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This paper presents a maturity model for digital transformation effectiveness in laboratories (labs) with education and research purposes.

The model was developed using design science research methodology, expert interviews and case studies.

The model fulfills three practical goals: (1) to establish comparability of the effectiveness of the digital transformation of labs, (2) to provide lab operators from academia and industry with a guide for (further) transformation and (3) to build initial trust among lab users. In addition, the maturity model contributes to the literature on digital lab transformation by capturing, describing, structuring and evaluating relevant dimensions, items and levels. Model strengths and weaknesses, areas for improvement, international applicability and practical and reusable recommendations are presented as well as the added value in assessing lab functionalities and lab sustainability.

Although originally developed as a maturity model driven by lab education, the model is also suitable for the transformation of research labs in manufacturing technology management. Digital labs can efficiently support industry training and research and development activities as well as simulate the development of new processes prior to their implementation.

Especially for these use cases, the authors see application potentials for the use of online labs from an organizational perspective and from the perspective of stakeholders such as industry users and operators with a manufacturing background, who use and develop transformed labs for teaching and research.

Although the use of instant messaging (IM) at work has been studied in the IS field, its effective use and impact on performance have not been adequately addressed. The purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents and consequences of the effective use of IM at work by adapting Burton-Jones and Grange’s theory of effective use.

The authors introduce “Comprehensive IM policy” as a facilitator of adaptation and learning actions to improve the effective use of IM, which will improve communication quality and productivity. The impact of IM competence on effective use is also discussed. Based on a survey of 215 managers, this study applies the partial least square technique to test the research model.

The results indicate that comprehensive IM policy encourages adaptation and learning actions, which improve the effective use of IM and thereafter improve communication quality and productivity. Meanwhile, IM competence has a substitutive interaction effect with IM reconfiguration and self-learning on effective use.

The results refine the general theory of effective use and provide managers with an approach to leverage IM use at work for performance gains.

The purpose of this paper is to test flow as a construct distinctly separate from its antecedents, and the resulting impact on brand attitudes and purchase intent within realistic online shopping three-dimensional virtual environments (3-DVEs).

This research utilizes a field study, combined with a survey research design of 348 3-DVE participants.

The findings reveal that flow is not a unidimensional construct but rather, a mental state that should be measured separately from its antecedents, with the possibility that certain antecedents may be more relevant than others in different activities. Furthermore, the authors received strong support for the overarching hypothesized model separating the nine dimensions associated with engagement in an activity as antecedents of flow, which, in turn, influences brand attitude and thereafter purchase intention.

This study was limited to one type of activity within one 3-DVE but is balanced by the difficulty in gaining access to organizations and computer-mediated environments of this type for examining such phenomena.

Businesses using 3-DVEs to market brands should focus their efforts on creating highly enjoyable experiences that result in the feeling of a loss of sense of time for the participants in order to ultimately positively influence purchase intentions.

Prior research focused on fantasy-based, game-oriented environments, while also neglecting to test all elements of flow, examining “similar to flow” constructs or measuring flow as a unidimensional construct.

Recent literature in the strategic management field suggests that firms must learn to re‐bundle internal competencies and resources in order to maintain competitive advantages over time. Utilizing the resource‐based view of the firm and dynamic capabilities perspectives, this paper examines the roles that absorptive and transformative capacity play in organizational innovation, with specific emphasis placed on the role and effectiveness of knowledge management systems as a determinant of innovation practices.

Lawrence Kohlberg's (1969) concept of cognitive moral development (CMD) has been one of the most investigated constructs in the field of social psychology, with over one thousand studies reported investigating this construct in only two decades of research. However, what is the relationship of this theoretical construct to actual decision making and behavior? Blasi (1980, p. 4) opined for the criticality of moral judgement research to both ethical decision making and ethical inquiry, stating that “without judgement, an action, no matter how beneficial, would not be moral.” Relating Kohlberg's model to business decision making and behavior has been central to the building of theoretical frameworks of the ethical decision making process engaged in by individuals. The models of this process proposed by Trevino and Youngblood (1990), Trevino (1986), Bommer, Gratto, Gravender, and Tuttle (1987), Ferrell and Gresham (1985), Ferrell, Gresham, and Fraedrich (1989), Swinyard, DeLong, and Cheng (1989), and Jones (1991) all contained cognitive moral development as a factor in their respective models of ethical decision making.

