Collaborating with a partner in a distant area is widely endorsed in practice as a means for inspiring novel innovations. However, empirical evidence also reports significant innovation efficiency challenges when working with distant partners due to differences in technical knowledge domain differences. In this study, we conducted a multi-method approach by using a case study of 30 interviews to develop three information technology (IT)-enabled inter-firm knowledge capabilities and testing the research model with field survey data from 258 firms. The findings of this research confirm our hypotheses that IT-enabled inter-firm knowledge exploration capability and IT-enabled inter-firm knowledge exploitation capability can help embrace the benefits of product effectiveness while IT-enabled social integration capability surmount process efficiency challenges inherent in collaboration with distant partners. This study adds a much-needed perspective to the IT and innovation literature and offers practical suggestions for firm managers to mindfully design and deploy IT resources in collaborative innovation projects.

The use of online healthcare communities to acquire health-related information and reduce uncertainty over illnesses is currently hampered by the lack of understanding of how health information-seeking behavior can be stimulated in such environments. By drawing upon the theoretical notion of social self and personal self, and conducting a field survey among 101 online healthcare community users, this study investigates how social identity in online healthcare communities and individual users' perceived disease severity jointly influence the health information-seeking propensity. This study contributes to the literature on health information seeking by investigating the influence of social self (social identity), personal self (perceived disease severity), and their interplay in online communities. The findings can guide healthcare providers and community managers in formulating strategic plans for promoting health information-seeking behavior.

When an organization introduces an information system (IS), management often expects employees to utilize the system. However, rather than use the system directly, designated users may delegate some parts of their IS use to other users while assuming primary responsibility and accountability for the system use tasks. This behavior is called indirect IS use, a behavior that is acknowledged in some studies but not adequately scrutinized. This research distinguishes between direct and indirect IS use and proposes a model of their respective antecedents. The research was carried out in three stages. First, we conceptually distinguished direct and indirect IS use and drew on a social power lens to develop a theoretically driven research framework. Second, we contextually refined the research framework with a case study in a Confucian society. Third, we validated the research model through a survey of 213 Chinese physicians. Results revealed that direct and indirect IS use are partially substitutive, as demonstrated by the varying effects of social power and physiological power on these types of IS use. Further insights were gained by splitting the two forms of IS use based on the extent of clinical accountability risks and combining the two types of IS use based on their sum or relative amount. With the distinct relationships between social power and different forms of IS use, management could employ the appropriate strategies to influence the desired system usage behavior from its employees.

Volatility and shocks in the environment have often generated pressing challenges that should be addressed quickly. In response to these challenges, fast-response spontaneous virtual teams (FRSVTs) have emerged. Such teams can swiftly assemble global talent by using advanced information communication technologies and are promising with respect to their benefits; however, their success is not guaranteed because FRSVT members face challenges that prevent them from operating cohesively, such as a lack of contractual bond and team-building processes. To address these problems, we present two technology-enabled facilitative factors (i.e., awareness of members’ skills and perception of shared governance) that may positively influence an individual member’s perception of FRSVT task cohesion and subsequent outcomes. We draw these factors from the team-shared mental model. Survey results obtained from 367 FRSVT members reveal that, although both factors significantly affected perceived task cohesion, the influence of shared governance perception was stronger. Furthermore, perceived task cohesion was positively related to performance and member satisfaction. One’s propensity to reunite with team members is affected by performance and member satisfaction.