No abstract

Cognition in organizations is a distributed phenomenon, in which individual members of an organization reflect upon their experience, make plans, or take action. Organizational learning or organizational cognition are familiar terms, but it is only the individual persons in an organization who create interpretations and test understandings, as they think and learn in their organizational setting. Coordinated outcomes emerge in organizations when individuals think and act in ways that take others in the organization and their interdependencies into account. We argue that much of the effort to design information technology to support cognition in organizations has not addressed its distributed quality. Such systems have tended to focus either on the individual as an isolated decision maker, or on the group as a producer of a decision or policy statement in common. In distributed cognition, by contrast, the group is a set of autonomous agents who act independently yet recognize that they have interdependencies. To guide the design of information technology, we propose that distributed cognition be viewed as a hermeneutic process of inquiry, emphasizing the importance of individual interpretation and group dialogue. Hermeneutics provides a theory of the interpretive process through which an individual gives meaning to organizational experience. Inquiry systems provide a theory of how a community of inquirers build and test knowledge representations through dialogue. Together, hermeneutics and inquiry systems are used to propose a set of design principles to guide the development of information technology that supports distributed cognition. The design principles we describe in the paper are ownership, easy travel, multiplicity, indeterminacy, emergence and mixed forms. Applications of information technology which embody these design principles would support distributed cognition by assisting individuals in making interpretations of their situation, reflecting on them, and engaging in dialogue about them with others. The objective is to refine their own understanding of the situation and better appreciate the understandings of others, enabling them to better take their interdependencies into account in their individual actions. A project to develop such a system is discussed, along with some implications for research.

Information systems (IS) research has been long concerned with improving task-related performance. The concept of fit is often used to explain how system design can improve performance and overall value. So far, the literature has focused mainly on performance evaluation criteria that are based on measures of task efficiency, accuracy, or productivity. However, nowadays, productivity gain is no longer the single evaluation criterion. In many instances, computer systems are expected to enhance our creativity, reveal opportunities and open new vistas of uncharted frontiers.To address this void, we introduce the concept of generativity in the context of IS design and develop two corresponding design considerations -'generative capacity' that refers to one's ability to produce something ingenious or at least new in a particular context, and 'generative fit' that refers to the extent to which an IT artefact is conducive to evoking and enhancing that generative capacity. We offer an extended view of the concept of fit and realign the prevailing approaches to human-computer interaction design with current leading-edge applications and users' expectations. Our findings guide systems designers who aim to enhance creative work, unstructured syntheses, serendipitous discoveries, and any other form of computer-aided tasks that involve unexplored outcomes or aim to enhance our ability to go boldly where no one has gone before.In this paper, we explore the underpinnings of 'generative capacity' and argue that it should be included in the evaluation of task-related performance. Then, we briefly explore the role of fit in IS research, position 'generative fit' in that context, explain its role and impact on performance, and provide key design considerations that enhance generative fit. Finally, we demonstrate our thesis with an illustrative vignette of good generative fit, and conclude with ideas for further research.In this theory development paper, we offer an extended view of the concept of fit in an attempt to realign the prevailing approaches to human-computer interaction design with current leading edge applications and users' expectations. Specifically, we identify an emerging dimension of task performance relating to creativity and innovativeness and explore how information systems can be fitted to enhance this dimension.It has been argued that fitting the human-computer interface and, more generally, fitting computing services to a user and an underlying computer-aided task enhances the desired outcome and has a positive effect on overall performance (Vessey & Galletta, 1991;Baecker et al., 1995;Goodhue & Thompson, 1995;Zigurs & Buckland, 1998). Although one's performance is theorized in a generalized fashion as related to any kind of a priori objectives associated with an underlying task (Daft, 1991), the literature so far focuses mainly on performance evaluation criteria that are based on measures of task efficiency, accuracy or productivity (Zhang & Na, 2004).This view of performance was sufficient in the early days ...

