When a growth mindset can backfire and cause escalation of commitment to a troubled information technology project

2021 | Information Systems Journal | Citations: 4

Authors: Lee, Jong Seok; Keil, Mark; Wong, Kin Fai Ellick

Abstract: This research focuses on information technology (IT) project managers' growth mi ... Expand

Abstract: This research focuses on information technology (IT) project managers' growth mindset concerning IT project management (PM) ability and investigates how such a mindset can promote escalation of commitment to a troubled IT project. Specifically, we suggest that the growth mindset of IT PM ability promotes prospective achievement motivation and can lead IT project managers to escalate their commitment to an IT project despite negative feedback suggesting that the project may not be completed successfully. Through a series of three experiments with 351 IT project managers, we obtained consistent support for our hypotheses suggesting that the growth mindset of IT PM ability promotes IT project escalation and this effect is partially mediated by anticipated regret about project failure and anticipated likelihood of project success. In addition, in the three experiments we found that when the project involves an unfamiliar technology the indirect effect of the growth mindset of IT PM ability through anticipated likelihood of project success is stronger than when the project involves a familiar technology. Collapse

Topics: project management IT project web page risk management decision making

Methods: experiment theory development parametric test statistical hypothesis test one-way ANOVA

Theories: agency theory prospect theory self justification theory

Are Gamification Projects Different? An Exploratory Study on Software Project Risks for Gamified Health Behavior Change Support Systems

2021 | HICSS | Citations: 2

Authors: Warsinsky, Simon; Schmidt-Kraepelin, Manuel; Thiebes, Scott; Sunyaev, Ali

Abstract: Gamification is increasingly utilized in information systems to afford positive ... Expand

Abstract: Gamification is increasingly utilized in information systems to afford positive experiences that are typically perceived from playing games. Despite potential benefits, gamification projects have shown to be prone for failure which may lead to severe harmful effects for its users. In traditional software projects, project managers try to mitigate failure through project risk management. However, gamification projects bring with them several differences in comparison to traditional software projects and it is unclear how extant knowledge may be transferred. We address this issue by conducting ten semi-structured interviews with experts involved in the development of gamified health behavior change support systems. Our results indicate that gamification has substantial impacts on various risk factors. We contribute to gamification and project management literature as we are among the first who conceptualize gamification projects as special software projects with different project risk factors. Collapse

Topics: gamification IT project IT project risk management resource allocation user expectation

Methods: qualitative interview personal interview qualitative coding design guideline

Seeing the Trees or the Forest? The Effect of IT Project Managers’ Mental Construal on IT Project Risk Management Activities

2019 | Information Systems Research | Citations: 0

Authors: Lee, Jong Seok; Keil, Mark; Shalev, Eliezer

Abstract: Prior research has suggested that information technology (IT) project managers ( ... Expand

Abstract: Prior research has suggested that information technology (IT) project managers (PMs) often fail to take adequate steps to manage project risks and that this may contribute to the high failure rate associated with IT projects. Knowing when to pay attention to the trees versus the forest may play an important role in IT project risk management. We draw on construal level theory (CLT) to offer a fresh theoretical perspective on IT project risk management as it is uniquely suited to understanding why IT PMs may focus on the forest (abstract, high-level construal) or the trees (concrete, low-level construal). Specifically, we integrate CLT with IT project risk management and theorize how IT PMs’ mental construal affects four key IT project risk management activities: (1) risk identification, (2) risk impact assessment, (3) risk response planning, and (4) risk response enactment. We recruited a total of 805 IT PMs for this research and conducted a series of four laboratory experiments. In our experiments, we found that seeing the trees is beneficial in risk identification, risk impact assessment, and risk response planning. Specifically, we found that a concrete (relative to abstract) mental construal of a project leads IT PMs to identify a greater number of risks associated with the project (Experiment 1), and a concrete (relative to abstract) mental construal of a project risk leads IT PMs to perceive a greater potential impact of the risk (Experiment 2) and to perceive that more effort and resources are required for responding to the risk (Experiment 3). In contrast, we found that seeing the forest is beneficial in risk response enactment in that an abstract (relative to concrete) mental construal of a risk response leads IT PMs to be more willing to enact the risk response (Experiment 4). Collapse

Topics: risk management IT project risk management project management IT project IT project management

Methods: experiment theory development analysis of covariance descriptive statistic experimental design