The paper aims to investigate how a tablet's design features, namely, its navigation design and visual appearance, influence users' enjoyment, concentration and control, when using tablets for problem-solving, and thereafter how their core flow experiences impact their perceived performance and efficiency with problem-solving.

This study uses a field survey approach to engage 87 participants in a decision sciences class to use eTextbooks and a few other associated educational apps including CourseSmart app for e-notes and highlighting, sketchbook app and a calculator app in tablets to resolve class problems at a large US university.

This study finds that the tablet's interface design features (navigation and visual appearance) make users engrossed in their problem-solving processes with perceived enjoyment, concentration and control. This, in turn, impacts their perceived performance and efficiency. Moreover, visual appearance plays the most significant role in arousing users' affective emotions (i.e. enjoyment), while interface navigation is crucial to engage users' deep concentration (i.e. cognition) and control for problem-solving.

Modern tablets are being used widely in various sectors. More in-depth user flow experience design associated with tablet use for problem-solving contexts should be further advocated in order to provide more engaging and meaningful flow experiences to users.

This study shows that the design of the tablet interface can engage users in problem-solving processes in both affective and cognitive ways. It provides valuable insights on tablet interface design for problem-solving.

The analytical hierarchical process (AHP)’s main purpose is to assess higher hierarchy levels based on the cooperation of its various levels. It results in a well-designed model-based method in which the weights for the selected attribute are calculated using dimensions, criteria, and indicators. This paper aims to highlight the benefits of blockchain in supply chain management with the help of a literature review along with opinions of experts from various sectors.

With the goal of enhancing the use of blockchain technology in supply chain management, particularly when comparing within the same industry, the AHP methodology has been used. In order to develop the AHP model, a total of eight elements are examined in this study, which are decentralization, resiliency, security, smart contracts, sustainability, traceability, transparency and trust. A calculation of a Desirability Index for conventional supply chain and blockchain-enabled supply chains has been also developed.

Findings where that in a blockchain-enabled supply chain, the global weights of individual benefit variables are considerably larger than in conventional supply chains. When the score of the Desirability Index for conventional supply chain and blockchain-enabled supply chain is compared, the blockchain-enabled supply chain significantly surpasses the conventional supply chain in terms of increasing sustainable development in today’s supply networks.

This study takes into account the AHP methodology applying it on blockchain. This has not been done before in the academic world, at least as far as the authors may be aware of. The originality of combining such process with a recent technology such as blockchain highlights the value of this research.

The use of augmented reality (AR) and experiential learning go hand in hand. Although AR learning opportunities have been well discussed, there is limited empirical research on the use of AR within higher education settings. Drawing from the uses and gratifications theory (U&GT), this study aims to explore the use of AR for learning satisfaction and student engagement, while also examining differences in learning styles.

This study used experiments with higher education students in the UK to explore the use of AR as part of the learning experience. Data from 173 students who experienced AR as part of their learning experience were analysed using partial least square analysis.

The authors found that hedonic, utilitarian, sensual and modality gratifications influence AR learning satisfaction and student engagement. Furthermore, the authors found differences between active and passive learners with regards to utilitarian (information seeking, personalisation) and sensual gratifications (immersion, presence) and effects on learning satisfaction.

This study developed and validated a U&GT framework incorporating different learning styles rooted in Kolb’s learning cycle. Findings provide important implications for the use of commercial AR applications as part of the learning experience within higher education settings.

Decision making is inherently stressful since the decision maker must choose between potentially conflicting alternatives with unique hazards and uncertain outcomes. Whereas decision aids such as decision support systems (DSS) can be beneficial in stressful scenarios, decision makers sometimes misuse them during decision making, leading to suboptimal outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between stress, decision making and decision aid use.

The authors conduct an extensive multi-disciplinary review of decision making and DSS use through the lens of stress and examine how stress, as perceived by decision makers, impacts their use or misuse of DSS even when such aids can improve decision quality. Research questions examine underlying sources of stress in managerial decision making that influence decision quality, relationships between a decision maker’s perception of stress, DSS use/misuse, and decision quality, and implications for research and practice on DSS design and capabilities.

The study presents a conceptual model that provides an integrative behavioral view of the impact of a decision maker’s perceived stress on their use of a DSS and the quality of their decisions. The authors identify critical knowledge gaps and propose a research agenda to improve decision quality and use of DSS by considering a decision maker’s perceived stress.

This study provides a previously unexplored view of DSS use and misuse as shaped by the decision and job stress experienced by decision makers. Through the application of four theories, the review and its findings highlight key design principles that can mitigate the negative effects of stressors on DSS use.