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PurposeCrowdsourcing platforms have emerged as an innovative way to generate ideas and solving problems. However, promoting sustained participation among crowdworkers is an ongoing challenge for most crowdsourcing platform providers. Drawing on self-determination theory, this study investigates the impacts of job autonomy on crowdworkers' sustained participation intention.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 212 crowdworkers from a leading crowdsourcing platform in China was conducted to empirically validate the model.FindingsThe empirical results lead to several key findings. First, the taxonomy of job autonomy in crowdsourcing contains three archetypes: work-scheduling autonomy, work-task autonomy, and work-method autonomy. Second, work-scheduling autonomy and work-method autonomy have more significant positive effects on temporal value than work-task autonomy, and this increase in temporal value increases crowdworkers' sustained participation intention. Third, work-task autonomy exerts a stronger influence on hedonic value than work-scheduling autonomy or work-method autonomy, and this increase in hedonic value also increases crowdworkers' sustained participation intention.Originality/valueThis study extends the crowdsourcing literature by examining the formation of crowdworkers' sustained participation and highlighting the role of differential effects of multidimensional job autonomy on crowdworkers' sustained participation. We believe that this study provides actionable insights into measures that promote crowdworkers' sustained participation in the crowdsourcing platform.

PurposeThis article seeks to understand how live-streaming technology (i.e. interactivity and effective use of live-streaming shopping’s information presentation tool) impacts consumers’ credibility perception regarding live streamers.Design/methodology/approachThe authors empirically examined their hypotheses with data (n = 405) collected from a survey of consumers who engage in live-streaming shopping.FindingsThe results demonstrate that vicarious learning strategies (both coactive and independent) can shape consumers’ benefit perceptions (i.e. virtual presence and psychological proximity), and further have a positive effect on consumers’ personal value (i.e. perceived live streamer credibility). Furthermore, the consumers’ perception of the live streamers’ credibility positively affects their purchase intention and ultimately influences their purchase behavior.Originality/valueBuilding on the vicarious learning theory and means-end chain (MEC) model, this study investigates the mechanism of the IT features of live-streaming shopping in reducing consumers’ uncertainty about live streamers. This study reveals the value of vicarious learning experiences in reducing consumers’ uncertainty and further enhancing their purchase behavior.

PurposeThis study investigates how employees' work- and social-related use of social media can individually and interactively render different impacts on employees' performance in the context of internal or external social media.Design/methodology/approachTo test the research model in these two different contexts, the authors collected data from 392 internal social media users and 302 external social media users in the workplace.FindingsThe data suggest that the respondents' job performance can be enhanced when using internal social media for work-related purposes and using external social media for social-related purposes. Meanwhile, the interaction of work- and social-related use is positive for external social media but negative for internal social media on job performance. These findings highlight the significant distinction of social media use in the workplace.Originality/valueFirst, this study contributes to the literature on the business value of IT by providing theoretical arguments on how companies can capitalize efforts to consider work-related use in combination with social-related use to create business value. Second, this research theorizes two distinct yet interacting views of social media use. The authors offer a more granular insight of the paths from work- and social-related use to employee performance instead of encapsulating social media use in a unitary concept and linking it simply and broadly to employee performance. Third, this research considers the interdependent effects of work- and social-related use on employee performance, and thus goes beyond the independent roles of these two types of social media use. Fourth, the authors find that the links from employees' work- and social-related use of social media to job performance vary in different contexts.

