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Example publications from this periodicalThe following articles are from "Journal of Organizational Computing":

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-- Volume 1 --

Issue 4 Hiltz, Starr Roxanne and Turoff , Murray (1991): Computer Networking among Executives: A Case Study. In

Journal of Organizational Computing, 1 (4) pp. 357-376

“Group Support Systems may be "distributed" for nonsimultaneous use by being embedded in a

Computer-Mediated Communication System (CMCS). In this manner, large groups may use them forcomplex tasks over an extended period of time. Will executives such systems, and what are theirreactions? This case study of elites engaged in formulating recommendations for the White HouseConference on Productivity demonstrates that executives can use such systems, given that "critical successfactors" are met. Perceived information richness is strongly correlated with perceptions of productivity 

enhancement as a result of system use.

” 

© All rights reserved Hiltz and Turoff and/or Ablex Publishing

Ruhleder, Karen and King, John Leslie (1991): Computer Support for Work Across Space, Time, and Social 

Worlds. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 1 (4) pp. 341-355

“Collaboration is at the heart of academic enterprise; proposals for systems such as the National

Science Foundation's "National Collaboratory" or Apple Computer's "Knowledge Navigator" seek tosupport these collaborative efforts by means of a variety of computing technologies. We examine theassumptions of the model of collaborative work behind such proposals and suggest ways to extend thatmodel. We draw on a case study of collaborative efforts in classical scholarship in order to explore more

fully the existing modalities of academic collaboration as it actually occurs. The development of a broaderunderstanding of collaborative activities will enable us to address more effectively the challenge of 

constructings systems to support collaborative work.” 

© All rights reserved Ruhleder and King and/or Ablex Publishing

Eriksson, Inger V. and Nurminen, Markku I. (1991): Doing by Learning: Embedded Application Systems. In

Journal of Organizational Computing, 1 (4) pp. 323-339

“We argue that the computerized information system should not look like a system on its own. Rather,

it should be conceived as an inherent part of the work of its users. We therefore introduce the concept of an embedded system, which describes work tasks and organization. Computer-supported informationtasks are embedded in this environment: They are not parts of a system separated from other activities.This concept is based on the experiences gained during the development of a user-interface prototype,derived from a theoretical frame of reference, called act orientation, to information systems, in which allcomputerized tasks are interpreted as acts performed by the actual user. Our suggestion continues thetradition of on-line help and support, reaching radically deeper than usual in related approaches. We

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expect that our suggestion will, when applied, improve the control, productivity, quality of the outcome of 

work, and quality of working life, assessed from the user's point of view.” 

© All rights reserved Eriksson and Nurminen and/or Ablex Publishing

Issue 3 Brunet, Lesley Williams, Morrissey , Charles T. and Gorry , G. Anthony (1991): Oral History and Information

Technology: Human Voices of Assessment . In Journal of Organizational Computing, 1 (3) pp. 251-274

“Dramatic advances in technology for acquiring, managing, and sharing information promise to

reshape the workplace by eliciting new behaviours and introducing new organizational patterns. Foracademic and medical centers, the integration of information technology into programs of education,research, and patient care is essential for increased organizational effectiveness. At Baylor College of Medicine, we have developed information-sharing and management tools, collectively called the VirtualManagement System (VNS). The VNS is a multiuser, workstation-based hypermedia system that serves asa technologically extended analog of the laboratory notebook used in biomedical research. We aredeploying the VNS in scientific groups at Baylor, and are applying oral history techniques to assess itsimpact. This article shows how oral history captures the "human voices" of Baylor's experience and helps

us understand the effects of information technology on the processes of biomedical research.” 

© All rights reserved Brunet et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Gibson, David V. (1991): Executive GDSS: Behavioral Considerations at Individual, Organizational, and 

Environmental Levels of Analysis. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 1 (3) pp. 303-322

“This article emphasizes the importance of behavioral considerations at individual, organizational, and

environmental levels of analysis when researching and evaluating the design, implementation, and use of group decision support systems (GDSS) within complex organizations. Discussion is based on interview and archival data collected on an executive level GDSS used within a corporate setting. Issues that areconsidered generalizable to organizational computing, coordination, and collaboration technologiesconcern (a) viewing organization participants as strategic, intuitive information processors, (b)understanding the importance of organizational power, politics, and situational constraints on decisionmaking, and (c) appreciating the symbolic value of advanced information technologies to an

organization's external environment.” 

© All rights reserved Gibson and/or Ablex Publishing

Hashim, Safaa H. (1991): WHAT: An Argumentative Groupware Approach for Organizing and Documenting

Research Activities. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 1 (3) pp. 275-302

“The topic of this paper is a process-vs.-product design method representation called Argumentative

Writing (AW). Argumentative writing is a multi-representation approach for conducting and reporting

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research projects. AW has at least two representations: one for structuring the problem-understanding/solving process and one for communicating its products to others. We discuss WHAT, ahypertext-based tool for AW. In WHAT (Writing with a Hypermedia-based Argumentative Tool), thedesign process is captured using Rittel's Issue Based Information Systems (IBIS) method (Conklin, 1988;Hashim, 1990a; Rittel, 1980). The product of the design process is represented in WHAT using a generaldocument-representation scheme. In the Introduction we raise four major issues that we explore in therest of the paper. Also in the Introduction, we show the impact the WHAT approach can have onorganizational computing applications such as business education and training (Hashim,Rathnam,&Whinston, 1991) and the design of dialectical organizational information systems. The section"A Methodological Basis for AW Tools" deals with the rationale behind choosing the IBIS method incapturing the design process. The section after that explains WHAT, and the section following it exploresits use as a groupware tool. The applicability of WHAT and its pros and cons are discussed in two separatesections. In the Conclusion we outline the potentiality of the approach and present suggestions for furtherdevelopment. Since our first reporting on WHAT (Hashim, 1990b), the AW approach was foundapplicable to educational, scientific, and business areas. One such application is for structuring case

discussions in business schools (Hashim et al., 1991).” 

© All rights reserved Hashim and/or Ablex Publishing

Gorry , G. Anthony, Long, Kevin B., Burger, Andrew M., Jung, Cynthia P. and Meyer, Barry D. (1991): The

Virtual Notebook System: An Architecture for Collaborative Work. In Journal of Organizational

Computing, 1 (3) pp. 233-250

“We have developed the Virtual Notebook System (VNS) to facilitate information acquisition, sharing

and management in groups. The VNS allows teams to create shared electronic notebooks upon whosepages they can place text and images and, in certain cases audio and video entities. Members of a teamcan interconnect the pages of a notebook with navigational links, making the notebook shared hypertext.Additionally special links, called action links, can be used to tie pages of a notebook to external programs.Here we discuss the architecture of the VNS and give a number of examples of its use. We also identify 

those aspects of the VNS development that seems to have been most important in its success.” 

© All rights reserved Gorry et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Issue 2 Johansen, Robert (1991): Groupware: Future Directions and Wild Cards. In Journal of Organizational

Computing, 1 (2) pp. 219-227

“Groupware is a perspective on telecommunications and computing that emphasizes the business team

as "user," rather than the individual. This perspective and its associated products and services are riding amajor wave of change: the trend toward business teams (small, cross-organizational, ad hoc, task-focused,time-driven, cohesive work groups) as a primary mode of operation for the organization of the future. Inthis paper, I will explore future directions for the groupware perspective in the marketplace and thebusiness teams wave. Current product classes will be presented, along with the experiences of early users

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of groupware. In addition to overall trends and future directions, possible wild cards will be introduced

and discussed.” 

© All rights reserved Johansen and/or Ablex Publishing

Marschak , Thomas and Vazirani, Umesh (1991): Communication Costs in the Performance of Unrelated 

Tasks: Continuum Models and Finite Models. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 1 (2) pp. 205-218

“We consider two two-person organizations, called A and B. Each organization faces a changing

environment; an environment has two components and each of them is privately observed by one of theorganization's two members. Each organization's task is to respond to the current environment by takinga correct action; the correct action is a known function of the environment. However, the task of A istotally unrelated to the task of B: if A knew B's current environment and B's current correct action, thatwould tell A nothing at all about its own current correct action (and vice versa). Now suppose that eachorganization perform its task by a sequence of message announcements that stop when an "action-taker"has just enough information about the two members' private observations so that he can take the correctaction. Suppose we measure the effort this requires by the size of the set of possible messageannouncements. Then a compelling conjecture says that there can be no saving in total effort if we mergethe two organizations into a single four-person organization in which a single action-taker takes bothactions. The conjecture turns out to be true when the possible messages form a continuum whose size ismeasured by its dimension, provided the message-announcing procedure obeys suitable regularity conditions. When we turn to a model in which the number of possible messages is finite, the situation isdifferent. While a certain general proposition about coverings and projections is the main tool in provingthe "continuum" conjecture, the finite analog of that proposition is (surprisingly) false. The finite versionof the conjecture holds, on the other hand, when one adds a certain regularity requirement ("contiguity")to the message-announcement procedure. The truth of the finite conjecture without such a requirement

remains open.” 

© All rights reserved Marschak and Vazirani and/or Ablex Publishing

Busch, Elizabeth, Hamalainen, Matti, Suh, Yongmoo, Whinston, Andrew and Holsapple, Clyde W. (1991):

Issues and Obstacles in the Development of Team Support Systems. In Journal of Organizational

Computing, 1 (2) pp. 161-186

“This article presents issues and obstacles important when developing team support systems:

information systems designed to support organizational teams. Drawing on the accomplishments of economics, organization theory, artificial intelligence, and computer-supported cooperative work, key issues of interest are discussed. The desirable qualitative properties of a team support system are set forth

as well as its generic functional requirements. Several ideas for experimental directions are also

described.” 

© All rights reserved Busch et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

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Hiltz, Starr Roxanne, Dufner, Donna, Holmes, Michael and Poole, Scott (1991): Distributed Group Support 

Systems: Social Dynamics and Design Dilemmas. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 1 (2) pp. 135-

159

“A "distributed group support system" includes decision support tools and structures embedded within

a computer-mediated communication system rather than installed in a "decision room." It should supportgroups who are distributed in space but not time ("synchronous" groups), as well as "asynchronous"groups whose members participate at different times. Pilot studies conducted in preparation for a series of controlled experiments are reviewed in order to identify some of the problems of implementing such asystem. Many of the means used by groups meeting in the same place at the same time to coordinate theiractivities are missing. Embedding decision support tools within a different communications medium andenvironment changes the way they "work." Speculations are presented about software tools and

structuring or facilitation procedures that might replace the "missing" coordination channels.” 

© All rights reserved Hiltz et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Sproull, Lee and Kiesler, Sara (1991): Two-Level Perspective on Electronic Mail in Organizations. In Journal

of Organizational Computing, 1 (2) pp. 125-134

“Organizational computing tools are often developed and managed with an eye toward increasing

efficiency. Yet today's most widespread organizational computing tool, electronic mail, has an impact thatgoes well beyond efficiency effects. This article summarizes a two-level perspective on organizationalcomputing and reviews research results demonstrating strong organizational effects of electronic mail.

From these results, we draw some lessons for the next generation of organizational computing.” 

