Search

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss two important behaviors related to job mobility in the IT profession, namely, changing jobs to move to another organization (turnover) and changing the profession entirely (turnaway), during a national crisis. Based on the theoretical foundation of the push–pull–mooring perspective, a research model is developed that includes professional self-efficacy (PSE), job insecurity (JI) and job satisfaction (JS) as important antecedents. Design/methodology/approach Using a positivist approach and a survey method, the authors analyzed data from IT professionals from different economic segments in Brazil. Data collection occurred in two distinctive moments of the largest crisis in modern Brazilian history – a pre-awareness moment (first half of year 2015) and a crisis-conscious moment (first half of year 2016). Findings The findings reveal that PSE negatively influences JI and positively influences JS, JI positively influences turnaway intention, and JS negatively influences both turnover intention and turnaway intention. The effect of the national crisis was observed in that it further accentuated the intention of IT professionals to leave the profession. Another effect was related to age, as older professionals are less willing to turn over but more willing to turn away. Research limitations/implications Besides developing a parsimonious model to study both the intention to leave the organization and the intention to leave the profession, the study sheds light on how IT professionals react to economic crises and how the reaction varies by age. Practical implications The study puts to question the common belief that IT professionals are secure in the job market due to high demand for their skills and investments made by organizations to keep them on the job. Employers must pay attention to JI and turnover/turnaway intentions. Originality/value This study is among the few to study JI and aspects of the theory of human migration in IT. It is also possibly the first to discuss the effects of a national crisis on the mobility patterns of IT professionals.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review three decades of the literature on flow measurement and propose issues to advance research on the measurement of social flow at work. Design/methodology/approach In a systematic literature review, the authors analyzed 143 articles published in the first three decades (1983–2013) of scholarly publications on flow measurement, of which 84 articles used scales to measure flow and 16 articles used scales to measure flow at work. Findings The main findings are: flow is frequently measured in association with other constructs or by means of proxies; flow measurement is highly dependent on a study’s purposes and context; flow is mostly studied at the level of the individual and, when studied beyond the individual, the measurement of flow in groups is simplified as an aggregation of individual-level measures; and social flow at work is an underresearched construct that nevertheless impacts organizations in important ways, thus deserving a specific research agenda. Research limitations/implications The first limitation refers to the databases included in the review. There is always the possibility that important works were ignored. Another limitation is that the coding procedure was highly dependent on the authors’ discretion, as it did not include independent coding and formal assessment of agreement among coders. But the greatest limitation may refer to our very perspectives on flow, flow measurement and social flow at work, as they are highly attached to current models instead of seeing the issues with different lenses. This limitation is also present in the literature. Practical implications Reviewing three decades of scholarly publications on how flow has been measured contributes to organizations in their planning for person-job fit. The measurement of flow can reveal if and when flow correlates with personal characteristics and organizational events, thus serving to inform initiatives on personnel development, acculturation and job design. However, considering that flow as a social phenomenon has been conceived in superficial terms, that a vast number of empirical studies were developed with non-professional subjects, and that flow measurement involves significant adaptations to each situation, organizations are thus advised to be careful in adopting extant instruments. Originality/value This study provides a rich account on how flow measurement has been addressed in the scholarly literature, and it calls attention to research opportunities on social flow at work.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to contribute to the literature on team management and flow theory by framing shared flow in teams (SFT) as a unique construct of much interest for team performance, as well as by proposing team vibration as a metaphor and measurable property of SFT. Design/methodology/approach An inductive approach is used to identify the occurrence of SFT by means of team vibration, and scale development procedures are used to offer an instrument to measure team vibration. Findings The current state of knowledge does not allow researchers and team leaders to assume that flow in teams depends on team members being in full flow too. Accordingly, it is shown that SFT is an emergent phenomenon of the complex interaction of team members, thus not corresponding to the mere aggregation of flow of individual team members. Moreover, it is also shown that the emergent property of team vibration is an efficient surrogate measure for SFT because it enables better communication in measurement. Practical implications Team managers should hire professionals that contribute to high levels of vibration in teams because this is expected to leverage desirable team processes and outcomes. Such individuals possess an ideal balance of individual and group focus. However, the authors warn that managers should be careful in assuming that individuals in full state of flow are necessary for the occurrence of flow in teams. Originality/value This study frames SFT as a unique construct in the literature of flow in groups, in addition to developing a metaphor and surrogate measure (team vibration) and a measurement instrument.