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the factors influencing consumers' continued social commerce (s-commerce) intention and its underlying mechanism.Design/methodology/approachThe authors define continued s-commerce intention as consumers' intention to continually participate in s-commerce activities, namely, requesting and sharing commercial information. Grounded in the motivation theory, perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment are identified in this study as the motives behind consumers' continued s-commerce intention. Given the indispensable social facet of s-commerce, the authors include social support as another critical social factor motivating continuance intention. Furthermore, users' perceptions are affected by prior s-commerce outcomes, which concern the effectiveness of the commercial information exchange process. Research suggests that in such a context, the result of communication is jointly determined by source credibility and interactive relationships amongst individuals. Whilst source credibility determines the usefulness of the information transmitted, a social interaction supports this process. Therefore, source credibility and social interactions are crucial to the outcomes of s-commerce, which, in turn, affect consumers' perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment and social support in s-commerce. Building on these arguments, the authors propose our research model and then test the hypotheses via a survey.FindingsThe authors find that consumers' perceived usefulness and informational social support of s-commerce directly affect their continued s-commerce intention. Moreover, perceived enjoyment leads to continued s-commerce intention via the mediation of perceived usefulness, whilst emotional social support influences continued s-commerce intention through the mediator of informational social support. In addition, source credibility is a significant antecedent of consumers' usefulness, enjoyment and social support perceptions, whilst a social interaction significantly impacts perceived enjoyment and social support.Originality/valueVarious consumer behaviours in s-commerce have been studied; however, the continuance intention to participate in the s-commerce activity remains unknown. This empirical study fills this research gap. Moreover, the authors initially reveal s-commerce participants' utilitarian orientation in the post-adoption stage: perceived usefulness and informational social support affect continuance intention more directly than perceived enjoyment and emotional social support. Further, prior studies on information systems continuance have mainly focused on technical features. By identifying the influence from social factors, i.e. social support, this work extends the literature on information systems continuance.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of “researcher perspective” in articles published in the AIS Basket of 8 journals.Design/methodology/approachPurposive sampling: descriptive analysis of 659 articles published in three complete years of each of the eight leading journals (2001, 2008, 2015).FindingsWhen observing phenomena, IS researchers mostly adopt the perspective of one of the stakeholders in the activities, commonly that of the sponsor of the information system that is in focus. 96% of relevant articles adopted a single-perspective approach, and 93% of those were oriented towards the system sponsor.Research limitations/implicationsThe discipline has not been exploiting opportunities to deliver greater value firstly through the adoption of perspectives other than that of the system sponsor, and secondly through dual- and multi-perspective research. Further, the ignoring of the viewpoints of other stakeholders is inconsistent with the requirements of the recently-adopted AIS Code of Ethics.Practical implicationsThe dominance of single-perspective/system-sponsor-viewpoint research greatly constrains the benefits that IS research can deliver to IS practitioners and to the world at large.Originality/valueThe authors are not aware of any prior investigation into the nature of researcher perspective. We contend that an appreciation of the current bias is essential if IS research is to adapt, and thereby make far more useful contributions to practice.

PurposeThe success of social commerce depends on consumers' willingness to participate in social commerce activities. Practitioners have attached increasing attention to facilitating social commerce intention with influencer strategies. However, theoretical understanding or empirical investigation on the impact of digital influencers on consumers' social commerce intention is limited. This study aims to provide new insights into the drivers of two forms of social commerce intention: social shopping and social sharing intention. Based on the theoretical lens of social power, this study answers how digital influencers affect consumer satisfaction and ultimately boost their intention to conduct social commerce activities.Design/methodology/approachA field interview is conducted to determine the appropriate social power forms. An online survey on a large social commerce site in China with 310 respondents is conducted to test the proposed model.FindingsResults indicate that expert power and referent power derived from digital influencers predict most of the consumers' economic satisfaction, whereas referent power and reciprocity power explain consumers' social satisfaction. Economic satisfaction affects social shopping and social sharing intention, whereas social satisfaction only influences social sharing intention.Originality/valueThis study sheds new light on the theoretical understanding of the effect of digital influencers through a lens of social power. It provides new insight into the determinants of social commerce intention. It also compensates for the neglect of social satisfaction in the social commerce context.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how the shoppers’ social value perception affects their purchase intention in online shopping context through its distinct role and relationships with other value dimensions. The moderating effect of the characteristics of other members on the relationship among value dimensions and the difference of value perception between experienced and inexperienced members were also tested to identify the boundary conditions of the proposed model. Design/methodology/approach The survey included 272 consumers from a well-known social shopping website in China to test the hypotheses. Findings The results indicate that hedonic and utilitarian value fully mediate the relationship between social value and purchase intention. Perceived expertise positively moderates the relationship between social value and the other two values. In particular, the results found that while inexperienced members can acquire both higher utilitarian and hedonic value from social value and their purchase intention relies more on the hedonic value, experienced members place greater emphasis on the utilitarian value. Practical implications The results may help vendors regain confidence in the social shopping business mode and offer specific policy implications on how to leverage shoppers’ social value perception to generate their purchase intention in a social shopping context. Originality/value This study focuses on the legitimacy of the independent role of social value and sheds light on the relationships among social value and other value dimensions based on social capital theory, which was under-explored by previous studies. Besides, this study clarifies the moderating role of experience, which highlights the previously unnoticed changing role of consumers’ value perception.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how selected employees in China deliberately subvert organizational information systems (IS) policy by developing feral working practices in order to gain access to the applications that they believe essential to work. Design/methodology/approach Interpretive case study. Findings Employees cannot accept the limited IT policy/environment imposed by corporate management and develop their own workarounds that subvert the organizational IT policy so as to ensure that they can get work done. Research limitations/implications The authors draw on elements of punctuated equilibrium theory to conceptualize the findings into four theoretical propositions. The authors encourage researchers to probe these organizational practices and solutions in depth. Practical implications Organizations cannot expect their digital native employees to leave their social media culture at home when they come to work. Social media penetrates all aspects of their lives and in all locations. Therefore, organizations must find a way to permit its use at work. Originality/value Subversion is a topic rarely studied in IS research, or in business/management more generally. The focus on the subversive behavior of organizational employees is original and important. The authors suggest that subversive behavior may be more common than the limited literature suggests.

