Information Systems Research - An INFORMS Journal

“The ITEM Ontology: A Tool to Elucidate the Anatomy of Psychometric Indicators” has recently been added to ISR's Articles in Advance. Click MORE to see the structured abstract. Kai R. Larsen, University of Colorado Boulder Roland M. Mueller, Berlin School of Economics and Law Dario Bonaretti, NEOMA Business School Diana Fischer-Preßler, University of Applied Sciences, Frankfurt Jim Burleson, Cal Poly Nimisha Singh, School of Management, Bennett University Jeffrey Parsons, Memorial University of Newfoundland Jean-Charles Pillet, TBS Business School Lan Sang, University of Colorado, Boulder Zhu ("Drew") Zhang, University of Rhode Island.   Problem: Despite widespread use of indicators in IS research, we have a limited understanding of their constituent parts. Items have been treated as atomic units and validated statistically, rather than semantically. Consequently, even well-validated instruments contain items that are semantically misaligned with their intended constructs. Relevance: A common language to discuss the components of indicators and their relationship to constructs would help in developing, evaluating, and improving the validity of psychometric scales. Theoretical foundations: This paper proposes a new approach, rooted in ontological analysis, to decompose survey indicators into four semantic components: entities, attributes, qualifiers, and response formats. Methodology: We use a design science approach to develop, refine, and evaluate claims about the ITEM ontology. Results: Key outcomes include the ITEM ontology, a website that enables researchers to code indicators using the ontology (https://lnkd.in/gCbCJ5Mn), and a tool that flags potential problems in coded indicators. Contributions: This paper promotes understanding of the underlying components and their relationships within and across survey indicators. The ITEM ontology can both enhance the quality of future surveys and provide a language to discuss how indicators are written and how they can be improved. Keywords: ontology, psychometrics, indicator evaluation, validity, scale development   Link to article: https://lnkd.in/g5s-c87Q   Suprateek Sarker, Editor-in-chief   Tanya Beaulieu, Social Media Manager

ISR announces 2025 Best Paper and Editorial Board awards   BEST PAPER The Open Prison of the Big Data Revolution: False Consciousness, Faustian Bargains, and Digital Entrapment  Ojelanki Ngwenyama Frantz Rowe Stefan Klein Helle Zinner Henriksen https://lnkd.in/gSfW5Qte   RUNNER-UP More Than a Bot? The Impact of Disclosing Human Involvement on Customer Interactions with Hybrid Service Agents Ulrich Gnewuch Stefan Morana  Oliver Hinz Ralf Kellner Prof. Dr. Alexander Maedche https://lnkd.in/ekPxhzr5   BEST AD HOC REVIEWERS Yash Babar, University of Wisconsin, Madison https://lnkd.in/g9Gqj4N4   Pan Li, Georgia Tech https://lnkd.in/gcaD7dgE   BEST ERB MEMBER Jane Tan, Southern Methodist University https://lnkd.in/gdK8znzS   OUTSTANDING AE Chuan-Hoo Tan, National University of Singapore https://lnkd.in/gtbf6jsx   Heartiest Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to all for working so hard to make ISR the best it can be.   Suprateek Sarker Editor in Chief

