The COVID-19 crisis has starkly highlighted the vulnerability of businesses and underscored the critical importance of organizational resilience. Firms across multiple sectors—particularly non-essential businesses—have suffered a heavy blow during the height of the pandemic. Guided by the resource dependence theory and using a proprietary and rich dataset from a leading online-to-offline platform for medical aesthetics services—a typical type of non-essential business—we find that the pandemic adversely affects clinic performance in terms of the number of orders a clinic received on the platform. However, the adoption of telemedicine enables clinics to mitigate the negative impacts of the pandemic on clinic performance, which is referred to as “digital resilience.” Moreover, we reveal that the mitigating effect of telemedicine adoption on clinic performance is stronger for smaller clinics and those focusing on lower-risk products. Additional analyses reveal that telemedicine also bolsters consumer interest in specific products during the pandemic, regardless of the product risk level. Furthermore, telemedicine takes effect amid the pandemic mainly by cultivating the interests of more experienced consumers. Our study contributes to the operations management literature by exploring the impacts of COVID-19 and digital resilience in non-essential sectors. It also offers practical insights for these businesses to improve their crisis responses and gain strategic digital resilience in the face of a sudden crisis.

Augmented reality (AR) is rapidly emerging as a transformative display technology, blending computer-generated content with the real-world environment in real time. Using divided attention theory, this study investigates how different information delivery channels (i.e., AR vs. mobile phone) and the nature of information (i.e., dependence on specific physical context and complexity) affect work performance. A field experiment in the aircraft maintenance context demonstrates that the effect on work performance of providing information via AR vs. a mobile phone is mediated by work attentiveness. The findings reveal that the effectiveness of AR is particularly pronounced when information is highly dependent on the specific physical context but diminishes when information complexity is high. This research deepens our understanding of how presenting information directly in front of users' eyes (i.e., via AR) affects their attention management and work performance. The findings have significant implications for firms in terms of how to leverage AR to enhance work performance in industrial settings.

PurposeThrough the lens of self-perception theory, this paper investigates how avatar design (i.e. avatar user similarity) affects users' self-awareness and shapes their task engagement and performance in the Metaverse.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a 2 (avatar user similarity: high vs low) × 2 (task type: procedural vs creative) lab experiment and collected data from questionnaires, the recording of users' behavior during tasks and their actual task performance.FindingsThe results show that higher avatar user similarity leads to higher task engagement in general. Furthermore, while a similar avatar promotes users to regulate their behaviors and achieve better performance in a procedural task, high similarity also inhibits users' creativity by invoking habitual thinking, resulting in worse performance in generating original ideas in a creative task.Originality/valueThis study is expected to contribute to the information systems literature by revealing the value of avatar design and providing new perspectives on improving users' experiences in the Metaverse.

The rapid development of e-learning has drawn increasing attention to the issue of how learners’ learning activities can be better structured using technologies. This study focuses on how to improve e-learning performance by optimizing the structuring of learning sessions from the perspective of interleaving (i.e., mixing different topics in a learning session). Following the design science paradigm, this study chooses cognitive load theory as the kernel theory and proposes a new interleaving design—related-interleaving —that populates an interleaved session with related topics as a way of reducing cognitive load during an interleaved session. Drawing on the theoretical predictions, we design and instantiate a personalized learning system with the related-interleaving strategy by fusing educational strategies and machine learning techniques. The results from a two-month field experiment confirm that related-interleaving outperforms non-interleaving and unrelated-interleaving. Our findings also reveal that compared with unrelated-interleaving, related-interleaving benefits weak learners more and thus helps reduce learning performance disparities. This study demonstrates how personalized e-learning systems can be further improved from the perspective of interleaving.

Online learning systems often aim to promote online learning techniques, but face challenges due to their difficulty. Although the system could offer guidance to alleviate difficulty, it might also impede learners' independent thinking when utilizing learning techniques. Based on experiential learning theory, we investigated the effect of behavior guidance across various learning stages and the underlying mechanisms. A multi-stage field experiment involving 1010 subjects was conducted using an online learning system. We found in the initial stage, guidance enhanced learning techniques utilization and learning performance by improving their easiness. However, in the later stage, guidance restricted the freedom of independent thought, thus decreasing learning technique utilization and learning performance. These effects were especially pronounced for learners with low autonomy orientation. Interestingly, learners with high autonomy orientation only benefited from the absence of initial guidance and its later introduction. The study discussed implications for theory and practice.