Purpose Drawing on transaction cost economics (TCE) and social exchange theory (SET), the purpose of this paper is to explain why and how external environment, governance structures and interpersonal relationships influence information and communication technology (ICT)-enabled information sharing in supply chains (SCs) of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from developing economies. Design/methodology/approach The authors adopt a theory-building approach using a multiple case study design, including four SMEs operating in SCs from two developing economies (i.e. Republic of North Macedonia and People’s Republic of China), in which the authors conduct both within-case and cross-case analyses. Findings Social bonds (known as vrski in Macedonian and guanxi in Chinese) were found to govern buyer–supplier exchanges by supporting the establishment of personal trust and the reduction of distrust. These social bonds compensate for the institutional deficiencies in developing economies and thus encourage ICT-enabled information sharing by SMEs in their SCs. Research limitations/implications By applying the theoretical perspectives of TCE and SET to the cross-case analysis, the authors develop nine propositions to explain ICT-enabled information sharing and its interdependencies with external environment, governance structures and interpersonal relationships in developing economies. Further research is recommended to refine and test the generalizability of the theoretical model. Practical implications Firms have to develop and nurture social bonds with their suppliers from developing economies to reduce risks related to the environmental uncertainty and institutional voids. This can increase trust and decrease distrust associated with ICT-enabled information sharing. Originality/value The study examines why and how external environment (environmental uncertainty and institutional environment), social bonds (vrski and guanxi) and interpersonal mechanisms (trust and distrust) influence ICT-enabled information sharing of SMEs operating in developing economies.

PurposeThis paper aims to develop a research model that explains how instant messaging (IM) technologies enable employees to be empowered.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses survey of 253 Chinese work professionals with respect to their use of IM tools at work.FindingsIM does empower work teams via shaping the social networks and facilitating knowledge sharing in the workplace, resulting in heightened team performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe survey was conducted in China so generalization to other national contexts is tentative. It focuses on the bright side of IM, but neglects the dark side, e.g. security concerns and work interruptions.Practical implicationsIM is not only a social tool, it also has the potential to contribute to work teams. However, IM cannot achieve better work performance alone. Its contribution to strengthen the social networks at work is also critical. These social networks at work can enable employees to overcome psychological barriers to knowledge sharing.Originality/valueStudies of IM in the workplace have not previously considered social network perspectives, nor the value of such IM‐facilitated social networks for work performance. This large scale survey of work professionals across four locations in China provides evidence for the considerable positive impacts of IM on work.

PurposeIn China, online intermediaries have become increasingly influential in the last few years, notably in the business‐to‐business (B2B) domain. However, little research has considered the impact of these intermediaries on either the tacit knowledge or the guanxi that are so central to Chinese business processes. In this paper, authors investigate this impact, as well as the consequent shifts that are taking place on B2B platforms, focusing on the case of Alibaba, China's largest online business intermediary.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory case‐study approach is employed in this paper. The authors have comprehensive investigated Alibaba's trading platforms and associated technologies. They have also engaged 15 Alibaba users (buyers and sellers) from seven different countries/territories in semi‐structured interviews and use the interview data to supplement the own findings.FindingsAlibaba is effectively functioning as a substitute for traditional, offline social networks. In the process, it is leveraging and disseminating explicit knowledge critical to all aspects of the purchasing/procurement process, as well as changing the role of guanxi throughout the business purchasing/procurement process. Alibaba is thus engineering radical changes in the way business can be conducted in China.Research limitations/implicationsExperienced researchers of Chinese management have traditionally been wary of ignoring cultural norms, which, in this case, would highlight the importance of both guanxi and tacit knowledge. The shift from tacit to explicit knowledge representation, coupled with a modified role for guanxi, is thus rather unexpected and should lead researchers to query previous assumptions, as well as test new ones, specifically in the area of online B2B transactions, but potentially in other domains where online communications are involved.Practical implicationsChinese business people are all too aware of the importance of tacit knowledge and guanxi. The potential for this tacit knowledge to be represented explicitly online, coupled with the shifting role that guanxi may play, should be of great interest to those who wish to explore the online marketspace. It may be particularly attractive to newcomers (notably non‐Chinese) to the Chinese market since their own tacit knowledge and guanxi may be less well developed and they may be in a better position to leverage the online platforms.Originality/valueThere is little prior work on Chinese B2B e‐commerce from a guanxi‐based or knowledge management (KM) perspective that builds on the experiences of online buyers and sellers. They chart this area and seek to integrate the two disparate streams of research on guanxi and KM in the context of B2B e‐commerce.