Third-Party Software Development Kit Utilization and Mobile App Market Performance has recently been added to ISR's Articles in Advance. Click MORE to see the structured abstract. Yu XIA, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen) Hailiang Chen, The University of Hong Kong Yulin Fang, The University of Hong Kong   Research Question: In the competitive mobile market, third-party vendors have emerged as key providers of toolkits for app development. However, developers face uncertainty about whether third-party SDKs drive app success. This study explores whether and how using third-party SDKs affects app performance (measured by daily active users) by incorporating the influence of SDK type, platform updates, and developers’ platform-specific experience.   Relevance: Prior research has mostly focused on platform-provided toolkits, leaving the role of third-party resources understudied. The study fills a critical gap by addressing how external third-party SDKs outside the host platform ecosystem affect app performance.   Theoretical foundations: Boundary object theory explains how SDKs enable seamless integration of external functionalities, while platform ecosystem literature examines dynamic factors influencing SDK use and app performance. Together, these perspectives highlight the mechanisms and contexts shaping SDK effectiveness in app development.   Research Approach: The research employs difference-in-differences (DID)-style analyses to examine the number of third-party SDK utilization on mobile app market performance. This method leverages a comprehensive longitudinal dataset of 335,958 multihoming mobile apps available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.   Results: The study uncovers key insights into third-party SDK utilization and mobile app performance. It finds that using more third-party SDKs boosts app performance, with tool-type SDKs having a stronger impact due to easier integration, while platform-type SDKs have negligible effects. Platform updates weaken the positive impact of SDKs, and developers’ platform-specific experience reduces reliance on them. Performance gains stem from increased update frequencies in apps using more SDKs. Contributions and Implications: The study extends boundary object theory to mobile ecosystems, showing how third-party SDKs enable cross-boundary resource integration. It enriches platform ecosystem literature by uncovering the impact of platform updates and developers’ experience on app performance. Practically, it offers strategies for app developers to leverage tool-type SDKs, guidance for platform owners to balance governance and support, and advice for SDK vendors to foster innovation-friendly ecosystems.   Link to article: https://lnkd.in/gT8ffUu2   Suprateek Sarker, Editor-in-chief   Tanya Beaulieu, Social Media Manager

"Digital Bricolage and its Limits: How Micro-Enterprises Undertake Digitalization in Resource-Constrained Environments" has recently been added to ISR's Articles in Advance. Click MORE to see the structured abstract. Stan Karanasios, University of Queensland PK Senyo, University of Southampton Aljona Zorina, NEOMA Business School Prof. John Effah, University of Ghana *PK Senyo and Aljona Zorina contributed equally as second author. Problem: Small enterprises are under pressure to change and digitalize. We sought to understand how micro enterprises in resource-constrained contexts “make-do” their digitalization. We argue that they may take a different route to digitalization that is less strategic and more emergent; less engineered, and more oriented to the situation at hand; less driven by sophisticated technology and more likely to embody frugality.   Relevance: In information systems research, most theory on digitalization is grounded in a rational economic perspective. In this view, organizations strategically exploit an opportunity by seeking resources in a planned way, developing capabilities and enacting digital technology to support current goals and future opportunities. Although rational and economically driven theories are helpful to describe the logic and process of digitalization, they offer only partial insights into the emergent and highly situated approaches of businesses that by necessity exploit the local context and make do with whatever resources are at hand. Theoretical foundations: The research builds on the theory of entrepreneurial bricolage and digital value creation.   Methodology: The research is based on a qualitative study of micro-enterprises in Ghana, complemented with interviews with key stakeholders from government and technology firms. Results: We show digital bricolage offers a practical way to address immediate resource constraints. However, it can also become a “digital bricolage trap”, leaving them constantly patching things together, unable to scale their digitalization or fully harness the generative potential of digital technology. Contributions: We offer evidence for policymakers to rethink conventional strategies and develop more context-sensitive support mechanisms that reflect how digitalization unfolds in resource-limited settings. For information systems and management education, the study theorizes digitalization from an alternative perspective that is less emphasized in the current literature. It considers the reality of many resource-limited business ventures around the world and their need to make do. This contrasts with the prevailing emphasis on cutting-edge technology in existing literature and case studies. Keywords: Digital transformation, Digitalization, Bricolage, Qualitative, ICT for Development   Link to article: https://lnkd.in/gmgX83FF   Suprateek Sarker, Editor-in-chief   Tanya Beaulieu, Social Media Manager

