Getting Lost in the Labyrinth

The importance of the labyrinth as a trope in the Western tradition can hardly be overstated. Far from being a metaphor that describes just anything, it is a sign whose meaning appears in specific contexts. This article argues how the labyrinth’s triple function as visual, verbal and spatial sign—as well as its paradoxical function as unicursal and multicursal structure—makes it flexible enough to represent the paradoxical and complex nature of the modern workplace, the city, the mall and the individual subject’s position within an ever burgeoning network of relationships brought about by consumerism, capitalism, and commodification. Understanding the labyrinth trope helps people to understand the subject’s relationship to power and the very technology that we have created and in which we are trapped.

3D Virtual Worlds

Teams meet in 3D virtual worlds more frequently than ever before, yet the tools for evaluating 3D collaboration environments are underdeveloped. To close the 3D collaboration tool evaluation gap, the authors integrate lessons from the gaming industry and distributed work research. They develop two complementary approaches. First, the individual user’s perspective using eye-tracking (ET) is addressed, and second, the collaborative experience of the group using a technique called All-Views-Qualitative-Analysis (AVQA) is evaluated. The latter integrates the points-of-view of all subjects in a small group collaborating on a creative work task in a 3 dimensional virtual world. The authors show how these techniques enable evaluation of 3D environment design from the perspective of human computer interaction theory and theories related to distributed work. The paper discusses why designers should seek ways to leverage the advantages of 3D collaboration technologies and avoid recreating mirrors of physical space in these environments.

Coding for Unique Ideas and Ambiguity

Groups can generate so many ideas during a decision making process involving brainstorming that they become an impediment to group processes. Convergence activities reduce the number of ideas generated by the group and clarify those ideas, allowing the group to move forward with a set of ideas worthy of further attention. Research about convergence and its affect on collaboration is in the early stages. To further this research, measures of convergence are developed in this study as part of an assessment of the effects of convergence on an ideation artifact produced by managers attempting to solve an actual business problem. This paper presents a method for quantifying the reduction and clarification that has occurred through convergence using an assessment of a pre- and post-convergence artifact. This study expands upon understanding of collaboration by presenting the method of characterizing the convergence artifacts.

Committing to Organizational Change in IT Industry

In the current competitive environment, managing organizational change successfully requires comprehensive understanding of change management concepts and processes as well as the implied drivers behind them. Information technology (IT) field is not an exception; growing interest exists for understanding organizational change and change management in the IT industry. Fast-paced changes in today’s IT and business environments are inevitable and the challenges associated with organizational changes are becoming more complex. This study aims to find at least partial answers to the question how employees’ commitment to change and the implementation quality of a change process affect achieving the goals and succeeding in an organizational change initiative. The study is conducted in two parts in a Finnish IT company providing complex IT solutions and services. The first part, the pilot study, identifies factors hindering employees’ commitment to change. The pilot study is followed by a quantitative main study, which investigates the relationships between employees’ level of commitment during the different phases of a change project, the change process quality, the importance and realization level of the different goals set for the change project, and the final success of the change initiative. The results indicate that a strong, positive relationship exists between the change process quality and the level of employees’ commitment to change.

Playing Virtual Power Games

Although virtual organizations and networks have been studied, there is still need for research regarding their inner dynamics and the mechanisms of leadership and governance. This paper investigates micro-political processes i.e. informal actions of individual actors to gain power and exert influence, which is a well-researched concept in traditional organizations with respect to inter-organizational networks. This study investigates structures and strategies of power within virtual networks. Results show that micro-political tactics known from research in traditional organizations are used in inter-organizational settings. Additional micro-political tactics, specific to virtual networks, are identified. The latter are related to the use of information and communication technology (ICT). A second quantitative study surveyed 359 members of inter-organizational networks on their use of micro-political tactics. Results confirm that micro-political strategies are widely used in virtual networks. The degree of virtuality was associated with the use of certain tactics. Possible implications for the structure and governance of virtual networks and the design of the technology that is used to support virtual cooperation are discussed.

Examining the Varying Influence of Social and Technological Aspects on Adoption and Usage of Knowledge Management Systems

Knowledge management strives for effective capture and application of organizational knowledge, a resource imperative in sustaining organizations. To better achieve knowledge management initiatives, examination of factors influencing adoption and usage of knowledge management systems (KMS) are of great interest. Implementation of technological solutions considered organizational innovation is subject to potential problems of resistance, implying analysis of social factors equally important to technological factors. With Innovation Diffusion Theory as a foundation, this research examines factors influencing adoption and usage of KMS. The model is extended to include Reciprocity Expectation, an important factor affecting knowledge management processes. Results indicate that some factors are important in determining adoption while others are important for continued usage. This research emphasizes careful consideration and re-evaluation of both social and technological factors throughout all stages of technology implementation; more specifically, Reciprocity Expectation may be an important factor affecting length of adoption, but insignificant in determining continued usage.

Understanding Collaboration Success in Context of Cognitive and Social Presence

Collaboration and the success of collaborative efforts has been the focus of much information systems research. Recent measures of collaboration success include effectiveness, efficiency, productivity, commitment, satisfaction with the process, and satisfaction with the outcome. While the possible antecedents of collaboration success are varied, this paper suggests that constructs from the e-learning literature that evolved independently from the information systems collaboration literature can be used to explain differences in perceived collaboration success. Results from a recent exploratory study demonstrate that cognitive presence and social presence explain a large amount of the variance of different collaboration success metrics.

An Examination of Prestigious Stigma

This paper examines “technology geek” through the social psychological lens of stigma. The research expands on an aspect of stigma that can materialize in work settings but has not been fully explicated in prior stigma theory, namely, prestige. The authors argue that a stigma may be worn with pride rather than shame, typified by the case of the technology geek, called “prestigious stigma.” The theory building focuses on interactions between the technology geek and others in the organization, positing that prestigiously stigmatized individuals behave in ways that differ from what social psychologists have generally posited for the stigmatized. This effort culminates in a model of mixed interaction involving the technology geek, which extends prior stigma theory and provides insights for practice and future research regarding technology professionals in organizations.

Gender Wage Differentials in Information Systems

This paper investigates trends and changes in the gender earnings gap for individuals employed in clerical and professional level information systems positions in the U.S. labor market for the period of 1991 through 2008. It examines changes in the earnings gap for IS workers, specifically considering changes relative to the so-called “Internet bubble” observed primarily during the late 1990s. Quantitative analysis of changes in the wage gap, adjusted for key determinants, is based on data from the Current Population Survey (CPS). Examination of these data suggests that the gender earnings gap is persistent despite frequent claims to the contrary from industry surveys and that the gap is narrower for professional level positions. Furthermore, the data suggest that female IS workers, particularly in professional level occupations, may have experienced a beneficial effect from the internet bubble, but it is unclear whether or not that beneficial effect may be fading in the post-bubble internet bust of the early 21st century.

Workforce Assessment in the Jordanian ICT Industry

This paper provides an assessment of workforce need in the Jordanian ICT industry. The results have shown that there is a growing workforce gap in the ICT sector. The technical skills of graduates are not satisfactory, and there is an increasing demand for skilled graduates. In addition to the technical skills required, communication skills, creative thinking, and English language skills were seen as important “soft skill elements” across all job categories and are missing in the current ICT workforce. The skills and competencies identified in this study can be used to motivate a design of an effective, flexible and relevant ICT program that can contribute to building a skillful workforce focusing on specialized and hands-on practices in ICT domains.