Este artigo trata de reflexões epistemológicas e de Pesquisas em Administração. Considerando a preocupação de diversos autores sobre a qualidade das teorias e das pesquisas em administração, buscou-se respaldo sobre o método, a ciência e a racionalidade na obra Discurso do Método de René Descartes. Surge então o desafio de verificar nas dissertações na área de finanças desse Programa se estas levaram em conta o que Descartes indicava como relevante enquanto princípio e método científico. Como conclusão, pode-se afirmar que o método de Descartes, mesmo que desconhecido por muitos, se fez presente em praticamente todas as dissertações analisadas.

Civic mindedness and the perceptions of trustworthiness, usefulness, and ease of use seem to explain much of the effective use of websites. This article discusses the extent to which such factors influence the use of government websites based on a study with 210 citizens who were doing their biometric electoral registration in João Pessoa – a major city in Brazil. With the help of ordinary least squares and quantile regression models, we found that there is mixed influence of those factors on the use of government websites. On average, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use had a significant influence; but for low levels of use, only perceived usefulness had an influence, whereas perceived ease of use had an influence for moderate and high levels of use. In terms of trustworthiness, only the dimension about trust in government had an influence for all levels of use. In terms of civic mindedness, only the dimension about civic engagement had an influence, except for moderate levels of use. Our results reinforce that the development of government websites should focus on the citizens’ individual profiles and levels of use, that is, focus should be directed to the demand side (users) besides merely addressing the legal requirements and the provision of services by the supplier (government). Resumo Inclinação cívica e as percepções de confiabilidade, utilidade e facilidade de uso parecem explicar o uso efetivo de sítios web. Este artigo discute o grau em que tais fatores influenciam o uso de sítios web governamentais a partir de um estudo com 210 cidadãos que se encontravam em processo de registro eleitoral biométrico na cidade de João Pessoa, Brasil. Com apoio do método dos mínimos quadrados ordinários (OLS) e modelos quantílicos de regressão, descobriu-se que há influência mista daqueles fatores sobre o uso de sítios web governamentais. Em média, utilidade percebida e facilidade de uso percebida apresentaram influência significativa; contudo, em níveis baixos de uso, apenas utilidade percebida apresentou influência, enquanto facilidade de uso percebida apresentou influência em níveis moderados e altos de uso. Em termos de confiabilidade, apenas sua dimensão de confiança no governo apresentou influência em todos os níveis de uso. Em termos de inclinação cívica, apenas sua dimensão de engajamento cívico apresentou influência, com exceção em níveis moderados de uso. Os resultados reforçam que o desenvolvimento de sítios web governamentais deve focar nos perfis individuais e nos níveis de uso dos cidadãos; ou seja, o foco deve ser também direcionado ao lado da demanda (usuários), em vez de apenas aos requisitos legais e ao fornecimento de serviços por parte do ofertante (governo). Resumen Inclinación cívica y las percepciones de confiabilidad, utilidad y facilidad de uso parecen explicar gran parte del uso efectivo de los sitios web. En este artículo se analiza el grado en que estos factores influyen en el uso de los sitios web del gobierno sobre la base de un estudio con 210 ciudadanos que estaban haciendo su registro electoral biométrico en João Pessoa - una grande ciudad en Brasil. Con la ayuda de modelos de regresión (mínimos cuadrados ordinarios y por cuantiles), se encontró que existe influencia mixta de esos factores en el uso de los sitios web gubernamentales. En promedio, la utilidad percibida y la facilidad de uso percibida tuvieron una influencia significativa; pero para los bajos niveles de utilización, solamente la utilidad percibida tuvo una influencia, mientras que la facilidad de uso percibida tuvo una influencia para niveles moderados y altos de uso. En términos de confiabilidad, sólo la dimensión de la confianza en el gobierno tuvo una influencia para todos los niveles de uso. En términos de civismo, sólo la dimensión sobre participación cívica tuvo una influencia, a excepción de niveles moderados de uso. Nuestros resultados refuerzan que el desarrollo de sitios web del gobierno debe centrarse en los perfiles individuales de los ciudadanos y en los niveles de uso, es decir, el foco debe estar dirigido hacia el lado de la demanda (usuarios), además de simplemente hacer frente a los requerimientos legales y la prestación de servicios por el proveedor (gobierno).

