The authors describe the role that cultural assumptions play in the transfer of new communication... more The authors describe the role that cultural assumptions play in the transfer of new communication technologies between the West and third world countries. They contrast Great Britain, West Germany, and India on five value orientations along which cultures vary: regard for human nature, relationship of man to nature, time orientation, orientation towards activity, and types of relations between people. Pointing out the widely differing assumptions in implementation research in the West and the third world, the authors argue that successful transfer of communication technologies depends upon a match between the cultural values of the third world country implementing the technology and the assumptions inherent in the technology itself and the implementation process for that technology.
This article conceptualizes how the affordances of enterprise social networking systems can help ... more This article conceptualizes how the affordances of enterprise social networking systems can help reduce three challenges in sharing organizational knowledge. These challenges include location of expertise, motivation to share knowledge, and social capitalization in the form of developing and maintaining social ties with knowledge providers to actualize knowledge sharing. Building on previous theories and empirical research on transactive memory theory, public goods theory, and social capital theories, as well as recent research on enterprise social media, we argue that the affordances of enterprise social networking systems can better address these knowledge sharing challenges than those of conventional knowledge management systems in that social networking applications can blend connective and communal sharing of knowledge.
This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the a... more This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/copyright a b s t r a c t This study examined age differences in perceptions of online communities held by people who were not yet participating in these relatively new social spaces. Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), we investigated the factors that affect future intention to participate in online communities. Our results supported the proposition that perceived usefulness positively affects behavioral intention, yet it was determined that perceived ease of use was not a significant predictor of perceived usefulness. The study also discovered negative relationships between age and Internet self-efficacy and the perceived quality of online community websites. However, the moderating role of age was not found. The findings suggest that the relationships among perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and intention to participate in online communities do not change with age. Theoretical and practical implications and limitations were discussed.
Abstract This study examines the impact of legitimacy on the dynamics of interorganizational netw... more Abstract This study examines the impact of legitimacy on the dynamics of interorganizational networks within the nongovernmental organizations' children's rights community. The 27-year period of analysis included a critical community event: the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
A number of new organizational structures have emerged in recent years, including peer productio... more A number of new organizational structures have emerged in recent years, including peer production networks, digitally organized social movements, and social networking sites. Researchers have devoted considerable attention to these phenomena as groups and communities. This article takes a complementary approach by conceptualizing them as organizational forms, with focus on the emergence of social networking sites as a distinct organizational form. Community ecology theory is implemented to explicate the emergence and subsequent legitimation of organizational forms, providing a foundation for understanding how new forms emerge through interaction with the surrounding environment. Industry data and historical records are utilized to illustrate the development of one specific form: online social networking sites (SNS). This analysis demonstrates that legitimation is an ongoing process of replication of features, but legitimacy also occurs through recognition from adjacent populations. Findings illustrate the validity of alternative processes of form legitimacy.
This study examined age differences in perceptions of online communities held by people who were ... more This study examined age differences in perceptions of online communities held by people who were not yet participating in these relatively new social spaces. Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), we investigated the factors that affect future intention to participate in online communities. Our results supported the proposition that perceived usefulness positively affects behavioral intention, yet it was determined that
This study investigates how cancer survivors construct their identities and the impact on their p... more This study investigates how cancer survivors construct their identities and the impact on their psychological health, as measured by depression and survivor self-efficacy. Fourteen young adult survivors of pediatric cancer participated in a customized social networking and video blog intervention program, the LIFECommunity, over a 6-month period. Survivors were asked to share their stories on various topics by posting video messages. Those video blog postings, along with survey data collected from participants, were analyzed to see how cancer survivors expressed their identities, and how these identities are associated with survivors' psychosocial outcomes. In survivors who held negative stereotypes about cancer survivors, there was a positive relationship with depression while positive stereotypes had a marginal association with cancer survivor efficacy. Findings indicate that although pediatric cancer survivors often do not publicly discuss a "cancer survivor identity," they do internalize both positive and negative stereotypes about cancer survivorship. It is important for practitioners to be aware of the long-term implications of cancer survivor identity and stereotypes.
Technology research has long faced difficulties in consistently defining technology, establishing... more Technology research has long faced difficulties in consistently defining technology, establishing cause-effect relations, and generating research results that generalize across technologies, users, contexts, and time . In this essay we (1) identify three of the many contributors to these difficulties, (2) mention some ambitious responses that have been suggested in the literature, and (3) propose a smaller but more concrete first step by asking researchers and theorists to attend to both features of technologies and the contexts in which they are used, and in so doing to improve our ability as a field to accumulate knowledge in the face of these challenges. hope other technology scholars will contribute other features and context factors to this proposed modest reconfiguration of desiderata for research reports.
and Murphy's [12] five-variable model of the correlates of subordinate perceptions of the fairnes... more and Murphy's [12] five-variable model of the correlates of subordinate perceptions of the fairness and accuracy of their performance evaluations was cross-validated successfully for a sample of telecommunications engineers engaged in research and development activities. At the same time, a trimmed three variable path model consisting of two of Landy et al's correlates (supervisor's knowledge of subordinate performance, and development of action plans related to performance weaknesses) in combination with a measure of the psychological context (trust-in-supervisor) explained an even larger proportion of the variance in fairness perceptions for these engineers. It was suggested that perceptions of fairness and accuracy in performance evaluation may depend as heavily on the level of trust in the on-going superior-subordinate relationship as on characteristics of the performance appraisal process itself.
