Search results

This paper aims to develop a performance measurement (PM) system for fourth-party reverse logistics (RL). In this regard, it proposes simultaneous utilization of a procedural approach and hybrid use of existing performance frameworks.

The paper first describes fundamentals of RL and PM approaches in literature to build a basis for further discussion. It then carries out a systematic review of the literature on PM in RL to highlight current trends and approaches in this regard. At last, it develops a PM system for fourth-party RL by exploring relevant performance frameworks and by defining a procedure in detail.

The paper identifies the ongoing interest in development PM in RL, and the gap and the need for the development of comprehensive PM system for fourth-party RL. It also identifies the best approach is to use existing performance frameworks in literature and a procedural approach together as they complement each other rather than contradicting.

The paper fills a gap in literature by developing a comprehensive PM framework for the fourth-party RL. The presented procedure is well suited to be used as part of strategic management process in any fourth-party RL organization. It forces users a top-down approach, from strategies to measures, so that a strong linkage is established in the process. When used together with the proposed PM framework, it guarantees a comprehensive and balanced PM system.

The paper identifies the need for the development of a PM framework as well as a measurement system for the fourth-party RL in the literature. In this regard, it develops a PM framework first, and then a procedure on how to implement it. As a result, users can effectively use them as a part of strategic management process of their organizations.

The fourth-party RL is growing and very promising mode of RL for well-being of society, by offering a strong path to sustainable development in the midst of diminishing resources in the world. The existence of a well measurement system is crucial for the healthy operations and development of fourth-party RL organizations. The paper is offering a strong PM model in this regard.

The paper fulfills an identified need to study how to develop a PM system for fourth-party RL.

Immersive virtual reality (IVR) has been frequently proposed as a promising tool for learning. However, researchers have commonly implemented a plethora of design elements in these IVR systems, which makes the specific aspects of the system that are necessary to achieve beneficial outcomes unclear. Against this background, this study aims to combine the literature on presence with learning theories to propose that the ability of IVR to present 3D objects to users improves the presence of these objects in the virtual environment compared with 2D objects, leading to increased learning performance.

To test this study’s hypotheses, the authors conducted a 2 (training condition: approach vs avoid) x 2 (object presence: high vs low) between-subjects laboratory experiment that used IVR with 83 female participants.

The results support this study’s hypotheses and show that training with high object presence leads to greater reactions to cues (chocolate cravings) and improved health behaviour (chocolate consumption).

This study shows that increased object presence leads to unique experiences for users, which help reinforce training effects. Moreover, this work sheds further light on how immersive computer technologies can affect user attitudes and behaviour. Specifically, this work contributes to IVR research by showing that learning effects can be enhanced through an increased degree of object presence.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate toxic behaviour (TB) that significantly harms individuals’ gameplay experience in multiplayer online video games. Multiplayer online video games allow to simultaneously interact with others in real time. They can be considered as digital communities unifying a group of players within a video game. TB is characterized by spreading a bad mood (e.g. upsetting and insulting) leading to unsatisfying outcomes in team-based multiplayer environments.

Using mixed methods, the authors show that handling TB should be addressed more firmly on a level of game design. First, the authors test the explanatory power of the online disinhibition effect (ODE) and its antecedents on TB using a quantitative survey (N = 320) and structural equation modelling. Specifically, the authors show that dissociative anonymity, asynchronicity, solipsistic introjection, dissociative imagination and minimization of authority have a mediated effect through toxic disinhibition as predictors of TB. Second, the authors conduct a focus group workshop (N = 10) with experts from diverse disciplines to derive design principles on a level of game design.

The results indicate that transparency and imminent feedback are still underutilized elements in game design that can significantly buffer several forms of TB. By developing a heuristic prototype and exemplary design principles in subsequent categories, the authors address all relevant in-game scenarios. With this study, the authors provide researchers and practitioners helpful insights on how to increase the well-being and safety of gaming communities.

ODE already showed its explanatory potential in the neighbouring context of cyberbullying. Embedded in theories of negative behaviour on the internet, the authors propose a holistic and theory-driven approach to handle TB on a level of game design. The authors’ insights allow for a better understanding of an innovative entity of the dark side of technology diffusion and adverse side effects linked to it.

This study sought to distinguish characteristics of cognitive processes while using information technology. In particular, it identifies similarities and differences between mind wandering and cognitive absorption in technology-related settings in an effort to develop a deeper understanding of the role that mind wandering plays when using information technology.

