Towards understanding IT value co-creation in crowdsourcing:the multiple stakeholders' perspective research-in-progress paper

Contemporary business environment involves IT being invested and shared by multiple stakeholders in collaborative, platform-based, and relational arrangements where the objective is to co-create value. Traditional IT enabled business value therefore has been extended towards IT value co-creation that involves multiple stakeholders. In this paper, we present a conceptual development of IT-based value co-creation in the context of online crowdsourcing. Based on the existing literature, we have distinguished multiple crowdsourcing types (models) by analyzing attributes of crowd, the roles of the client, the platform and the crowd that act as key stakeholders in the value co-creation process, and describe the major interactions between the main stakeholders. Our conceptual development is suggesting different combinations of value co-creation layers to be evident in different crowdsourcing models.

Strategies for sustaining manufacturing competitiveness:comparative case studies in Australia and Sweden

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to report an investigation of local sustainable production in Australia and Sweden aimed at exploring the factors contributing to survival and competitiveness of manufacturing companies. Design/methodology/approach - In Australia, six companies were studied in 2010, with comparisons being made with three of them from earlier projects. In Sweden, eight manufacturing companies were studied on two occasions 30 years apart, in 1980 and 2010. To provide a valid comparative perspective a common format for data collection and analysis was used. Findings - There has been a shift in the nature of competition in both Sweden and Australia due to an increasing complexity of the global business environment as well as changes in technology and customer expectations. Despite the differences in country context, the findings suggest that all the manufacturing companies have a good awareness of the elements of the market environment and the relationships with their competitive strategy. However, in general, the Swedish companies have more experience of managing the risks and benefits from operating in the international environment. Research limitations/implications - The results of the research are based on a relatively small sample of case companies in a limited number of industrial sectors. There are methodology implications for future research in the area. Practical implications - The research results have practical implications for the manufacturing industry, especially for companies operating in a competitive international environment. Originality/value - The paper is based on original case research and comparative analysis of data from different geographical contexts. It contributes to both theory and management practice about the strategic resources, decision choices, competitive environments and firm values needed to address external market demands as well as in building internal capabilities.

"Quality lives on":quality initiatives and practices in Australia and Britain

Purpose-The purpose of this research is to explore the incidence of innovative approaches to quality in both Australia and Britain, the reasons behind their implementation, the ways in which they were undertaken and the success factors and the pitfalls encountered along the way. Design/methodology/ approach-A structured postal questionnaire was sent to 1,000 quality managers in both Australia and Britain. A response was received from 129 Australian and 175 British companies, who reported on why they did or did not introduce a new quality initiative within the past five years. Findings-A comparative analysis shows trends, similarities and differences, and future directions of quality in both countries. The paper concludes by identifying important lessons for senior management needing to make changes in this important aspect of any business. A high proportion of organisations in both countries are actively undertaking new quality initiatives. The impetus to change and the barriers to successful implementation were common to both countries. The type of initiative differed between the two countries, with a preponderance of ISO 9000 in Australia amongst a much wider choice of approaches than in Britain. There is a low take-up of Six Sigma in both countries, particularly in Australia. Originality/value-The paper offers a recent insight into quality approaches undertaken in both countries and identifies important lessons for senior management. © 2010 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.

Knowledge creation in dynamic learning environments

Researchers have extensively discussed using knowledge management to achieve sustainable competitive advantages; however, the successful implementation of knowledge management programs in organizations remains challenging. Problems with knowledge management arise primarily from issues related to inter-subjective creation of meaning by diverse individuals in a dynamic learning environment. ^ The first part of this dissertation examined the concepts of shared interpretive resources referring to background assumptions, shared language, and symbolic resources upon which individuals draw in their interactions in the community. The discussion adopted an interpretive research approach to underscore how community members develop shared interpretive resources over time. The second part examined how learners' behaviors influence knowledge acquisition in the community, emphasizing the associations between learners' learning approaches and learning contexts. An empirical survey of learners provided significant evidence to demonstrate the influences of learners' learning approaches. The third part examined an instructor's strategy—namely, advance organizer—to enhance learners' knowledge assimilation process. Advance organizer is an instructor strategy that refers to a set of inclusive concepts that introduce and sum up new material, and refers to a method of bridging and linking old information with something new. In this part, I underscore the concepts of advance organizer, and the implementations of advance organizer in one learning environment. A study was conducted in one higher educational environment to show the implementation of advance organizer. Additionally, an advance organizer instrument was developed and tested, and results from learners' feedback were analyzed. The significant empirical evidence showed the association between learners' learning outcomes and the implementation of advance organizer strategy. ^

Use of business analysis in beef businesses to direct management practice change for climate adaptation outcomes

Beef businesses in northern Australia are facing increased pressure to be productive and profitable with challenges such as climate variability and poor financial performance over the past decade. Declining terms of trade, limited recent gains in on-farm productivity, low profit margins under current management systems and current climatic conditions will leave little capacity for businesses to absorb climate change-induced losses. In order to generate a whole-of-business focus towards management change, the Climate Clever Beef project in the Maranoa-Balonne region of Queensland trialled the use of business analysis with beef producers to improve financial literacy, provide a greater understanding of current business performance and initiate changes to current management practices. Demonstration properties were engaged and a systematic approach was used to assess current business performance, evaluate impacts of management changes on the business and to trial practices and promote successful outcomes to the wider industry. Focus was concentrated on improving financial literacy skills, understanding the business’ key performance indicators and modifying practices to improve both business productivity and profitability. To best achieve the desired outcomes, several extension models were employed: the ‘group facilitation/empowerment model’, the ‘individual consultant/mentor model’ and the ‘technology development model’. Providing producers with a whole-of-business approach and using business analysis in conjunction with on-farm trials and various extension methods proved to be a successful way to encourage producers in the region to adopt new practices into their business, in the areas of greatest impact. The areas targeted for development within businesses generally led to improvements in animal performance and grazing land management further improving the prospects for climate resilience.