Online video platforms face the challenge of balancing the needs of their users with those of their advertisers. Although users typically prefer to have less intrusive ads, advertisers aim to effectively catch user attention. This paper investigates how the provision of ad choice affects the effectiveness of video advertising. We argue that allowing users to choose an ad to view may trigger a “conjecture-formation-and-confirmation” process that motivates users to pay more attention to the selected ad. Two online experiments and four laboratory experiments are conducted to test the theorized underlying mechanism of the ad choice effect. Study 1 finds when users are unfamiliar (versus familiar) with the content of ad options (i.e., they need to make conjectures about ad content), ad choice is more likely to increase user attention to the chosen ad. Study 2 and Study 3 show that the impact of ad choice on user attention is more likely to be positive when users are enabled to make conjectures about ad content, such as when choice options provide more relevant information about ad content. Study 4a and Study 4b provide more direct support for the underlying mechanism by showing that the ad choice effect is attenuated when users cannot form conjectures about ad content at the choice stage. Study 5 further demonstrates that the positive effect of ad choice is robust across different ad settings. Taken together, these studies show ad choice is more likely to boost the effectiveness of video advertising when the “conjecture-formation-and-confirmation” process is triggered. This paper was accepted by Kartik Hosanagar, information systems. Funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grants 71702126, 72022008 and 72372112], the University Research Committee of the University of Hong Kong [Grant 201905159007], HKU Education Consulting (Shenzhen) [Theme-Based Research Fund SZRI2023-TBRF-02], and the Research Grant Council Hong Kong [Project 17502921]. Supplemental Material: The data and online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2019.03291 .

Online learning platforms increase opportunities for learners to participate in learning out of interest, without any external incentives such as fulfilling requirements for degree programmes or certificates. However, such forms of online learning often suffer from low sustained learning engagement. Building on theories related to normative influences, this study extends the literature by focusing on the effect of peer information on learning engagement and outcomes in an online learning setting without external incentives. A field experiment was conducted through a leading massive open online course platform in China, and information interventions were manipulated in social media groups associated with the course. Surprisingly, the results revealed that the presence of peers' active learning behaviour information did not always lead to enhanced learning engagement. Specifically, it had a positive influence only when question intervention was applied, that is, when the learners were also presented with questions related to the course content prior to learning. Moreover, question intervention alone was effective in enhancing learning engagement. Our results also showed that the learners with question interventions were more likely to pay attention to their peers' behaviour and align their learning pace with that of their peers. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

对话商务已成为消费者最常用的与商家沟通的渠道之一,聊天机器人在其中的应用已越来越广泛.学术界有必要探究人与智能体间的交互行为规律,从而为聊天机器人的设计与应用提供指导.本文对比商务对话中的入机交互与人人交互,研究在线客服对话中,用户对交互对象的认知是机器人或人工以及采用双面论证或单面论证的对话设计对交流效果和体验的影响.本研究采用实验室实验,使用人机交互领域的沃兹原型(Wizard of Oz)方法.结果表明,在人机对话中,双面论证对用户的购买意愿无显著影响,而在人人对话中,双面论证对用户的购买意愿产生负面影响.当用户面对机器人客服时,双面论证对客服可信度和用户愉悦度的积极影响比人人对话中更明显.

Online retailers employ various kinds of social and marketing information cues to influence consumers' product interest and purchases. This study focuses on the effects of two types of information cues, product popularity and time restriction on product promotions, on consumers' product approach behavior. It takes a unique perspective by examining how such effects change as consumers' shopping goals become more concrete. The results of a field experiment and a laboratory experiment show that product popularity and time restriction may not always have a positive influence on consumers' product approach behavior. In particular, when consumers have not yet formed specific shopping goals, product popularity and time restriction weaken each other's effects on users' initial product judgment, whereas these two information cues reinforce each other's effects on consumers' final product evaluation when consumers' shopping goals have become more specific. This study deepens our understanding of the individual and interaction effects of product popularity and time restriction at different levels of consumer goal specificity. The findings have significant implications for how retailers can leverage different information cues for promoting products.

在大数据和人工智能技术飞速进步及其与社会经济活动的融合持续深化的同时,数据治理、高阶智能以及数智赋能正在成为数字经济发展的关注焦点,进而引发信息系统研究的新跃迁.本文首先刻画了我国信息系统研究的阶段演化框架,讨论研究的"造"与"用"视角、主题跃迁、价值创造特点、方法论范式等.接着,通过凝练对于大数据的认识、揭示管理决策要素转变,探讨了现阶段信息系统研究的若干前沿方向,包括"大数据驱动"研究方法论范式、智能方法创新、人机融合行为等方面的研究进展,并概述了相应的建模思路和求解路径.最后,从数据、算法、赋能的层面,阐释数智化新跃迁的新特征、新挑战、新课题,以期为我国信息系统学界提供前沿探索和研究创新的启发.

