The property of being causal – The conduct of qualitative comparative analysis in information systems research

2022 | Information & Management | Citations: 0

Authors: Anton, Eduard; Oesterreich, Thuy Duong; Teuteberg, Frank

Abstract: Grounded in configuration and complexity theory, qualitative comparative analysi ... Expand

Abstract: Grounded in configuration and complexity theory, qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) combines the ad­ vantages of case-based and variable-oriented methods for rendering complex information systems (IS) phe­ nomena comprehensible. Given its manifold benefits, the QCA method has attracted considerable attention in IS research, with an increasing number of studies employing it as their methodological approach. Based on a comprehensive review and synthesis of recent QCA practices from the IS field, covering 12 years of research, we outline the most prevalent research gaps and limitations concerning QCA’s methodological application prior to identifying issues for further improvement as well as highlighting future research directions. Collapse

Topics: IS impact accounting IS discipline information system use innovation management

Methods: literature study structured literature research bibliometric analysis case study literature sample

Theories: theory of reasoned action social exchange theory fuzzy set theory

Microlevel Analysis of Institutional Intermediation in a Rudimentary Market-Based Economy: Entrepreneurship in Kathmandu’s Indrachok Market

2022 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: Mitchell, Will; Wu, Zhiyan; Bruton, Garry D.; Gautam, Dhruba Kumar

Abstract: Institutional theory research on institutional intermediation typically focuses ... Expand

Abstract: Institutional theory research on institutional intermediation typically focuses on how institutional intermediaries address voids in market-based institutions that inhibit entrepreneurship. In doing so, the research rarely studies what types of institutional intermediaries entrepreneurs prefer to use. We address this gap with a microinstitutional inquiry of how entrepreneurs in a rudimentary market-based economy differ in the relevance they place on different types of institutional intermediaries. Using a sample from the Indrachok market in Kathmandu, Nepal, and using a three-stage qualitative and quantitative abductive investigation of a cascading set of increasingly refined research questions, we identify two key preferences for institutional intermediaries. First, we find a key institutional intermediation tripod consisting of three locally focused institutional intermediaries: family, suppliers, and peer entrepreneurs. The tripod is supplemented by institutional intermediaries with more moderate preference in this context: four other locally focused institutional intermediaries (local politicians, police, religious figures, and political gangs) and three broad-based institutional intermediaries (government, microlenders, and nongovernmental organizations). Second, the importance of suppliers and peers as institutional intermediaries reflects entrepreneurs’ registration status (registered versus unregistered) and microgeographic location (dispersed versus clustered businesses). The research reconceptualizes institutional intermediation in rudimentary market-based economies from the entrepreneurs’ perspective, identifying mechanisms that shape entrepreneurs’ preferences and providing proposition for future testing. Funding: This research was partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant 71620107001]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2021.1531. Collapse

Topics: entrepreneurship fuzzy logic social norm supply chain management

Methods: qualitative interview survey mixed method descriptive statistic personal interview

Theories: institutional theory

QCA and the harnessing of unstructured qualitative data

2020 | Information Systems Journal | Citations: 15

Authors: Nishant, Rohit; Ravishankar, M. N.

Abstract: This paper proposes qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) as a novel method to ... Expand

Abstract: This paper proposes qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) as a novel method to harness unstructured data sets such as publicly available reports and news articles. It shows how QCA and conventional qualitative IS research can complement each other. In particular, it demonstrates how qualitative IS research can combine typical qualitative coding techniques with a specific type of QCA, namely crisp-set QCA (csQCA). The paper illustrates how QCA offers qualitative IS research an innovative approach to explicate the combination of conditions associated with particular outcomes. Drawing on an empirical study of green IS, it showcases the potential of QCA to harness large unstructured qualitative material and generate deeper insights about emerging IS phenomena. The paper also highlights how QCA can contribute to the data collection and analysis stages of qualitative IS research. Collapse