VOX POPULI: THREE ESSAYS ON THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR VALUE CREATION IN SERVICES

Prior research shows that electronic word of mouth (eWOM) wields considerable influence over consumer behavior. However, as the volume and variety of eWOM grows, firms are faced with challenges in analyzing and responding to this information. In this dissertation, I argue that to meet the new challenges and opportunities posed by the expansion of eWOM and to more accurately measure its impacts on firms and consumers, we need to revisit our methodologies for extracting insights from eWOM. This dissertation consists of three essays that further our understanding of the value of social media analytics, especially with respect to eWOM. In the first essay, I use machine learning techniques to extract semantic structure from online reviews. These semantic dimensions describe the experiences of consumers in the service industry more accurately than traditional numerical variables. To demonstrate the value of these dimensions, I show that they can be used to substantially improve the accuracy of econometric models of firm survival. In the second essay, I explore the effects on eWOM of online deals, such as those offered by Groupon, the value of which to both consumers and merchants is controversial. Through a combination of Bayesian econometric models and controlled lab experiments, I examine the conditions under which online deals affect online reviews and provide strategies to mitigate the potential negative eWOM effects resulting from online deals. In the third essay, I focus on how eWOM can be incorporated into efforts to reduce foodborne illness, a major public health concern. I demonstrate how machine learning techniques can be used to monitor hygiene in restaurants through crowd-sourced online reviews. I am able to identify instances of moral hazard within the hygiene inspection scheme used in New York City by leveraging a dictionary specifically crafted for this purpose. To the extent that online reviews provide some visibility into the hygiene practices of restaurants, I show how losses from information asymmetry may be partially mitigated in this context. Taken together, this dissertation contributes by revisiting and refining the use of eWOM in the service sector through a combination of machine learning and econometric methodologies.

A rapid single-step multiplex method for discriminating between Trichogramma (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) species in Australia

Inaccurate species identification confounds insect ecological studies. Examining aspects of Trichogramma ecology pertinent to the novel insect resistance management strategy for future transgenic cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., production in the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA) of Western Australia required accurate differentiation between morphologically similar Trichogramma species. Established molecular diagnostic methods for Trichogramma identification use species-specific sequence difference in the internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-2 chromosomal region; yet, difficulties arise discerning polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fragments of similar base pair length by gel electrophoresis. This necessitates the restriction enzyme digestion of PCR-amplified ITS-2 fragments to readily differentiate Trichogramma australicum Girault and Trichogramma pretiosum Riley. To overcome the time and expense associated with a two-step diagnostic procedure, we developed a “one-step” multiplex PCR technique using species-specific primers designed to the ITS-2 region. This approach allowed for a high-throughput analysis of samples as part of ongoing ecological studies examining Trichogramma biological control potential in the ORIA where these two species occur in sympatry.

Remembering sport history: Narrative, social memory and the origins of the rugby league in Australia

This study examines the historiography of the origins of rugby league in Australia. By accepting the inclusive nature of representation of the past as found in social memory theory, a wide range of sources ranging from histories written by academics to annuals, yearbooks and newspaper books are consulted. These sources reveal that there are several competing and conflicting accounts of the emergence of rugby league in Australia. These divergent accounts are used to facilitate a discussion of the role of narrative in sport history This article argues that narrative is an integral, not optional, feature of the production of history and that the historography of the origins of rugby league highlight the problematic nature of objectivity in history and the unavoidable, impositionalist role of the historian.

Leadership Attributes and Cultural Values in Australia and New Zealand Compared: An Initial Report Based on GLOBE Data.

This paper reports a comparative study of Australian and New Zealand leadership attributes, based on the GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) program. Responses from 344 Australian managers and 184 New Zealand managers in three industries were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Results supported some of the etic leadership dimensions identified in the GLOBE study, but also found some emic dimensions of leadership for each country. An interesting finding of the study was that the New Zealand data fitted the Australian model, but not vice versa, suggesting asymmetric perceptions of leadership in the two countries.

Using FCD Mapper Software and Landsat Images to Assess Forest Canopy Density in Landscapes in Australia and the Philippines

Using Landsat imagery, forest canopy density (FCD) estimated with the FCD Mapper®, was correlated with predominant height (PDH, measured as the average height of the tallest 50 trees per hectare) for 20 field plots measured in native forest at Noosa Heads, south-east Queensland, Australia. A corresponding image was used to calculate FCD in Leyte Island, the Philippines and was validated on the ground for accuracy. The FCD Mapper was produced for the International Tropical Timber Organisation and estimates FCD as an index of canopy density using reflectance characteristics of Landsat Enhanced Thematic (ETM) Mapper images. The FCD Mapper is a ‘semi-expert’ computer program which uses interactive screens to allow the operator to make decisions concerning the classification of land into bare soil, grass and forest. At Noosa, a positive strong nonlinear relationship (r2 = 0.86) was found between FCD and PDH for 15 field plots with variable PDH but complete canopy closure. An additional five field plots were measured in forest with a broken canopy and the software assessed these plots as having a much lower FCD than forest with canopy closure. FCD estimates for forest and agricultural land in the island of Leyte and subsequent field validation showed that at appropriate settings, the FCD Mapper differentiated between tropical rainforest and banana or coconut plantation. These findings suggest that in forests with a closed canopy this remote sensing technique has promise for forest inventory and productivity assessment. The findings also suggest that the software has promise for discriminating between native forest with a complete canopy and forest which has a broken canopy, such as coconut or banana plantation.