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"The two versions of Piccoli: a second edition of IS for Managers: Text and Cases and a first edition of a text only version, titled Essentials of IS for Managers offer an engaging, non-academic style and actionable frameworks to help readers develop value added IT-dependent strategic initiatives. The version with cases offers an "all in one" book for those who don't want to choose their own cases. Each case has extensive notes prepared by the author to help teach a meaningful course. Part III on "The Strategic use of IS" offers unique and useful frameworks that MBAs will be able to put into practice. "--

Seeks to determine the impact managerial controls have on the effectiveness of virtual teams. Using an experimental design compares self‐directed virtual teams to counterparts where behavior controls are used as a method of managerial control. The data were collected using 51 student teams of three or four members each from three different countries. The results indicate that the most satisfied team members were in virtual teams with effective coordination and communication. Members of self‐directed virtual teams report higher individual satisfaction with the team and project, while different control structures had no significant impact on virtual team performance. Future research should investigate how these findings generalize to organizational workers, rather than just looking at students. This paper is just a first step investigating one type of managerial control: behavior controls. The small amount of research that has been published on virtual teams has primarily concentrated on self‐directed teams. This paper compares results of team effectiveness by looking at both self‐directed virtual teams and virtual teams with behavioral controls enforced.

ABSTRACTDespite the increased use of new learning technologies, there is still much to be learned about the role of learner characteristics in online learning. The purpose of this study was to examine how subjects' characteristics normally associated with effective training (i.e., initial motivation to learn and self‐efficacy) related to learning in a self‐directed online course. From an analysis of 190 respondents, computer and Internet usage prior to the start of class were positively related to individuals' computer self‐efficacy and computer self‐efficacy was positively related to learning. However, contrary to expectations, computer self‐efficacy was not related to initial motivation to learn and motivation to learn was not related to learning in the class. Post hoc analysis of qualitative data enabled a rich explanation of the findings, including an evaluation of the unexpected relationships among the variables of interest and the nature of self‐directed courses in virtual learning environments.

PurposeThe paper has two primary purposes: the first is to determine antecedents to commitment to a work team; the second to compare how antecedents to commitment differ between collocated and virtual teams.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data were collected using 52 three‐member teams – 28 collocated teams and 24 virtual teams using graduate students from three countries.FindingsResults indicate that team work processes and member effort have a significant, positive relationship with trust in collocated teams, but results for virtual teams show that member efforts is not a significant predictor of trust. Comparing collocated teams and virtual teams, collocated teams had stronger relationships (compared to virtual teams) between member effort and trust, and between trust and normative commitment. Virtual teams had stronger relationships (compared to collocated teams) between work processes and trust, and between trust and affective commitment.Research limitations/implicationsAdditional studies of longer‐term teams are needed to see if results remain consistent. One form of commitment (continuance), in particular, can be studied in long‐term teams.Practical implicationsManagers of work teams need to firmly establish a foundation of trust to ensure commitment of team members. Managers of virtual teams should particularly organize and communicate work processes to be followed by virtual team members.Originality/valueLittle research has been conducted examining antecedents to commitment to the work team, as well as commitment to a work team when work is conducted using technology (e.g. virtual teams). This paper fills a void in these two areas.

ABSTRACTFirms' Web sites are becoming an increasingly important component of their customer service systems. Yet there is a dearth of research‐based insights and guidelines concerning the roles, functionalities, and effective design of Web sites. In this article we describe and discuss findings from a three‐phase, multimethod research study aimed at filling this literature void. We first propose and validate a descriptive taxonomy of customer needs amenable to online fulfillment. Complementing this taxonomy, we next propose, and offer preliminary validation of, a five‐stage conceptual model for understanding and predicting the development of a firm's Web site design and functionality. Findings from our study suggest that firms' Web sites are by and large in the early stages of development with respect to their ultimate potential, but that executives in leading service firms have begun to conceptualize and plan for subsequent stages. We conclude the article with managerial implications and important avenues for further research.

ABSTRACTCustomer service is a key component of a firm's value proposition and a fundamental driver of differentiation and competitive advantage in nearly every industry. Moreover, the relentless coevolution of service opportunities with novel and more powerful information technologies has made this area exciting for academic researchers who can contribute to shaping the design and management of future customer service systems. We engage in interdisciplinary research—across information systems, marketing, and computer science—in order to contribute to the service design and service management literature. Grounded in the design‐science perspective, our study leverages marketing theory on the service‐dominant logic and recent findings pertaining to the evolution of customer service systems. Our theorizing culminates with the articulation of four design principles. These design principles underlie the emerging class of customer service systems that, we believe, will enable firms to better compete in an environment characterized by an increase in customer centricity and in customers' ability to self‐serve and dynamically assemble the components of solutions that fit their needs. In this environment, customers retain control over their transactional data, as well as the timing and mode of their interactions with firms, as they increasingly gravitate toward integrated complete customer solutions rather than single products or services. Guided by these design principles, we iterated through, and evaluated, two instantiations of the class of systems we propose, before outlining implications and directions for further cross‐disciplinary scholarly research.