Agile approaches help software development project teams to better meet user needs and ensure flexibility in uncertain environments. But using agile approaches invites changes to the project and ...increases interactions between team members, which both cause interruptions in the workplace. While interruptions can help in task completion and increase process flexibility, they can also hinder employee productivity. We conducted an exploratory study of four agile software development teams. Our analysis identified (1) programming-related work impediments, (2) interaction-related interruptions, and (3) interruptions imposed by the external environment, which were managed by improved information retrieval and reduced team dependencies.
Companies across industries are shifting toward a platform ecosystem strategy. By leveraging cloud computing technologies, companies aim to benefit from collaboration with a wide range of third-party ...developers within emergent platform ecosystems. To succeed, these companies need to develop new organizational capabilities to co-create and capture value in platform ecosystems. To understand what capabilities are crucial to establish platform ecosystems and how they contribute to value co-creation and value capture, we conducted a multi-year, in-depth case study of SAP’s cloud platform project. We identified (1) technology-related capabilities (cloud-based platformization, open IT landscape management) and (2) relationship-driven capabilities (ecosystem orchestration, platform evangelism, platform co-selling) and illustrate how these capabilities help the platform owner to enable and balance value co-creation and value capture in an emergent platform ecosystem. With our findings, we contribute to the discussion on how companies can overcome the challenging emergent phase of platform ecosystems. We thereby bridge literature on value creation in platform ecosystems and on organizational capabilities. Though we conducted our study in the context of the enterprise software industry, we discuss how our findings apply to prospective platform owners from different contexts.
Digital platforms are an omnipresent phenomenon that challenges incumbents by changing how we consume and provide digital products and services. Whereas traditional firms create value within the ...boundaries of a company or a supply chain, digital platforms utilize an ecosystem of autonomous agents to co-create value. Scholars from various disciplines, such as economics, technology management, and information systems have taken different perspectives on digital platform ecosystems. In this Fundamentals article, we first synthesize research on digital platforms and digital platform ecosystems to provide a definition that integrates both concepts. Second, we use this definition to explain how different digital platform ecosystems vary according to three core building blocks: (1) platform ownership, (2) value-creating mechanisms, and (3) complementor autonomy. We conclude by giving an outlook on four overarching research areas that connect the building blocks: (1) technical properties and value creation; (2) complementor interaction with the ecosystem; (3) value capture; and (4) the make-or-join decision in digital platform ecosystems.
Health care professionals regularly require access to information systems throughout their daily work. However, existing smart devices like smartphones and tablets are difficult to use at the point ...of care, because health care professionals require both hands during their work. Following a design science research approach including ethnographic fieldwork and prototype tests with focus groups, we find that Augmented Reality smart glass applications offer potential for service innovation in the health care sector. Our smart glass prototype supports health care professionals during wound treatment by allowing them to document procedures hands-free while they perform them. Furthermore, we investigate the use of audio based and physical interaction with the smart glasses in a within-subjects design experiment.
Today, it is natural for digital services to be available anytime, anywhere. Thanks to digital platforms, we can connect with our intelligent assistants, stream movies on our networked televisions, ...and wirelessly control our homes with smartphone apps. Within the last few years, our cars have also been transformed into computers on wheels. However, the apps with which we are accustomed are often not available in cars. Why are cars different? This teaching case examines how the worldwide automotive manufacturer BMW developed its onboard infotainment system into a digital platform. While the transformation of a manufacturing firm into a technology company reveals multiple challenges, new actors enter the stage. In 2017, Google announced the launch of Android Automotive OS, a complete operating system for cars with access to a vibrant platform ecosystem. Should BMW accept Google’s offer to use Android Automotive OS as a digital platform for their cars, or should they strive to create their own proprietary platform ecosystem? This teaching case introduces the dynamics of digital platform ecosystems and illustrates the “platform conundrum” that many traditional companies must confront: Is it better to build a new proprietary platform ecosystem or join an existing dominant platform ecosystem? We provide rich insights from BMW’s development, sales, and strategic divisions, helping students to understand the risks, chances, and challenges of various choices that occur in the context of digital platform ecosystems and why such decisions might be crucial to the future of traditional companies such as BMW.
