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Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore a class of social information systems which are purposefully designed to address wider social objectives. Specifically, the paper investigates the embedding of ICTs into the wider networks of social policy action and explores issues associated with the integration of social information systems into complex problem domains.Design/methodology/approach– A case study of a social information system and its integration into networks of actors with an interest in the underlying social concern is presented. The system under analysis is first described in terms of the emerging characteristics used to define this class of social information system. The wider policy network in which the social information system is implemented is then described and the integration of the social information system into the wider network is discussed.Findings– The case study illustrates that for complex social problems, there can be multiple interests embedded in an ecology of sub-networks. Each sub-network can make use of the social information system in different ways which creates difficulties in the social information system gaining sufficient legitimacy to be institutionalised into the wider policy network.Originality/value– The paper extends understanding of social information systems by proposing that a class of social information systems are developed to pursue human benefit. Recognising the context in which these systems are integrated as an ecology of interests, shifts the focus of social information systems design from examining the requirements of a relatively homogenous community of actors to understanding how social information systems can be developed to enable information exchange within and across heterogeneous communities.

Purpose– The purpose of the paper is to better understand the relation between information technology (IT) affordances and donor motivations in charitable crowdfunding.Design/methodology/approach– This paper reports the findings from a comparative case study of two charitable crowdfunding campaigns.Findings– The affordances of crowdfunding platforms support types of donor motivation that are not supported effectively, or at all, in offline charity.Research limitations/implications– For future researchers, the paper provides a theoretical model of the relation between IT affordances and motivations in the context of charitable crowdfunding.Practical/implications– For practitioners in the charity space, the paper suggests why they may wish to consider the use of charitable crowdfunding and how they may go about its implementation.Originality/value– Based on field research at two charitable crowdfunding campaigns, the paper provides a new theoretical model.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the process in which the software engineering students construct their professional identities.Design/methodology/approach– The study followed the qualitative method using grounded theory methodology to examine the process of identity construction. Data were collected from final year software engineering students in an iterative manner.Findings– Based on the present study, the study argues that entry-level identities of students are modified and adjusted in response to their experience of identity violations over the course of their academic program. These violations were caused by their unmet expectations from the academic program. The magnitude of these violations is influenced by their perceived value derived from the training they were receiving.Research limitations/implications– This paper explains the process of "identity morphing" as a mechanism by which students resolve the conflict/violation of their identities. The emergence and adaptation of different types of identities were examined. This study can be extended to the employees of IT organizations to draw a holistic picture.Practical implications– The understanding of identity morphing process might enable organizations to enrich their interaction with their employees and thus provide avenues to improve their work-related outcomes.Originality/value– Previous studies have explored professional identity construction among individuals. However, how software professionals construct their professional identity, during their education years, is relatively unexplored. The present study asserts that professional identities are formed among the students even before they join the organization.

Purpose
– Residing on social networking platforms, social games have unique characteristics distinguishing them from other digital games or online games. The purpose of this paper is to explore both social and gaming factors of social games and investigate their roles on enhancing perceived enjoyment. The authors also examine the relationships between perceived enjoyment, subject norm, perceived critical mass, intention to play, and actual behavior.


Design/methodology/approach
– This paper develops a research model including nine hypotheses. Using a survey questionnaire, empirical data were collected from 169 actual social game players. Structured equation modeling was used to test the proposed research models.


Findings
– Social identification, social interaction, and diversion significantly influence perceived enjoyment. Perceived enjoyment significantly influences the intention to play, which in turn significantly influences the actual behavior. Moreover, subject norm and perceived critical mass play different roles in determining the intention to play and the actual behavior.


Practical implications
– The results of this study provide social game practitioners with a set of rich insights into guidelines on designing specific social and gaming characteristics to improve users' perceived enjoyment and actual playing behavior.


Originality/value
– Through analyzing characteristics of social games, The authors emphasize the difference between social games and other online games or computer games and recognize the enhancing role of social and gaming factors on perceived enjoyment. Findings of this study contribute to the literature on social games.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate two questions. First, are movie-based online community evaluations (CE) on par with film expert evaluations of new movies? Second, which group makes more reliable and accurate predictions of movie box office revenues: film reviewers or an online community?Design/methodology/approach– Data were collected from a movie-based online community Fandango for a 16-month period and included all movies released during this time (373 movies). The authors compared film reviewers' evaluations with the online CE during the first eight weeks of the movie's release.Findings– The study finds that community members evaluate movies differently than film reviewers. The results also reveal that CE have more predictive power than film reviewers' evaluations, especially during the opening week of a movie.Research limitations/implications– The investigated online community is based in the USA, hence the findings are limited to this geographic context.Practical implications– The main implication is that film studios and movie-goers can rely more on CE than film reviewers' evaluation for decision making. Online CE can help film studios in negotiating with distributors, theatre owners for the number of screens. Also, community reviews rather than film reviewers' reviews are looked upon by future movie-goers for movie choice decisions.Originality/value– The study makes an original contribution to the motion picture performance research as well as to the growing research on online consumer communities by demonstrating the predictive potential of online communities with regards to evaluations of new movies.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to elicit tacit knowledge exhibited in expert information system (IS) professionals in a form that can be shared with others; and to develop categorical framework suggesting key content areas of tacit knowledge in the requirements analysis domain.Design/methodology/approach– Requirements analysis is selected as the main focus of this study due to the importance of this phase to the success of IS development and the nature of requirements analysis tasks requiring extensive amount of tacit knowledge. The authors used the "storytelling" approach, a semi-structured interview technique for knowledge elicitation.Findings– The study resulted in 132 knowledge items using a qualitative method and categorized them into 14 categories using cluster analysis. The study found that experienced, successful analysts see systems analysis in behavioral, managerial, and political terms and focus heavily on interpersonal, project management, and organizational issues.Research limitations/implications– The limitations in the research sample, or in the recollection capability of the research subjects could compromise the comprehensiveness of the tacit knowledge in the requirements analysis domain; however, the elicited knowledge at least represents important dimensions one might reasonably find in this domain.Originality/value– Very little research has attempted to capture this tacit dimension of system analysts' knowledge. Thus, capturing and transferring the tacit knowledge from experts should help in the evolution of novice to expert system analysts thereby improving both their effectiveness and the quality of the information systems developed.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to : first, examine information systems (IS) infusion from a user commitment perspective, and second, examine the formation of user commitment toward the use of IS in terms of job design.Design/methodology/approach– This study adopts a survey approach with structural equation modeling to test the developed research model and hypotheses.Findings– A survey of 236 enterprise system users shows that user commitment has a positive effect on IS infusion. User commitment, in turn, is influenced by task technology fit, technology self-efficacy, and task autonomy. Further mediation and direct effects to IS infusion are explored.Research limitations/implications– This study offers implications for research, such as explaining a driver of IS infusion; and extending commitment theory by finding antecedents of user commitment.Practical/implications– The results of this study offer suggestions to management on how to improve IS infusion in terms of user commitment and, consequently, how to develop user commitment based on the socio-technical system (STS) design.Social/implications– The study highlights the critical impact of technology autonomy on IS infusion. An individual user's authority in using and regulating the system is required for IS infusion.Originality/value– This study has proposed a theoretical model of IS infusion based on commitment and socio-technical job design factors.