Topics: green IS business model information systems strategy value creation marketing management

Methods: longitudinal research qualitative coding qualitative interview natural language processing Compustat

Theories: resource based view of the firm

Exploring IT-Enabled Public Sector Innovation in U.S. States

2017 | HICSS | Citations: 0

Authors: Denford, James; Dawson, Gregory; Desouza, Kevin

Abstract: Scholars and practitioners often assume that the public sector mirrors the priva ... Expand

Abstract: Scholars and practitioners often assume that the public sector mirrors the private sector and that it is possible to merely port strategies between domains. However, we highlight the substantial differences between the domains and explore how IT-enabled innovation shapes and is shaped within state government. Analyzing state-level IT governance data using crisp-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, we uncover that low state attainment is a catalyst for IT-enabled innovation. We uncover and differentiate several types of innovations and also find that successful innovation requires the collaboration of the legislature, governor and CIO. Collapse

Topics: innovation management Chief Information Officer outsourcing digital innovation IT leadership

Methods: data transformation principal component analysis Barlett's test crisp set qualitative comparative analysis

FOSTERING DIGITAL INNOVATION THROUGH INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL COLLABORATION BETWEEN INCUMBENT FIRMS AND START-UPS

2017 | European Conference On Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Islam, Nihal; Buxmann, Peter; Ding, David

Abstract: Digital technologies offer multiple opportunities for firms, but they also invol ... Expand

Abstract: Digital technologies offer multiple opportunities for firms, but they also involve many challenges. Incumbent firms especially need to pursue digitalization in their businesses and create digital innovations in order to stay competitive in the market. For this purpose, an increased number of incumbent firms have been collaborating with start-ups with the aim of identifying and developing new business fields. Influencing factors in the context of collaboration between incumbent firms and start-ups aiming to foster digital innovation have barely been addressed in the research. Against this background, we have compiled a literature review on collaboration and conducted a qualitative study based on 30 interviews with experts from incumbent firms and start-ups. We investigate the increasingly important inter-organizational form that is emerging from collaborative innovative processes by influencing factors identified in terms of intra-individual und interactional levels. Our main interest is in showing what factors affect incumbent firms and start-ups in pursuit of collaboration with the aim of creating and implementing digital innovation. With our results, we are contributing to the literature on collaboration as well as providing practitioners valuable guidance for fostering digital innovation by illustrating relevant factors that can be considered in future inter-organizational collaborations. Collapse

Topics: innovation management digital innovation database system collaborative innovation open innovation

Methods: qualitative interview literature study crisp set qualitative comparative analysis literature sample qualitative content analysis

Governing innovation in U.S. state government: An ecosystem perspective

2016 | Journal of Strategic Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Dawson, Gregory S.; Denford, James S.; Desouza, Kevin C.

Abstract: In the public sector, the strategic quest for IT-based innovation often starts b ... Expand

Abstract: In the public sector, the strategic quest for IT-based innovation often starts by hiring a successful private sector CIO and hoping his or her prior experience will transfer. However this often ignores the existence and influence of other entities and IT governance structures that form the innovation ecosystem. Applying the legal view of agency theory to the U.S. state innovation ecosystem and using a crisp-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (csQCA) approach, we investigate factors that are associated with public sector IT-based innovation. We find that CIO characteristics, structural oversight mechanisms, CIO relationships with authorities, and the state environment combine to form configurations that lead to both high and low performance. Collapse

Topics: innovation management Chief Information Officer IT governance government system IT investment

Methods: data transformation exploratory factor analysis theoretical contribution literature sample survey

Theories: agency theory

IT Capabilities and Strategic Improvisation: A Multi-Method Investigation

2016 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Levallet, Nadege; Chan, Yolande

Abstract: Start-up organizations are disrupting previously stable industries with new busi ... Expand