SummaryUsing questionnaire and interview data, this study attempted to find out whether the organizational loose (participative) and tight (directive) practices are compatible with or contradict each other. Using the theoretical framework of Sagie's (1997) loose-tight leadership approach, our hypotheses concerned the effects of both practices on the employee's work-related attitudes, and the mediating role of two variables, cognitive (information sharing) and motivational (exerting effort), in these effects. Data were analysed using two methodological approaches, quantitative and qualitative. Based on a quantitative analysis of the questionnaires given to 101 professional employees of a textile company, partial support was provided for the study hypotheses. A qualitative analysis of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with all the employees (n ¼ 20) in one of the company divisions led to similar conclusions. Specifically, we found that although the loose and tight practices affected work attitudes, the interviewees attributed more impact to the tight practice. In addition, none of the study variables mediated the loose impact on attitudes, whereas information sharing (but not exerting effort) mediated the influence of tight practice. Finally, the qualitative analysis revealed a deeper insight into the nature of both leader practices and their possible integration in the decision-making processes in organizations.

We review the status of European publishing in high-impact Information System (IS) journals finding that the European publication record is disappointing. We consider popular explanations to this state of affairs and find them neither credible nor useful for improving the European record. We propose several constructive reasons for this including (1) the lack of appreciation of the article genre, (2) weak publishing cultures, (3) inadequate Ph.D. preparation for article publishing, (4) weak reviewing practices, (5) poorer command of research methods, (6) poorer understanding of the reviewing protocols, and (7) institutional shaping of research funding in Europe. We formulate several recommendations to affect these causes at the individual, institutional, journal, and European community level.

Abstract:The number of health-related websites has proliferated over the past few years. Health information consumers confront a myriad of health related resources on the internet that have varying levels of quality and are not always easy to comprehend. There is thus a need to help health information consumers to bridge the gap between access to information and information understanding-i.e. to help consumers understand health related web-based resources so that they can act upon it. At the same time health information consumers are becoming not only more involved in their own health care but also more information technology minded. One way to address this issue is to provide consumers with tailored information that is contextualized and personalized e.g. directly relevant and easily comprehensible to the person's own health situation. This paper presents a current trend in Consumer Health Informatics which focuses on theory-based design and development of contextualized and personalized tools to allow the evolving consumer with varying backgrounds and interests to use online health information effi ciently. The proposed approach uses a theoretical framework of communication in order to support the consumer's capacity to understand health-related web-based resources.

Incorporating a human computer interaction (HCI) perspective into the systems development life cycle (SDLC) is necessary to information systems (IS) success and, in turn, to the success of businesses. However, modern SDLC models are based more on organizational needs than human needs. The human interaction aspect of an information system is usually considered far too little (only the screen interface) and far too late in the IS development process (only at the design stage). Thus, often a gap exists between satisfying organizational needs and supporting and enriching human users. This problem can be addressed by carefully integrating HCI development into the SDLC process to achieve a truly human-centered IS development approach. This paper examines the roles of HCI in systems development, justifies the importance of considering HCI through out the entire systems development life cycle, presents a methodology for human-centered IS development, and demonstrates how to apply this methodology to develop human-centered information systems.

Purpose -Purchasing on the internet has unique features that make it different from the traditional shopping process, particularly with regard to its social context. This study seeks to investigate the relationship between past online purchases and purchasing intentions, representing the social context by the notions of social presence and trust. Design/methodology/approach -A sample of 115 working MBA students purchased an item online (but were stopped at the stage of paying), and then completed a questionnaire on social presence and trust. Findings -The results show that past purchasing predicts intentions to purchase and that trust and social presence act as partial mediators. Practical implications -Social context is important for understanding how past behavior affects future purchasing. Designs should therefore enhance social presence and trust. Moreover, it may be beneficial to monitor these mediators to detect potential problems. Originality/value -The study demonstrates the important role of social context in online shopping. In particular, the mediation of trust and social presence between past and future purchasing is determined.