Data was gathered using an online survey including responses from 619 English-speaking adults in 2019. We applied a confirmatory factor analysis and used a robust variant of maximum likelihood estimator with robust standard errors and a Satorra–Bentler scaled test statistic. The data analysis procedure was conducted with the R environment using the psych package for descriptive analysis, and lavaan to investigate the factorial structure and the underlying correlations.

We discuss the benefits of carefully differentiating between cognitive processes in Information Systems research and depict avenues how future research can address current shortcomings with a careful investigation of neurophysiological antecedents.

To date, mind wandering has been explored as a single phenomenon, though research in reference disciplines has begun to distinguish varieties and how they distinctly impact behavior. We demonstrate that this distinction is also important for our discipline by showing how two specific types of mind wandering (i.e. deliberate and spontaneous mind wandering) are differently correlated with sub-dimensions of cognitive absorption, a well-studied construct.

Toxic behavior in multiplayer video games diminishes the potential revenue of gaming companies by spreading a bad mood, negatively affecting game play, and subsequently leading to the churn of players. However, research investigating why toxic behavior occurs is still scarce. To address this issue, this study disjunctively tests three different theoretical approaches (social cognitive theory, theory of planned behavior, and online disinhibition effect) to explain toxic behavior and propose a unified theory of toxic behavior.

In total, 320 respondents participated in a questionnaire study. This study analyzes the data with covariance-based statistics (i.e. regression analysis and structural equation modelling), and the approach is twofold. First, the hypotheses of three theories are disjunctively tested. Second, a unified theory of toxic behavior is proposed.

The results of this study indicate that online disinhibition best explains toxic behavior, whereby toxic behavior victimization, attitude, and behavioral control also play an important role.

The findings of this study offer an opportunity to better understand a contemporary and especially meaningful form of negative behavior online.

To maintain revenue and popularity, the computer game industry can use the findings of this study to prevent and better address toxic behavior and its negative consequences.

Toxic behavior among video game players is a relatively new and unexplored phenomenon; therefore, this study makes a valuable contribution to the research field by testing the explanatory power of three theoretical approaches and proposing a unified theory of toxic behavior.

People seem to function according to different models, which implies that in business and social sciences, heterogeneity is a rule rather than an exception. Researchers can investigate such heterogeneity through multigroup analysis (MGA). In the context of partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM), MGA is currently applied to perform multiple comparisons of parameters across groups. However, this approach has significant drawbacks: first, the whole model is not considered when comparing groups, and second, the family-wise error rate is higher than the predefined significance level when the groups are indeed homogenous, leading to incorrect conclusions. Against this background, the purpose of this paper is to present and validate new MGA tests, which are applicable in the context of PLS-PM, and to compare their efficacy to existing approaches.

The authors propose two tests that adopt the squared Euclidean distance and the geodesic distance to compare the model-implied indicator correlation matrix across groups. The authors employ permutation to obtain the corresponding reference distribution to draw statistical inference about group differences. A Monte Carlo simulation provides insights into the sensitivity and specificity of both permutation tests and their performance, in comparison to existing approaches.

Both proposed tests provide a considerable degree of statistical power. However, the test based on the geodesic distance outperforms the test based on the squared Euclidean distance in this regard. Moreover, both proposed tests lead to rejection rates close to the predefined significance level in the case of no group differences. Hence, our proposed tests are more reliable than an uncontrolled repeated comparison approach.

Current guidelines on MGA in the context of PLS-PM should be extended by applying the proposed tests in an early phase of the analysis. Beyond our initial insights, more research is required to assess the performance of the proposed tests in different situations.

This paper contributes to the existing PLS-PM literature by proposing two new tests to assess multigroup differences. For the first time, this allows researchers to statistically compare a whole model across groups by applying a single statistical test.

The technological innovation of Software as a Service-Enterprise Resource Planning (SaaS-ERP) opens several relative advantages, which may be realized by choosing the proper operation mode. Thus a company looking for a new ERP system faces the question: When and under what conditions does it make sense to choose a SaaS-ERP system? The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The relative advantage criterion of the diffusion of innovation theory, derived as operation mode differences, determine the conditions under which SaaS- or On-Premise-ERP is preferable: a classification of all main systemic operation mode differences between SaaS and On-Premise for the more complex ERP systems is presented. The systemic differences were identified by analytic generalization using triangulation between a literature review and a multiple case study with four ERP producers.