The transformative power of AI raises serious concerns about ethical issues within organizations and implicates the need for trust. To cope with that, numerous ethical frameworks are generally ...published, but only on a theoretical level. Furthermore, proper trust calibration in AI is of high relevance for the workers. Up to now, only limited studies have been carried out to investigate how an ethical framework can foster proper trust calibration of workers in practice. To close this gap, an ethical framework is investigated that ensures trust calibration by targeting AI reliability and AI safety. Finally, the effectiveness of the applied framework is evaluated based on 17 interviews within an international automotive supplier. As a result, this ethical framework led to a major increase in trust. This is a groundbreaking outcome since workers are willing to accept a lower level of AI safety and AI reliability at the same time.
PurposeInformation Systems (IS) research has built up a considerable understanding of digital platform ecosystems, while policymakers worldwide are aiming to introduce platform regulations that seek ...to erode fundamental mechanisms of digital platforms. This viewpoint article provides an introduction to how platform regulation affects our current understanding of digital platform ecosystems and suggests opportunities for future research.Design/methodology/approachA detailed analysis of the effects of the European Union (EU) Digital Markets Act (DMA) on current findings of organizational, technical and economic IS platform research.FindingsGovernment regulations of digital platforms such as the DMA likely affect the central mode of operation of platforms in the scope of the regulation. The authors preconceive a major impact on platform openness, governance, steering the platform supply-side, modularity, nestedness, network effects, pricing and single-/multi-homing. In addition, the authors present opportunities for future research in each of these IS platform research streams.Originality/valueLandmark regulations implemented in the past, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), caused paradigm changes that fertilized research opportunities in IS and beyond. This viewpoint article aims to nudge studies that examine the changed mode of operation of platforms following platform regulation.
Abstract Online freelancing, an alternative form of work where independent workers offer services on digital labor platforms, gains increasing importance in IS research. While the general ...understanding of this form of work is growing, research lacks understanding careers on digital labor platforms. However, these differ from careers in offline labor markets due to volatility, global matching and platform mediation, the digital and temporary nature of work, and algorithmic management as particular platform working conditions. Therefore, to understand how working conditions on digital labor platforms influence the dynamic career paths of freelancers, we conduct an exploratory analysis using 35 interviews with freelancers and clients on digital labor platforms. We thus contribute to the body of knowledge on alternative forms of work on digital labor platforms by developing a long‐term freelancing career model and outlining the dynamics of advancement, decline, and exit within platform careers. We also illustrate mechanisms between career phases in terms of platform lock‐in effects, which arise from the career advancement dynamics and career exit dynamics.
IT Professionals in the Gig Economy Gussek, Lisa; Wiesche, Manuel
Business & information systems engineering,
10/2023, Letnik:
65, Številka:
5
Journal Article
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When IT work is performed through digital labor markets, IT professionals have a high degree of personal responsibility for their careers and must use appropriate strategies to be successful. This ...paper investigates the success of IT freelancers on digital labor platforms. Drawing on signaling theory, a dataset of 7166 IT freelancers is used to examine how activating, pointing, and supporting signals lead to success. Analysis was carried out using negative binomial regression. The results indicate that the three signaling types positively influence the objective career success of IT freelancers. This paper contributes to the literature by testing signaling theory in the new context of digital labor platforms, investigating IT specifics, and proposing support as a new type of signal for IT professionals on digital labor platforms. In practice, the results provide guidelines for IT freelancers to improve their success within their careers.
Grounded theory methodology (GTM), with its espoused goal of theory development of novel phenomena, has found broad application in Information Systems (IS) research. To investigate how GTM is applied ...in IS research and how the research contributions are contingent on those applications, we review 43 GTM-based articles in major IS and related journals. Ten of the articles develop theory. The other 33 articles use GTM to develop models and rich descriptions of new phenomena as their theoretical contribution. We show that each of the three forms is valuable to the IS community. For example, studies that develop theories and models are highly cited in the IS literature. We identify nine GTM procedures that are applied in various combinations to develop the three forms of research contribution. Treating GTM as a portfolio of the nine procedures, we examine the implications for the research contribution of adopting the core GTM procedures compared with a partial portfolio of those procedures.
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