“Emotions in Online Content Diffusion” has recently been added to ISR's Articles in Advance. Click MORE to see the structured abstract. Yifan Yu, McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin Shan Huang, Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of Hong Kong Yuchen Liu, University of Florida (formerly University of Washington) Yong Tan, Michael G. Foster School of Business, University of Washington   Problem: We wanted to understand how different emotions—like anxiety, anger, love, or surprise—affect the way articles spread across social media networks. Specifically, we studied whether some emotions make content go viral while others hold it back, and how this process varies depending on the readers’ age, gender, and social connections.   Relevance: Emotionally charged content shapes what we see, believe, and share online—and sometimes helps misinformation spread faster. By understanding which emotions make content more shareable and among whom, our findings can inform smarter platform design, public communication strategies, and regulatory approaches to reduce harm from viral emotional content.   Theoretical Foundations: Our research builds on Discrete Emotion Theory, which says that each emotion (like anxiety or joy) affects people differently, and the EASI framework (Emotion as Social Information), which explains how emotional expressions influence what others think, feel, and choose to share in a social context.   Methodology: We analyzed nearly 400,000 articles and over 6.8 million user shares on WeChat, using a custom-built, up-to-date emotion dictionary to detect eight core emotions in each article. We then applied cutting-edge machine learning and instrumental variable techniques to isolate the causal effects of each emotion on how far, deep, and widely each article spread.   Results: Articles that expressed more anxiety, love, or surprise spread more broadly and virally, while those that expressed anger, sadness, or joy spread less. Surprisingly, even “positive” emotions like joy didn’t help content go viral. We also found that male users shared more sad content than female users; older users shared more anxious or angry content, while younger users were more likely to share posts with disgust; and that different emotions spread through different kinds of social ties.   Contributions: This is one of the first large-scale, causal studies to show how specific emotions—not just general positivity or negativity—shape online diffusion. Our work offers valuable insights for platforms, marketers, and policymakers by showing how emotional signals predict content virality and how emotional targeting can either help or harm public communication.   Link to article: https://lnkd.in/gV8xczbc Suprateek Sarker, Editor-in-chief Tanya Beaulieu, Social Media Manager

"LEVERAGING CONTEXT: RE-THINKING RESEARCH PROCESSES TO MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THEORY" by Viswanath Venkatesh has recently been added to ISR's Articles in Advance. Click MORE to see the structured abstract. Viswanath Venkatesh Virginia Tech Problem: While the idea of contextualization as a way to advance understanding of phenomena is common in IS research, this has led to a significant amount of study of one-off problems without regard to the broader literature and theory. This article challenges the common focus in IS research on phenomena and calls for greater attention to making contributions beyond understanding phenomena to making contributions to theory. Two different types of contributions are discussed: contributions of theory (i.e., contributions to phenomena) and contributions to theory. The paper offers a set of four guidelines to enhance contribution to theory. Relevance: The role of IS as a reference discipline has been under fire for some time. Through the guidelines presented in this paper, IS researchers can make a greater impact on science and theory. Methodology: Four years (2018-2021) of papers published in ISR, JAIS and MISQ were reviewed for their contributions of and contributions to theory, with the citations of the papers from 2018 also examined for impact. Over 85% of the published papers make a contribution of theory to phenomena of interest to IS researchers, while a small number of papers make a contribution to theory. Interestingly, papers from 2018 that made a contribution to theory appear to have a strong citation impact, with potential for even more. Results: Guidelines to make greater contributions to theory and consequently to have greater scientific impact is offered tied to four areas that relate to all research: (a) defining the problem, (b) anchoring to prior research, (c) seeking novelty, and (d) reporting practices. Contributions: The guidelines will provide ways for researchers to continue to study emerging phenomena that IS as a field constantly encounters, while also making contributions to theory that will have a lasting impact on science beyond the specific problem being studied. In turn, by leveraging the guidelines and thinking deeply about the theory, be it from IS or from other disciplines, being used in the investigations, researchers can make substantial advances to the theory and grow IS as a reference discipline.   Keywords: contribution, theory, contextualization, reference discipline   Link to article: https://lnkd.in/geRpPGQs Suprateek Sarker, Editor-in-chief Tanya Beaulieu, Social Media Manager

