Paul Di Gangi, Robin Teigland and Zeynep Yetis
This research investigates how the value creation interests and activities of different stakeholder groups within one open source software (OSS) project influence the project's…
Abstract
Purpose
This research investigates how the value creation interests and activities of different stakeholder groups within one open source software (OSS) project influence the project's development over time.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a case study of OpenSimulator using textual and thematic analyses of the initial four years of OpenSimulator developer mailing list to identify each stakeholder group and guide our analysis of their interests and value creation activities over time.
Findings
The analysis revealed that while each stakeholder group was active within the OSS project's development, the different groups possessed complementary interests that enabled the project to evolve. In the formative period, entrepreneurs were interested in the software's strategic direction in the market, academics and SMEs in software functionality and large firms and hobbyists in software testing. Each group retained its primary interest in the maturing period with academics and SMEs separating into server- and client-side usability. The analysis shed light on how the different stakeholder groups overcame tensions amongst themselves and took specific actions to sustain the project.
Originality/value
The authors extend stakeholder theory by reconceptualizing the focal organization and its stakeholders for OSS projects. To date, OSS research has primarily focused on examining one project relative to its marketplace. Using stakeholder theory, we identified stakeholder groups within a single OSS project to demonstrate their distinct interests and how these interests influence their value creation activities over time. Collectively, these interests enable the project's long-term development.
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Keywords
Robert Hooker, Molly Wasko, David Paradice, Robin Teigland and Charles Hofacker
The purpose of this paper is to test flow as a construct distinctly separate from its antecedents, and the resulting impact on brand attitudes and purchase intent within realistic…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test flow as a construct distinctly separate from its antecedents, and the resulting impact on brand attitudes and purchase intent within realistic online shopping three-dimensional virtual environments (3-DVEs).
Design/methodology/approach
This research utilizes a field study, combined with a survey research design of 348 3-DVE participants.
Findings
The findings reveal that flow is not a unidimensional construct but rather, a mental state that should be measured separately from its antecedents, with the possibility that certain antecedents may be more relevant than others in different activities. Furthermore, the authors received strong support for the overarching hypothesized model separating the nine dimensions associated with engagement in an activity as antecedents of flow, which, in turn, influences brand attitude and thereafter purchase intention.
Research limitations/implications
This study was limited to one type of activity within one 3-DVE but is balanced by the difficulty in gaining access to organizations and computer-mediated environments of this type for examining such phenomena.
Practical implications
Businesses using 3-DVEs to market brands should focus their efforts on creating highly enjoyable experiences that result in the feeling of a loss of sense of time for the participants in order to ultimately positively influence purchase intentions.
Originality/value
Prior research focused on fantasy-based, game-oriented environments, while also neglecting to test all elements of flow, examining “similar to flow” constructs or measuring flow as a unidimensional construct.
Andrew Schenkel and Robin Teigland
The purpose of this article is to empirically investigate the relationship between communities of practice and performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to empirically investigate the relationship between communities of practice and performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews, surveys, and company records from a case study of several communities of practice within a multi‐billion dollar construction project are investigated. Using the concept of learning curves, the authors look at the relationship between four communities of practice and their performance as well as taking an in‐depth look at the communication patterns within each community of practice.
Findings
Three communities of practice that operated under stable conditions were found to exhibit improved performance. However, the one community of practice that experienced changes in its communication channels due to a physical move was never able to regain its previous ability to continuously improve, indicating a strong relationship between communication channels and performance.
Research limitations/implications
The research presented here focuses only on communities of practice within one organization and one industry, thus limiting the degree to which the results can be generalized.
Practical implications
The results provide support for the recent efforts by managers to sponsor and even “formally define” communities of practice within organizations. This article also illustrates how sensitive communities of practice are to changes in communication channels, thus alerting managers to the importance of understanding the impact of their actions on a community's cognitive processes and structural dimensions.
Originality/value
This paper offers empirical support for a positive relationship between communities of practice and performance, thus filling a research gap that has been difficult to fill due to the ethereal nature of communities of practice.
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Marta Ferrer-Serrano, Lucio Fuentelsaz and Maria Pilar Latorre-Martinez
Knowledge transfer (KT) has been attracting significant attention from the scientific community. The need to establish collaborative network relationships to achieve effective KT…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge transfer (KT) has been attracting significant attention from the scientific community. The need to establish collaborative network relationships to achieve effective KT has led to a large volume of studies that attempt to identify how collaborative networks influence KT processes. However, papers, which link KT and networks have not been systematised. This study aims to provide an overview of this academic field and sets an agenda for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors followed the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses method to conduct a systematic review of the literature published in 2000–2020. The authors sourced the sample from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The authors screened the references under the management and business categories that were published in the first two quartiles of the Journal Citation Report. This search returned 190 impactful papers across the 53 journals that were analysed.
Findings
The authors present the main results in two sections. First, this paper elaborates a conceptual model of the field; second, the authors review KT between firms and other agents, which allows us to identify KT flows within and between companies, universities and public institutions.
Originality/value
This paper provides the first systematic review of collaborative networks and KT. Five areas of action are identified for future research and are specified in several research questions. The authors also provide several practical implications. In a world in which more and more dynamic agents coexist, it is important to be aware of the needs of organisations that create and disseminate specific knowledge.
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Qinghua He, Ting Wang, Albert P.C. Chan, Hanzhang Li and Yangxue Chen
The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on project success in academic journals, specifically within the context of construction engineering and management…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on project success in academic journals, specifically within the context of construction engineering and management (CEM). It also aims to provide a holistic picture of existing research and to identify research implications in this specific area.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is an extensive literature review of a total of 164 peer-reviewed journal papers between 2007 and 2017, using a mixed bibliographic and bibliometric method that considers annual circulation, institutional and regional contributions, author contributions, citations, categories of research methods and keywords networking.
Findings
There has been an increasing research interest in CEM project success. The largest number of published studies targets the developed regions, especially in Hong Kong, whereas the papers related to the developing economies remain weak. Questionnaire, interview and case study have comprised the main data collection methods, and descriptive data analysis was performed in most of the case/field studies. The subtopic related to the critical success factors (CSFs) is considered as the most popular in the keywords network in the targeted research area. Four implications, namely, megaproject success, project success in developing countries, relationships between CSFs and success outcomes, and the influence of human factors are highlighted in future research.
Originality/value
This paper departs from earlier research by using a mixed bibliographic and bibliometric method, especially facilitating to analyze and illustrate the interlinkages between keywords effectively. Additionally, it provides a clear picture of the existing literature on CEM project success, which contributes to insights for successful construction project management. Finally, the holistic analysis identifies gaps in the body of knowledge, revealing avenues for future research.