PurposeTo develop a model that can explain the “government to e‐government” transition process.Design/methodology/approachReviews the literature on and practice of e‐government, as well as the related literature of strategic alignment and maturity models for technology adoption. Offers evidence for the model's validity through case‐type material from the web sites of e‐governments worldwide.FindingsSix transition paths can be identified, four of which are more likely to result in effective e‐government transition.Research limitations/implicationsFurther work is needed to test the validity of the model. This could involve historical and longitudinal studies of the government to e‐government transition process in different governments around the world.Practical implicationsThe transition model should be of value to e‐government strategic planners who are seeking possible transition paths towards the effective development of e‐government.Originality/valueThe paper tackles the little investigated topic of the transition process through which governments must go as they shift from traditional government to e‐government.

Employee empowerment is commonly a fundamental part of the prescriptions offered to improve business performance. However, business process improvement and many other organisational development and change initiatives tend to encapsulate the values of the societies and organisations in which they were developed – and such values are not universal. The case of a business process re‐engineering project in Hong Kong illustrates an attempt to empower team members that paradoxically resulted in their psychological enslavement. The roles of cultural differences and reward systems in producing unintended consequences are analysed while the implications of the case for both research and practice are considered.

Group support systems (GSS), designed primarily for meeting support, are being increasingly used for learning activities. In this paper action research is applied to explore how a GSS can enrich the training of police officers. A series of five sessions conducted over the course of five months provided substantial data that informed the research methodology, the learning experience of the officers and the relative value of GSS. The use of an AR philosophy enabled the facilitation of the sessions to be tailored so as to meet the on‐going needs of the officers in a precise and focused manner, with the result that their learning effectiveness increased as the sessions proceeded. A candid evaluation of both GSS and AR, as experienced in this context, is offered, while the issue of rigor in AR is examined.

This mini-track focuses on challenges presented by geographical, temporal, and cultural distribution among individuals working in teams, organizations, and communities. The explosion of communication technologies has facilitated the growth of virtual environments, but it has also resulted in confusion over choice of communication technologies that may be appropriate for a particular task, overload of information to be sorted through, and a sense of isolation from coworkers. In addition, teams must be formed and become productive quickly, e.g., competitive advantage for project development teams is frequently based on being able to bring a new product to market more quickly than competitors. This environment is further complicated as individual members may work in multiple virtual teams with multiple, often conflicting priorities. In virtual environments, managing these different relationships, loyalties, and priorities, in addition to developing new relationships, presents a definite challenge. We sought papers addressing these issues from an organizational, managerial, team, community, or individual perspective, as well as papers on enabling technologies and their use in this environment. The resulting eight papers published in the HICSS-39 proceedings investigate a variety of important topics of interest to researchers and practitioners. Collaboration among distributed professionals happens daily n today’s organizations. Qureshi and De Leeuw investigate how collaborative technologies are used in such context to provide insight into the processes that enable intellectual bandwidth to be mobilized. In the same vein, Espinosa and Pickering look at how coordination costs and outcomes are affected by time zones through interviews of 23 global team members. They identify mechanisms used to overcome the difficulties arising from time separation. Many studies of virtual teams focus on completely virtual vs. non-virtual teams. Lojeski, Reilly, and Dominick propose and study virtual distance as a construct representing a mix between FTF and virtual interactions of such teams. Tarmizi, de Vreede, and Zigurs discuss communities of practice (COP) and the challenges faced by facilitators of such communities. Knowledge sharing by members of virtual teams is of critical interest to researchers and practitioners. Wu, Lin, and Lin use Social Exchange Theory and develop a model of shared knowledge to explore the critical factors and causal relationships among knowledge sharing on virtual teams. Furumo and Pearson compare four task/technology conditions across virtual and face-to-face team members. Virtual team members reported lower levels of trust, cohesion, outcome satisfaction, and process satisfaction. However, their output was essentially the same as individual working in face-to-face teams. Instant messaging is a relatively new but increasingly important communication medium used by virtual teams. Rennecker, Dennis, and Hanson use Goffman’s characterization of ‘‘front’’ and ‘‘backstage’’ interaction practices to analyze how the use of instant messaging in both face-to-face and technology-mediated meetings alters interaction boundaries. Fang and Neufeld investigate the influence of virtual team participation on worker commitment. They use Wenger’s practice-based learning perspective and theory of legitimate peripheral participation (LPP) to conduct a longitudinal, qualitative analysis of commitment in one open source software project. Results indicate that commitment is strongly associated with engagement in LPP processes (participation, learning and identity transformation).