We investigate how employees react when confronted with an enterprise system (ES) that does not fit with work processes dictated by local realities. We draw on interview data (n = 31) from a multinational company to reveal how employees devised and coordinated workarounds that were not compliant with corporate IT policy, but enabled the completion of essential activities, thereby creating value for the firm and its customers. The coordination of these workarounds proved essential to their persistence. We discuss both the theoretical implications of our findings regarding workarounds and the practical contributions associated with the idea that non-compliance can be beneficial.

Instant messaging (IM) has become increasingly prevalent in social life. However, the use of IM at work remains controversial, owing to its unclear benefits to organizations. In this study, we employ media performance theories and the concept model of communicative ecology to examine the impact of an IM tool on shaping guanxi (i.e., interpersonal relationship) networks in the workplace. Specifically, we propose that IM has the potential to enhance guanxi networks by improving communication quality and building interlocutors' mutual trust in the workplace. The conceptual model is validated with 253 survey responses collected from working professionals in China. The data indicate that communication quality and mutual trust contribute to the development of guanxi networks. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Social media have transformed social interactions and now look set to transform workplace communications. In this exploratory study, we investigate how employees use and get value from a variety of social networking technologies. The context of this research is 4 software firms located in China. Notwithstanding differences in corporate attitudes toward social networking, we identify common themes in the way Web 2.0 technologies are leveraged as value is created by employees at all levels. We draw on the communication ecology framework to analyze the application of various technologies. We inductively develop 5 propositions that describe how social networking technologies contribute directly to horizontal and vertical communication in organizations, and ultimately to individual, team, and organizational performance. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Knowledge contributing has long been identified as a bottleneck in knowledge management since individuals tend to believe that their contributing would not be worth the effort, given high levels of expectation to receive some value in return. Self‐perception theory posits that individuals come to “know” their own internal beliefs by inferring them partially from observations of their own overt behavior. Building on self‐perception theory and adhering to the principle that the relationship between behavior and beliefs is one of mutual influence, we develop a research model to explore the behavioral transfer from knowledge seeking to knowledge contributing and consider the mediating effect of intrinsic motivation. Data collected from 430 users of Web 2.0 applications were used to test the model. The mediating role of intrinsic motivation between knowledge seeking and knowledge contributing is confirmed. These findings and their implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Organizations have increasingly invested money in information technology (IT) in order to improve their agility. It is generally believed that organizations with greater IT investment tend to be more agile to response to environmental changes. However, the issue of whether IT is an enabler or impeder of organizational agility still remains unresolved. Drawing upon resource-based view theory and the literatures of information systems and supply chain management, the authors develop and test a theoretical model that integrates IT capability, supply chain capability and organizational agility. The authors propose that IT capability enables the development of a higher level of supply chain capability which is embedded within inter-firm processes and in turn enhances organizational agility. Structural equation modelling is employed to test their theoretical conceptualization of 310 Australian fast-growth small-to-medium enterprises across different industrial sectors. The results show that IT capability does contribute to firm agility through enhancing inter-firm supply chain processes such as integration, information sharing and coordination. This research highlights the role of IT-enabled intermediated processes and the ways in which IT is used by firms to enhance core business processes.

Knowledge management (KM) is a dominant theme in the behavior of contemporary organizations. While KM has been extensively studied in developed economies, it is much less well understood in developing economies—notably, those that are characterized by different social and cultural traditions to the mainstream of Western societies; this is the case in China. In this article, we develop and test a theoretical model that explains the impact of leadership style and interpersonal trust on the intention of information and knowledge workers in China to share their knowledge with their peers. All the hypotheses are supported, showing that both initiating structure and consideration have a significant effect on employees’ intention to share knowledge through trust building: 28.2% of the variance in employees’ intention to share knowledge is explained. We discuss the theoretical contributions of the article, identify future research opportunities and highlight the implications for practicing managers.

Many large organizations are increasingly outsourcing their IT functions. Factors like lower costs, improved productivity, higher quality, higher customer satisfaction, and ability to focus on core areas are some of the benefits of outsourcing. However, there are many challenges and risks associated with IT outsourcing. In this article, we identify the main risk factors and best practices in global IT outsourcing. In addition, we delve into some important issues on IT outsourcing, particularly the challenges along with benefits. Finally, we present case studies of two Global 200 organizations and validate some of the claims made by previous researchers on IT outsourcing. This study will help the management to identify the risk factors and take the necessary remedial steps. Hence, this study is timely and relevant from both an academic and a practitioner’s perspective.