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the structural design of customer teams (CuTes) working with external teams to implement customized information systems (IS). Design consists of theoretically based measures and a first set of real-world, empirical values. Design/methodology/approach – A search in the organizational literature suggested that the adhocracy is the preferred structure for CuTes. Adhocracy-like measures were then developed and applied to a high-performance CuTe to reveal a first benchmark for a team’s adhocratic design. Findings – High-performance CuTes do not necessarily implement the adhocratic principles to the highest degree. Research limitations/implications – It is still open whether all the structural measures described here are necessary and sufficient to describe the adhocracy-like structural design of CuTes. Practical implications – The CuTe is highlighted as the key incumbent of cooperation with the technology supplier and consultants in terms of project authority and responsibility. A psychometric instrument and real-world values are proposed as a reference for the structural design of high-performance CuTes. Social implications – The performance of IS projects is a social concern, since IS products should be aimed at serving people better both inside and outside the organization. Professionals who work in CuTes to develop better IS should receive institutional recognition and management attention. Originality/value – This study seems to be the first to discuss the structure of CuTes in customized IS projects from a theoretical and applied perspective.

Digital limitations (or, conversely, digital capabilities) are a new way to frame the digital divide discourse in three dimensions: access, cognition and behavior. Digital limitations address an individual's barriers to properly access the information and communication technologies (ICTs), as well as his/her cognitive disabilities and negative behaviors towards ICT use effectiveness. In a survey with 174 undergraduate students in a traditional state university in underdeveloped Northeastern Brazil who compulsorily use an institutional ICT-based academic system, we investigated the factorial structure and the relationship of two constructs that pertain to the cognitive dimension of digital limitations - computer self-efficacy and anxiety. Our findings address the negative correlation between the two constructs and the unanticipated proposition that both low and high levels of self-efficacy and anxiety do not signal per se the presence of cognitive digital limitations or capabilities. The levels of CSE and ANX may mean either digital limitations or capabilities.High CSE and low ANX do not necessarily promote voluntary technology use.Extremely high CSE and extremely low ANX may undermine technology use.Moderately low CSE and moderately high ANX may leverage technology use.Cognitive enablers must be promoted in state funded digital inclusion programs.

Editorial

The METRICS framework was developed during a landmark enterprise-wide system implementation in a Brazilian university. It was designed as a tool for managing the social subsystem (cognition, behavior, and structure) of customer teams as they work with external technology and business teams. Our research draws on METRICS to verify the stability of cognitive, behavioral, and structural attributes that are expected to impact the performance of customer teams in projects. We compare two studies developed in different periods, with different methods, theories, projects, and types of teams, and in different geographical, cultural, and economic regions of Brazil—the south and the northeast. Data collection and analysis were based on personal constructs theory and the repertory grid technique applied to select information technology professionals from external teams (that worked with customer teams) in the northeast. With 77.3% (68/88) of the original measures verified empirically, the framework was considered st...

A major challenge when researching on people relates to how reliable information can be retrieved from them. It is a matter of how to access what is literally inside people’s mind. Access is limited by the cognitive screening process that mediates human interaction, as well as by human rhetoric. We apply repertory grid, laddering and content analysis as an integrated psychometric approach to contrast two sets of constructs: a set of theoretically based constructs about the management of information technology professionals who work in customer teams, and a set of constructs that lie behind those professionals’ cognition in the particular case of implementing enterprise-wide systems (ERP). Results confirm the effectiveness of such a methodological approach to accurately reveal cognitive phenomena and to better understand the information technology workforce.

Assumindo que o estado de fluxo (flow) tem relevância para a gestão do desempenho de equipes profissionais em geral, e de equipes de tecnologia da informação em particular, e que a investigação desse fenômeno preenche lacunas de conhecimento, o presente estudo realiza uma revisão sistemática da literatura para responder a seguinte questão de pesquisa: Quais os antecedentes e os consequentes do estado de flow em equipes de trabalho? Os resultados permitiram a elaboração de um mapa causal e uma agenda para pesquisas futuras.

Introdução: Apresenta resultados preliminares de uma pesquisa que investiga as relações de colaboração entre programas de pós-graduação brasileiros na área da Ciência da Informação a partir da perspectiva das redes sociais. A utilização de software de informetria e teoria dos grafos torna possível visualizar e calcular métricas associadas aos atores que integram redes sociais. Objetivo: Identificar as relações de colaboração acadêmica entre programas de pós-graduação stricto sensu brasileiros na área da Ciência da Informação por meio da modelagem de grafos e análise da rede social associada.Metodologia: Pesquisa de caráter quantitativo. Os dados foram obtidos a partir dos currículos Lattes dos pesquisadores vinculados aos programas em foco entre os anos de 2007 e 2009, e a análise deu-se a partir da modelagem de um grafo.Resultados: O grafo relacionado à rede de coautorias entre os programas de pós-graduação em Ciência da Informação considerados indica que, no período de 2007 a 2009, não foi construído um cenário em que houvesse coautorias entre todos os programas, nem relações de coautorias compatíveis com o volume de pesquisa desenvolvido pelos pesquisadores dos programas em foco. Constatou-se que não há colaboração efetiva entre todos os programas brasileiros na área da Ciência da Informação.Conclusões: Pretende-se repetir esta pesquisa com os programas de pós-graduação em Ciência da Informação no período de avaliação de 2010 a 2012, de modo a incluir os programas situados no Rio de Janeiro e o recente programa da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), bem como para atualizar as percepções a respeito da colaboração existente.

