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Weak passwords are one of the most pervasive threats in cybersecurity. Facing this threat, users require guidance on how to protect themselves. A method frequently used by IS practitioners and researchers to provide this guidance is fear appeals, persuasive messages intended to prompt behavioral changes in response to a threat. However, previous research has not considered a key element of fear appeal effectiveness: task primacy. When fear appeals are a part of the primary or focal task, users' cognitive engagement will be high by default. However, when fear appeals are delivered as secondary tasks, such as interruptive security messages, users' engagement is likely to be low because the primary task takes priority in attentional and cognitive resources. In such cases, a remedy is needed to elicit engagement with the fear appeal. In this research note, we theorize that cognitive engagement acts as a contextual moderator that is critical to the effectiveness of fear appeals under the boundary condition of task primacy. Further, we theorize that interactivity, a mechanism that adapts message content through tailored real-time feedback in response to a user's actions, is a key remedy to enhance engagement with fear appeals. However, to date fear appeals have largely been tested in noninteractive primary tasks, and no study has provided a theoretical explanation for why interactivity enhances the power of a fear appeal. We empirically examined engagement as a contextual moderator in two ways. First, we conducted a field experiment, which manipulated messages on a password creation form on a real-world website. Second, we performed a qualitative focus group study to triangulate the experimental results and more fully reify our theoretical model. Together, the findings reveal that interactivity acts as a catalyst to engage participants with a fear appeal, which then allows the persuasive message of the fear appeal to be internalized. The concepts of boundary condition of task primacy and engagement suggest ways that fear appeals can be more effectively applied in research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. Information technology (IT) can transform societies, governments, and businesses alike. Technological innovation requires difficult but critically important strategic decisions. Making good decisions becomes even more challenging for platforms tightly [...]

The goal of this paper is to determine holistic archetypes of information technology (IT) outsourcing strategy. It does this through an overarching theoretical framework that integrates three dominant theories of inter-organizational relations in the IT outsourcing literature, namely transaction cost economics, resource dependency, and social exchange theories. A contingency fit theoretical framing is married to a configurational approach to explicate the intricate relationships that spring up between a focal firm and its outsourcing vendors when they are working toward specific strategic objectives under varying contingencies. In line with this theoretical objective, we used qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), a set-theoretic configuration method that can handle the interdependent complexity among multiple elements of IT outsourcing. The technique was applied to a sample of 235 companies that have outsourced some or all of their IT functions. Findings at the project level of analysis empirically reveal two sets of configurations of strategic IT outsourcing elements, one set of configurations resulting in high economic benefit and the other set leading to high strategic benefit. Next, we compare similarities and differences among multiple, equifinal configurations and infer archetypes of IT outsourcing strategy internally congruent in terms of the strategic objectives as well as matching specific contextual contingencies. Our holistic archetypes take the form of theoretical propositions integrating the previous fragmented and inconsistent knowledge in IT outsourcing resulting from the causal ambiguity and complexity inherent in IT outsourcing projects as well as from divergent theories in the literature. Furthermore, by defining specific contingency boundaries, our archetypes provide managers with context-specific guidelines for strategic decisions regarding their relationships with outsourcing vendors, helping different sized firms to effectively succeed in IT outsourcing, contingent on the IT type being outsourced. Finally, we discuss new insights and implications of this study for complementing and extending the extant theories in IT outsourcing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes the design of the survey employed to measure the impacts of the Integrated Information Center (IIC) at the University of Minnesota on the end-users and reports the results of that survey. (Author/MES)

Describes an ethnographic study of a selected group of faculty end-users; the purpose of this qualitative assessment was to triangulate on several phenomena under investigation to better understand the impacts of the Integrated Information Center (IIC) at the University of Minnesota on end-user work behaviors. (Author/JAK)

Explores where the responsibility for information resources management (IRM) can lie, identifying entities which might carry IRM tasks: (1) individuals; (2) departments; (3) institutions; and (4) markets. It is argued that the IRM function should be located at the department level, and that associated departmental costs may be overshadowed by the benefits of reducing agency costs. (19 references) (SD)

Defines the Integrated Information Center (IIC) as an emerging information technology-intensive environment which captures, integrates, and provides information resources to academic departments. Sample IIC configurations are described--i.e., expertise poor/technology poor; expertise rich/technology poor; expertise poor/technology rich; expertise rich/technology rich--as well as IIC personnel and facilities. (nine references) (SD)

Outlines the impact of current divisions in the information infrastructure of the information environment on the ability of knowledge workers to integrate information across media and sources of information. Discussion covers information "seams," inaccessible information, information overload/impoverishment, and bottlenecks. The coordination and standardization of information systems among academic departments through Integrated Information Centers is advocated. (22 references) (SD)

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5915.2007.00172.x Byline: Richard Klein (1[dagger]), Arun Rai (2), Detmar W. Straub (3) Keywords: Collaborative Partnerships; Dyadic Data; Exchange Relationships; Field Studies; Information Sharing; Logistics Service Performance; Structural Equation Modeling; and System Integration. Abstract: ABSTRACT Cooperative logistics relationships require the sharing of information, which must be enabled by the integration of disparate information systems across partners. In this article, we theorize business-to-business logistics relationships should be managed using cooperative and competitive postures. Based on data from 91 dyadic relationships using interorganizational information technology (IT), we find that performance gains accrue when parties share strategic information and customize IT; mutual trust enables IT customization and strategic-information flows and equitable relationship-specific investments positively impact IT customization, mutual trust, and performance. Among other scholarly and practical implications discussed, partners should compete on resources for IT customization and cooperate to share strategic information. Managers tend to think of relationships with firms as polar opposites and view them as entirely cooperative or entirely competitive. Our results support active balancing and understanding of both competitive and cooperative stances. Such an approach enables conditions for participation symmetry that yields greater performance gains. Author Affiliation: (1)Department of Management, College of Business and Behavioral Sciences, Clemson University, 101 Sirrine Hall, Box 341305, Clemson, SC 29634-1305, e-mail:rklein@clemson.edu (2)Center for Process Innovation & Department of Computer Information Systems, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, 35 Broad Street, Atlanta, GA 30303-4015, e-mail:arunrai@gsu.edu (3)Center for Process Innovation & Department of Computer Information Systems, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, 35 Broad Street, Atlanta, GA 30303-4015, e-mail:dstraub@cis.gsu.edu Article History: [Received: July 2006. Accepted: August 2007.] Article note: ([dagger]) Corresponding author.

Information technology (IT) outsourcing success requires careful management of customer-supplier relationships. However, there are few published studies on the ongoing relationships, and most of these adopt a customer perspective, de-emphasizing […]