Journal of Systems and Information Technology

Amir Parssian

2010 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/13287261011095789

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects and implications of free‐ride within culturally diverse virtual teams (VTs). Design/methodology/approach – Game theoretic concepts were applied to model the phenomenon of free‐ride within global VTs. Further, longitudinal data were collected to verify the validity of the applied methodology. Findings – It was found that less competent group members tend to engage more often in free‐ride at the cost of their fellows. Socio‐cultural factors have significant impact on the amount and timing of reporting free‐ride. Larger groups experience free‐ride at higher rates compared to smaller groups. Research limitations/implications – The experiments are conducted in a controlled lab environment that may not mimic the real‐world global VT dynamics. Practical implications – Business managers could use the results in this paper to form more effective and productive VTs by paying attention to group size and cultural effects on group behavior. Originality/value – Game theoretic concepts have long been applied to traditional groups to study their dynamics. This work applies those concepts to VTs along with studying the cultural effects on the phenomenon of free‐ride.

Bhavani Sridharan; Hepu Deng; Brian Corbitt

2010 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/13287261011095798

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the critical success factors for sustainable e‐learning in an e‐learning ecosystem framework. Three critical components of the e‐learning ecosystem including principles and methods, processes and systems, and substance and content are considered based on a comprehensive review of the relevant literature in e‐learning. Design/methodology/approach – Systematic interviews are conducted with experts in e‐learning for identifying the critical success factors to sustainable e‐learning within an e‐learning ecosystem framework. This leads to the development of an e‐learning success model that describes the underlying relationship between and among the identified critical success factors. Findings – A comprehensive analysis of the interview results shows that there are several barriers to the effective adoption of the proposed e‐learning success model for improving the effectiveness of e‐learning. These barriers include a lack of understanding of the technologies behind various pedagogies, insufficiencies of the popular learning management systems, and the sustainability of the learning objects repositories. Research limitations/implications – The paper highlights the criticality of synergizing the three components of e‐learning ecosystems namely pedagogies, technologies and management of learning resources for achieving a sustainable e‐learning success. Practical implications – A better understanding of these barriers would help e‐learning stakeholders develop appropriate strategies and policies for the implementation of the proposed e‐learning success model towards creating a sustainable e‐learning environment. Originality/value – Specific contributions of this research to the entire e‐learning community are discussed with recommendations for concerted policy measures to eliminate the identified barriers in the process of adopting the developed e‐learning success model.

Alidou Ouedraogo; Michel Boyer

2010 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/13287261011095806

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show if the use of information technology (IT) strengthens the growth and development of insular firms. It investigates IT usage in an ultra‐peripheral territory of the Economic Union and aims to gain a better understand between the use of the IT and the growth and development of insular firms. Design/methodology/approach – This research examines 118 of the largest Réunionese firms and several interesting factors are identified. Certain characteristics such as size, age, diversification of activities or lack of diversification, status as a subsidiary of a larger firm, degree of computerization and if electronic communications influence IT use were specifically examined. Also looked at were certain factors that could illustrate the relationship between IT use and firm growth and development. Findings – This paper presents findings and discusses these in terms of the degree of utilization of IT by insular firms, the development of external relationships and the importance of developing IT investment to reduce transaction costs within Réunionese enterprises. From this research, there is an assumption that the use of IT may have an impact on the growth and development of insular firms. Research limitations/implications – This research reported in this paper focused only on Réunion Island and not on other insular contexts. Further European ultra peripheral regions must be investigated to support the findings. Practical implications – The findings can help governments, public and private actors to increase the ICT investments of insular firms in order to reduce costs and improve the growth and development of local firms. Originality/value – The originality of this paper is the focus on the role of IT on the growth and development of insular firms.

Hakim Bendjenna; Nacer‐eddine Zarour; Pierre‐Jean Charrel

2010 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/13287261011095815

Purpose – The requirements engineering (RE) process constitutes the earliest phase of the information system development life cycle. Requirements elicitation is considered as one of the most critical activities of this phase. Moreover, requirements elicitation is still a challenge, especially in the distributed environment of so‐called inter‐company cooperative information systems (ICISs). The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology to elicit requirements for an ICIS. Design/methodology/approach – An analytical research approach was conducted. The current RE approaches, which are based either on goal, scenario or viewpoint were evaluated. Then the role of the elicitation technique selection step within the requirements elicitation process was examined. Finally the factors that affect this step in a distributed environment were studied. An example from the textile industry is used to illustrate the applicability of the proposed methodology. Findings – Though existing requirements elicitation approaches based either on goal, scenario or viewpoint are effective techniques, they do not fit exactly to a cooperative distributed environment: more issues are created by inadequate communication, time difference between sites, cultural, language and characteristics diversity of stakeholders which affect the elicitation technique selection step and thus the requirements elicitation process. In order to tackle these issues, this paper presents a methodology called MAMIE (from Macro‐ to Micro‐level requirements Elicitation) to elicit requirements for an ICIS. A prototype tool has been developed to support the operation of the methodology. Research limitations/implications – The major limitation of the paper is that has not yet been tested in an existing organization. Practical implications – To provide the analyst with well‐defined steps in order to elicit requirements of an ICIS. To understand the role of the elicitation technique selection step within the requirements elicitation process and identifying the factors which have an impact on this step. To select an appropriate elicitation technique according to these factors. Originality/value – MAMIE integrates the three notions of goal, scenario and viewpoint to elicit requirements for an ICIS. The paper argues that these concepts may be used simultaneously and in a complementary way to improve the requirements elicitation process. Moreover, in order to increase the quality of the elicited requirements and thus the quality of the system‐to‐be, selecting an elicitation technique in MAMIE is not based on personal preferences but on situation assessment.