Robert H. Smith School of Business
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/1584
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Item Essays on Making Interdependent Decisions and Their Evaluations(2007-04-30) Oza, Shweta S; Srivastava, Joydeep; Business and Management: Marketing; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation comprises of two essays that investigate factors influencing interdependent decision-making and the evaluations of such decision outcomes. In the first essay, we examine the influence of time taken by a bargaining opponent to respond to an offer on bargainers' perceptions of their own bargaining outcomes. Extending previous research in several important ways, we propose and test a conceptualization where inferences of opponent's reservation price lie at the core of the underlying explanation. Second, we provide additional insight into the underlying process by showing that delay influences perceptions of bargaining outcomes only when it is related to the bargaining. Third, unlike previous work that examined the effect of delay when an offer was accepted, we extend the inquiry to situations where an offer is rejected. Fourth, we identify and test two factors - knowledge of opponent's best alternative to negotiated agreement and persuasion knowledge - that moderate the influence of response time on perceptions of bargaining outcomes. Results of five studies provide insight into the underlying process by identifying and testing boundary conditions for the effect of delay. In the second essay, we focus on generic campaigns that are funded voluntarily (rather than mandatory contributions), and examine the influence of situational factors (e.g., market trends) and solicitation appeals on voluntary contributions to a generic campaign. Viewing generic advertising campaigns as a public goods problem, a conceptual framework based on goal systems theory is developed to suggest that situational factors such as market trends induce different goals, which in turn, influence voluntary contributions. The conceptual framework also suggests that a solicitation appeal that is more congruent with the induced goal is likely to be more effective in increasing voluntary contributions relative to incongruent appeals. Consistent with the framework, three studies show that voluntary contributions to generic campaigns are higher when the market trend is declining versus increasing. Further, solicitations that make the induced goal and the means to achieve that goal salient are more effective in increasing contributions. The implications of the findings are discussed along with directions for future research.Item IT Design for Sustaining Virtual Communities: an Identity-based Approach(2005-08-31) Ma, Meng; Agarwal, Ritu; Lucas, Henry; Decision and Information Technologies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)A variety of information technology (IT) artifacts, such as those supporting reputation management and digital archives of past interactions, are commonly deployed to support virtual communities. Despite the ubiquity of these artifacts, research on the impact of various IT-based features on virtual community communication is still limited. Without such research, the mechanisms through which information technologies influence community success are not well understood, limiting the design of community infrastructures that can enhance interaction in the community and minimize dysfunction. This dissertation proposes that identity management is a critical imperative in virtual communities and concerns related to communication of identity serve to shape an individual's interactions and perceptions in the community. Sensitivity to this perspective can help in drawing design guidelines for the IT infrastructure supporting the community. Drawing upon the social psychology literature, I propose an identity-based view to understand how the use of IT-based features in virtual communities can improve community sustainability. Specifically, identity consonance, defined as the perceived fit between a focal person's belief of his or her identity and the recognition and verification of this identity by other community members, is proposed as a core construct that mediates the relationship between the use of community IT artifacts and member satisfaction and knowledge contribution. To test the theoretical model, I surveyed two online communities: Quitnet.com and myIS.com. The former is an online community for people who wish to quit smoking, and the latter is a site for Lexus IS300 sport sedan enthusiasts. The results from surveys support the positive effects of community IT artifacts on identity consonance. The empirical study also finds that a high level of identity consonance is linked to member satisfaction and knowledge contribution. This dissertation offers a fresh perspective on virtual communities and suggests important implications for the design of the supporting IT infrastructure.