© All rights reserved Sproull and Kiesler and/or Ablex Publishing

Bair, James H. (1991): A Layered Model of Organizations: Communication Process and Performance. In

Journal of Organizational Computing, 1 (2) pp. 187-203

“Modeling organizations is most useful for predicting the outcome of decisions and courses of action.

However, the tendency has been to view an organization too narrowly, thus overlooking critical variables.For example, financial models are based on abstract indicators and do not adequately describe humanfactors. This article offers a five-layer, multidisciplinary model, where each layer defines units of analysisand subsystem boundaries. The layers (behavior-motion, activity, process-procedure, function, mission)

define arenas of practical action, ranging from individuals' moment-by-moment behaviors, such as

making telephone calls, to broad policy decisions and functional structure of organizations.” 

© All rights reserved Bair and/or Ablex Publishing

Issue 1 

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Turoff , Murray (1991): Computer-Mediated Communication Requirements for Group Support . In Journal of 

Organizational Computing, 1 (1) pp. 85-113

“This article presents an overview of the historical evolution of computer-mediated communication

(CMC) systems within the context of designing for group support. A number of examples of designfeatures to support specific group tasks are illustrated. The result of this is the synthesis of a number of observations on the assumptions and goals for the design of CMC systems. An emphasis is placed on theadvantages offered groups by asynchronous support of the communication process, self-tailoring of communication structures by users and groups, and the integration into the communication system of other computer resources and information systems. The systems that have been developed recently atNew Jersey Institute of Technology (EIES2, TEIES, and Personal TEIES) are used to illustrate the

translation of design objectives into specific features and functions.” 

© All rights reserved Turoff and/or Ablex Publishing

Applegate, Lynda, Ellis, Clarence, Holsapple, Clyde W., Radermacher, Franz J. and Whinston, Andrew B.

(1991): Organizational Computing: Definitions and Issues. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 1 (1)

pp. 1-10

Applegate, Lynda M. (1991): Technology Support for Cooperative Work: A Framework for Studying

Introduction and Assimilation in Organizations. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 1 (1) pp. 11-39

“This article draws on published research on the nature of the innovation process and exploratory field

research in 10 companies to develop a framework for research on organizations' introduction andassimilation of computer-supported cooperative work technologies. The research reported in this article,part of a much larger study of the general process of innovation in organizations, focuses specifically on

the transfer and assimilation of new technology innovations. Technologies to support group process,communication, and coordination in face-to-face group meetings [electronic meeting support systems(EMSS)] were chosen to illustrate the use of the research framework. The article focuses on the transfer of these technologies from R&D units to target organizational units and the alignment of group, technology,and task during assimilation by end-user groups. Research propositions are developed and discussed.Future articles will present the findings from current research that utilizes the frameworks presented in

this article to study the introduction, transfer, and assimilation of EMSS in organizations.” 

© All rights reserved Applegate and/or Ablex Publishing

Ledyard, John O. (1991): Coordination in Shared Facilities: A New Methodology. In Journal of 

Organizational Computing, 1 (1) pp. 41-59

“Shared facilities are a good example of the difficulties inherent in coordination problems and the

benefits to be derived from creative solutions. Traditional methods employed by engineers and others,because they ignore an important aspect of the problem, can yield solutions that appear successful butwhich significantly underutilize these facilities. This article is intended to be an introduction to the typesof problems that can arise and to a new method for systematically studying these problems. The method is

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illustrated with the results of a study done for NASA, on the coordination of the use of a Space Station,

which produced a new computer-assisted institution that outperforms existing institutions.” 

© All rights reserved Ledyard and/or Ablex Publishing

Olson, Gary M. and Olson, Judith S. (1991): User-Centered Design of Collaboration Technology. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 1 (1) pp. 61-83

“Groupware, like other forms of information technology, should be designed with the users' needs and

capabilities as the focus. User-centered system design consists of observation and analysis of users atwork, assistance in design from relevant aspects of theory, and iterative testing with users. We illustratethe various stages of this approach with our development of groupware for software designers. We haveextensive studies of designers at work, have developed the beginnings of a theory of distributed cognition,and are at the first stages of iterative testing and redesign of a prototype of a shared editor to support their

work.

” 

© All rights reserved Olson and Olson and/or Ablex Publishing

Vamos, T. (1991): Cooperative Communication: Computerware and Humanware. In Journal of 

Organizational Computing, 1 (1) pp. 115-123

“This article emphasizes the combined requirements of computer systems and humanistics. In

cooperative computing, negotiations can be used as a basic paradigm by which different roles and theirrequisites can be identified -- the facilitator, the mediator, and the negotiator. The negotiation-cooperation process has a logical sequence of agreements, definition of terms, objectives, mode of operation, common security measures concerning integrity and liability, handling protocols, etc. Thecooperation is based on models of the subject and the partners -- i.e., a minimum of three models shouldbe matched. The usual methods of human negotiations supported by metacommunication should have acomputer-realizable substitute. All these subjects are outgrowths of recent research in artificialintelligence (knowledge-based systems) and cognitive psychology; some experiences are reported in thefield. However, the main task is human-oriented -- education of people for this new powerful means of 

coexistence.” 

© All rights reserved Vamos and/or Ablex Publishing

Singh, Baldev and Whinston, Andrew B. (1991): Introduction to the Special Issues. In Journal of 

Organizational Computing, 1 (1) p. iii

-- Volume 2 --

Issue 3 Philippakis, Andrew and Goul, Michael (1992): Concepts and Models of Group Membership in Computer-

Supported Knowledge and Decision Tasks. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 2 (3) pp. 243-262

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“Decision groups have assumed new and expanded roles as a result of the application of electronic

technologies such as group DSS. The rational selection and assignment of members to a computer-supported group is an important research issue with significant implications for organizationaleffectiveness. Formal group-composition models are developed for knowledge-based and coalition-

formation decision tasks. In the context of these models, group properties of synthesis, redundancy, andsynergy are defined and related to concepts for rational selection of group members. Conceptual andoperational constructs are presented, providing a practical foundation for initiating detailed analysis of interactions between group-composition and group-decision processes. Implications for future research

are discussed.” 

© All rights reserved Philippakis and Goul and/or Ablex Publishing

Petrovic, Otto (1992): Empirical Research in Electronic Meeting Systems: A Demand Side Approach. In

Journal of Organizational Computing, 2 (3) pp. 263-275

“This study set out to empirically research the time spent by managers in meetings and to identify the

requirements of an information technology system for supporting meetings. It does this by investigatingthe time commitment, efficiency, main problems, and benefits of meetings. In addition, it examinesmanagers' attitudes towards information technology support for meetings. To fulfill this aim, more than1,000 mainly middle level managers were surveyed. It emerges that a total of 22.4% of working time isspent in meetings; 34% of this time expenditure is rated inefficient. The opportunity for collectivedecision making and exchange of information are seen as the main benefits whereas the failure to identify critical items and agendas without priorities and targets are seen as the main problems. Analysis of theirattitudes towards technological support of meetings shows that managers in principle have a positiveattitude toward the idea. They specifically wish to see particular support for the preparatory and follow-up

phases and tools to support qualitative-creative tasks.

” 

© All rights reserved Petrovic and/or Ablex Publishing

Ramanathan, Srinivas, Rangan, P. Venkat and Vin, Harrick M. (1992): Designing Communication

Architectures for Interorganizational Multimedia Collaboration. In Journal of Organizational

Computing, 2 (3) pp. 277-302

“Advances in computer and communication technologies have stimulated the integration of digital

video and audio with computing, leading to the development of various computer-assisted collaborations.

In this article, we propose a multilevel conferencing paradigm called super conference for supportingcollaborative interactions between geographically separated groups of users, with each group belonging topossibly a different organization. In a super conference, each participant must receive and display thecomposite media stream obtained by mixing media streams transmitted by all the other participants.Hierarchical communication architectures are naturally suited for media mixing in super conferences. Wepresent algorithms for designing hierarchical mixing architectures that optimize real-time end-to-enddelays of media. In order to improve their real-time performance further, we propose multistage mixingtechniques by which mixers can carry out mixing concurrently with communication. Surprisingly, theoptimal architectures for multistage mixing are widely different from those of monostage mixing (inwhich, mixing and media communication sequential as opposed to concurrent). Based on real-time delay 

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constraints of multimedia, we obtain interesting limits on the sizes of both super conferences and groupswithin super conferences in optimal hierarchical architectures, which go to show their high scalability interms of both the maximum number of participants and the geographical separation between them. At theMultimedia Laboratory at the University of California, San Diego, we have implemented a conferencingsystem on an environment of Sun SPARCstations equipped with digital multimedia hardware. As aninteresting application of the conferencing system, we have developed a telepresenter by which users can

remotely attend lectures in progress. We present initial experiences with the system.” 

© All rights reserved Ramanathan et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Press, Laurence (1992): Systems for Finding People. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 2 (3) pp. 303-

314

“Finding a previously unknown person with the skills and knowledge to answer a question or perhaps

to collaborate with is an effective use of a computer-mediated communication (CMC) system. This articlediscusses two aspects of systems for finding people, system architectures, and organizational implications.The architectures considered are special interest groups, centralized servers, and decentralized systems.The organizational implications are the value to organizations of people-finding systems, managementincentives for individuals to participate in them, and participation in the absence of apparent incentives.The deployment and improvement of people-finding and other CMC systems will bestow a marginaladvantage upon cooperative individuals and organizations with cooperative cultures. As a result, CMCmay marginally alter organizational and human nature, nudging us in the direction of a time when nice

guys finish first.” 

© All rights reserved Press and/or Ablex Publishing

Press, Laurence (1992): Lotus Notes (Groupware) in Context . In Journal of Organizational Computing, 2 (3)

pp. 315-320

“Notes is a mail and teleconferencing (bulletin board) system for LAN-based users at locations that are

not continuously connected. It supports asynchronous group work in different locations, and has a direct-

manipulation user interface.” 

© All rights reserved Press and/or Ablex Publishing

Lea, Martin and Spears, Russell (1992): Paralanguage and Social Perception in Computer-Mediated 

Communication. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 2 (3) pp. 321-341

“It is widely held that computer-mediated communication (CMC) filters out many of the social and

affective cues associated with human interaction with consequent effects on communication outcomesand the medium's suitability for interpersonal tasks. The relationship between paralanguage and socialperception in CMC in different social contexts is investigated in two experiments. In Study 1, it washypothesized that there would be significant differences in subjects' perceptions of anonymous

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communicators as a function of the paralinguistic content of the electronic mail messages they received.Subjects read three sets of messages containing different types of paralinguistic cues and a fourth set of control messages. They also completed a set of person-perception rating scales in respect of each messagesender. The hypothesis was supported for both novice electronic mail users and for experienced usersdrawn from a large telecommunications organization. In Study 2, subjects participated in groupdiscussions over a CMCS under four conditions, manipulated in a 2 x 2 between-subjects design. Thesalience of the task group was either high or low, and subjects were either de-individuated (physically isolated and visually anonymous) or individuated (physically copresent and visually identifiable). Fromsocial identity theory, it was hypothesized that de-individuated subjects for whom group identity had beenmade salient would evaluate users of paralanguage more positively than when group salience was low, inaccordance with a social attraction response associated with perceptions of group identity. The hypothesiswas supported. The results suggest that paralanguage is one means by which social information iscommunicated in CMC and that the meaning of paralinguistic marks is dependent on the group orindividual context that is pre-established for the communication. The studies, therefore, question earlierassumptions that the social context is dramatically reduced or eliminated in this medium. The

implications of contextual effects for the use of CMC by work groups in organizations are discussed.” 

