Informatics Seminar
Role of Shapers in Corporate Expertise Redeployment via Wikis
Ann Majchrzak
Marshall School of Business
University of Southern California
February 20, 3:00 – 5:00 PM
Bren Hall, Room 5011
Seminar Abstract
The role of cognitive capital – components of expertise – on contributions to online communities has received less research attention than other forms of capital (such as social capital). When cognitive capital has been studied, there has been contradictory findings. This study focuses on three components of cognitive capital: expertise depth, expertise breath, and transactive memory systems for coordinating expertise in online firm-based communities. The literature on contributions to online communities has also tended to focus on a single form of contribution: contribution of specialized expertise, in the form of advice-giving or materials such as music or software or bug reporting. Recent technology developments (e.g., wikis) have made it possible to consider a second form of contribution: contributions that integrate one’s own and others’ specialized expertise. In this study, we document the emergence of integrative behaviors in online communities, identifying the differential cognitive capital antecedents of integrative vs specialized expertise contributions. We also identify the differential effects of these two contribution behaviors on individuals’ perceptions of the effective redeployment of the expertise that they have contributed to the online work community.
About the Speaker
Ann Majchrzak received her PhD in Social Psychology with a minor in Psychometrics in 1980 from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is widely known for her research on the use of technology to support worker agility and ingenuity, commonly referred to as socio-technical systems. Ann has published papers in journals that include the Management Information Systems Quarterly, Information Systems Research, Management Science, and Harvard Business Review. She is (or has been) a member of the Editorial Review Boards of Information Systems Research and Management Information Systems Quarterly, among others. She is also Senior Editor at Organizational Science. She is the recipient of the Literati Club Award for Excellence Outstanding Paper for 2005 from Emerald Group Publishing. She was also named the Magid Igbaria Distinguished Scholar by the School of Information Science at Claremont Graduate University. Ann is the Past Division Chair of the Academy of Management Organization, Communication and Information Systems Division. Ann has consulted for a variety of organizations, including the Aerospace Corporation, Cummins Engine, and the Jet Propulsion Labs.