MY PAPERS

Mobile checkout in the retail store has the promise to be a rich source of big data. It is also a means to increase the rate at which big data flows into an organization as well as the potential to integrate product recommendations and promotions in real time. However, despite efforts by retailers to implement this retail innovation, adoption by customers has been slow. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Based on interviews and focus groups with leading retailers, technology providers, and service providers, the authors identified several emerging in-store mobile scenarios; and based on customer focus groups, the authors identified potential drivers and inhibitors of use. A first departure from the traditional customer checkout process flow is that a mobile checkout involves two processes: scanning and payment, and that checkout scenarios with respect to each of these processes varied across two dimensions: first, location �?? whether they were fixed by location or mobile; and second, autonomy �?? whether they were assisted by store employees or unassisted. The authors found no evidence that individuals found mobile scanning to be either enjoyable or to have utilitarian benefit. The authors also did not find greater privacy concerns with mobile payments scenarios. The authors did, however, in the post hoc analysis find that mobile unassisted scanning was preferred to mobile assisted scanning. The authors also found that mobile unassisted scanning with fixed unassisted checkout was a preferred service mode, while there was evidence that mobile assisted scanning with mobile assisted payment was the least preferred checkout mode. Finally, the authors found that individual differences including computer self-efficacy, personal innovativeness, and technology anxiety were strong predictors of adoption of mobile scanning and payment scenarios. The work helps the authors understand the emerging mobile checkout scenarios in the retail environment and customer reactions to these scenarios.

In this paper, we extend the guidelines of Venkatesh et al. (2013) for mixed-methods research by identifying and integrating variations in mixed-methods research. By considering 14 properties of mixed-methods research (e.g., purposes, research questions, epistemological assumptions), our guidelines demonstrate how researchers can flexibly identify the existing variations in mixed-methods research and proceed accordingly with a study design that suits their needs. To make the guidelines actionable for various situations and issues that researchers could encounter, we develop a decision tree to map the flow and relationship among the design strategies. We also illustrate one possible type of mixed-methods research in information systems in depth and discuss how to develop and validate metainferences as the outcomes of such a study.

Developing countries, such as India and China, are the fastest growing economies in the world. The successful implementation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in these countries is likely to hinge on a set of institutional factors that are shaped by environmental tension created by two competing forces, emergent catalysts, such as new economic policies and reform programs, and traditional challenges, such as infrastructure and traditional value systems. To unearth the temporal dynamics underlying the success and failure of ICT implementations in organizations in developing countries, we conducted a 2-year multi-method study of an ICT implementation at a large bank in India. Based on data collected from over 1,000 employees and over 1,000 customers, we found, relative to pre-implementation levels for up to 2 years post-implementation, that we characterized as the shakedown phase: (1) operational efficiency did not improve, (2) job satisfaction declined, and (3) customer satisfaction declined. In-depth interviews of approximately 40 members of top management, 160 line employees, and 200 customers indicated that these outcomes could be attributed to the strong influence of a set of institutional factors, such as ICT-induced change, labor economics, western isomorphism, parallel-manual system, and technology adaptation. The interplay between these institutional factors and environmental tension posed a formidable challenge for the bank throughout the implementation that led to the poor and unintended outcomes.

This research conceptualizes mobile application usability and develops and validates an instrument to measure the same. Mobile application usability has attracted widespread attention in the field of human�??computer interaction because well-designed applications can enhance user experiences. To conceptualize mobile application usability, we analyzed Microsoft�??s mobile usability guidelines and defined 10 constructs representing mobile application usability. Next, we conducted a pilot study followed by a quantitative assessment of the content validity of the scales. We then sequentially applied exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to two samples (n=404; n=501) consisting of German consumers using mobile social media applications on their smartphones. To evaluate the confirmatory factor model, we followed a step-by-step process assessing unidimensionality, discriminant validity and reliability. To assess the nomological validity of our instrument, we examined the impact of mobile application usability on two outcomes: continued intention to use and brand loyalty. The results confirmed that mobile application usability was a good predictor of both outcomes. The constructs and scales associated with mobile application usability validated in this paper can be used to guide future research in human�??computer interaction and aid in the effective design of mobile applications.

This paper investigates how citizens�?? uncertainty in e-government services can be managed. First, we draw from uncertainty reduction theory, and propose that transparency and trust are two key means of reducing citizens�?? uncertainty in e-government services. Second, we identify two key sets of relevant drivers of e-government service use: (1) information quality characteristics�??i.e., accuracy and completeness; and (2) channel characteristics�??i.e., convenience and personalization. We propose that the means of uncertainty reduction, information quality characteristics, and channel characteristics are interrelated factors that jointly influence citizens�?? intentions to use e-government. We tested our model with 4,430 Hong Kong citizens�?? reactions to two e-government services: government Web sites and online appointment booking. Our results show that the information quality and channel characteristics predict citizens�?? intentions to use e-government. Further, transparency and trust mediate as well as moderate the effects of information quality and channel characteristics on intentions. A follow-up survey found that citizens�?? intentions predict use and ultimately, citizens�?? satisfaction.