© All rights reserved Lea and Spears and/or Ablex Publishing

Issue 2 Marsden, James R., Pingry , David E. and Wang, Ming-Chian Ken (1992): An Experimental Approach to

Intelligent Organizational Design. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 2 (2) pp. 225-242

“Organizations in competitive markets have no guarantee of continued existence. The intelligent firm

in such a setting is the firm that can adapt its structure, the one that has the knowledge necessary tochange when change is optimal, and to make enough profit to survive. We argue that the intelligent firmmust understand the relationships among its structure, its production inputs (including informationtechnology), and its productivity. When market and technological conditions dictate that a change in

structure is optimal, the intelligent firm, the successful firm, will change. We argue that carefully structured and controlled laboratory experiments provide an excellent source for obtaining the knowledgenecessary for organizations to adapt strategically. We illustrate how such experiments can be used indetermining the relationships between organizational forms and information system constructs, and in

analyzing what mixes yield maximum performance in decision-theoretic and game theoretic settings.” 

© All rights reserved Marsden et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Griggs, Kenneth A. (1992): Visual Agents that Model Organizations. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 

2 (2) pp. 203-224

“The successful use of icons in interface design, games, and simulations to reduce cognitive effort is

well established. This article explores an extension of the concept via a prototype implementation inSmalltalk-80 that uses object-oriented programming, AI techniques, and iconic "visual agents" as a meansof expanding the scope of the visual model world from narrowly focused metaphors to organizationsthemselves. Visual agents are icons that encapsulate data and behavior of organizational objects includingthe user. Just as a desktop metaphor is based on "desktop objects" an organizational model worldincludes objects found within an organization. These objects are classified using a simple hierarchy composed of persons, things, and processes at the top level and a set of changeable entities at lower levels.

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This hierarchy provides the basis for the development of systems that accomplish managerial level taskssuch as scheduling, reporting, advisement, and assistance. The hierarchical class structure, methodinheritance, and message-passing paradigm of Smalltalk-80 offers an environment, which is itself, a goodmodel for the approach. Thus, Smalltalk-80, in conjunction with embedded knowledge bases that provideagents with a limited but functional "intelligence," complete the approach to organizational modeling

proposed here.

” 

© All rights reserved Griggs and/or Ablex Publishing

Chen, Minder, Liou, Yihwa Irene and Weber, E. Sue (1992): Developing Intelligent Organizations: A Context-

Based Approach to Individual and Organizational Effectiveness. In Journal of Organizational

Computing, 2 (2) pp. 181-202

“Organizations interested in intelligent actions in uncertain or equivocal environments must possess

or create a common context of interaction for participants in order to coordinate their activities and use

information effectively. In a learning situation, the establishment of an intelligible context of interaction isespecially important because the learner's assimilation of new information depends on its compatibility with the learner's existing knowledge and skills. Cognitive theory underlies the authors' discussion of thefunctions, development, and expression of intelligence, and informs their discussion of effective actioncontexts. Contextual information systems (CIS) are proposed as mechanisms for helping individuals andorganizations manage personal and enterprise-wide knowledge systems. A domain analysis methodology,developed to facilitate the creation of appropriate action contexts, is presented. Finally, the contributions

CIS can make to human and organizational effectiveness are discussed.” 

© All rights reserved Chen et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Carlson, David A. and Ram, Sudha (1992): A Knowledge Representation for Modeling Organizational 

Productivity. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 2 (2) pp. 155-180

“The primary objective of effective productivity improvement is to reduce unnecessary and wasteful

effort, not simply to speed things up. Constructing an organizational model along these lines might assista manager in assessing the organization's current state and in moving to a more desirable position. Suchmodels may be construed as managers' mental models. A mental model is not a static set of knowledge,but rather, a dynamic memory that integrates the new information resulting from environmentalscanning. Thus, a mental model consists of some internal representation that reflects the essentialfeatures and relationships in a corresponding real-world system, for example, the organization. Thisarticle proposes an architecture and a representation scheme for implementing computational modelsthat correspond with the mental models in managers' minds. A four-level architecture is outlined that

consists of a linguistic layer, an epistemological layer, an object-management layer, and animplementation layer. An iterative, triarchic research method was used that simultaneously developed atheoretical framework, synthesized evidence from an American Express case study, and specified acomputational representation. A prototype management support system developed as part of thisresearch, called SPRINT (Strategic Plan and Resource INTegration), is implemented as a frame-based

semantic network using a hypertext interface and is programmed in Smalltalk/V286.” 

© All rights reserved Carlson and Ram and/or Ablex Publishing

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Motiwalla, Luvai F. and Nunamaker, Jr. Jay F. (1992): MAIL-MAN: A Knowledge-Based MAIL Assistant for 

MANagers. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 2 (2) pp. 131-154

“Although several collaborative office systems have been developed recently to provide synchronous

communication support for managerial work, they have not capitalized on electronic mail (E-mail), anexisting asynchronous office communication technology widely used by managers. This is because E-mailtechnology has yet to incorporate intelligent characteristics and flexibility to support different officefunctions, which can enable it to adapt to the changing and uncertain environment of managerial work.This article addresses the conceptual and technological issues involved in development of E-mail tosupport managerial work with MAIL-MAN, a knowledge-based E-mail system unified with other office

applications to model and support managerial work.” 

© All rights reserved Motiwalla and Nunamaker and/or Ablex Publishing

Blanning, Robert W., King, David R., Marsden, James R. and Seror, Ann C. (1992): Intelligent Models of 

Human Organizations: The State of the Art . In Journal of Organizational Computing, 2 (2) pp. 123-130

“The application of concepts from cognitive science and artificial intelligence to organizational

modeling is a new and exciting area of research that may yield useful insights into organization theory andbehavior. In this introduction we offer a framework for organizational intelligence, review the literature in

the area, and introduce the articles in this special issue.” 

© All rights reserved Blanning et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Issue 1 Whinston, Andrew B. (1992): Introduction to the Special Issue. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 2 (1)

p. i

Hamalainen, Matti, Hashim, Safaa, Holsapple, Clyde W., Suh, Yongmoo and Whinston, Andrew B. (1992):

Structured Discourse for Scientific Collaboration: A Framework for Scientific Collaboration Based on

Structured Discourse Analysis. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 2 (1) pp. 1-26

“This article describes the initial stage of an exploratory research project on improving scientific

collaboration. For the purpose of laying conceptual foundations of scientific collaboration, we discuss

general requirements of a collaborative system for scientific researchers. With these requirements inmind, we outline the technical design of a prototype system to support scientific collaboration. This designinvolves a method of structured discourse and is integrated with electronic mail. The prototype system,currently being developed, will be tested by the authors who are collaborating on various research projectsin the United States and Finland. Preliminary results will be available in the near term. Furtherdevelopment will include the incorporation of project management, negotiation support, and document

production tools into the system.” 

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© All rights reserved Hamalainen et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Gurbaxani, Vijay and Shi, Edmond (1992): Computers and Coordination in Manufacturing. In Journal of 

Organizational Computing, 2 (1) pp. 27-46

“This article examines the role of advanced information technologies, particularly computer-integrated

manufacturing (CIM), in coordinating manufacturing activities. Our focus is on understanding the natureof changes in organizational structure and processes that are a result of, or are associated with, theintroduction of CIM systems. The analysis is premised on the observation that coordination tasks arelargely related to the acquisition and processing of information and are, therefore, sensitive to theapplication of information technology. Economic theories of organization facilitate the development of therelationships between information costs and the attributes of organizations. We use a model of amanufacturing firm, which incorporates elements of these theories, to study the organizational

implications of CIM systems.” 

© All rights reserved Gurbaxani and Shi and/or Ablex Publishing

Woo, Carson C. and Chang, Man Kit (1992): An Approach to Facilitate the Automation of Semistructured and 

Recurring Negotiations in Organizations. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 2 (1) pp. 47-76

“Communication is vital to the running of a distributed organization. To alleviate the amount of time

organizational workers spend in communication, some tools should be provided for them. We propose aset of communication tools, based on Ballmer and Brennenstuhl's (1981) speech act classification, whichare to be used by organizational workers during negotiations. These tools provide assistance to theorganizational workers and can be used to program the structured part of the negotiation. Since thepreparation and use of such tools requires additional time and costs, they are only beneficial to the type of 

negotiation that has other instances occurring in the future.” 

© All rights reserved Woo and Chang and/or Ablex Publishing

Jong, Peter de (1992): A Framework for the Development of Distributed Organizations. In Journal of 

Organizational Computing, 2 (1) pp. 77-94

“A system, Ubik, is described that builds, executes, and maintains distributed computer organizations.

A computer organization is built using three organizational components: structure, action, and power.

The interaction among these three components mirrors some of the complex interactions in the externalorganization being modeled. The structure of an organization is modeled with semantic nets built of linked-together objects. The action of an organization is represented by an object called a configurator,and initiated by message passing. The power of an organization is maintained by objects, called sponsors,which delegate processing power to other objects. Active messages are used to build specialized objectscalled constructors, questers, and tapeworms. They build, query, monitor, and constrain applicationsrunning within an organization. Ubik is based on the actor concurrent object model. It supports theparallel execution of organizational applications distributed over networked computers. Ubik containstools for the building of organizational applications by end-users. Programming by example is supportedwith the use of a pattern-directed language, used within two-dimensional pictures of forms. Distributed

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rule-based agents are supported using the semantic nets as knowledge bases and the tapeworms as

rules.” 

© All rights reserved Jong and/or Ablex Publishing

Panko, Raymond (1992): Managerial Communication Patterns. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 2(1) pp. 95-122

“Use of time studies provide detailed information on organizational communication patterns, offering

a rich base of data for identifying promising new targets for "groupwork" support researchers. This articlelooks at use of time data that provide a detailed picture of communication patterns in the workdays of 

managers and some other knowledge workers.” 

© All rights reserved Panko and/or Ablex Publishing

-- Volume 3 --

Issue 4 Dubinskas, Frank A. (1993): Virtual Organizations: Computer Conferencing and Organization Design. In

Journal of Organizational Computing, 3 (4) pp. 389-416

“Computer conferencing systems link groups of users who "meet" in the virtual space of a computer

and interact around a common purpose or topic. These electronically constituted and mediated groupscan mirror, cross-cut, or hive off from existing organizational structures. This article reports a study of organizational structuring processes that accompany the introduction of a computer conferencing systemin six industrial organizations. The relationships among technological capabilities and constraints,existing organization structures, managerial intent, and the unanticipated consequences of implementation for structural change are discussed. Employing the same software system in each case,organizational outcomes are radically different. Earlier analysts have focused on a contingency model of the organization-to-technology relationship. Computer conferencing systems, however, confound thedistinction between technical and organizational systems; they exist in an overlapping border domainbetween their two parent systems. This article explores the character of this overlapping domain andproposes the terms "virtual group" and "virtual organization" to evoke the special status of groups createdthrough computer conferencing. Virtual organizations are semiotic entities in Weick's [1] sense of equivoque, and their essentially ambiguous, interpretable character is important in shapingorganizational outcomes. Virtual groups become part of the ongoing process of structuration [2], while

also providing a new tool for organizational design.” 

