Information Systems Journal最新文献

This opinion paper presents two proposed token-based systems to fix the information system academy's review system. At present, the review system consumes more human resources than the information systems academy has by an order of magnitude. The cost of this overflow is borne entirely by information systems researchers. I argue this is because the review system is based on a gift economy that cannot handle the currently sized market. Both proposals involve the creation of tokens and a central governing body. The first proposal involves a market built around a review bank (central governing body) that issues review tokens that function as a proxy currency. Journals function as intermediaries between authors and reviewers. Authors pay journals for reviews, and journals pay experts such as reviewers and editors for their services. Reviewers exchange their review tokens on the open market or trade review tokens for favours with institutions like universities. The second proposal involves a gift economy where reviewers transfer their allegiance from peers to the information systems academy. In this proposal, each individual token is unique, like a trading card and an affiliation board tracks the transfer of tokens, linking former possessors of a token together in a review ring. As tokens are regifted, they accumulate history, and thereby social worth, captured in the form of messages each possessor writes. Former possession of a large number of tokens and of tokens with particular histories confers status benefits. These benefits in turn lock reviewers into the review ring system encouraging them to do further reviews. Economic, social, and other implications of both policies are discussed and questions are posed for the information systems academy to grapple with. Example issues discussed include the effect of the proposals on the political power of reviewers and shifts in political power in the information systems academy.

Strong interest in digital transformation to increase business value calls for new and improved theorising of the digital transformation process. Traditional perspectives fail to address the complex socio-technological challenges and entanglement of actions at multiple levels that characterise the process. This research adopts a flow-oriented perspective to extend the process frontier of digital transformation. This entails analysing the lines of action that intertwine to form storylines of digital transformation. Drawing on a multilevel longitudinal qualitative study, the research offers three valuable contributions: First, the paper advances the discourse on digital transformation by introducing the heretofore unrecognised phenomenon of transitional moments. Second, by introducing a novel taxonomy for lines of action, the paper demonstrates the evolving nature of the digital transformation process, surpassing conventional rational-system model interpretations. These two contributions broaden the process frontier of digital transformation by underscoring the dynamic and continuous nature of digital transformation, emphasising its non-linear progression, and rejecting the notion of an idealised direct path to a predefined goal. These two additions to the digital transformation discourse lay the foundations for our third contribution, which is a set of proposed research approaches for future investigations into digital transformation, regardless of research focus, phenomena, or domain.

The integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in rural areas holds significant potential for facilitating active participation of villagers in spatial governance processes. While previous research has primarily focused on the role of e-participation tools in rural governance, there exists a knowledge gap regarding substantive villager participation within intricate systems. This study explores the intricate mechanism of meaningful engagement by harnessing the potential of ICT and parametric technologies. First, the concept of ‘e-participation ecosystem’ is proposed. The concept integrates ICT, parametric technology and other relevant elements necessary to facilitate substantial participation of rural villagers in spatial governance. Subsequently, an analytical framework to examine the impact mechanism of ICT technology on the efficiency of village spatial governance is developed, building upon an evaluation of villagers' active involvement. Finally, a practical demonstration was conducted in C village to validate the positive impact of ICT on rural spatial governance. This study reveals that the successful implementation of ICT in village spatial governance necessitates a comprehensive ‘e-participation ecosystem’ for support, as the efficacy of individual ICT technologies is limited. Additionally, it highlights that the utilisation of ICT can enhance efficiency in village spatial governance, thereby reducing participation costs for all stakeholders through a streamlined governance process. Moreover, parameterization technology plays an equally crucial role in the process of village spatial governance. By harnessing the power of parameterization technology, the efficiency of generating village spatial planning schemes can be significantly enhanced. When integrated with ICT technology, it has the potential to substantially reduce response time for all stakeholders involved.

Digital tools can help mitigate serious threats to social and economic activity created by external shocks and reduced government funding. This paper complements Information Technology for Development (IT4D) studies of resilience by focusing on how the introduction of new digital tools can sustain both economic and social activities, potentially leading to further adaptations. It investigates eBay's Charity Connect initiative, which supported the UK charity sector to continue selling donated items during the COVID-19 lockdown. The findings present three pathways-outcomes used to foster resilience through introducing new digital tools: interim resilience, bounded resilience and enhanced resilience. Using conservation of resources theory, the paper explains the difference between these outcomes and discusses how balancing stress and resource investment can help leverage digital tools and foster greater digital resilience.

Time is central to many debates about hybrid work- the impact on speed and productivity, commute times, and synchronisation of work. However, we argue that time is often over-simplified in extant hybrid work literature and tends to ignore many temporal concepts that capture the inherently complex, multi-faceted, subtle, and socially embedded nature of time. To address this issue, we conducted studies of five hybrid work teams across two large organisations. The paper contributes to current research on hybrid work by (i) illustrating the various temporal concepts that may be considered in the design of hybrid work environments, as well as the impact of considering or not considering them; (ii) illustrating how these temporal concepts in a physical space can be augmented in the digital space, rather than assuming the digital space should simply represent the physical; and (iii) providing a framework for the consideration of time–aware hybrid work. We hope to spark scientific interest in studying the temporal nuances of hybrid work but also the temporal aspects of design in other areas.

Despite the potential benefits for drivers at the base of the pyramid (BoP) of IT-driven ridesharing businesses, drivers are susceptible to uncertainty owing to their low education and incomes, potentially compelling them to engage less in ridesharing over time. Although this important sociotechnical phenomenon has garnered increasing attention, IS studies on this topic are scarce. Drawing on uncertainty reduction theory, we explored mechanisms for reducing BoP drivers' uncertainty and building their trust to enable them to engage in ridesharing. We identified three means of uncertainty reduction at three levels: trust in passengers, trust in ridesharing platforms, and the effectiveness of ridesharing institutional mechanisms. Using a sequential, triangulated mixed-methods approach, we conducted 30 semi-structured interviews to explore trust building with drivers and used data provided by 303 ridesharing drivers to quantitatively test the proposed research model. We found that perceived empathy and information congruity increased BoP drivers' trust in passengers, whereas effective escrow services, perceived justice, matching accuracy, and a high level of privacy control increased BoP drivers' perceived trust in ridesharing platforms, motivating them to engage more frequently with ridesharing platforms. Furthermore, the results indicated that increasing trust in both passengers and ridesharing platforms and improving the effectiveness of ridesharing institutional mechanisms can enhance BoP drivers' engagement in ridesharing. We conducted 30 follow-up interviews with BoP drivers to corroborate the quantitative results and draw robust inferences.