MIS Distinguished Speaker Series

Temple University

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March 23: Sinan Aral to speak on Content & Causality in Social Networks

By

Sinan Aral

Assistant Professor, Microsoft Faculty Fellow

Stern School of Business, New York University

 

Date: March 23, 2012

Venue: Speakman Hall 200

Title: Content & Causality in Social Networks

Abstract

Many of us are interested in whether “networks matter.” Whether in the spread of disease, the diffusion of information, the propagation of social contagions, the effectiveness of viral marketing, or the magnitude of peer effects in a variety of settings, two key questions must be answered before we can understand whether networks matter: 1) how the content that flows through networks affects the patterns of outcomes we see across nodes and 2) whether the statistical relationships we observe can be interpreted causally. Sinan will review what we know and where research might go with respect to content and causality in networks. He will provide two examples from each area to structure the discussion: One from an analysis of email networks and the information content that flows through them at a mid-sized executive recruiting firm (published in the American Journal of Sociology) and the other from a randomized field experiment on a popular social networking website that tests the effectiveness of “viral product design” strategies in creating peer influence and social contagion among the 1.4 million friends of 9,687 experimental users (the first paper published in Management Science and a second paper forthcoming in Science).

March 16: Sunil Mithas to speak on Information Technology and Globalization: Theory and Evidence

By

Sunil Mithas

Associate Professor,

Decision, Operations and Information Technologies Department,

Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland

 

March 16, 2012

Speakman Hall 200, 1000am – 1130am

Seminar Title : Information Technology and Globalization: Theory and Evidence

 

Abstract

Does information technology (IT) enable firms to globalize their operations and achieve higher foreign revenues and foreign profits? Although several studies have argued that IT can help firms globalize their operations, few studies have empirically tested this conjecture. We identify and discuss three mechanisms that explain why IT investments enable firms to globalize their operations – value chain coordination, value chain configuration, and local responsiveness. Using data on 259 multinational firms for an 8-year period (1999 – 2006), we find that aggregate IT investments are positively associated with higher levels of foreign revenues and lower levels of total costs. In turn, the increase in foreign revenues and reduction in total costs mediate profits from foreign operations. IT investments also help to increase domestic revenues and domestic profits. On the whole, we find that IT contributes to globalization both through higher revenues and lower total costs.

Please email swattal@temple.edu for a copy of the paper.

Feb 24: Bob Lusch to speak on Service-Dominant Logic: Sensemaking of the Economy and Innovation

By

Robert F. Lusch

James and Pamela Muzzy Chair in Entrepreneurship and Executive Director of the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship

Eller College of Management, University of Arizona.

 

Date: February 24, 2012

Venue: Alter Hall 745

Title: Service-Dominant Logic: Sensemaking of the Economy and Innovation

Abstract

An elaboration of how marketing and business has evolved from a goods-dominant to a service-dominant logic is reviewed. Implications for how to make sense of organizations, markets, economy and innovation are presented along with research opportunities and managerial suggestions. Special attention is given to bridging ideas from marketing, management and management information systems. For a background on S-D Logic, please visit (www.sdlogic.net) and see the attached articles.

Lusch_Vargo_Wessels_2008_IBMLusch_Vargo_Wessels_2008_IBM.pdf

Vargo_and_Lusch_2008_JAMS_Why_Service Vargo_and_Lusch_2008_JAMS_Why_Service.pdf

Vargo_and_Lusch_2008_JAMS_ContinuingVargo_and_Lusch_2008_JAMS_Continuing.pdf

JM_Vargo_Lusch_2004JM_Vargo_Lusch_2004.pdf

Nov 18 : Rudy Hirschheim to speak on Assessing Scholarly Influence: Rationale, Rankings, Rating, Reputation, Recognition

By

Rudy Hirschheim

Ourso Family Distinguished Professor of Information Systems,

Louisiana State University

November 18, 2011

Speakman Hall 200, 1000am – 1130am

Seminar Title :  Assessing Scholarly Influence: Rationale, Rankings, Rating, Reputation, Recognition

Abstract

Increasingly universities are being asked to be accountable for the evaluation of its faculty members. No longer are promotion and tenure decisions being done using highly subjective criteria. Indeed, universities (and accrediting agencies) are being asked to provide a set of ‘objective’ measures as the basis for faculty evaluation. In so doing, T&P committees are attempting to assess the scholarly influence of the faculty it seeks to evaluate. But what is ‘scholarly influence’? and how might it be measured. In this talk, I will endeavor to explore how scholarly influence is being judged and how the various ‘measures’ could be manipulated.