© All rights reserved Dubinskas and/or Ablex Publishing

Goldstein, David K. (1993): Computer-Based Data and Organizational Learning: The Importance of 

Managers' Stories. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 3 (4) pp. 417-442

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“While many organizations are investing large amounts of money to provide computer-based data to

their managers, little is known about how, or even whether, managers use these data to learn about thebusiness environment. This issue is explored by examining how grocery product managers usesupermarket scanner data to learn about changes in the marketing environment. Managers' stories play a

central role in the four-step process used by one product management organization as it learns fromanalyzing computer-based data. First, a manager examines the data and looks for unexpected results --findings that contradict one or more of her stories about the marketing environment. If something isfound, the manager carries out a relatively unstructured, multistage process to make sense out of theunexpected result. This process can be viewed as a dialogue between the result and a set of tools at themanager's disposal (including analyses of computer-based data). Next, the manager tells the story toshare her insights with peers and superiors, developing a common understanding. Finally, the managercreates an official story, which is used to "sell" new marketing approaches to people outside the product

manager organization -- the sales force and supermarket buyers.” 

© All rights reserved Goldstein and/or Ablex Publishing

Chidambaram, Laku and Bostrom, Robert (1993): Evolution of Group Performance Over Time: A Repeated 

Measures Study of GDSS Effects. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 3 (4) pp. 443-469

“Many studies in the group decision support system (GDSS) literature have reported on the behavior

and performance of ad hoc groups meeting for the first, and, in fact, the only time. Such one-time studiesof groups may not represent their longer term behavior and performance accurately. AdaptiveStructuration Theory (AST) conceives of technology use as a social practice that emerges over time. ASTsuggests that meeting outcomes reflect the extent to which structures offered by the technology (such asGDSS tool sequences, meeting agenda, etc.) are faithfully appropriated by the group. Such faithfulappropriation, however, takes time. This article explicitly recognizes the relevance of this appropriationprocess and reports on a lab study that examined the impact of computer support on group performanceover time. In general, results showed that the performance of computer-supported groups improved overtime, whereas the performance of non-computer-supported groups stayed the same or declined. Thenumber of alternatives generated by computer-supported groups increased considerably as they becamemore proficient in incorporating the technology into group processes. However, the quality of decisionsmade by computer-supported groups began to increase slightly, only during the last session. Both thesefindings suggest that AST is, in fact, a viable theory for studying group behavior and performance overtime. Results from this study also point out the need for conducting more longitudinal studies of group

processes in the future.” 

© All rights reserved Chidambaram and Bostrom and/or Ablex Publishing

Issue 3 Barron, Terry (1993): Impacts of Information Technology on Organizational Size and Shape: Control and 

Flexibility Effects. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 3 (3) pp. 363-387

“We argue that the study of information technology (IT) impacts on organizations has been hindered

by the shortage of formal models from which empirically testable implications of such impacts can be

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derived. This article demonstrates the feasibility and usefulness of this approach by constructing andanalyzing optimization models of the organizational design problem for a restricted class of hierarchicalorganizations. The literature suggests that two organizational characteristics likely to be affected by IT areorganizational "flexibility" and the nature of organizational control problems. Thus, first, a particularconcept of flexibility is defined and parameterized. Second, organizational design is formalized as anoptimization problem having parameters for flexibility and control effects. Third, probable effects of fourbroad classes of IT on the model's parameters are spelled out and then analyzed via comparative staticsand numerical experiments. One general result is that some types of IT impacts could have significantindustry-level effects since large changes in the optimal organizational scale under profit maximizationmay result. Some specific hypotheses regarding the impacts of monitoring IT are also derived. Fourth,suggestions for the formulation of empirical models are given. The model shows that a carefulunderstanding of the effects of a particular system is vital to predicting its impacts; for example,monitoring systems of different types can have impacts that are the opposite of one another. The modelsuggests that short, medium, and long-run effects of a given IT type can differ from one another, so thatlagged effects of IT investments should be studied carefully, allowing for the possibility of different

directions of change for different lags.” 

© All rights reserved Barron and/or Ablex Publishing

Ang, Soon and Beath, Cynthia Mathis (1993): Hierarchical Elements in Software Contracts. In Journal of 

Organizational Computing, 3 (3) pp. 329-361

“Recent literature in information systems notes that software development outsourcing is increasingly 

prevalent, despite the complexity of managing development across organizational boundaries.Information systems researchers have used transaction cost and agency theories to propose incentiveschemes to address this problem. Drawing on legal and organizational theories about contractualrelations between firms, this article describes and illustrates a set of contractual elements, essentially hierarchical control mechanisms, that can contribute to the governance of external software development.Software outsourcing contracts using such elements should be viewed as hierarchical, rather than market,

organizational forms, in that they are sheltered from the disciplining influence of market forces. Followingtransaction cost theory, the article proposes that the use of hierarchical elements will vary withtransaction characteristics. Actual software contracts are content analyzed to lend empirical support tothe propositions. Future research directions and content-analytic research designs appropriate for

analyzing software contracts are then elaborated.” 

© All rights reserved Ang and Beath and/or Ablex Publishing

Bakos, J. Yannis and Brynjolfsson, Erik (1993): From Vendors to Partners: Information Technology and 

Incomplete Contracts in Buyer-Supplier Relationships. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 3 (3) pp.

301-328

“As search costs and other coordination costs decline, theory predicts that firms should optimally 

increase the number of suppliers with which they do business. Despite recent declines in these costs dueto information technology, there is little evidence of an increase in the number of suppliers used. On thecontrary, in many industries, firms are working with fewer suppliers. This suggests that other forces mustbe accounted for in a more complete model of buyer-supplier relationships. This article uses the theory of incomplete contracts to illustrate that incentive considerations can motivate a buyer to limit the number

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of employed suppliers. To induce suppliers to make investments that cannot be specified and enforced ina satisfactory manner via a contractual mechanism, the buyer must commit not to expropriate the ex postsurplus from such investments. Under reasonable bargaining mechanisms, such a commitment will bemore credible if the buyer can choose from fewer alternative suppliers. Information technology increasesthe importance of noncontractible investments by suppliers, such as quality, responsiveness, andinnovation; it is shown that when such investments are particularly important, firms will employ fewer

suppliers, and this will be true even when search and transaction costs are very low.” 

© All rights reserved Bakos and Brynjolfsson and/or Ablex Publishing

Ching, Chee, Holsapple, Clyde W. and Whinston, Andrew B. (1993): Modeling Network Organizations: A

Basis for Exploring Computer Support Coordination Possibilities. In Journal of Organizational

Computing, 3 (3) pp. 279-300

“In recent years, network organizations have gained much attention as more and more of them have

emerged in various industries. The problem of coordination within network organizations is an importantone that differs in major ways from coordination within hierarchies or markets. We contend thatcomputer technology has a potential for usefully supporting coordination efforts in networks. As a basisfor studying such potential in a systematic way, a formal model of network organizations would behelpful, particularly to the extent that it represents coordination possibilities. From a long-termperspective, the success of a network organization depends on more than efficient transaction processing.It also depends on factors such as participant reliability, motivation, mutual trust, cooperation, creativity,and prudent evolution. All of these are related to the issue of a participant's value (past, current, ongoing,changing) to the network. We introduce a model that formalizes some key aspects of network organizations. At the heart of our formulation is a construct called "reputation," which encapsulates themany attributes that can characterize participants' past behaviors in a network. This model characterizesessential informational aspects of a network organization in a quantifiable form that lays a foundation foranalyzing, designing, and implementing computer-based systems to facilitate network operation andgrowth. We use the model to discuss possibilities for computer-based support of network organizations at

managerial and strategic levels, as complements to transaction-level Electronic Data Interchange-like

systems.” 

© All rights reserved Ching et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Whang, Seungjin (1993): Analysis of Interorganizational Information Sharing. In Journal of Organizational

Computing, 3 (3) pp. 257-277

“Recent years have observed a number of interorganization information systems and electronic data

interchanges through which multiple organizations share information. This article studies the incentivesto share information when two or more companies are involved in a supplier-buyer relationship. Wepropose two models through which we pursue the question: What type of information will be shared? Inthe first model, we study the incentives for a production company to share its queue information with itscustomers. The release of queue information has a trade-off between loss of profits and efficient flow control, but we show that the supplier will share information under certain regularity conditions. Thesecond model studies the incentive for a supplier to share price information with its buyer. As the buyermakes its quantity decision based on the price information fed by the supplier, the latter has to choosebetween keeping the communication channel alive for good news and benefiting from the buyer's

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uninformed purchase decisions. We show that, in most practical situations, the supplier will not

voluntarily share its price information.” 

© All rights reserved Whang and/or Ablex Publishing

Brynjolfsson, Erik and Mendelson, Haim (1993): Information Systems and the Organization of Modern

Enterprise. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 3 (3) pp. 245-255

“This article and the entire special issue address relationships between information systems and

changes in the organization of modern enterprise, both within and across firms. The emergingorganizational paradigm involves complementary changes in multiple dimensions. The revolution ininformation systems merits special attention as both cause and effect of the organizationaltransformation. This can be illustrated by considering two key variables: location of information andlocation of decision rights in organizations. Depending on the costs of information transmission andprocessing, either the "MIS solution" of transferring information or the "organizational redesign solution"of moving decision rights can be an effective approach toward achieving the necessary collocation of information and decision rights. When information systems change radically, one cannot expect theoptimal organizational structure to be unaffected. Considering the interplay among information,incentives, and decision rights in a unified fashion leads to new insights and better organizationalplanning. The articles in this special issue address different facets of this interaction. Despite significantprogress, our understanding of the economic role of information systems in organizations remains in itsinfancy. Successful design of modern enterprise will require additional narrowing of the historic gap

between research in information systems and research in economics.” 

© All rights reserved Brynjolfsson and Mendelson and/or Ablex Publishing

Issue 2 Migliarese, Piero and Paolucci, Emilio (1993): Cooperation Support Through the Use of Group Decision

Systems. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 3 (2) pp. 215-243

“This article considers the development of the group decision support system (GDSS) field both from

organizational and technological perspectives. The growing importance of teamwork, lateral coordination,and activities integration inside modern business organizations is emphasized. Technological andknowledge specialization, quick transformation of business environments, reduction of response time,and so on, are some of the reasons that can explain the renewed relevance of teamwork. Also, thedevelopment of information technology (IT) is analyzed in relation to the role it is assuming in supportinggroup activities. Research in the GDSS field is then introduced. A proposal concerning the identification

of three different phases in GDSS studies is developed, ranging from decision rooms to distributedsystems. Each phase shows distinctive research topics and application fields, together with differentorganizational goals. Results of these developments are the growth of potential application areas of GDSStools. These theoretical considerations, together with empirical experiences coming from the study of areal manufacturing environment (an IBM plant where group cooperation plays a fundamental role forproduction efficiency), constitute the basis for a research GDSS prototype (GROUPS). Prototype features

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are designed to support executives in facing production-planning problems through an improvement in

communications and in knowledge representation.” 

