In this AMCIS 2017 online education panel, five experienced business school professors from differently sized public and private institutions in three different countries (USA, Mexico, and Spain) discussed how online education (i.e., eLearning, technology-mediated knowledge transfer) occurred in their institutions. They presented low-budget and high-budget examples and described what they have found to be best practices in eLearning at both the institution and the instructor level. They also demonstrated that one can accomplish online education in many different ways and with varying budgets, but, as long as one bases it on solid educational principles and mastery of the technology, it can be as effective as (if not more than) traditional face-to-face education. This report builds on their presentations and additional information gathered from the literature.

Online education is often disregarded by MIS faculty as yet one another way of consuming time teaching; however, online education (i.e. Technology-Mediated Knowledge Transfer) is at the core of our discipline and we should be leading it. It is like most of our topics, an interdisciplinary one bringing together pedagogy, technology, information science, and MIS. This panel will discuss how five MIS researchers have approached eLearning from the undergraduate to the doctoral levels and provide ideas on how to engage in it. Dr. Gomez-Reynoso will discuss his experience teaching students who live in a very spread-out areas Dr. Alanis-Gonzalez will discuss how to leverage it for an international experience, Dr Guzman will discuss how to use it in doctoral programs, Dr. Esteves to provide a worldwide elite experience in a hybrid mode, and Dr. Ferran will examine how to use it to leverage limited financial resources without lowering quality.

The Association for Information Systems (AIS) is the premier professional association for individuals and organizations that lead the research, teaching, practice, and study of information systems. It serves society through advancing knowledge and promoting excellence in the practice and study of information systems. To that end, the AIS hosts seven academic journals: Journal of the Association for Information Systems (JAIS), Communications of the Association for Information Systems (CAIS), AIS Transactions on Human-Computer Interactions (THCI), AIS Transactions on Replication Research (TRR), Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems (PAJAIS), Revista Latinoamericana y del Caribe de la Asociacion de Sistemas de Informacion (RELCASI), and Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems (SJIS). In this editorial statement, we summarize the different mission statements for each journal; describe their different audiences, goals, and markets; and identify their shared values, requirements, and resources. We do so to assist AIS members to identify the most suitable journal outlet for their research.

Even a perfectly manufactured vehicle requires periodic maintenance in order to function properly throughout its life cycle. Software also requires periodic maintenance to function as expected. The absence of maintenance against wear-and-tear (mechanical or logical) eventually breaks down any system. Logical and mechanical frictions are not identical; yet their effects are the same. Logical maintenance is as important to software as mechanical maintenance is to machines. The availability, quality, and cost of software maintenance should be considered during the purchase decision and included as part of the total cost of acquisition.

Purpose - This paper aims to examine current trends in business accreditation by describing and comparing the major international business accreditation agencies (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, European Quality Improvement System, Association of MBAs, Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs and International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education), and analyze their recent market expansion strategies (development and penetration using Ansoff model) as they compete for the schools seeking initial or continuing accreditation.Design/methodology/approach - This is a comparative study of the business accreditation agencies and their competitive strategies, using publically available data such as lists of accredited schools published by the agencies as main data collection method.Findings - Business accreditation agencies have utilized the market penetration and market development strategies to expand their market share in recent years. The key growth areas are international schools, regional teaching-oriented institutions, two-year institutions and for-profit institutions.Research limitations/implications - This study is based on publically available data published by accreditation agencies. More in-depth analysis with survey method could be utilized in future study to identify more specific strategies and their impact on business schools seeking accreditation.Practical implications - Accreditation is no longer a luxury but a requirement for business schools, but they have to make an informed decision on which agency to pursue to assure an appropriate fit.Social implications - The public needs to understand the value and the requirements of accreditation. Multiple agencies provide different options to fit the missions of the different types of schools.Originality/value - This study is valuable to business school stakeholders for understanding accreditation, the need for accreditation and the options they have available.

Information theory describes three types of information: syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic. We argue that knowledge is pragmatically tested information. Validating syntactic and semantic information is easy and inexpensive, but pragmatic testing is more complicated and expensive since it deals not only with information but with matter, energy, and often people. Information Technology (IT) can be used to generate and validate new syntactic and semantic information, but its usage has been very limited at the pragmatic level. This asymmetric usage of IT has given rise to a Knowledge Management (KM) bottleneck. This article looks into new ways to apply IT to minimize it. Pragmatic Minimization is achievable with the help of Virtual Reality (VR) and Internet based Distributed Cognition (IDC). VR simulates energy and matter in computers, making the pragmatic test fully informational, and IDC leverages the massive testing capacity of a huge social pool of Internet users.

The proliferation of inexpensive yet complex business programs has allowed many small businesses to start operations and even setup online stores. These small businesses are able to generate and manage thousands of transactions. Most of these systems do not have an accounting module and the businesses have to later find an accounting systems and knowledge to generate the necessary accounting reports and ledgers. While many accounting packages also abound, the connection between the business module and the accounting packages are lacking and have become the bottleneck. This paper presents an intermediate application (called Viable Accounting Server) that can easily import data from most business applications and export it to an accounting application.