The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) is a decade old and has been used extensively in information systems (IS) and other fields as evidenced by the large number of citations to the original article introducing the theory. The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesize the IS literature on UTAUT, perform a theoretical analysis of UTAUT and its extensions, and chart an agenda for research going forward. Based on Weber�??s (2012) framework of theory evaluation, we examined UTAUT and its extensions along two sets of quality dimensions�??namely, the parts of the theory and the theory as a whole. While our review identifies many merits to UTAUT, we also found that its achievements have hampered further theoretical development in research into technology acceptance and use. To chart an agenda for research that will enable significant future work, we analyze the theoretical contributions of UTAUT using Whetten�??s (2009) notion of cross-context theorizing. Our analysis reveals a number of limitations that lead us to propose a multi-level framework that can serve as the theoretical foundation for future research. Specifically, this framework integrates the notion of research context and cross-context theorizing with the theory evaluation framework to (1) synthesize the existing UTAUT extensions across both the dimensions and the levels of the research context; and (2) highlight promising research directions. We conclude with recommendations for future UTAUT-related research using the proposed framework.

As most mobile applications are tailored for worldwide consumption, it is a significant challenge to develop applications that satisfy individuals with various cultural backgrounds. To address this issue, we drew on a recently developed conceptualization and associated instrument of mobile application usability to develop a model examining the impact of mobile social media application usability on continued intention to use. Drawing on Hofstede�??s five cultural values, we incorporated espoused cultural values of masculinity/femininity, individualism/collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation into our model as moderators. To test the model, we collected data from 1,844 consumers in four countries�??U.S, Germany, China, and India�??who use mobile social media applications on their smartphones. The results provided support for the role of espoused national cultural values in moderating the impact of mobile social media application usability on continued intention to use and the model, with espoused cultural values explaining significantly more variance in continued intention to use (i.e., 38%) than the main effects only model (i.e., 19%). Interestingly, our results demonstrated that culture at the national level did not play a significant role in affecting the relationship between usability constructs and continued intention to use, thus underscoring the importance of espoused culture.

Team temporal leadership orients teams toward managing the time-related aspects of their work. We examined how perceived time pressure affects team processes and subsequent performance under weak versus strong team temporal leadership. Results of a field study of 111 project teams show that the mediated relationship between perceived time pressure and team performance is non-linear. Moreover, this non-linear mediated relationship is moderated by team temporal leadership such that under strong team temporal leadership, the indirect effect of perceived time pressure on team performance is mostly positive; and under conditions of weak team temporal leadership, the indirect effect is positive at low levels of perceived time pressure and negative at intermediate to high levels. Implications for current and future time pressure research are discussed.

Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, cyclones, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, and floods, have a profound impact on healthcare by limiting healthcare providers�?? ability to effectively provide patient care in the affected areas and respond to myriad healthcare needs of the affected population. The situation can potentially be exacerbated if healthcare providers do not have effective mechanisms in place for disaster response. The response to Hurricane Katrina, a Category 3 hurricane that made landfall in August 2005 and affected several states in the southwestern U.S., was a vivid example of how the lack of effective planning and responsiveness can affect healthcare services. In this article, based on an extensive case study, which included a rigorous examination of the Veterans Health Administration�??s (VHA) information technology (IT) infrastructure and its response to hurricane Katrina, we present five strategies that healthcare organizations can undertake to develop and leverage IT-enabled disaster response. These include the development of: (1) an integrated IT architecture; (2) a universal data repository; (3) web-based disaster communication and coordination; (4) an IT-enabled disaster support system; and (5) standardized and integrated IT-enabled disaster response processes. We discuss how these strategies can help healthcare providers manage continuity and offer quality healthcare during natural disasters.

This paper presents a mobile application usability conceptualization and survey instrument following the 10-step procedure recommended by MacKenzie et al. (2011). Specifically, we adapted Apple�??s user experience guidelines to develop our conceptualization of mobile application usability that we then developed into 19 first-order constructs that formed 6 second-order constructs. To achieve our objective, we collected 4 datasets: content validity (n=318), pre-test (n=440), validation (n=408), and cross-validation (n=412). The nomological validity of this instrument was established by examining its impact on two outcomes: continued intention to use and mobile application loyalty. We found that the constructs that represented our mobile application usability conceptualization were good predictors of both outcomes and compared favorably to an existing instrument based on Microsoft�??s usability guidelines. In addition to being an exemplar of the recent procedure of MacKenzie et al. to validate an instrument, this work provides a rich conceptualization of and instrument for mobile application usability that can serve as a springboard for future work to understand the impacts of mobile application usability and can be used as a guide to design effective mobile applications.