The 2019 impact factor (announced end of June 2020) for ISJ is 4.188. This is the third best impact factor in the Basket of Eight IS Journals. See past ISJ impact factors and the Editor’s comment on impact factors here. The next impact factor (2020) will not be available until around mid June 2021.

Information Systems Journal, Volume 31, Issue 6, Page 863-868, November 2021. Source

Abstract

Despite significant information technology (IT) implementations in public administrations of developing countries to change their dysfunctional traditional practices towards modern forms, the outcomes are typically disappointing relative to the potential of IT for organizational change. With a case study of the customs clearance process when importing goods through Ghana’s main port, the Tema Harbour, we explore why IT struggles to modernize traditional practices of public administration in a developing country context. We focus on explaining the persistence of paper use at Ghana customs despite more than a decade of digitalization and automation to establish paperless processes that eliminate malpractices of traditional clearance. We view modernization as a process of long-term institutional change and therefore draw from the literature on IT and institutional change to focus our investigation on the dynamics of incongruent institutional logics of IT and public administration. We show that in the administration context of a developing country like Ghana, the endurance of patrimonial logics in the state and broader society, coupled with high levels of administrative discretion and ambivalent or weak compliance pressure limit the realization of IT for modernization and allows hybrid practices to emerge.

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Abstract

Algorithmic fairness (AF) has been framed as a newly emerging technology that mitigates systemic discrimination in automated decision-making, providing opportunities to improve fairness in information systems (IS). However, based on a state-of-the-art literature review, we argue that fairness is an inherently social concept and that technologies for AF should therefore be approached through a sociotechnical lens. We advance the discourse on AF as a sociotechnical phenomenon. Our research objective is to embed AF in the sociotechnical view of IS. Specifically, we elaborate on why outcomes of a system that uses algorithmic means to assure fairness depend on mutual influences between technical and social structures. This perspective can generate new insights that integrate knowledge from both technical fields and social studies. Further, it spurs new directions for IS debates. We contribute as follows: First, we problematize fundamental assumptions in the current discourse on AF based on a systematic analysis of 310 articles. Second, we respond to these assumptions by theorizing AF as a sociotechnical construct. Third, we propose directions for IS researchers to enhance their impacts by pursuing a unique understanding of sociotechnical AF. We call for and undertake a holistic approach to AF. A sociotechnical perspective on AF can yield holistic solutions to systemic biases and discrimination.

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Abstract

Organisations across many industries are increasing the use of evidence-based approaches to decision-making through adoption of business analytics. Creative processes and decisions are an area of organisational decision-making which has traditionally been highly intuition-based, and where professional culture and practices are often very different from the engineering disciplines from which data-driven decision approaches originate. Through the case study of the analytics-oriented transformation of creative decisions at Rovio, a leading game development company, this study seeks to understand how organisations can make their creative decision processes more evidence-based, while retaining the best features of artistic intuition and human creativity. The case study highlights several issues that need to be delicately managed and balanced to effectively combine analytics and human creativity, and offers five principles for such “creative analytics”: (1) build shared analytics values but provide tailored BA support; (2) build hybrid teams; (3) balance commercial and creative goals; (4) encourage creative experimentation and learning; and (5) make data-inspired, not data-driven, creative decisions.

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Abstract

China is one of the largest and fastest-growing markets for live streaming, and the purchase of virtual gifts in live streaming is the core for streamers and live streaming platforms in China to survive and thrive. Compared to western countries, live streaming in China highlights the lively social atmosphere and heated social interactions among streamers and viewers. This study develops a cultural context-sensitive model that contextualises the purchase of virtual gifts in live streaming in China. Specifically, we focus on the viewer’s social experience and the social atmosphere in live streaming which have received limited attention yet. We introduce viewers’ social perceptions with regard to the streamer and other viewers (ie, perceived proximity to the streamer and sense of belonging to the viewer crowd) and show how such social perceptions contribute to the development of flow experience, which subsequently leads to purchase intention. This study also reveals how such social perceptions can be shaped by the contextual setting consisting of the IT-related factors of live streaming (ie, responsiveness, two-way communication, social presence, and self-presentation) and the cultural characteristics of China (ie, social orientation and harmony). Our research offers both theoretical guidance for practitioners into cultivating viewers’ purchase of virtual gifts in China’s live streaming.

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Information Systems Journal, EarlyView. Source

Abstract

Most information systems (IS) research takes for granted that consumers’ adoption and the use of mobile payment (MP) applications are motivated by generic factors such as perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Challenging this assumption, we argue that the salient contextual characteristics of MP applications compel a reconsideration and problematization of research on MP adoption and use. Drawing on network effect theory, we examined how contextual network effects and contextual network types determine MP consumer loyalty. Using a mixed methods design, we find that direct network effects (i.e., network size, network centrality, network capability), indirect network effects (i.e., platform–application complementarity, application–service complementarity, service–strategy complementarity) and negative network effects (i.e., general institutional structure, general structural assurance, local institutional structure and local structural assurance) are key determinants of perceived benefits, which further promote MP consumer loyalty. Furthermore, except for general institutional structure and general structural assurance, all of the network effects are important predictors of switching costs, which influence MP consumer loyalty. Finally, the impacts of network effects on MP consumer loyalty differ between consumer- and service-oriented networks. Our study enriches the IS literature by problematizing the core assumption underlying the MP adoption and use research and offering a contextual explanation of MP consumer loyalty. Our work also provides practitioners with insights into how to better leverage network effects on MP consumer loyalty.

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Abstract

The opinions and behaviours of others are recognised as powerful mechanisms for social influence in the digital sphere. The former, often referred to as electronic word of mouth (eWOM), is a thoroughly researched topic in the Information Systems literature. Conversely, the digital display of users’ behaviours (e.g., number of past purchases) is less well understood despite the widespread adoption of this practice on digital platforms. Quantitative research has explored this interesting domain and found that observing others’ behaviours entice observers to follow suit, but has left unaddressed the question of what sensemaking users derive from behavioural information. This is problematic as behavioural information is more open to interpretation compared to eWOM. In this article, we adopt the concept of electronic word of behaviour (eWOB) to denote such behavioural information. Through the lens of basic psychological needs theory and the qualitative means-end chain approach, we expose how eWOB is interpreted and used by users of a digital platform, the music service Spotify. We find that eWOB leads to satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for relatedness and competence when observing others’ behaviours. We also show how exposure to one’s own past behaviours can yield a positive sense of self when presented in meaningful and private manners, but that it can also negatively impact users when their needs for autonomy and competence are not heeded by the digital platform. Finally, based on our empirical findings we offer a set of design implications for how digital platforms can optimise the use of eWOB.

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Action research (AR) involves one or more researchers and a client organisation. Many guidelines for and reports of the research method have been published. However, the ethical issues associated with AR have been largely neglected. Our review of the AR literature found that ethical dilemmas and their resolution are rarely and inconsistently reported. Stimulated by this neglect and our personal experiences, we aim to raise awareness and understanding about the ethics of planning, conducting and reporting AR. We identify and discuss four issues of concern that merit specific ethical attention when conducting AR: collaboration, competence, persistence and consent. We draw on these four issues in an analysis that augments the principles and criteria for canonical AR (CAR), recently reified as Integrated Action Research (IAR). Our guidance includes an additional principle of AR and 10 associated criteria to address the ethics of AR participation.

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Information Systems Journal, EarlyView. Source