Theories: construal level theory

Responding—or Not—to Information Technology Project Risks: An Integrative Model

2019 | Management Information Systems Quarterly | Citations: 0

Authors: Moeini, Mohammad; Rivard, Suzanne

Abstract: This study proposes and tests a model that explains and predicts risk response d ... Expand

Abstract: This study proposes and tests a model that explains and predicts risk response decisions of information technology project managers (ITPMs), blending the domains of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and behavioral decision theories, and leveraging information technology project risk management behavioral research. The model posits that a risk response decision is indirectly influenced by perceived risk exposure via overall risk response attitude. The model conceptualizes perceived risk exposure and overall risk response attitude as second-order constructs and examines the dimension-level relationships within each. The model hypothesizes that a risk response decision is also influenced by pressures ITPMs perceive for or against enacting a specific risk response, by a negative synergy effect between overall risk response attitude and perceived pressures, and by their perception of control—or lack thereof—over enacting the risk response. The model was instantiated for three specific risk responses: having user representatives as team members, appreciating team members’ work in a tangible way during the project, and dedicating much effort to planning. Each model instance was tested in a separate survey (N > 111 per survey, total N = 349). The results support the hypotheses, except for the influence of perceived control, which varied across instantiations of risk responses. Among other antecedents, overall risk response attitude is found to have the strongest effect on risk response decisions. The findings stress the effect of ITPMs’ salient beliefs about specific risk responses on their decision to enact a given response and thus pave the way for designing behavior change interventions. Collapse

Topics: risk management project management IT project risk management IT project management IT project

Methods: survey partial least squares regression design artifact qualitative interview theory development

Theories: decision theory prospect theory theory of planned behavior

Sublating Tensions in the IT Project Risk Management Literature: A Model of the Relative Performance of Intuition and Deliberate Analysis for Risk Assessment

2019 | Journal of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Moeini, Mohammad; Rivard, Suzanne

Abstract: The information technology (IT) project risk management literature comprises two ... Expand

Abstract: The information technology (IT) project risk management literature comprises two dominant but diverging bodies of knowledge: the normative and the experiential. We conducted a three-step dialectical review of this literature with the aim of creating a bridging body of knowledge. In the first step, delineation, we synthesize the overarching variance and process explanations in each body of knowledge and motivate the examination of their divergences. In the second step, contrastation, we perform a dialectical interrogation of these bodies to articulate their key assumption-level tensions. We elaborate on the most prominent tension between the two bodies, namely, the relative performance of intuition and deliberate analysis for project risk assessment. In the third step, sublation, we propose a theoretical model that resolves this tension. Anchored in both bodies of knowledge and drawing from managerial decision-making research, the model proposes that the relative performance of intuition depends on characteristics of the IT project manager (projectspecific expertise), the project (risks’ temporal complexity and risks’ structural complexity), and the project’s organizational environment (e.g., stakeholders’ involvement in risk management, methodsusing pressures). Moreover, the model posits that project-specific expertise moderates all the other effects. Building on the bridging knowledge insights from this model, we discuss how researchers can design interventions to increase project managers’ use of deliberate analysis when it is expected to outperform intuition or to encourage reliance on intuition when it is likely to outperform deliberate analysis. Collapse

Topics: risk management IT project risk management IT project knowledge type knowledge base

Methods: qualitative coding theory development literature sample grounded theory literature study

Towards Increased Construct Clarity in IS Project Management Research

2017 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Aghkariz, Mohammad Moeini; Cleveland, Simon

Abstract: Construct clarity is crucial for the proper development, accumulation, and disse ... Expand

Abstract: Construct clarity is crucial for the proper development, accumulation, and dissemination of scientific knowledge in IS. By reviewing the past four decades of project management literature against six aspects of construct clarity for a specific construct (i.e., risk response), this study aims to evidence that construct unclarity is a legitimate concern in this area and subsequently to propose several avenues for increasing the clarity of project management constructs in general and the risk response construct in particular. Collapse

Topics: project management IT project risk management IT project management database system IT project

Methods: literature study personal interview

OPTIMISM BIAS IN MANAGING IT PROJECT RISKS: A CONSTRUAL LEVEL THEORY PERSPECTIVE

2014 | European Conference On Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Shalev, Eliezer; Keil, Mark; Lee, Jong Seok; Ganzach, Yoav

Abstract: Prior research has shown that people have a tendency to be overly optimistic abo ... Expand