Greetings, Members of the Global IS community! As many of you know, my term as the EIC of Information Systems Research - An INFORMS Journal (ISR) was due to end this year. I am very pleased to let you all know that, after a significant evaluation process, I have been informed by the VP of Publication of INFORMS, Professor Christopher Tang, that the INFORMS board has approved the recommendation from the INFORMS publication committee for me to continue as the EIC of ISR for another term. I am immensely grateful to the VP of Publications, the Director of Publications Matt Walls, the Assessment Committee, the Managing Editor, my school's leadership, the entire ISR Editorial Board (https://lnkd.in/eGpG62pi), past EICs, the authors, and the entire community of scholars in Information Systems and related disciplines who contribute to or are engaged with ISR, for the support, encouragement, and even critical feedback. I would also like to thank the EIC selection committee for finding me suitable for the position and for giving me the opportunity, approximately 3 years ago, to serve in this role, and my mentors for guiding me in difficult situations. My commitment is that ISR will continue on the path of continuous improvement, and the editorial board will strive to: a) continue publishing the highest quality, impactful scholarship; b) be author-centric and responsive to authors; c) represent the breadth and depth of the global IS discipline; and d) ensure the integrity of the review and publication process. I welcome constructive feedback that can help ISR be the best journal it can be. For substantive comments, please send them as a personal message or email to me. Sincerely, Suprateek Sarker

"Game for Brainstorm: The Impact of a Badge System on Knowledge Sharing" has recently been added to ISR's Articles in Advance. Click MORE to see the structured abstract. Lei Wang, Indiana University Yifan Zhang, Auburn University Yi-Jen Ian Ho, Tulane University Problem: Although gamification seems promising regarding abundant use cases and market significance, the success rate of gamification projects may not be optimistic. This study aims to understand how to better design and fine-tune a gamification system by answering the following questions: What would be the impacts of the volume, variety, and valence (3V) badging strategies on user contribution? Would these impacts differ in the quantity and quality of user contributions? What would be the interactive dynamics between badging and contributions? Relevance:  This study is relevant to the literature on gamification, reward design, and reputation. The results and counterfactual experiments inspire novel use cases for practitioners to design next-generation badge systems from a user engagement perspective.   Theoretical foundations:  We adopt key motivational theories (e.g., self-determination and goal-setting) to theorize how badge volume, variety, and valence (3Vs) drive both short-term contributions and long-term engagement, guiding our empirical investigation. Methodology:  We characterize the dynamics of user-system interactions on Stack Overflow and conduct policy experiments using a structural hidden Markov model (HMM). We also incorporate Gaussian copulas, an instrumental-variable-free (IV-free) alternative, into our HMM to address potential endogeneity from badge elements. Our HMM-Copula model quantifies both the short-term and long-term impacts of the three design elements on the corresponding user knowledge contributions and engagement-state transitions. Results:  Our results demonstrate that the badge system encourages the quantity and quality of user contributions. These positive impacts vary across the four engagement states: inactive, gentle, active, and vigorous. Specifically, high badge volume and valence keep users staying or moving up to higher engagement states, whereas high badge variety discourages them from sharing more. Contributions:  To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to study the impact of badges from a system design perspective, provide a dynamic view of the evolving interactions between users and a badge system, and our counterfactual analyses yield actionable suggestions for both gamification system designers and platform managers.   Keywords:  badges, gamification, knowledge sharing, hidden Markov model, Gaussian copula model   Link to article: https://lnkd.in/gKyfuQNi Suprateek Sarker, Editor-in-chief Tanya Beaulieu, Social Media Manager