Na indústria brasileira de desenvolvimento de software para sistemas de informações, observa-se sensibilidade das empresas quanto à necessária melhoria contínua na qualidade do processo produtivo. Uma das formas de tratar a qualidade do desenvolvimento de software - na expectativa de alinhar os processos de negócio do cliente às rotinas computacionalmente programadas no sistema de informações - dá-se por meio do teste de software. O teste de software busca institucionalizar práticas de gestão de projetos e desenvolvimento de produtos de software, com o objetivo de localizar os problemas - e não garantir a sua inexistência. A partir de uma perspectiva sociotécnica e dos modelos teóricos SET (gerencial) e ST-TS (processual) desenvolvidos nesta pesquisa para um melhor entendimento e orientação das atividades de teste, entrevistas em profundidade com dez especialistas em qualidade e teste de software permitiram a identificação e validação de categorias analíticas que mediam a relação entre fatores desses dois modelos, disto derivando-se o modelo organizacional VAST para auxiliar gestores, desenvolvedores e clientes em projetos de software para sistemas de informações empresariais. Brazilian companies that develop software for information systems are aware of the pressing need for continuous improvement in process quality. Towards aligning business processes with software routines implemented in an information system, one should address the institutional practices of software testing. From a socio-technical perspective and with the help of two theoretical models developed in this study to outline and guide the testing activities from a managerial and process-based perspective, in-depth interviews with ten experts in software quality and software testing enabled us to identify and validate analytical categories that mediate the relation between those two models. The result was the development of an organizational structure to support managers, developers and customers in software projects for enterprise information systems.

Research on software measurement can be organized around five key conceptual and methodological issues: how to apply measurement theory to software, how to frame software metrics, how to develop metrics, how to collect core measures, and how to analyze measures. The subject is of special concern for the industry, which is interested in improving practices — mainly in developing countries, where the software industry represents an opportunity for growth and usually receives institutional support for matching international quality standards. Academics are also in need of understanding and developing more effective methods for managing the software process and assessing the success of products and services, as a result of an enhanced awareness about the emergency of aligning business processes and information systems. This paper unveils the fundamentals of measurement in software engineering and discusses current issues and foreseeable trends for the subject. A literature review was performed within major academic publications in the last decade, and findings suggest a sensible shift of measurement interests towards managing the software process as a whole — without losing from sight the customary focus on hard issues like algorithm efficiency and worker productivity.

Equipes que trabalham com motivacoes intrinsecas, sejam estas despertadas/ estimuladasou nao por fatores externos, possuem melhor desempenho – sao mais produtivas, satisfeitase requerem menos controles externos – que equipes que dependem exclusivamente demotivacoes extrinsecas. Flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) pode ser um estado coletivo que,se analisado na perspectiva especi„ca de desempenho de equipes, se adequa a analisedas motivacoes intrinsecas e extrinsecas que promovem melhor desempenho. Flow temsido amplamente investigado no nivel do individuo. Nao obstante, a experiencia de ˆowcompartilhada por integrantes de uma equipe e tema pouco explorado e que mereceinvestigacao detalhada, como meio de dirigir o foco da pesquisa para a emergencia deaspectos nao tratados quando da experiencia de ˆow individual. Assim, entendendo quea gestao de equipes e de desempenho e tema corrente, que ha esforco consideravel empesquisa e pratica sobre aspectos motivacionais que estimulem a geracao de resultadosem equipe e que ha possibilidade de atuacao de equipes em estado de ˆow, este projetode investigacao se propoe a encontrar resposta para o seguinte questionamento: Em quemedida o estado de ˆow afeta o desempenho de equipes de TI?