© All rights reserved Migliarese and Paolucci and/or Ablex Publishing

Gaines, Brian R. and Malcolm, Nicholas (1993): Supporting Collaboration in Digital Journal Production. InJournal of Organizational Computing, 3 (2) pp. 195-213

“As digital journals come into use there arise new possibilities for the computer support of the group

processes that are involved in developing, editing, reviewing, revising, annotating, and generally using apublication. There are now a number of products and research tools designed to support group-writingteams that can be extended to support a wider range of interacting roles and activities. Most, however,require use of nonmainstream word-processing systems, and usually assume that full information iscontinuously available through a network to mediate and avoid conflicts. In the context of digital journals,it is more realistic to suppose that they will be distributed through both on-line and off-line media, andthat a requirement for continuous network access would severely limit their use. This article reportsresearch on group-writing tools that deviate as little as possible from conventional word processors andassume only intermittent network connection for document exchange and conflict resolution. The systemdeveloped can be used by some people as a conventional word processor, by others as a versioning andtext and sound annotation system, and by others as a full hypertext system, all while working with thesame corpus of documents. It offers full typographic and page-layout facilities and imports typographictext from, and exports to, the mainstream commercial word processors so that users are not locked into anonstandard technology. It is presented here as an example of the increased functionality that may bemade available through a digital journal, supporting many of the current roles and activities involved injournal creation and use while deviating minimally from current journal and word-processing

practice.” 

© All rights reserved Gaines and Malcolm and/or Ablex Publishing

Gaines, Brian R. (1993): An Agenda for Digital Journals: The Socio-Technical Infrastructure of Knowledge

Dissemination. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 3 (2) pp. 135-193

“The problems of information overload from the growth of scholarly literature, and the need to use

information technology to manage them, were identified by major writers and scientists over 50 yearsago. Yet, the main form of scholarly communication, the journal, is still circulated in paper form as it hasbeen for over 300 years. The economic arguments for using computer and communication technology toovercome these problems through a new form of scientific communication, the electronic or digitaljournal, were vigorously presented in the 1970s. Experimental trials of digital journals with the

technologies of the 1970s and 1980s have not been successful. In the 1990s, the continuing value of current journal systems is again being questioned in terms of soaring library costs, the burden of thecurrent refereeing system, and the diminishing returns of journal publication brought about by information overload. This article presents a fundamental examination of the prerequisites for theintroduction of digital journals, at one level in terms of the role of journals in the social and economicprocesses of human knowledge production, and at another in terms of the state of the art in the relevanttechnologies. Models of the processes underlying the growth of knowledge in the literature on thephilosophy, history, and psychology of science are first used to analyze the structure and role of the socialinfrastructure of journals, including the editorial and refereeing systems and the role of commercialpublishers and libraries. The motivation for digital journals and past experience is surveyed, then the

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learning curves, and current costs and performances of the enabling hardware, software,communications, and interface technologies. Examples of the current impact of computer andcommunications technology on scholarly discourse are given to enable probable changes to be predictedin the structure of journals when they are transferred to digital form. Finally, the social and technologicalanalyses are used to outline some architectures for a first generation of digital journals emulating thecurrent medium, and for the evolution of later generations diverging in characteristics to take advantage

of the new medium.” 

© All rights reserved Gaines and/or Ablex Publishing

Issue 1 Whinston, Andrew B. (1993): Introduction to the Special Issue. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 3 (1)

p. iii

DeSanctis, Gerardine, Poole, Marshall Scott, Dickson, Gary W. and Jackson, Brad M. (1993): Interpretive

Analysis of Team Use of Group Technologies. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 3 (1) pp. 1-29

“Studies of the impacts of new computing technologies on organizations often lead to contradictory or

equivocal findings. Studies showing negative or null effects of computing are as commonplace as thoseshowing benefits. Moreover, outcomes are nonuniform across individuals, groups, or organizational unitsand sometimes vary within the same study. To explain the commonality as well as the variance in theresults of new technology introduction, we propose adaptive structuration theory. The theory focuses onhow technology structures are applied in interpersonal interaction and the specific nature of appropriation patterns. We illustrate the power of the theory through interpretative analysis of threeteams as they adapt to use of a group decision support system over a period of eight months. The analyseshighlight differences in technology impacts across the three teams and also explain some commonoutcomes. Our analytic approach appears to be useful in the study of organizational computing impacts in

general and group decision support system effects in particular.” 

© All rights reserved DeSanctis et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Quarterman, John S. and Carl-Mitchell, Smoot (1993): The Computing Paradigm Shift . In Journal of 

Organizational Computing, 3 (1) pp. 31-50

“Over the last five years, there has been a shift from centralized to distributed computing. Timesharing

and batch systems still have uses, but the large mainframe is no longer the only way to do computing.Networks have spread computing power, access, and costs beyond centralized computer centers. Personal

computers have made computing accessible to many new users. Distributed computing attempts to bringthe manageability of mainframe computing together with the accessibility of networked computing and

the transparency of personal computing.” 

© All rights reserved Quarterman and Carl-Mitchell and/or Ablex Publishing

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Chang, Ai-Mei, Bailey , Jr. Andrew D., Mutchler, Jane F. and Whinston, Andrew B. (1993): Modeling the

Going-Concern Judgment Using Argumentation Theory. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 3 (1)

pp. 51-85

“A going-concern judgment is an important classification of a client that auditors are called upon to

render. We study the collective group process of interpretation that auditors are engaged in by examiningtheir individual interpretation processes and their interactions among themselves and with clients. Theinterpretation process leading to the going-concern judgment involves four phases: (1) recognizing any potential going-concern problems, (2) understanding the cause of those problems, (3) evaluating clientplans to mitigate those problems, and (4) rendering a going-concern judgment. We capture the processunderlying a going-concern judgment by representing the content and process of the interactions using an

argumentation language.” 

© All rights reserved Chang et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Rein, Gail L., Holsapple, Clyde W. and Whinston, Andrew B. (1993): Computer Support of OrganizationDesign and Learning. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 3 (1) pp. 87-120

“Organization design is a pervasive phenomenon that significantly impacts performance, and yet

organization design activity has received little direct support from computer technology. If organizationlearning is viewed as the process whereby knowledge is developed, then organization design bothinfluences the organizational learning that occurs and is at least a partial reflection of the organizationallearning that has occurred. This article examines the significance, bases, and means for developingmultiuser, computer-based environments for supporting organization design and learning. The articleintroduces a working perspective of organization design and learning highlighted by three key ideas.Organization design and learning (1) is defined in terms of organization work, structure, and process; (2)

is an ongoing evolutionary phenomenon; and (3) can and should be an inclusive, distributed,multiparticipant effort. The article identifies the requirements for computer-based technology thatsupports this working perspective and then presents an overview of a prototype technology that addressesthese requirements. The prototype technology consists of two interacting components: Deva, aninteractive, multiuser, graphical editor for managing process descriptions; and GPOD, an associatedgroup process for using Deva for organization design. We conclude that such technologies will enableorganizations to become self-organizing systems, thereby allowing them to compete more effectively and

survive in today's rapidly changing environment.” 

© All rights reserved Rein et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Ledyard, John O. (1993): The Design of Coordination Mechanisms and Organizational Computing. In

Journal of Organizational Computing, 3 (1) pp. 121-134

“We provide an introduction to a theory of coordination mechanism design and show how to apply it to

an assignment problem. The purpose is to introduce those familiar with organizational computing, but

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unfamiliar with game theory and economics, to the subject. We also describe briefly how we can test new 

mechanisms before taking them into the field. Finally, we raise some unresolved research questions.” 

© All rights reserved Ledyard and/or Ablex Publishing

-- Volume 4 --

Issue 4 Karagiannis, D., Radermacher, F. J., Teufel, B. and Wynne, B. E. (1994): Towards CSCW: Meta-Level 

Environments for Enhanced Group and Organization Effectiveness. In Journal of Organizational

Computing, 4 (4) pp. 367-392

“The article deals with Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) and its valuable contributions

to organizing cooperation and joint work among partners in many contexts. In the field of CSCW, complexissues such as coordination and negotiation can be identified as being characteristic, fundamental andimportant research topics that have to be elaborated on urgently. Better support in coordination and innegotiation, and a stronger use of knowledge about people involved, roles, positions, values, strategies,and activities seem to be important topics. It is the view of this article that such aims can only be achievedif there is a close coupling of CSCW components with a powerful underlying corporate informationsystem. In order to achieve these aims, enterprise information systems and group support are to becombined as a strategic way into the informational future of the enterprise. In this context, a goodconceptual model and proper implementation of an Enterprise Data Model (EDM) are a fundamentalprerequisite for full group support in an organizational environment. The EDM can be considered as abasic support repository for general planning processes. The article introduces an architectural conceptfor Computer-Supported Collaborative Systems (CSCS) consisting of a three-level system architecture of abasic object level, user and coordination object level, and a specific goal-oriented object level. The

approach in this article is based on experiences from the application field of distributed software

development.” 

© All rights reserved Karagiannis et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Mosier, Jane N. and Tammaro, Susan G. (1994): Video Teleconference Use Among Geographically Dispersed 

Work Groups: A Field Investigation of Usage Patterns and User Preferences. In Journal of 

Organizational Computing, 4 (4) pp. 343-365

“Use of video teleconferencing (VTC) has been on the rise for several years, yet researchers have oftendiscussed the failure of VTCs to support communication. The VTC facility at the MITRE Corporation is

used more than would have been predicted by other research. Surveys were mailed to 300 MITREemployees who were known to have used our VTC facility or to have traveled (or both) during August of 1991. The survey asked respondents to describe at least one geographically dispersed work group of whichthey are a member, and it asked them to discuss how they choose among various approaches tocommunication, including holding face-to-face meetings and VTCs. Respondents felt that VTC is highly useful. It is best used for meetings that have little emotional content or requirements for interpersonalcontact. The content of the meeting, however, was not the primary reason given for choosing between

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travel and VTCs. Cost and inconvenience of travel were cited as reasons for using VTC, and unavailability 

of VTC was cited as a reason to travel. Results are compared with those of conflicting studies.” 

© All rights reserved Mosier and Tammaro and/or Ablex Publishing

Witte, Duncan M. (1994): Full-Life-Cycle Economics: An Evaluation Methodology for Information

Technology Projects. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 4 (4) pp. 393-403

“This article presents a methodology for the examination and evaluation of proposed information

technology projects. Through an examination of successes and failures in estimating project costs andbenefits, a number of weaknesses have been identified. The areas of "hidden" costs and intangible (or atleast difficult to quantify) benefits have been particularly difficult to estimate. The methodology presentedhere seeks to retain the strengths of older methodologies, while addressing these identified weaknesses.This methodology, while not a substitute for good judgment, provides a framework for the standardizationof economic analysis. As such, it provides both management and clients with a better basis for decisions

regarding investments in information technology.” 

