Antecedents of attitude towards online mediation

While the majority of studies so far have examined the effectiveness and benefits of electronic settlement applications, this study explores factors that affect the adoption and use of online mediation services. To this end, structural equation modeling analysis was applied to data obtained from users and mediators involved in an online mediated dispute. Subject perceptions regarding an overall mediation system including information technology and a human mediator were assessed. The findings suggest that while perceived usefulness of the information system explains the variance in attitude towards online mediation, the perceived usefulness of the mediator does not shape this attitude. Thus, mediators are being conceptualized as external to the service and their characteristics do not affect attitudes towards online mediation services, nor the intention to adopt it. This phenomenon is explained using biases in attribution.     

Conflicts and Regrets in the Venture Capitalist–Entrepreneur Relationship

The goal of this paper is to examine whether conflicts with venture capitalists (VCs) could prompt chief executive officers (CEOs) to experience regret of action (regarding their poor partner choice) or regret of inaction (regarding their own inability to avert conflict). We argue that it is important to examine such feelings of regret that could motivate CEOs to change their financial intermediation and collaboration strategies in the future. We propose that VCs and CEOs may experience two types of conflict: (1) pacing conflicts regarding the direction and speed of venture advancement driven by perceived inequities in economic and social exchange; and (2) prerogative conflicts about the allocation of control rights and relationship issues driven by the perceived inequities in power relations. We hypothesize that pacing conflicts will be related to increasingly intense prerogative conflicts, whereas the latter will be associated with both types of CEO regret. The proposed model is tested with structural equation modeling techniques applied to the data collected from104 CEOs of VC‐backed ventures. All the hypotheses are supported. Our main finding is that CEOs appear to be ambivalent about their conflict with VCs, regretting both their prior choices as an error of judgment (regret of action) and their own lack of initiative (regret of inaction).     

A model for estimating fish population and optimal fishing effort in lakes and rivers

We developed a model for estimating the fish population for various species in lakes and rivers. Our estimation focuses, in its first step, on fish species that breed outside the lake. Using the annual outside supply of fingerlings, natural survival rate and reported amounts of fish caught, we estimated fish stock. Given the estimated stock for fish bred outside the lake, we can evaluate the catch rate. Assuming equal catch rates for other species, and given the amount caught for each species, we are able to evaluate each species stock. Using the proposed technique, we evaluated various species stocks in the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret) in Israel. Using our suggested technique for evaluating fish stock, we calculated the optimal effort of fishing needed for maximizing steady state profit of the fishers.     

Rigor and Relevance: The Application of The Critical Incident Technique to Investigate Email Usage

Information systems research is often criticized for its high rigor, but low relevance. One approach to overcome the low relevance issue is to employ sound qualitative methods, out of which this study focuses on the critical incident technique (CIT) that has mostly been overlooked in IS research. The primary goal of this study is to demonstrate and validate the usage of the critical incident technique in the management information systems domain. The secondary objective is to develop a number of practical recommendations for email service providers and to offer novel theoretical insights that may be employed in future research. To this end, 107 positive and 113 negative critical incidents pertaining to email usage were collected and analyzed through classical content analysis techniques. Overall, this investigation validates the usage of the CIT in the MIS field and presents practical and theoretical recommendations.     

The state and evolution of information systems research in canada: a scientometric analysis

This paper investigates the state and evolution of information systems (IS) research in Canada as reflected in publications of the proceedings of the annual conference of the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada from 1974 to 2007. We present a scientometric analysis of (a) individual and institutional research outputs; (b) differences in three productivity score calculation methods: straight count, equal credit, and author position; (c) study topics; (d) research methods; and (e) use of student samples. Copyright © 2008 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Memory-Based Store Price Judgments: The Role of Knowledge and Shopping Experience

This paper investigates the processes underlying consumers’ memory-based store price judgments. The numerosity heuristic implies that the greater the number of relatively lower priced products at a store that consumers can recall, the lower will be their overall price image of the store. That is, people use the number of recalled low-price products to judge the overall store price image. We show that this expectation holds only for knowledgeable consumers. Instead, less knowledgeable consumers use the ease with which low-price products are recalled (i.e., the availability heuristic) as a cue to make store price judgments. Therefore, the fewer low-price products they recall, the easier their recall task, and the lower their price perceptions of the store.Field studies using different manipulations tested and confirmed these predictions. Managerial implications for retailers are offered. Theoretical implications for behavioral price perceptions, memory-based judgments, and the use of heuristic cues are also discussed.     

Team Spirit: The Influence of Psychological Collectivism on the Usage of E-Collaboration Tools

The use of information technologies in virtual teams has become common, but little is known about how psychological factors may affect future usage decisions in this context. Our study focuses on psychological collectivism, which is an individual-level form of collectivism (an individual trait capturing people’s “team spirit” or psychological attachments to groups) and investigates how this trait affects team members’ rational decision making processes. Partial Least Squares analysis applied to data collected from 120 team members suggest that psychological collectivism influences both team-referenced perceptions (confidence in one’s team’s capability) and system-referenced perceptions (the perceived usefulness of the e-collaboration tool), and these factors together affect future usage intentions.     

Scaling and dimensionalizing perceived risk from ratings data: Managers' risk perception of business computers

A model for dimensionalizing and scaling perceived risk is presented. The scaling procedure provides risk values at the brand and category level on each of several risk dimensions. The model is illustrated with business managers' risk assessments of microcomputer profiles. The relative importance of various intrinsic and extrinsic cues in determining these perceptions was examined as part of the validation procedure for the several risk scales.     

User Acceptance of Web-Based Negotiation Support Systems: The Role of Perceived Intention of the Negotiating Partner to Negotiate Online

With the rapid growth of web-based services and global trade, there is some commercial potential for web-based Negotiation Support Services (WNSS). This market potential, however, is somewhat untapped. While previous studies had examined WNSS adoption by individual decision makers, this situation is not fully realistic, as the conformity of all negotiating partners is required for web-based negotiation to happen. Therefore, this study extends the technology acceptance model for the context of e-negotiation through the inclusion of perceptions regarding the intention of the negotiating partner to use WNSS (i.e., perceived intentions). An empirical investigation, based on phone interviews with potential users, supports the research model. The perceived intention of the negotiating partner to agree to use WNSS was found to have significant positive effect on individuals’ acceptance of WNSS and its antecedents. Adding this construct into WNSS acceptance theory advances our understanding of WNSS adoption and provides important insights for scholars and practitioners.