A major challenge when researching on people relates to how reliable information can be retrieved from them. It is a matter of how to access what is literally inside people’s mind. Access is limited by the cognitive screening process that mediates human interaction, as well as by human rhetoric. We apply repertory grid, laddering and content analysis as an integrated psychometric approach to contrast two sets of constructs: a set of theoretically based constructs about the management of information technology professionals who work in customer teams, and a set of constructs that lie behind those professionals’ cognition in the particular case of implementing enterprise-wide systems (ERP). Results confirm the effectiveness of such a methodological approach to accurately reveal cognitive phenomena and to better understand the information technology workforce. Um dos principais desafios quando se lida com pessoas é delas obter informações confiáveis. A dificuldade advém do acesso àquilo que se encontra, literalmente, na mente das pessoas. As tentativas de acesso a esses conteúdos estão limitadas aos filtros cognitivos e à retórica da pessoa que está sendo analisada. Neste artigo, repertory grid é aplicada com laddering e análise de conteúdo para confrontar construtos teóricos sobre gestão de equipes-cliente de tecnologia da informação (TI) com construtos “residentes” na cognição de profissionais de TI que implantam sistemas integrados de gestão (ERP). Os resultados demonstram a efetividade dessa composição metodológica para revelar fenômenos cognitivos e entender melhor os profissionais de TI.

Introducao: Apresenta resultados preliminares de uma pesquisa que investiga as relacoes de colaboracao entre programas de pos-graduacao brasileiros na area da Ciencia da Informacao a partir da perspectiva das redes sociais. A utilizacao de software de informetria e teoria dos grafos torna possivel visualizar e calcular metricas associadas aos atores que integram redes sociais. Objetivo: Identificar as relacoes de colaboracao academica entre programas de pos-graduacao stricto sensu brasileiros na area da Ciencia da Informacao por meio da modelagem de grafos e analise da rede social associada.Metodologia: Pesquisa de carater quantitativo. Os dados foram obtidos a partir dos curriculos Lattes dos pesquisadores vinculados aos programas em foco entre os anos de 2007 e 2009, e a analise deu-se a partir da modelagem de um grafo.Resultados: O grafo relacionado a rede de coautorias entre os programas de pos-graduacao em Ciencia da Informacao considerados indica que, no periodo de 2007 a 2009, nao foi construido um cenario em que houvesse coautorias entre todos os programas, nem relacoes de coautorias compativeis com o volume de pesquisa desenvolvido pelos pesquisadores dos programas em foco. Constatou-se que nao ha colaboracao efetiva entre todos os programas brasileiros na area da Ciencia da Informacao.Conclusoes: Pretende-se repetir esta pesquisa com os programas de pos-graduacao em Ciencia da Informacao no periodo de avaliacao de 2010 a 2012, de modo a incluir os programas situados no Rio de Janeiro e o recente programa da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), bem como para atualizar as percepcoes a respeito da colaboracao existente.

A partir de uma revisão de literatura, este artigo desenvolve evidências teóricas sobre a atuação de equipes gestoras durante a evolução de comunidades mediadas pela Internet (CMI) nos estágios de idealização, criação, crescimento, maturidade, transformação e encerramento. O objetivo é propor um conjunto de ações para que as equipes gestoras desenvolvam soluções para problemas práticos de suas comunidades, com atenção especial ao imperativo da sustentabilidade. Como resultado, estimam-se correlações entre ações gerenciais e a trajetória de vida e morte de CMIs, e espera-se que estudos próximos desenvolvam verificações empíricas a respeito dessas proposições em uma variedade de comunidades. Os resultados contribuem para a base teórica dos estudos sobre CMIs, cujos aspectos de gestão parecem contrapor-se ao voluntarismo estrito típico das caracterizações sociológicas sobre comunidades. Em particular, introduzem-se elementos gerenciais aos estágios do ciclo de vida de CMIs.

This research addresses the degree of coherence between online and physical actions of participants in virtual social networks. We search for a pragmatic definition of virtuality and realism, in order to conceive the Internet as an effective means of communication, socialization and behavioral analysis. In particular, we focus on identity building in virtual environments, including impression management and its effects on social and professional networks. The theoretical framework adopts the widely known theories of human action – espoused and in-use theories – in order to understand an individual’s virtual presence as characterized by one or another prevailing theory. The empirical investigation was an ethnographic research within a virtual conversation group of members, ex-members and sympathizers of the undergraduate management program of a Brazilian state university (UFPB) who interacted live and with the support of Orkut (a virtual conversation tool), so that we could search for a contrast between the informed and actual behavior of current and future managers or sympathizers of the management function. Findings suggest that there is empirical evidence on the primacy of in-use theories within that group of individuals, but there was an emergent need of developing the specific concept of espoused-only theories for some illustrative cases in the virtual world. Contributions of this research also address mainly the issue of whether we should keep separating the physical and the virtual worlds as different loci where human action is effected.