© All rights reserved Witte and/or Ablex Publishing

Issue 3 Dewan, Prasun, Choudhary , Rajiv and Shen, HongHai (1994): An Editing-Based Characterization of the

Design Space of Collaborative Applications. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 4 (3) pp. 219-239

“The design space of collaborative applications is characterized using the notion of generalized

multiuser editing. Generalized multiuser editing allows users to view interactive applications as editors of data structures. It offers several collaboration functions, which allow users to collaboratively editapplication data structures. These functions include coupling, concurrency control, access control, andmultiuser undo. Coupling allows the users to share editing changes, access control and concurrency control prevent them from making unauthorized and inconsistent changes, respectively, and multiuserundo allows them collaboratively to undo or redo changes. These functions must be performed flexibly toaccommodate different applications, users, phases of collaboration, and bandwidths of thecommunication links. In this paper, we define and motivate the notion of generalized multiuser editingand describe some of the issues, approaches, tradeoffs, principles, and requirements related to the design

of the functions offered by it.” 

© All rights reserved Dewan et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Navarro, James J. (1994): Computer Supported Self-Managing Teams. In Journal of Organizational

Computing, 4 (3) pp. 317-342

“For several decades investigations in the behavioral sciences have focused on those conditions that

promote team effectiveness. These conditions have been applied to the development of self-managing

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teams. This article defines requirements for computer support using the conditions that enhance theperformance of self-managing teams. We discuss the fundamentals of team design defining what a self-managing team is, propose a self-managing team development model, and introduce three approaches tothe design of self-managing teams: sociotechnical systems, a normative model, and social-learning theory.We then introduce a team information architecture (TIA) for the support of self-managing teams anddescribe computer support requirements for the design, formation, management, and mentoring of self-managing teams. We conclude by reviewing the conditions required for team effectiveness and compare

the TIA against those conditions.” 

© All rights reserved Navarro and/or Ablex Publishing

Bhargava, Hemant K., Krishnan, Ramayya and Whinston, Andrew B. (1994): On Integrating Collaboration

and Decision Analysis Techniques. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 4 (3) pp. 297-316

“We discuss how methods for computer-based collaboration and computer-aided decision analysis

may be combined to yield a new generation of decision support systems. We examine the role of thesetechnologies using a three-phase model (problem definition; problem structuring; modeling/analysis) of decision making activities. We argue that decision making is a recursive mesh of these three phases; i.e.,each phase involves argumentation/discussion, structuring, and analysis. Representations and methodssuited to one kind of activity (e.g., discussion) are not directly suited to the others. Decision supportsystems, therefore, should facilitate the use of all of these methods in a way that information representedunder each of them may be combined effectively, supporting the decision makers in switching from one

activity to another.” 

© All rights reserved Bhargava et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Ledyard, John O., Porter, David and Rangel, Antonio (1994): Using Computerized Exchange Systems to Solve

an Allocation Problem in Project Management . In Journal of Organizational Computing, 4 (3) pp. 271-296

“In this article we study the allocation problem facing the management of a large research and

development project. The project management has to allocate resources among competing users toachieve the project goal. Besides the constraint of scarcity, the allocation problem is difficult becauseusers have private parameters that project management requires to know in order to make an optimalallocation. Furthermore, users have incentives to misrepresent the information about these parameters toadvance their individual agendas, which can differ from the project goal. A method to solve the allocationproblem using computerized exchange institutions is introduced and analyzed. We emphasize that therules of the exchange should be carefully selected, because different rules produce different results. We

use the methodology of experimental economics to demonstrate this conclusion. This research wasmotivated by JPL's Cassini Mission to Saturn. A computerized exchange described in this article has beenimplemented by the Cassini Project to assist in the management of the resources used in the design and

operation of science instruments.” 

© All rights reserved Ledyard et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

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Mackenzie, Kenneth D., Shoemaker, Terry and Utter, Donald F. (1994): Development of Organizational 

Design Support Systems. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 4 (3) pp. 241-270

“This article provides a framework and a case study for the development of the organizational design

support system (ODSS). The organizational design development interdependencies consist of fourmutually interdependent parts: (1) development of applicable organizational theory, (2) development of applicable methods for organizational design, (3) application of organizational design to realorganizations, and (4) concurrent engineering of an information system to support organizational design.All four parts are presented along with an explanation of how the interdependencies were accommodated.The properties of the ODSS software are described. The processes and results of the organizational designof a real organization are presented. This article calls into question the nature of organizational

computing.” 

© All rights reserved Mackenzie et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Applegate, Lynda and Whinston, Andrew B. (1994): Introduction to the Special Issue: Organizational 

Computing Coordination and Collaboration. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 4 (3) pp. iii-iv 

Issue 2 Srikanth, Rajan (1994): Constructing Conceptual Models for Knowledge Capture and Delivery Systems. In

Journal of Organizational Computing, 4 (2) pp. 199-217

“Appropriate conceptualization of the nature of entities and relationships in a problem domain is a key 

prerequisite to the successful design of computerized decision aids for business, especially thosedeveloped for more than one idiosyncratic user. The need for a reliable conceptual model is particularly 

acute in the design of decision support systems that must function in problem-solving situations with noexisting theoretical framework or where theory and practice differ considerably. This paper presents aninterative procedure for developing a reliable conceptual model by testing the "fit" of successive revisionsof the model against a collection of "think-aloud" verbal problem-solving protocols of people withexperience in the domain. The model is revised each time until it is verifiably and consistently accurate.Such a procedure, it is argued, is more objective and reliable than intuition or traditional knowledgeengineering and requires considerably less experimental data collection and analysis than more elaborateempirical model development procedures. The feasibility of this procedure is illustrated by using it toconstruct a conceptual model for a computer-based system that seeks to capture knowledge used during

project planning and deliver it for use during project control.” 

© All rights reserved Srikanth and/or Ablex Publishing

Dennis, Alan R. (1994): Electronic Support for Large Groups. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 4 (2)

pp. 177-197

“One of the key challenges in applying information technology to improve group performance lies in

matching the capabilities of technology to the needs of the situation. Groups can choose meeting stylesthat use solely electronic communication, solely verbal communication, or a combination of both verbal

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and electronic communication. This paper reports on a series of ten case studies of large groupsperforming information generation tasks. For these groups and tasks, meeting styles with a greaterproportion of electronic communication were found to result in higher perceived effectiveness, efficiency,and participant satisfaction. Qualitative evidence suggested that in this situation, the parallelism, directaccess to the meeting memory, and anonymity offered by pure electronic communication outweighed its

reduced media richness.

” 

© All rights reserved Dennis and/or Ablex Publishing

Lucas, Jr. Henry C. and Olson, Margrethe (1994): The Impact of Information Technology on Organizational 

Flexibility. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 4 (2) pp. 155-176

“This paper argues that information technology can have a significant impact on organizational

flexibility. Information technology (IT) contributes to flexibility by 1) changing the nature of organizationboundaries and the time when work occurs 2) altering the nature and pace of work, and 3) helping firmsrespond to changing market conditions. But, there are also aspects of technology which can decreaseflexibility, and there may be second-order impacts of flexibility that are not easily predicted. Examples toillustrate the impact of information technology on two industries and three companies are presented. Thepaper concludes that management should consider the use of information technology to increase

flexibility and suggests strategies for implementing flexible systems.” 

© All rights reserved Lucas and Olson and/or Ablex Publishing

Zhang, Wen-Ran, Wang, Wenhua and King, Ronald S. (1994): A-Pool: An Agent-Oriented Open System Shell 

for Distributed Decision Process Modeling. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 4 (2) pp. 127-154

“An agent-oriented open system shell, A-Pool, for distributed decision process modeling in the

Internet domain is presented. Unlike most decision support systems, A-Pool provides a testbed formodeling and understanding the cognitive aspects of distributed decision processes themselves ratherthan for domain-specific problem solving. This is achieved with a pool of virtual agents and a pool of cognitive maps of the agents at each A-Pool node. The virtual agent scheme extends object-orientedprogramming to the Internet domain and supports different communication and collaboration protocolswith virtual communities, virtual sessions, and virtual conferences. The cognitive map scheme supportsperspective sharing and various conflict integration and resolution strategies through cognitive mapcomposition, derivation, and focus generation. Thus each A-Pool node provides an architecture formodeling interdependencies and for ensuring global coherence; in addition, the communication isasynchronous and the control is distributed, allowing a large degree of autonomy and the examination of various thoughts and social protocols involved in strategic planning in an open system environment. Basic

ideas are illustrated with a running example.” 

© All rights reserved Zhang et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Watson, Richard T., Alexander, Mary B., Pollard, Carol E. and Bostrom, Robert (1994): Perceptions of 

Facilitators of a Keypad-Based Group Support System. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 4 (2)

pp. 103-125

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“Organizations are using Group Support Systems (GSSs) to improve the quality of group meetings.

Keypad-based GSSs are a widely used form of this technology, yet there has been little research on theiruse and effects. This paper reports the findings of a survey of facilitators of a particular keypad GSS.Facilitators indicate that keypad technology improves the quality of meetings for a variety of tasks in a

range of group settings and cultures. The findings are in general agreement with field studies of 

workstation-based systems.” 

© All rights reserved Watson et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Issue 1 Moffett, Jonathan D. and Sloman, Morris S. (1994): Policy Conflict Analysis in Distributed System

Management . In Journal of Organizational Computing, 4 (1) pp. 1-22

“Distributed system management is concerned with the tasks needed to ensure that large distributed

systems can function in accordance with the objectives of their users. These objectives are typically set outin the form of policies that are interpreted by the system managers. There are benefits to be gained by providing automated support for human managers, or actually automating routine management tasks. Todo this, it is desirable to have a model of policies as objects that can be interpreted by the system itself.The model is summarized. It is clear that there is the potential for conflicts between policies. Theseconflicts may be resolved informally by human managers, but if an automated system is to recognize themand resolve them appropriately, first it is necessary to analyze the types of conflict that may occur. Weanalyze the types of overlap that may occur between policies, and show that this analysis corresponds toseveral familiar types of policy conflict. Some possible approaches to the prevention and resolution of conflicts are suggested, and this work is put into the context of other work on policies and related areas,

including deontic logic.

” 

© All rights reserved Moffett and Sloman and/or Ablex Publishing

Jones, Matthew R. (1994): Information Technology for Group Decision Support: Beyond GDSS . In Journal of 

Organizational Computing, 4 (1) pp. 23-40

“Traditional definitions of group decision support systems provide a narrow perspective on the way in

which information technology (IT) can support group decision making. An alternative perspective thatincludes a broader view of groups, a more descriptive and behavioral view of decisions, a wider view of support, and a more complex, social view of systems is possible. In this article the implications of such aperspective on the role of IT in support of group decision making are explored through a case study of theuse of a simple multiattribute value model in role-reversal exercises. The experience of using this model ina social policy area in which there was substantial conflict between different interest groups illustrated anumber of important issues. In particular, the way in which the model was used as a framework forcommunication between the conflicting groups and the inherent equivocality of this communication washighlighted. The contribution of IT-based support to the effectiveness of this communication, in thecontext of the role-reversal workshops, is discussed, and a new topology of IT support for group decision

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making is suggested. Finally, some conclusions are drawn on the implications for group decision support

practice.” 