Purpose
– In today's aging world online communication is often viewed as a means to enhance social connectivity, and therefore well-being, of older adults. However, previous research on the influence of online communication on social connectivity largely disregards older adults, yields conflicting results and fails to assess the – debatable − causal direction of relationship. The purpose of this paper is to overcome these issues by developing four hypotheses related to who uses what, how, with whom.


Design/methodology/approach
– The authors use a panel data study to test the hypotheses, including 302 older adults. Response rates are between 62 and 75 percent.


Findings
– The authors find, first, that older adults differentiate between social connectivity with other village members, i.e., village connectivity, and connectivity with friends. Second, the impact of online communication varies among these two types of social connectivity. Where e-mail use has a negative impact on village connectivity, it does not affect connectivity with friends. Facebook use on the other hand has a negative impact on connectivity with friends, but not on village connectivity. The negative effects were not found among those older adults that were already well-connected on forehand, indicating a buffer effect.


Practical/implications
– Policy makers' implementing online communication tools to strengthen social connectivity of older adults, may want to carefully select tools based on the type of connectivity they aim to enhance. Impact needs to be monitored.


Originality/value
– The authors contribute by analyzing how characteristics of online communication tools, i.e., information richness and privacy protection, as well as social connectivity, i.e., geographical proximity and emotional closeness jointly shape older adults' social connectivity.

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to examine the ways in which central government in resource-constrained environments collaborates with local government to utilize the available resources at hand to set up 300 Digital Opportunity Centers (DOCs) in 168 remote areas in Taiwan through co-management to bricolage new resources and new capabilities, gradually bridging the urban-rural digital divide to co-create values for local development.


Design/methodology/approach
– This study adopted an in-depth case study. The authors selected Taiwan's DOC, the largest public information service infrastructure project in Taiwan, to explore issues related to bricolage-based resource co-management.


Findings
– From the integrating relevant literature, the generic process of bricolage-based resource co-management can be inferred to consist of four major steps. Applying this body of knowledge as a theoretical lens to analyze the case of Taiwan's DOC, a process model of bricolage-based resource co-management is inductively derived to address the research questions.


Research limitations/implications
– A common criticism of this methodology is its lack of generalizability since a case study cannot prove itself in a statistical sense.


Practical implications
– This study is significant in that it provides a comprehensive and empirically supported framework. The authors hope that practitioners who face resource constraints when conducting large-scale IT projects can use the process model developed in this study as a detailed roadmap to identify the most appropriate actions and steps to undertake.


Originality/value
– This study provides an empirically grounded framework that contributes toward addressing the lack of empirical studies in bricolage-based, resource co-management research.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to propose a conference-based online social network (OSN) for academics' knowledge sharing and collaboration around and beyond a conference, while exploring the entanglement of the social and technical aspects of the system.Design/methodology/approach– Following an exploratory study, an OSN prototype was developed and implemented in ECIS 2014. The usage of the OSN platform was monitored and in-depth interviews were conducted with seven of its active users.Findings– Academic researchers have positive attitudes toward using conference-based OSN. However, there is a gap between academics' perceptions and their actual behavior. Several barriers for engagement were identified, leading to technical and social recommendations, including the following needs: integrating the OSN platform with other conference information systems; addressing privacy concerns; allowing on-going collaboration; increasing OSN vitality; using the wisdom of the crowd; and promotion and its timing.Research limitations/implications– The case study highlighted existing benefits, and identified potential future benefits from implementing a conference-based OSN. Future research is required to generalize the findings and evaluate the proposed strategies for enhancing user engagement.Practical implications– This study revealed the set of considerations that should be taken upon launching a new academic OSN, which are beyond the technical issuesper se.Social implications– The paper presents the expected benefits from, and existing barriers to using a conference-based OSN, and suggests recommendations for encouraging academics to engage in such OSN, in order to enhance long-term social interactions, knowledge sharing and collaboration among conference participants.Originality/value– This is a first study to examine a conference-based OSN.