains many studies addressing the factors likely to lead to a host of surrogate measures of system success (that is, user satisfaction, usage, business benefits), but relatively few that attempt to assess the relationship of system quality and its main outcomes. The objective of this study is to explore the relationships of system quality with possible outcomes that have been proposed separately by different researchers. Specifically, the authors propose and test a more integrative model, which includes system quality as a determinant of the extent of system usage, the benefits derived from the system, and the system impact on the user's jobs. A sample of 228 systems was used to statistically test the proposed relationships. The results corroborate the importance of system quality as a determinant of system usage, company benefits derived from the system, and the system impact on the user's job. Last, managerial recommendations and opportunities for further research are discussed.
The importance of user-related factors has long been recognized as important to system success by... more The importance of user-related factors has long been recognized as important to system success by various researchers. This study attempts to test the importance of these variables as determinants of system quality. It has brought together some userrelated variables (degree of user participation, user expertise, user/developer communication, user training, user influence, and user conflict) previously studied separately by different authors into a more cohesive model. Data from 228 systems has been used to test proposed relationships between the independent variables and system quality. The results confirm the importance of user participation, user training, and user expertise as significant variables for system quality. User/developer communication, user influence, and user conflict are found to possibly have only an indirect effect on system quality.
Social cognitive theory is used to develop a research model that was tested by examining employee... more Social cognitive theory is used to develop a research model that was tested by examining employees’ experiences of being a member in a traditional or virtual team. A self-efficacy for teamwork measure was developed based on best practices identified through case studies and existing literature. Then a survey of team members demonstrated that self-efficacy for teamwork is influenced by fellow team members’ modeling practices and relates strongly to a team member’s perceptions of effectiveness. Differential outcomes for traditional and two types of technology-supported virtual teams (distributed and hybrid) were found: Self-efficacy for teamwork was more important in virtual teams, providing empirical support for the importance of the best practices in this context.
... Conventional wisdom is that virtual teams should have a project kick-off meeting that is held... more ... Conventional wisdom is that virtual teams should have a project kick-off meeting that is held ... Future research could examine a task where cultural diversity is relevant to team performance. ... Much more work needs to be done to understand diversity in teams and how to manage it ...
Level of contributors' activity around an Open Source Software (OSS) project is one of the ke... more Level of contributors' activity around an Open Source Software (OSS) project is one of the key factors in terms of its survival and success. There are several factors that affect a developer's decision to join an OSS project, yet little research examined the influence of third-party assessments on a developer's intention to join a project. Drawing on signaling theory, this manuscript explores how third-party assessment can influence a developers' decision to join an OSS project. In order to test it, vignette survey study was conducted manipulating reputation, development experience, and a number of current OSS projects of existing developers in the OSS project. The findings suggest that all three signals have a positive influence on developer's decision to join the OSS project. This suggests that projects seeking to expand the number of contributing developers should consider offering information about its "star developers".
The empirical research on the practice of telework indicates that there are a number of issues th... more The empirical research on the practice of telework indicates that there are a number of issues that seem to impede successful telework. The fear of lost managerial control is reported to be a significant factor preventing widespread adoption of telework (DeSanctis 1984; Duxbury, Higgins, and Irving 1987; Savage 1988). Managers are also concerned that telework may require them to change their management style since they cannot rely on visual contact for monitoring and control. Researchers suggest that a more results-oriented management style is needed (Duxbury, Higgins, and Irving 1987; Metzger and Von Glinow 1988; Olson 1988) and that a shift in management from being a passer of information to a leader or coach is necessary (Duxbury, Higgins, and Irving 1987; Lallande 1984; Savage 1988). Trust is suggested as being a key ingredient to effectively manage teleworkers (Duxbury, Higgins, and Irving 1987; Savage 1988). Managing perceptions of corporate culture in a remote worker is also seen as a possible obstacle, requiring additional investment from managers (Hendricks and McMains 1989; Olson 1988).
To get value from BI (Business Intelligence) and Big Data initiatives, organizations need to deve... more To get value from BI (Business Intelligence) and Big Data initiatives, organizations need to develop the capability to successfully execute their analytics projects. Via updating Chow and Cao's list of 12 success factors for agile projects, 43 attributes of these potential critical success factors (CSFs) were identified. Data from four case studies of analytics projects suggest that the critical success factors for analytics projects may be Strong Customer Involvement and a Methodical Project Definition Process.
International Conference on Information Systems, Dec 13, 1998
The value added by an organization's IT assets is a critical concern to both research and practic... more The value added by an organization's IT assets is a critical concern to both research and practice. Not surprisingly, a large number of IS effectiveness measures can be found in the IS literature. What is not clear in the literature is what measures are appropriate in a particular context. In this paper, we propose a twodimensional matrix for classifying IS effectiveness measures. The first dimension is the type of system studied. The second dimension is the stakeholder in whose interests the system is being evaluated. The matrix was tested by using it to classify IS effectiveness measures from 186 empirical papers in three major IS journals for the last nine years. The results indicate that the classifications are meaningful. This, in turn, means that the IS effectiveness matrix provides a useful guide for conceptualizing effectiveness measurement in IS research, and for choosing appropriate measures.