© All rights reserved Jones and/or Ablex Publishing

Prietula, Michael J. and Carley , Kathleen M. (1994): Computational Organization Theory: Autonomous

Agents and Emergent Behavior . In Journal of Organizational Computing, 4 (1) pp. 41-83

“A computational organization theory is the articulation of an organization theory in the form of a

computer program. We describe an example of this approach to studying organizational phenomenathrough the use of simulated autonomous intelligent agents, present a detailed description of such amodel, and demonstrate the application through a series of experiments conducted with the model. Themodel, called Plural-Soar, represents a partial instantiation of a cognitively motivated theory that viewsorganizational behavior as emergent behavior from the collective interaction of intelligent agents overtime, and that causal interpretations of certain organizational phenomena must be based on theoretically sufficient models of individual deliberation. We examine the individual and collective behavior of theagents under varying conditions of agent capabilities defined by their communication and memory properties. Thirty separate simulations with homogeneous agent groups were run varying agent type,group size, and number of items in the order list an agent acquires. The goal of the simulation experimentwas to examine how fundamental properties of individual coordination (communication and memory)affected individual and group productivity and coordination efforts under different task properties (groupsize and order size). The specific results indicate that the length of the item list enhances performance forone to three agent groups, but with larger groups memory effects dominate. Communication capabilitiesled to an increase in idle time and undesirable collective behavior. The general conclusion is that there aresubtle and complex interactions between agent capabilities and task properties that can restrict the

generality of the results, and that computational modeling can provide insight into those interactions.” 

© All rights reserved Prietula and Carley and/or Ablex Publishing

Kachelmeier, Steven J. and Shehata, Mohamed (1994): Perspectives on the Cross-Cultural Experimental 

Examination of Economic Models. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 4 (1) pp. 85-99

“This article summarizes recent efforts in applying experimental methodologies to organizational

issues in an international context. Such efforts can be roughly classified as adopting the experimentaltraditions of either psychology or economics. Distinctions between these two traditions are discussed,along with their implications for cross-cultural research. The use of laboratory methods in aninternational domain can address cultural themes as well as issues involving incentive structures, asillustrated by a synthesis of the authors' program of study conducted in the People's Republic of 

China.” 

© All rights reserved Kachelmeier and Shehata and/or Ablex Publishing

-- Volume 5 --

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Issue 4 Walther, Joseph B. and Tidwell, Lisa C. (1995): Nonverbal Cues in Computer-Mediated Communication, and 

the Effect of Chronemics on Relational Communication. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (4)

pp. 355-378

“Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has been described as lacking nonverbal cues, which

affects the nature of interpersonal interaction via the medium. Yet much CMC conveys nonverbal cues interms of chronemics, or time-related messages. Different uses of time signals in electronic mail werehypothesized to affect interpersonal perceptions of CMC senders and respondents. An experiment alteredthe time stamps in replicated e-mail messages in order to assess two time variations: (a) the time of day amessage was sent and (b) the time lag until a reply was received. Results revealed significant interactionsamong these variables, and the task-orientation or socioemotional orientation of the verbal messages,which affected perceptions of communicators' intimacy/liking or dominance/submissiveness. Findingsextend recent theories regarding social attributions and the adaptation of social cues in CMC

behavior.

” 

© All rights reserved Walther and Tidwell and/or Ablex Publishing

Bhargava, Hemant K. (1995): Using Quiddities for Detecting Semantic Conflicts in Information Systems. In

Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (4) pp. 379-400

“When multiple people are involved in designing an information systems application, there can be

conflicts in terminologies used by them for various elements represented in the application. Theseproblems are recognized in database design, federated databases, knowledge-based systems,mathematical modeling systems, and cooperative work systems. A computer-based method for detecting

such naming conflicts, once the users have declared certain additional information for all of therepresented elements, is presented. The approach extends earlier work by Bhargava, Kimbrough, andKrishnan in the context of model integration. There is a description of how this additional information(called quiddity) is to be formulated and represented, and several automated procedures are presentedthat detect naming conflicts on the basis of this information. The practical utility of this approach is also

discussed.” 

© All rights reserved Bhargava and/or Ablex Publishing

Bordetsky , Alexander B. and Levy , Pavel J. (1995): Collaborative Computing for Decision Support in

Cardiovascular Consulting. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (4) pp. 401-416

“Vascular medicine is a newly developing discipline heavily based on geographically distributed

consulting, and there is thus a strong need for computerized decision support in doctor-to-doctorcollaboration for the management of vascular patients. The latest achievements in collaborative andmultimedia computing for group decision support are incorporated into cardiovascular consulting.Feasibility analysis of the two basic components is addressed: (a) the communication system of collaborative computing as identified subject to the specifics of data flow and networking ingeographically distributed cardiovascular consulting; and (b) the structure and representations for

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intelligent software agents that enable transfer of individual expert cardiovascular knowledge, supportgroup brainstorming, and maintain the ongoing learning of group experience and analysis of patients

cases.” 

© All rights reserved Bordetsky and Levy and/or Ablex Publishing

Barua, Anitesh, Chellappa, Ramnath and Whinston, Andrew B. (1995): Creating a Collaboratory in

Cyberspace: Theoretical Foundation and an Implementation. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5

(4) pp. 417-442

“Internet applications such as the World Wide Web (WWW) have created the possibility of developing

global collaborative platforms for supporting interactions between professionals and academics in variousdisciplines. While Web browsers such as Mosaic and Netscape have revolutionized the way we use theInternet, we envision the need for a theory-based approach to the development of Collaboratories on theInternet. Based on complementarity theory, we provide a conceptual foundation for designing

Collaboratories which maximize users' value through the judicious choice of complementary designfactors. We emphasize the need for developments in the area of "open" collaborative systems, and suggestthat analyzing the design problem from a complementarity theory standpoint can lead to useful insightsregarding the value users derive from the system. We also describe the design and an early implementation of an MIS Collaboratory, which uses this theoretical foundation to organize informationand to provide a forum for document-centric, multimedia interactions between users. While the prototypefocuses on the MIS discipline, we believe that the general principles of our design are applicable to other

areas as well.” 

© All rights reserved Barua et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Issue 3 Weber, Bruce W. (1995): Bypass Trading and Market Quality in Electronic Securities Exchanges. In Journal

of Organizational Computing, 5 (3) pp. 327-353

“Electronic financial markets use information technology to disseminate prices, quantities, and buyer

and supplier identities. Increased visibility and market transparency have recognized benefits, but may introduce imperfections, and create profitable opportunities to "bypass" established exchanges. In theU.S., dissemination of real-time securities market information has equipped several firms to developcompeting, off-exchange trading mechanisms that rely on central market price data, but whosetransactions bypass the established market. Significant trading away from the principal market may reduce market quality and increase transactions costs. A simulation model of trading in a continuous

auction market (similar to the market structure of the New York Stock Exchange) is used to examine theeffects of increasing levels of trading activity through an off-exchange dealer. The results indicatecompetition from an alternative trading venue has mixed effects on the trading costs borne by investors --raising costs for some and lowering them for others. Contrary to U.S. regulatory goals, off-market tradingexpands the role of profit-seeking dealers and lowers the probability that some investors' orders will

execute.” 

© All rights reserved Weber and/or Ablex Publishing

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Riggins, Frederick J., Mukhopadhyay , Tridas and Kriebel, Charles H. (1995): Optimal Policies for Subsidizing

Supplier Interorganizational System Adoption. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (3) pp. 295-

325

“We develop a static two-stage model of network externalities where the buyer has adequate

information about the suppliers' costs to join the network such that it is able to make differential subsidy payments. If the expected network size is small, suppliers encounter negative externalities as the buyerrewards the suppliers joining the system, but at a decreasing rate. On the other hand, if the expectednetwork size is large, the buyer can exert increasing pressure on the few remaining suppliers to join thenetwork, thus forcing positive externalities on these suppliers. We show that if the buyer can makedifferential subsidy payments, it may need to subsidize only a fraction of the nonjoiners up to a"spontaneous expansion point," after which the positive externalities force the remaining suppliers to jointhe network. We also examine a dynamic model where the suppliers' costs to join the network decreaseover time. We show that in this case, the buyer should incorporate a "bang-bang" strategy, such that aftersome specified time period the buyer should immediately pay for the costs to join the network of all

suppliers needed to reach the spontaneous expansion point.

” 

© All rights reserved Riggins et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Dewan, Rajiv M. and Dewan, Sanjeev (1995): Managerial Incentives and the Value of Information Systems

Timeliness. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (3) pp. 277-294

“The emergence of "time-based competition" is making timeliness an increasingly important attribute

of information systems in modern business organizations. This article focuses on the decision support roleof information systems and examines the time value of information in delegated decision settings. Weextend the principal-agent model to incorporate the timing of information in the agent's decision-making

process. The analysis demonstrates that while more timely information results in higher value in theabsence of incentive conflicts, more timely information is not necessarily more valuable in settings withincentive conflict. This potentially adverse impact of managerial incentives on the value of timeliness hasto be considered in designing information systems. Consideration of user incentives may result indesigning information systems that do not completely satisfy individual user "requirements," perhaps

through suitable access restrictions.” 

© All rights reserved Dewan and Dewan and/or Ablex Publishing

Banker, Rajiv D. and Johnston, Holly H. (1995): An Empirical Study of the Business Value of the U.S.

Airlines' Computerized Reservations Systems. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (3) pp. 255-275

“The U.S. airlines' computerized reservations systems (CRSs) have frequently been cited as examples

of the successful use of information technologies (ITs) for strategic purposes. Recent literature containslogical arguments and anecdotal evidence which suggest that the carriers that have invested in thesystems have been able to use them, in concert with other operating and marketing strategies, to achievecompetitive advantage. However, very little rigorous, model-based empirical evidence has been brought tobear on this issue. The purpose of this article is to develop economic models for examining the businessvalue of the CRSs and to provide empirical evidence regarding that value during the early 1980s. The

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modelling builds upon previous research aimed at estimating the business value of ITs and isgeneralizable to estimating the value of ITs in other settings. We find that increases in the use of the CRSswere associated with more highly significant increases in their owners' shares of air passenger traffic thanreductions in the costs of reservations and sales labor and travel agent commissions. Also, theassociations for the two leading CRSs, American's Sabre and United's Apollo, were stronger and more

highly significant than those for Delta's DATASII, Eastern's SODA, and TWA's PARS.

” 

© All rights reserved Banker and Johnston and/or Ablex Publishing

Wang, Eric T. G. and Barron, Terry (1995): The Decision to Outsource IS Processing Under Internal 

Information Asymmetry and Conflicting Objectives. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (3) pp.

219-253

“The central management's decision to outsource an organization's information processing to an

external supplier is studied. The internal computing resource is represented by a queuing model; its

manager has private information about the department's cost and has objectives that may differ fromthose of the organization. Outsourcing decision rules are derived for both the cost center and profit centerorganizational forms for the internal department. With a cost center, the IS manager must report on thedepartment's cost parameter, which models his or her private information, in order for the centralmanagement to make its decision; a mechanism design approach is used to ensure truthful reporting. Thedecision is shown to be quite complex, depending in part on the shape of the long-run marginal costfunction for the internal department, thus requiring considerable knowledge on the part of the centralmanagement. Full and no outsourcing are the most frequent outcomes, but partial outsourcing is optimalin one case. Various other implications are discussed, including the distortion of the decision caused by the information asymmetry and the beneficial effects of even the threat of outsourcing on the internaldepartment's efficiency. In contrast, the decision rule for a profit center is very simple: The internaldepartment should be retained as long as it can at least break even in the face of the external competition.Thus, very limited communication between the IS manager and central management suffices in this case.Again, full, partial, and no outsourcing are all possible as the optimal decision. The efficiency of the profit

center can also be expected to be improved by the presence of the external source as the result of a

reduction in its monopoly power.” 