“Voluntary Technology Sharing to Rivals” has recently been added to ISR's Articles in Advance. Click MORE to see the structured abstract.   Jianqing Chen, Jindal School of Management, The University of Texas at Dallas; Weijun Zeng, International Business School, Hainan University.   Problem definition: Why would/should a firm voluntarily share its proprietary technology with its rival and help the rival develop a new product?   Relevance: Voluntary technology sharing with rivals has been observed across industries, such as Zepp's technology sharing with Timex to launch Metropolitan smartwatch collection, GaN Systems’s sharing its capabilities in power GaN transistors with ROHM to encourage ROHM to provide GaN power devices, Volkswagen’s technology sharing with Ford to enable Ford to produce electric vehicles, and Microsoft’s partnership with Oracle to enable Oracle to deliver database services via Azure technology.   Theoretical foundations: We propose a cannibalization externality as the driving force behind the firms’ technology sharing.   Methodology: We develop a game-theoretic model to examine the problem. Specifically, the spokes model is used to characterize the firms' competition before and after the new-product introduction.   Results: We find that the cannibalization consideration in the rival's multiproduct pricing imposes externality on the focal firm, which gives rise to its incentive to share technology. Surprisingly, the rival does not always embrace the shared technology. In equilibrium, as long as the existing product valuation is not too high, the new product would be introduced when the new product's valuation is neither low nor high. When the new product's valuation is high, the excessive additional competition against the focal firm discourages it from sharing. When the new product's valuation is low, either cannibalization does not emerge in the rival's pricing, providing no incentive for the focal firm to share, or the rival could be harmed by a new product with mediocre valuation.   Contributions: Prior studies have identified various factors as firms' incentive to share technologies, such as potential market expansion, network effects, information disclosure to deter costly innovation competition, and quality-improvement effects, focusing on either technology sharing to new entrants or technology sharing between competing firms to improve their existing products. Our focus, in contrast, is on a firm's technology sharing with its rival that enables the rival to introduce a new product. We propose the cannibalization externality as the driving force behind the technology sharing.   Keywords: technology sharing, new-product development, cannibalization externality, spokes model   Link to article: https://lnkd.in/esgx7wna   Suprateek Sarker, Editor-in-chief   Tanya Beaulieu, Social Media Manager

“The Power of Conversation: Analyzing the Impact of Starter Responses on Backer Accumulation in Crowdfunding” has recently been added to ISR's Articles in Advance. Click MORE to see the structured abstract. Haoyan Sun, College of Business, Lehigh University, Bethlehem Weijia You, School of Economics and Management, National Academy of Forestry and Grassland Economics and Trade, Beijing Forestry University Junchao (Jason) Li, Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Han Zhang, Scheller College of Business, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30308; School of Business, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China   Problem: How does crowdfunding campaign starters' response to potential backers in the discussion board influence backer accumulation in reward-based crowdfunding platforms, specifically in terms of (a) directly attracting more backers, (b) strengthening the herding effect, and (c) mitigating the goal-attainment effect? Relevance: Unlike traditional investments with in-person interactions, crowdfunding depends on online discussions, making starter responses crucial to reduce uncertainty. This insight helps improve crowdfunding success and platform design. Theoretical foundations: Herding theory;  Signaling theory; Goal-attainment effect   Methodology:  Analyzed over 360,000 comments from 1,677 JD Crowdfunding campaigns using panel data. Employed sentiment and content analysis (BERT model) to classify backer comments. Used fixed-effect models with instrumental variables to address endogeneity.   Results: Starter responses positively correlate with new backers the next day (1% more responses → 1.13% more new backers). Cumulative backers attract more new backers (herding effect), and this effect is strengthened by starter responses. Goal attainment reduces daily new backers (goal-attainment effect), but starter responses mitigate this decline. Contributions:  Advances crowdfunding literature by isolating starter responses (distinct from updates) as a quality signal and explaining their role in moderating herding and goal-attainment effects. Shows starters that active responses attract more backers, amplify momentum from existing supporters, and sustain funding post-goal achievement. Highlights the value of facilitating discussion tools (e.g., live chat) to reduce information asymmetry.   Short quote: The power of conversation in crowdfunding lies not just in answering questions, but in strengthening trust, amplifying collective support, and sustaining momentum—even after the goal is met.   Keywords: crowdfunding, starter response, herding, goal-attainment effect, sentiment analysis, content analysis, Q&A forum, digital platform   Link to article: https://lnkd.in/e2kRW6H4   Suprateek Sarker, Editor-in-chief   Tanya Beaulieu, Social Media Manager