 

 

Oct 21: Karim Lakhani to speak on “Fit”: Field Experiment Evidence on Sorting, Incentives and Creative Worker Performance

By

Karim Lakhani,

Assistant Professor, Technology and Operations Management

Harvard Business School

October 21, 2011

Speakman Hall 200, 1000am – 1130am

 

Seminar Title : “Fit”: Field Experiment Evidence on Sorting, Incentives and Creative Worker Performance

Abstract

We present the results of a 10-day field experiment in which over 500 elite software developers prepared solutions to the same computational algorithmic problem. Participants were divided into two groups with identical skills distributions and exposed to the same competitive institutional setting. The “sorted” group was composed of individuals who preferred the competitive regime instead of a team-based outside option. The “unsorted” group had population-average preferences for working in the regime or the outside option. We find this sorting on this basis of institutional preferences doubled effort and the performance of solutions—controlling for skills, monetary incentives and institutional details.

 

Click here for a copy of the paper.

Oct 14: Prabuddha De to speak on An Empirical Investigation of the Effects of Product-Oriented Web Technologies on Product Returns

By

Prabuddha De,

Accenture Professor of Information Technology and Professor of Management,

Krannert School of Management, Purdue University

October 14, 2011

Speakman Hall 200, 1000am – 1130am

Seminar Title : An Empirical Investigation of the Effects of Product-Oriented Web Technologies on Product Returns

Abstract

Internet retailers have been making significant investments in advanced technologies, e.g., zoom, alternative photos, and color swatch, that are capable of providing detailed product-oriented information and, thereby, mitigating the lack of “touch-and-feel,” which, in turn, is expected to lower product returns. However, a clear understanding of the impact of these technologies on product returns is still lacking. This study attempts to fill this gap by using several econometric models to unravel the relationship between product-oriented technology usage and product returns. Our unique and rich dataset allows us to measure technology usage at the product level for each consumer. The results show that zoom usage has a negative coefficient, suggesting that a higher use of the zoom technology leads to fewer returns. Interestingly, we find that the use of alternative photos increases the likelihood of returns. Perhaps more importantly, its use has a negative effect on net sales. Color swatch, on the other hand, does not seem to have any impact on returns. Thus, our findings show that different technologies have different effects on product returns. We provide explanations for these findings based on the extant literature. We also conduct a number of tests to ensure the robustness of the results.

Click here for a copy of the paper.

Sept 16: Anandhi Bharadwaj to speak on “Does Software Process Ambidexterity Lead To Better Software Project Performance?”

By

Anandhi Bharadwaj,

Associate Professor of Information Systems,

Goizueta Business School, Emory University

September 16, 2011

Speakman Hall 200, 1000am – 1130am

Seminar Title : Does Software Process Ambidexterity Lead To Better Software Project Performance?

Abstract

Plan-based and agile software development processes seem diametrically opposed in their approaches, with the former emphasizing discipline and control and the latter promoting flexibility and improvisation. Similar tensions in organizational contexts where efficiency versus flexibility considerations simultaneously jostle for management attention has led to the recognition that ambidexterity or the ability to manage seemingly conflicting demands is an important precursor to organizational success. In this study, we extend the idea of ambidexterity to software development processes and empirically examine the performance implications of the ability of software project teams to pursue process designs that simultaneously facilitate both control and flexibility. Utilizing data from a quasi-experiment involving 424 large commercial software projects of a multinational software services firm, we employ a potential outcomes empirical methodology to examine the causal linkage between software process ambidexterity and project performance. Our results show that projects that encountered frequent requirement changes, larger and complex code-bases, new technologies, higher levels of end-user engagements, and smaller, inexperienced teams tend to choose ambidextrous software process designs over a pure plan-based approach. We find that ambidextrous process design positively contributes to better project performance, including on the average about 9% higher productivity, 50% reduction in delivered defects, 12% reduction in internal defects, and 3% improvement in overall profitability. Complementing the archival data analysis with an in-depth qualitative study of the projects pursuing ambidextrous process designs, we enumerate the different mechanisms employed by the project teams to balance control requirements with needs for realizing flexibility. We discuss the implications of our results and elucidate potential pathways to achieve and sustain ambidextrous process designs in software firms.

Click here for a copy of the full paper.