© All rights reserved Wang and Barron and/or Ablex Publishing

Alpar, Paul and Saharia, Aditya N. (1995): Outsourcing Information System Functions: An Organization

Economics Perspective. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (3) pp. 197-217

“Outsourcing of information systems functions has become a frequently chosen alternative of 

providing information systems services. This is true across many industries and all firm sizes.Practitioners have developed a number of guidelines relating to outsourcing. While many of theseguidelines seem plausible their underlying economic reasons are often not identified because they are notbased on any theory. We analyze outsourcing of information systems functions using the transaction costeconomics framework. The framework allows us to incorporate production as well as coordination costs in

evaluating the outsourcing option.” 

© All rights reserved Alpar and Saharia and/or Ablex Publishing

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Barua, Anitesh and Richmond, William B. (1995): Introduction to the Special Issue on Economics of 

Information Systems. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (3) pp. 195-196

Issue 2 Naiman, Channah F. and Ouksel, Aris M. (1995): A Classification of Semantic Conflicts in Heterogeneous

Database Systems. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (2) pp. 167-193

“Increasingly companies are doing business in an environment replete with heterogeneous

information systems which must cooperate. Cooperation between these systems presupposes theresolution of the semantic conflicts that are bound to occur. In this article, we propose a classification of semantic conflicts which can be used as the basis for the incremental discovery and resolution of theseconflicts. We classify conflicts along the two dimensions of naming and abstraction, which, takentogether, capture the semantic mapping of the conflict. We add a third dimension, level of heterogeneity,to assist in the schematic mapping between two databases. The classification provides a systematicrepresentation of alternative semantic interpretations of conflicts during the reconciliation process. As aresult, the design of query-directed dynamic reconciliation systems is possible. The classification is shown

to be sound and minimal. Completeness is discussed.” 

© All rights reserved Naiman and Ouksel and/or Ablex Publishing

Duncan, George T., Krishnan, Ramayya and Mukherjee, Sumitra (1995): Inference Channel Detection in

Multilevel Relational Databases: A Graph-Based Approach. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5

(2) pp. 123-138

“In a multilevel relational (MLR) database, users are not allowed to access data classified at a level

higher than their own security classification. However, it may be possible for a low-level user to inferhigh-level data. This article provides methods to detect and eliminate such inference channels. A graph-based representation of the database schema developed provides a convenient method for inferencechannel detection by reducing the problem to one of connectivity in the network. Inference channels areeliminated while imposing minimum restrictions on legitimate access using an algorithm based onminimum cut set identification. This approach is then extended to address the problems of abductive andprobabilistic inference channels. An abductive inference channel is said to exist when informationexternal to the database is used in the inference process. By demonstrating that only arcs between nodesin different strongly connected components may lead to abductive inference channels, the complexity of the problem of abductive inference channel detection is reduced. The uncertainty about the nature andextent of external information used in the inference process is captured by assigning subjectiveprobabilities. Under the assumption of statistical independence, an algorithm based on identification of paths bounded in length is developed that is adequate for probabilistic inference channel detection. When

this assumption is relaxed, upper bounds on the probability of the existence of inference channels is

provided.” 

© All rights reserved Duncan et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Chatterjee, Abhirup, Segev , Arie and Chandra, Rakesh (1995): Modeling Time-Performance Trade-Offs in

Federated Databases. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (2) pp. 139-166

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“One of the key roles played by information technology is to increase organizational productivity.

However, an uncontrolled proliferation of heterogeneous DBMSs can affect the user in an adverse way.Query processing becomes a complicated problem in such an environment, as the same data item canhave conflicting definitions and values in different databases. We introduce the Matching join for the

heterogeneous environment where the tuples are compared of and joined if they match, where matchingcan be defined by the user's choice rules and weights. Matching joins are generally processing intensiveand can interfere with the performance of the individual databases. The partitioning strategy introducedin this article can be used to reduce the query processing cost. This approach can also be applied to the

general types of time-constrained queries.” 

© All rights reserved Chatterjee et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Madnick , Stuart E., Storey , Veda C. and Wang, Richard Y. (1995): Introduction to the Special Issue: WITS'92.

In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (2) pp. iii-iv 

Madnick , Stuart E. (1995): Integrating Information from Global Systems: Dealing with the "On- and Off-

Ramps. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (2) pp. 69-82

“The notion of an "information superhighway" has attracted considerable attention. It offers the

possibility to access information from around the world in support of many important applications inareas such as finance, manufacturing, and transportation (e.g., global risk management, integrated supply chain management, and global in-transit visibility). Unfortunately, there are significant challenges to beovercome. One particular problem is context interchange, which can be thought of as dealing with the"on- and off-ramps" of the information superhighway. Each source of information and potential receiverof that information may operate with a different context. A context is the collection of implicitassumptions about the context definition (i.e., meaning) and context characteristics (i.e., quality) of the

information. When the information moves from one context to another, it may be misinterpreted (e.g.,sender expressed the price in French francs; receiver assumed that it meant U.S. dollars). This articledescribes various forms of context challenges and examples of potential context mediation services, suchas data semantics acquisition, data quality attributes, and evolving semantics and quality, that can

mitigate the problem.” 

© All rights reserved Madnick and/or Ablex Publishing

Moore, Scott A. and Kimbrough, Steven O. (1995): Message Management Systems at Work: Prototypes for 

Business Communication. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (2) pp. 83-100

“In this article, we describe two applications based on a system for office communication that is more

flexible and expressive than other systems. This system allows the computerization of tasks thatpreviously required manual intervention because of each task's complexity. The applications, oneautomating office tasks and the other simulating a bicycle industry, highlight the system's ability toaccommodate changes to the communication language. They also highlight the utility of both the formal

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language used by the system and the inferential model of communications used to interpret the

messages.” 

© All rights reserved Moore and Kimbrough and/or Ablex Publishing

Jang, Yeona, Ishii, Alexander T. and Wang, Richard Y. (1995): A Qualitative Approach to Automatic Data

Quality Judgment . In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (2) pp. 101-121

“As the integration of information systems enables greater accessibility to multiple data sources, the

issue of data quality becomes increasingly important. In general, data quality is determined by severalfactors, or quality parameters, which are often not independent of each other. As a consequence, it is oftennecessary to represent, and reason with, domain-specific knowledge about the relationships amongquality parameters, if insightful judgments about the overall quality of data are to be made. This articlepresents a formulation of the data-quality judgment problem that is amenable to a "knowledge-based"approach, where a data consumer can input such domain-specific knowledge and then rely on anautomated system to deduce information about overall data quality. A primary feature of this work is thenotion of a data quality calculus. The data quality calculus is a data quality judgment framework based ona "census of needs," and provides a framework for deriving an overall data quality value from a collectionof local relationships among quality parameters. By specifying new, or alternate, local relationships,individual data consumers can tailor the framework to reflect individual requirements. Thiscustomizability has the potential to be useful when various pieces of data come from different sources,some of which may be unfamiliar. Based on the calculus, it is possible to implement a data quality 

reasoner system that is capable of assisting data consumers in judging data quality.” 

© All rights reserved Jang et al. and/or Ablex Publishing

Issue 1 Holsapple, Clyde W. and Luo, Wenhong (1995): Dependent Variables for Organizational Computing

Research: An Empirical Study. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (1) pp. 31-51

“An important area of organizational computing (OC) research involves empirical evaluation of OC

systems. However, there has been insufficient work on identifying dependent variables that need to bemeasured to assess the impacts of such systems. We have previously suggested a framework from whichvarious OC research models can be derived, each having five organization infrastructure purposes asdependent variables. In this article, we report on an empirical study conducted to verify that a) these fivepurposes are distinct dimensions of organizational performance and that b) collectively, they characterizethe performance of an organization. The results show that the five purposes are considered to be

important, distinct, and comprehensive factors in measuring organizational performance by management

scholars.” 

© All rights reserved Holsapple and Luo and/or Ablex Publishing

Dustdar, Schahram (1995): Desktop Multimedia Conferencing: IBMs Person to Person in Organizational 

Context . In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (1) pp. 25-29

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“A trend in cooperative systems is the emergence of multimedia systems that aim to support

synchronous cooperation in a manner which unifies both remote and colocated users. These systemscombine information-sharing facilities provided in real time with video- and audiocommunicationservices. This review of IBM's desktop multimedia conferencing system Person to Person (P2P) presents

the characteristics of its utilities. Further, it discusses some organizational impacts and implementation

issues within an organizational context.” 

© All rights reserved Dustdar and/or Ablex Publishing

Clapper, Danial L. (1995): EBT: A Tool for Electronic Brainstorming Researchers. In Journal of 

Organizational Computing, 5 (1) pp. 21-24

“EBT is a stand-alone electronic brainstorming tool designed specifically for researchers. It can be

used for face-to-face as well as dispersed groups, and will work in a typical college computer lab LANenvironment. Its features include anonymous and nonanonymous idea-generation modes, the ability torun multiple simultaneous sessions, and the option of generating a session logfile which indicates theoriginator and time of each idea generated during a session. EBT is available to researchers on the

Internet via anonymous ftp.” 

© All rights reserved Clapper and/or Ablex Publishing

Rao, H. Raghav and An, Joon M. (1995): The Effect of Team Composition on Decision Scheme, Information

Search, and Perceived Complexity. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (1) pp. 1-20

“This study assesses the effect of team composition on decision schemes, perceived complexity, and

external information search conducted during team problem-solving processes. The study draws on asystematic review of relevant literature in group psychology, organization behavior, and marketingscience, and it is followed by a quasi-experimental study for verification of the propositions. Theindependent variable chosen is team composition: teams are classified into "experienced" teams and"inexperienced" teams. The intervening variables are external information search, decision schemes, and

perceived complexity. The study has implications for team decision support system design.” 

© All rights reserved Rao and An and/or Ablex Publishing

Chen, Su-Shing (1995): The Role of Information Infrastructure and Intelligent Agents in Manufacturing

Enterprises. In Journal of Organizational Computing, 5 (1) pp. 53-67

“Manufacturing is a complex application domain, traditionally a realm of engineers and factory 

workers. As we are in the information age, the manufacturing domain has become more dependent oninformation through the use of computers and computer-controlled machines. In the arena of advancedmanufacturing, a number of concepts such as the "virtual corporation" and "virtual factory" have

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emerged, requiring that manufacturing be highly information-intensive and knowledge-based. This articleexamines the role of the information infrastructure and explores the use of intelligent agents in itsimplementation for advanced manufacturing enterprises. The information infrastructure forms a complexhierarchy of distributed, heterogeneous information systems. Intelligent agents play various roles atdifferent levels of the hierarchy to provide interoperability, reliability, programmability, and

controllability.

” 

© All rights reserved Chen and/or Ablex Publishing

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