Purpose Question-answering (QA) systems are being increasingly applied in learning contexts. However, the authors’ understanding of the relationship between such tools and traditional QA channels remains limited. Focusing on question-answering learning activities, the current research investigates the effect of QA systems on students' learning processes and outcomes, as well as the interplay between two QA channels, that is, QA systems and communication with instructors. Design/methodology/approach The authors designed and implemented a QA system for two university courses, and collected data from questionnaires and system logs that recorded the interaction between students and the system throughout a semester. Findings The results show that using a QA system alone does not improve students' learning processes or outcomes. However, the use of a QA system significantly improves the positive effect of instructor communication. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on learning and education technology, and provides practical guidance on how to incorporate QA tools in learning.

This research investigates how firms can actively manage consumer-generated reviews in the form of highlighting authentic reviews on review platforms. While highlighting a positive review is expected to lead to positive product evaluation, this practice may elicit consumers’ skepticism when consumers are aware of the promotional intent of the firm. Our findings show that consumers often pay attention to a firm-highlighted review and anchor on it to process other reviews of the business; however, such an anchoring effect may not be favorable when consumers are skeptical about the highlighted review. When a business has highly varied ratings in an overall positive review context, or when a business has not established a strong reputation, it is useful for the business to alleviate consumers’ skepticism by highlighting a positive yet conservative review (i.e., a review with a 4-star rating out of 5). However, when all the reviews converge toward a positive or moderately positive assessment, or when the business has already established a good reputation, highlighting an extremely positive review may be an even more effective marketing strategy.

This paper examines the effects of recommendations from different social ties on online consumers' purchase intentions and how such effects change as consumers proceed in the shopping process and are exposed to scarcity-related promotional information. Results from a laboratory experiment indicate that when the degree of deal scarcity is low, recommendations from weak ties are more persuasive than those from strong ties for consumers at the initial shopping stage, whereas the opposite occurs for consumers at the later shopping stage. At both shopping stages, the differences in the effects of social recommendations disappear when the deals are highly scarce. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Users are increasingly sharing their product interests and experiences with others on e-commerce websites. For example, users can “tag” products using their own words, and these “product tags” then serve as navigation cues for other users who want to search for products. Also, socially endorsed information contributors are sometimes highlighted on websites and serve as direct information sources. This study examines the effects of these two distinct social product search cues, product tags and socially endorsed people, on users’ perceived diagnosticity and serendipity of their product search experience. While product tags support product navigation via a variety of product features tagged by the community, access to socially endorsed people enables users to browse diverse and high-quality alternatives favored by these individuals. We constructed an experimental website using real data from one of the largest social-network-based product-search websites in China to conduct an empirical study. The results of this study show that product tags help users to locate and evaluate relevant alternatives, thus enhancing the perceived diagnosticity of product search, whereas the integration of product tags and access to socially endorsed people enables users to conduct even more serendipitous searches. In addition, both perceived diagnosticity and perceived serendipity of a search experience positively affect users’ decision satisfaction. The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2017.0695 .

Video advertising,a widely used online advertising format,has become the major source of revenue for video-viewing websites.However,video ads often interrupt users' video viewing experience,leading to increased annoyance and even negative attitudes towards the advertising brands.In view of the lack of research on the effectiveness of video advertising design and online users' interaction with ads in particular,the current research investigates the effects of users' skipping control over video ads on their attention to and memory of the ads content,as well as their brand attitudes.Furthermore,the moderating role of users' online information task type (i.e.,searching versus browsing) is also examined.Drawing on information control and online information task literature,it is proposed that for information browsers,providing skipping control over video ads will lead to increased memory of the ads content and enhanced brand attitudes,whereas the reverse will happen for information searchers.A 2 (ads control:skippable vs.non-skippable) × 2 (task:searching vs.browsing) laboratory experiment is conducted to test the hypotheses.Video viewing platforms with different advertising skipping control are created,and 90 college student participants are randomly assigned to one of the experimental groups.Both questionnaire and eye-tracking data are collected from the participants.The experimental results largely confirm the hypotheses.This research contributes to the literature of online advertising design and effectiveness,and provides practical guidance in terms of how to improve video ads effectiveness through designing for user interactions.