The most significant decision factors between ERP operation modes are flexibility, customization, cost, and operation and maintenance. General strategies have been derived by bringing the theoretical reasons together with the operation mode difference criteria. Typical criteria for selecting SaaS-ERP are a lack of IT-capacity or capabilities, as well as high need for flexibility, due to business development, seasonality, growth, collaboration and/or expansion. On-Premise-ERPs should be selected if specific or strategic resources would be outsourced or when major customization is a need.

Case research is limited in that it reveals only ERP producers’ view and omits outlying cases.

The findings implicate that ERP selecting customers should consider and expand their criteria for ERP selection by operation mode criteria.

The classification of the most essential operation mode differences allows, for the first time, ERP selecting customers to design selection strategies. ERP selecting companies should strategically favor the operation mode that best suits their respective organizational characteristics so as to obtain the best possible support from the ERP operation modes.

Business process management (BPM) is a key concept in information systems (IS) research that helps to connect business strategy with the use of technology in an organization. Contemporary BPM research is no longer only about methods, procedures, or tools for managing or modeling processes but about assessing and developing BPM capability in organizations. For this purpose, a vast collection of maturity models has been designed by practitioners and scholars alike. Such models are used to assess the status quo and benchmark it against other organizations, and, most important, to guide the development of BPM capability. With this study, the paper challenges the maturity model perspective of such development models.

In this study, methods of qualitative IS research are employed to address the research objectives.

The paper shows that maturity model-based guidance would be inadequate. Instead, other concept-external factors resulting from organizational and environmental characteristics appear to be important indicators. The theory discussion introduces alternative takes on BPM capability development, lays out implications for BPM practice, and presents potentially fruitful paths for future research in the area of BPM capability development.

This paper challenges the current perspectives and contributes a new direction for conceptualizing BPM capability development.

Business process management (BPM) networks have become an important theme in both research and practice. Drawing from governance theory, this paper seeks to provide a theoretical understanding of BPM networks and introduce three types of BPM governance: market, network, and hierarchy. Subsequently, it aims to study the impact of BPM maturity, organization size, and financial stress (independent variables) on the three types of BPM governance (dependent variable).

After a thorough literature analysis a quantitative study is conducted. Comprehensive data of 538 local public administration in Germany and Japan is comparatively studied by means of a PLS (model and multi group) analysis.

The empirical study provides evidence for the significant dependence of BPM governance on contextual variables: the configuration of the BPM network relies on the BPM maturity and the perceived financial stress. Also, such dependence does vary between the two countries. Higher financial stress leads to more higher network sourcing in Germany and to higher market sourcing in Japan, respectively.

This study suggests that the role of process managers changes over time. In immature organizations, process managers appear to work alone and struggle for resources. However, once organizations start to mature, the role changes to that of an “orchestrator of different actors.” Process managers in future public organizations (assuming a positive development of capabilities), both in Asian and European settings, must be able to collaborate with actors from different governance mechanisms.

First, the paper provides a governance‐theory based understanding of BPM networks. It introduces market‐type, network‐type, and hierarchy‐type BPM governance and thereby provides greater conceptual and theoretical clarity of this important phenomenon. So far, this research area has been under‐theorized. Second, the paper provides a theory that explains BPM network governance. Here, relevant contextual variables are taken into account, including the BPM maturity of an organization. Third, the paper contributes comprehensive empirical insights into BPM networks structures, governance mechanisms, and their dependence on contextual variables (especially the BPM maturity of an organization). Fourth, it provides an ample comparative theory‐based analysis of BPM networks in two different countries. Such an endeavor, as to the author's best knowledge, has not yet been undertaken so far.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the status quo with regards to business process management (BPM) and collaboration and to show potential fields of future research in the area of collaborative BPM.

To obtain results, authors employ the method of a systematic literature review using relevant existing guidelines. They not only search leading journals and conferences in the fields but also in ISI web of knowledge's web of science. Subsuming, 39 relevant articles are selected and analyzed with regards to concepts identified upfront.

The paper finds that collaborative BPM is a growing trend in information systems research, but that there still exist significant research gaps. Hence, it proposes a research agenda consisting out of five action fields pointing at potentially fruitful directions for future research.

First, this paper provides an overview of the status quo in the field of collaborative BPM to young scholars. Second, it identifies five distinct research gaps that could be worth studying. However, this paper may be limited by the choice of dimensions and the selection of relevant articles.

This paper informs practitioners about the status quo of research on collaborative BPM. Here, especially the analysis in the dimensions collaboration partner and BPM goals can help to evaluate the practitioner's strategy.

The results of this paper present the status quo of collaborative BPM literature. Hence, it also identifies research gaps and derives a research agenda.