The Effects of Cooperative and Competitive Physical Environments and Communication on Negotiation Outcomes in Ultimatum and
This study investigated the effects on bargaining outcomes of (1) cooperativeversus competitive s... more This study investigated the effects on bargaining outcomes of (1) cooperativeversus competitive spatial configurations and (2) the opportunity to engage incommunication. Sixty-one pairs of subjects participated in two game-theoreticbargaining games, the Ultimatum Game and the Communication Game, while placed inone of two settings: sitting across the length of a large rectangular table, or sitting at anangle at a t-shaped table. The findings revealed that... Implications and directions forfuture research are also discussed. Physical ...
Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 1982
Predictions from path-goal theory were developed for four underresearched leader behaviors and te... more Predictions from path-goal theory were developed for four underresearched leader behaviors and tested via canonical analysis. A primary composite pattern of leader upward influencing, achievement orientation, and contingent approval, combined with a nonpunitive orientation, appeared acceptable to subordinates (high satisfaction, in particular, but also combined with lower anxiety, role conflict, and willingness to leave organization) and conducive to role clarity, but not to motivation or performance. A secondary leadership profile of achievement orientation in combination with arbitrary and punitive behavior appeared unacceptable to subordinates (reflected as a combination of anxiety, role conflict, and dissatisfaction), but nevertheless conducive to role clarity. There were no significant motivation and performance components. The paper concludes that (1) the findings support the underlying premises of path-goal theory, as well as its robustness in regard to the scope of leadership; (2) satisfaction is the primary subordinate outcome for these four leader behaviors, and unless its effects are isolated (via a technique such as canonical analysis), the effects for other subordinate outcomes may not be accurately described; (3) the four leader behaviors have complex and sometimes contrasting effects depending upon their particular combination; and (4) "dysfunctional" leader behaviors may be considerably more salient for many subordinates than traditional leadership dimensions and thus should be incorporated within future research.
Abstract Stressing the importance of accumulating systematic empirical information on the users a... more Abstract Stressing the importance of accumulating systematic empirical information on the users and uses of video teleconferencing, the authors present the findings of a pilot study of AT&T's Picturephone Meeting Service. They then set out preliminary conclusions that may ...
T his research elaborated and empirically tested the individual action component of the collectiv... more T his research elaborated and empirically tested the individual action component of the collective action model as applied to individual contributions to organizational information commons. The model extended prior theory and research by making six elaborations on the classic collective action model based on unique characteristics of information goods compared to material collective goods. The structural equation model was tested via LISREL analyses of data provided by 781 respondents in three high-tech firms who had access to corporate intranets as shared information goods. The results were highly similar across organizations and indicated that (a) level of production, information retrieval, and cost predicted the perceived value of information, (b) information value and cost predicted gain, and (c) information retrieval and gain predicted the level of individual contributions to the commons.
This article presents a public goods-based theory that describes the process of producing multifi... more This article presents a public goods-based theory that describes the process of producing multifirm, alliance-based, interorganizational communication and information public goods. These goods offer participants in alliances collective benefits that are (a) rlorrescllrdable, in that they are available to all alliance partners whether or not they have contributed, and (b) jointlv supplied, in that partners' uses of the good are noncompeting. Two
Electronic Communication and Changing Organizational Forms
Organization Science, 1995
... and that technological users play active roles in shaping the design of this ... of form that... more ... and that technological users play active roles in shaping the design of this ... of form that are primarily intraorganiza-tional: vertical control; horizontal coordination; size of organization and constituent units; new types of cou-pling; core product; communication cultures ...
Cognitive Elements in the Social Construction of Communication Technology
Management Communication Quarterly, 1995
260 MCQ / Vol. 8, No. 3, February 1995 Aydin, 1991), Bandura's (1986) "social learning ... more 260 MCQ / Vol. 8, No. 3, February 1995 Aydin, 1991), Bandura's (1986) "social learning theory" (Fulk, Schmitz, & Steinfield, 1990), and group conformity theories (Fulk, 1993). Although the underlying dynamics vary, a common theme unites these approaches: Social ...
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Papers by Janet Fulk