The current study is a first step in investigating how virtual organizations can manage remote em... more The current study is a first step in investigating how virtual organizations can manage remote employees effectively. The research used self-efficacy theory to build a model that predicts relationships between antecedents to employees' remote work self-efficacy assessments and their behavioral and attitudinal consequences. The model was tested using responses from 376 remote managed employees in 18 diverse organizations. Overall, the results indicated that remote employees' self-efficacy assessments play a critical role in influencing their remote work effectiveness, perceived productivity, job satisfaction, and ability to cope. Furthermore, strong relationships were observed between employees' remote work self-efficacy judgments and several antecedents, including remote work experience and training, best practices modeling by management, computer anxiety, and IT capabilities. Because many of these antecedents can be controlled managerially, these findings suggest important ways in which a remote employee's work performance can be enhanced, through the intermediary effect of improved remote work self-efficacy. The current study also provides a basis for future research in the remote work area through its development and testing of a remote management framework.
The sharing of knowledge within teams is critical to team functioning. However, working with team... more The sharing of knowledge within teams is critical to team functioning. However, working with team members who are in different locations (i.e. in virtual teams) may introduce communication challenges and reduce opportunities for rich interactions, potentially affecting knowledge sharing and its outcomes. Therefore, using questionnaire-based data, this study examined the potential effects of different aspects of virtuality on a knowledge-sharing model. Social exchange theory was used to develop a model relating trust to knowledge sharing and knowledge sharing to team effectiveness. The moderating effects of virtuality and task interdependence on these relationships were examined. A strong positive relationship was found between trust and knowledge sharing for all types of teams (local, hybrid and distributed), but the relationship was stronger when task interdependence was low, supporting the position that trust is more critical in weak structural situations. Knowledge sharing was positively associated with team effectiveness outcomes; however, this relationship was moderated by team imbalance and hybrid structures, such that the relationship between sharing and effectiveness was weaker. Organizations should therefore avoid creating unbalanced or hybrid virtual teams.
Agile project management methods have been widely adopted since the publication of the Agile mani... more Agile project management methods have been widely adopted since the publication of the Agile manifesto. However, the nature of project agility needs further theoretical development and empirical support. Consequently, this study defines project agility and then explores the factors that influence project teams' achievement of agility. Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) theory is adopted as a theoretical lens suitable to address the emerging, co-evolving nature of projects. A case-based research methodology is used to examine several analytics projects, the activities and interactions associated with each project, and the outcomes. Overall, the proposed study is designed to contribute to the project agility literature by applying CAS theory in the context of business analytics.
Australasian Journal of Information Systems, Nov 1, 1998
Business process reengineering (BPR) is being used in many organisations worldwide to realign ope... more Business process reengineering (BPR) is being used in many organisations worldwide to realign operations. Most of the research undertaken has been focused on North American or European practices. The study reported here replicates a US reengineering study in an Australian context by surveying large public and private sector Australian organisations. The study makes three main contributions by: (1) presenting a picture of BPR practices in Australia, (2) clarifying factors critical to the success of reengineering projects in Australia, and (3) providing a comparison of factors leading to success in Australian BPR projects with those found in the US.
Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 2001
operations; or a properly implemented business strategy using technology. It is not a one-time ac... more operations; or a properly implemented business strategy using technology. It is not a one-time activity, but rather an ongoing process of identification, assessment, and action, which needs to be well integrated into every part of IS management. IS managers must learn to control both the problems and the potential that risk represents. Several general principles to help IS managers deal effectively with risks were identified. Effective risk management involves taking a holistic approach to risk, developing a risk management policy, establishing clear accountabilities and responsibilities, balancing risk exposure against controls, being open about risks to reduce conflict and information hiding, enforcing risk management practices, and learning what works and doesn't from past experience.
Faced with growing pressures to become more environmentally sustainable, many companies are explo... more Faced with growing pressures to become more environmentally sustainable, many companies are exploring innovative ways to incorporate "green" practices into their business processes. We focus on employees and their pro-environmental behaviours in the workplace. Drawing on gamification and persuasive design principles, we utilized five design cycles to develop and test a system that tracks employees' electricity usage on their computerrelated equipment, engages them through a mobile application using a garden metaphor, and encourages them to reduce their energy consumption. The results of the design cycles built on each other, demonstrating that the system decreases employees' electricity consumption and increases their motivation to continue engaging in proenvironmental behaviours. Possible extensions to the system were also explored. Reflecting on our experiences, seven guidelines emerged related to gamification design and the wider field of design science research. Limitations and future research directions for gamification and environmental sustainability research are discussed.