Abstract: Prior research has shown that people have a tendency to be overly optimistic about future events (i.e., optimism bias) in a variety of settings. In this study, we suggest that optimism bias has significant implications for IT project risk management, as it may cause people to become overly optimistic that they can easily manage project risks. Drawing upon construal level theory (CLT), we investigate optimism bias in managing IT project risks. Based on an experiment with IT professionals, we found that a high-level construal of a project risk leads individuals to have a more optimistic perception about successfully managing the project risk, causes them to focus more on benefits over costs in choosing a risk management plan, and leads them to identify more pros than cons associated with a risk management plan relative to a low-level construal. Implications for both theory and practice are discussed. Collapse

Topics: risk management project management IT project IT project risk management IT project management

Methods: experiment theory development analysis of covariance laboratory experiment statistical hypothesis test

Theories: construal level theory

Boundary Spanning and the Differentiated Effects of IS Project Deviations

2014 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Schmitz, Kurt

Abstract: In environments where risk planning does not eliminate disruptions, advancing ri ... Expand

Abstract: In environments where risk planning does not eliminate disruptions, advancing risk management requires an improved understating of the relationships among different types of deviations. This empirical study of IT professionals in a single organization differentiates requirements fluctuations, staff fluctuations and technology fluctuations to reveal distinct performance effects from challenges emerging from different domains of the IS Project work system. Data in this setting also reveal important moderating influences from the locus of initiation (either internal or external to the core project team). These findings integrate boundary spanning theory with the IS project risk management literature to provide explaining insight to the role of communication and knowledge transfer for IS projects faced with emergent disruptions. Collapse

Topics: project productivity IT project boundary spanning IT workforce IT project team

Methods: statistical hypothesis test survey PLS tool partial least squares path modeling personal interview

Theories: work systems theory

Software project risk analysis using Bayesian networks with causality constraints

2013 | Decision Support Systems | Citations: 13

Authors: Hu, Yong; Zhang, Xiangzhou; Ngai, E. W. T.; Cai, Ruichu; Liu, Mei

Abstract: Many risks are involved in software development and risk management has become o ... Expand

Abstract: Many risks are involved in software development and risk management has become one of the key activities in software development. Bayesian networks (BNs) have been explored as a tool for various risk management practices, including the risk management of software development projects. However, much of the present research on software risk analysis focuses on finding the correlation between risk factors and project outcome. Software project failures are often a result of insufficient and ineffective risk management. To obtain proper and effective risk control, risk planning should be performed based on risk causality which can provide more risk information for decision making. In this study, we propose a model using BNs with causality constraints (BNCC) for risk analysis of software development projects. Through unrestricted automatic causality learning from 302 collected software project data, we demonstrated that the proposed model can not only discover causalities in accordance with the expert knowledge but also perform better in prediction than other algorithms, such as logistic regression, C4.5, Naïve Bayes, and general BNs. This research presents the first causal discovery framework for risk causality analysis of software projects and develops a model using BNCC for application in software project risk management. Collapse

Topics: IT project IT project risk management logistics management systems development project productivity

Methods: computational algorithm decision tree classification naïve bayes survey regression analysis method

Theories: sociotechnical systems theory

Does risk matter? Disengagement from risk management practices in information systems projects

2013 | European Journal of Information Systems | Citations: 41

Authors: Kutsch, Elmar; Denyer, David; Hall, Mark; Lee-Kelley, Elizabeth (Liz)

Abstract: Risk management and ‘routine-based reliability’ is considered fundamental to pro ... Expand

Abstract: Risk management and ‘routine-based reliability’ is considered fundamental to project performance. Existing theories of project risk management do not fully explain why project managers stop practicing risk management information systems (IS); however, constructs drawn from organisation theory offer insights into how and why such disengagement occurs. The study examines risk management practices in 21 IS projects within 10 organisations. By focusing on risks that resulted in significant events and mapping backwards over time the practices associated with those risks, we identify that in all but five projects the manager had disengaged from prescribed risk management before executing risk responses. In most projects, the majority of formally identified and assessed risks remained unallocated and untreated. A laddering technique was used to help explain why this transpired. We found five key underlying beliefs that governed project managers’ risk management attitudes and actions. Collapse

Topics: risk management IT project project productivity IT project risk management mindfulness

Methods: qualitative interview business process modeling design science personal interview literature study

Theories: organizational theory