Abstract: Start-up organizations are disrupting previously stable industries with new business models. Existing organizations in these environments need to strategically improvise, that is develop the ability to rapidly seize opportunities, and without prior planning, creatively reconfigure their operational capabilities. As a dynamic capability, strategic improvisation (SI) requires three factors: real-time information, instantaneous communication and memory. We proposed that a well-developed information management capability (IMC), IT infrastructure flexibility (ITIF), and organizational memory (OM) facilitate SI. We analyzed results from a telephone survey of IT executives using two methods, variancebased PLS and set-theoretic qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). These methods provide a more complete understanding of the complex relationships among SI and IT capabilities such as IMC and ITIF. PLS findings confirm their enabling roles. QCA findings further indicate that these IT capabilities and OM play different, complementary roles in SI. Implications for research and practice are presented. Collapse

Topics: information technology capability information systems strategy organizational memory new product development information management

Methods: partial least squares regression survey computational algorithm qualitative interview structural equation modeling

Theories: dynamic capabilities theory

An Exploratory Study of the Formation and Impact of Electronic Service Failures

2016 | Management Information Systems Quarterly | Citations: 92

Authors: Tan, Chee-Wee; Benbasat, Izak; Cenfetelli, Ronald T.

Abstract: E-commerce service failures have been the bane of e-commerce, compelling custome ... Expand

Abstract: E-commerce service failures have been the bane of e-commerce, compelling customers to either abandon transactions entirely or switch to traditional brick-and-mortar establishments. Yet, there is a paucity of studies that investigates how such failures manifest on e-commerce websites and their impact on consumers. This paper, therefore, synthesizes extant literature on e-service and system success to arrive at a novel classification system that delineates e-commerce service failures into information, functional, and system categories, each with its own set of constituent dimensions. Extending expectation disconfirmation theory (EDT), we further distinguish among disconfirmed outcome, process, and cost expectancies as major consequences of e-commerce service failures. A theoretical model of e-commerce service failure classifications and their consequences was constructed together with testable propositions that relate the three failure categories to consumers' disconfirmed expectancies. Finally, we explore the validity of our theoretical model based on descriptive accounts of actual occurrences of e-commerce service failures and their corresponding consequences. Consistent with our theoretical model, information and functional failures were found to be associated with disconfirmed outcome and process expectancies respectively. System failures, on the other hand, do not affect consumers' disconfirmed expectancies, thereby contradicting our predictions. Post hoc analysis on constituent dimensions of information, functional, and system failures yielded additional insights on the preceding observations. Collapse

Topics: electronic commerce website IS failure IS success service quality

Methods: survey chi squared test qualitative content analysis post-hoc analysis qualitative interview

Theories: expectation disconfirmation theory fuzzy set theory

An Information Quality Evaluation Framework of Object Tracking Systems

2013 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 2

Authors: Bardaki, Cleopatra; Kourouthanassis, Panos; Pramatari, Katerina; Doukidis, Georgios

Abstract: Object tracking systems track moving objects between locations and provide objec ... Expand

Abstract: Object tracking systems track moving objects between locations and provide object positioning information. Such systems rely on tracking technologies e.g. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). The challenge is how to ensure an adequate quality of information at a moderate infrastructure cost. We propose a framework that evaluates information quality (IQ) of object tracking systems, with respect to information completeness and accuracy. The framework models all the alternative configurations of an object tracking system and proposes quantitative metrics of accuracy and completeness as functions of the system configuration. Ultimately, it calculates IQ per configuration and employs the Crisp-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (CS/QCA) method to pinpoint specific design solutions that achieve high IQ. The framework is technology- and application environment-independent and may be employed for both ex-post and ex-ante IQ evaluation of object tracking systems. The framework is illustrated through the IQ assessment of a product tracking system in a retail supply chain. Collapse

Topics: supply chain management systems design systems implementation open source geographic information system

Methods: crisp set qualitative comparative analysis stochastic model cluster analysis simulation design science