Advances in semantic web and information systems series, May 19, 2010
This chapter describes one of the Web 2.0 technologies, Social Networking Sites (SNS). A definiti... more This chapter describes one of the Web 2.0 technologies, Social Networking Sites (SNS). A definition of SNS is offered, as is a short history of these sites. The existing research is reviewed and organized to summarize what we know about SNS usage (from the perspectives of student use, general population use and organizational use), and what we know about the antecedents and outcomes of SNS use. The chapter concludes with discussion of new developments, challenges and opportunities. There are many opportunities for future research and organizational applications of SNS as SNS adoption grows at incredible rates.
manager and employee was associated with higher levels of interpersonal trust only with the remot... more manager and employee was associated with higher levels of interpersonal trust only with the remote workers. Cognition-based trust was also found to be more important than affect-based trust in a remote work environment, suggesting that managers of remote employees should focus on activities that demonstrate competence, responsibility and professionalism.
The use of teams as fundamental building blocks in organizations is growing (Furst, Blackburn &am... more The use of teams as fundamental building blocks in organizations is growing (Furst, Blackburn & Rosen, 1999), as is the frequency of teams to be distributed geographically (which we call virtual teams). Virtual teams are now being used by many organizations to enhance the productivity of their employees and to reach a diversity of skills and resources (Majchrzak, Malhotra, Stamps & Lipnack, 2004). Virtual teams are groups of individuals who work on interdependent tasks, who share responsibility for outcomes, and who work together from different locations. While the use of virtual teams is more common in today’s organization, the practices that make virtual teams most effective are not fully understood and challenges remain (Markus, 2004).
Based on Cohen's [4] model of traditional teams, the effectiveness of members of six virtual team... more Based on Cohen's [4] model of traditional teams, the effectiveness of members of six virtual teams were investigated. Case studies in three different industries were conducted. Thirty-nine team members, along with the teams' manager/sponsor, were interviewed. Previously published analysis of this data [18]investigated patterns between various team input factors and the resultant virtual team member attitudes (i.e., satisfaction and motivation). In this study, the relationship between input factors and a team member's perception of team performance was examined. Positive patterns were found between team performance and interpersonal skills, team size, team turnover, team potency, team spirit, and innovations. In order to fully understand virtual team effectiveness, the results of both this performance study and the previous attitudes study are discussed. Taken as a whole, this research program has important implications for organizations with virtual teams and the researchers who study this new work.
The quality of information systems (IS) has been considered by many as critically important for c... more The quality of information systems (IS) has been considered by many as critically important for companies to derive a return on their investments in IS technology. The literature contains many studies addressing the factors likely to lead to a host of surrogate measures of system success (that is, user satisfaction, usage, business benefits), but relatively few that attempt to assess the relationship of system quality and its main outcomes. The objective of this study is to explore the relationships of system quality with possible outcomes that have been proposed separately by different researchers. Specifically, the authors propose and test a more integrative model, which includes system quality as a determinant of the extent of system usage, the benefits derived from the system, and the system impact on the user's jobs. A sample of 228 systems was used to statistically test the proposed relationships. The results corroborate the importance of system quality as a determinant of system usage, company benefits derived from the system, and the system impact on the user's job. Last, managerial recommendations and opportunities for further research are discussed.
The importance of user-related factors has long been recognized as important to system success by... more The importance of user-related factors has long been recognized as important to system success by various researchers. This study attempts to test the importance of these variables as determinants of system quality. It has brought together some userrelated variables (degree of user participation, user expertise, user/developer communication, user training, user influence, and user conflict) previously studied separately by different authors into a more cohesive model. Data from 228 systems has been used to test proposed relationships between the independent variables and system quality. The results confirm the importance of user participation, user training, and user expertise as significant variables for system quality. User/developer communication, user influence, and user conflict are found to possibly have only an indirect effect on system quality.
Social cognitive theory is used to develop a research model that was tested by examining employee... more Social cognitive theory is used to develop a research model that was tested by examining employees’ experiences of being a member in a traditional or virtual team. A self-efficacy for teamwork measure was developed based on best practices identified through case studies and existing literature. Then a survey of team members demonstrated that self-efficacy for teamwork is influenced by fellow team members’ modeling practices and relates strongly to a team member’s perceptions of effectiveness. Differential outcomes for traditional and two types of technology-supported virtual teams (distributed and hybrid) were found: Self-efficacy for teamwork was more important in virtual teams, providing empirical support for the importance of the best practices in this context.
... Conventional wisdom is that virtual teams should have a project kick-off meeting that is held... more ... Conventional wisdom is that virtual teams should have a project kick-off meeting that is held ... Future research could examine a task where cultural diversity is relevant to team performance. ... Much more work needs to be done to understand diversity in teams and how to manage it ...
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Papers by Sandy Staples