This paper provides an information technology perspective of energy that can help explain and promote more environmentally friendly energy sources. Following the equation energy equals mass times velocity squared (E = m * v2), a source 10 times more massive will produce 10 times more energy, but a source 10 times faster will produce 100 times more energy. Since chemical sources such as oil combustion are about ten times faster than mechanical sources such as waterfalls and winds, getting the same quantity of energy out of wind would require 10 times more mass (steel and concrete for wind towers), than getting it out of burning oil (CO2 and oil plants materials). A nuclear source is one million times faster than chemical, thus its mass requirement is negligible but technology (mainly information technology) is needed to safely drive its speed allowing us to substitute mass -i.e. future debris- with information. Keywords: energy, environment, information technology, nuclear, quadratic contribution, energy technology, clean energy, matter minimization JEL Classifications: H00; O10; O33; Q29; Q39; Q42; Q43; Q48

Financial institutions like banks make extensive use of information systems and information technology, but they are risk-averse and slow to adopt new technology. In this paper, we explore how the new paradigm of object-oriented analysis and design can be used to advantage in banking information systems. We identify the similarities among the different financial instruments offered by banks and then exploit these similarities in a proposal for an object-oriented approach to banking information systems. We discuss the need for a migration strategy to minimize the risk of adopting the new technology.

Faculty load in the US varies from 40-40-10 (research-teaching-service) in research oriented institutions to 25-50-25 in teaching oriented institutions. Consulting is normally not part of the formula and case writing is generally not considered as part of the research load. Latin America is quite different. A 25-25-25-25 load (that includes consulting as a separate area) is not atypical and research can often be accomplished through case writing. However, Latin America is not homogenous and some very specific institutions are exceptional even including few faculty positions that are 100% research. The panel will provide an overview of the expectations in different countries (particularly Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Peru) and discuss how current expectations deal with international accrediting bodies that might be requiring different mixtures. Objectives: Attendants to this panel are expected to leave with a good understanding of what is expected from faculty in Latin America. It should help Latin American faculty better explain inside their own institutions how they are similar or different to peers around the world and what changes might be useful to improve their programs and their student and faculty recruiting. It should help international faculty interested in interacting with Latin American universities understand what they could offer and expect from a shared interaction. And it should help international groups develop an agenda for appropriate topics and activities that would be of aid and interest to Latin American faculty. Audience: The main audience for this panel are Latin American faculty themselves and faculty interested in engaging Latin American faculty and institutions. Doctoral student thinking on a position in Latin America would gain from attending this panel. And it would also be of interest to faculty around the world who are interested in having a global view of education and a better understanding of how higher education takes place in regions of the world other than their own. Structure: Through online interactions prior to AMCIS the panelist will decide on a set of questions that will be answered by each one during the panel. At the start of the panel the moderator will present the panel, the panelist, and the issues that will be discussed (five minutes). Then each of the four panelists would have 10 minutes to make their presentation. The rest of the time (another 45 minutes if the session is to be 90 minutes long) would be spent in interactions with the audience. Panelists are encouraged to have a Powerpoint presentation for their 10 minute presentation. Equipment needed: A computer with Powerpoint, a projector, and a screen are needed. Depending on what AMCIS is expecting to provide one of the panelists could bring a laptop but the projector and screen would be very difficult to haul along. Note #1: The panelists listed above have agreed to attend and they all have the credentials to provide a rich presentation in this discussion. In addition, several other highly competent faculty from Brazil and Mexico have expressed their interest in serving as a panelist if possible but we had to limit the number of panelist. Nonetheless, they would gladly serve as substitute if any panelist is unable to attend. Note #2: Given the potential audience, this panel should not take place concurrently with any sessions of the Spanish and Portuguese (Latin American) Track. Panelists Short Bios: Juan Manuel Gomez Reynoso is the Chair of the Computer Systems bachelor program. He coordinates the Academy of Distributed Systems and Networks and designed a Computer Networks Masters program at the Autonomous University of Aguascalientes in Mexico (UAA). He got his Ph.D. degree from Claremont Graduate University. His research interest include: design research, human-computer interaction, software engineering metrics, and multimedia tools for learning environments. He has presented his research at conferences such as AMCIS, Conf-Irm, DESRIST, IRMA, and IIMA among others and he has published in several academic journals. He has supervised doctoral master theses. Ariel I. La Paz is an assistant professor at the Department of Management Control and Information Systems in Universidad de Chile. He Earned the PhD degree in MIS from University of Illinois in 2009. His research interests include the socio-economic impact of Information Systems, organizational behavior, IS/IT architecture and alignment of IS/IT to corporate strategies. Dr. La Paz has published articles in Chilean reviews and international journals like Communications of the ACM and Latin American reviews. Luiz Antonio Joia is an Associate Professor and Principal of the e:lab – Research Laboratory on e-Government and e-Business at the Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration at Getulio Vargas Foundation. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Rio de Janeiro State University. He has published three books, several chapters and articles in journals such as: Government Information Quarterly; Internet Research Electronic Networking, Applications and Policy; International Journal of Information Management; Journal of Global Information Management; Journal of Intellectual Capital; Information Strategy The Executive's Journal; Journal of Teacher Training and Technology; Journal of Knowledge Management; Journal of Workplace Learning. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Intellectual Capital (Emerald) and of the Electronic Government (Inderscience). He is also a senior editor at the Electronic Journal Information Systems in Developing Countries (www.ejisdc.org). He holds a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the Military Institute of Engineering, Brazil, and an M.Sc. in Civil Engineering and a D.Sc. in Production Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He also holds an M.Sc. in Management Studies from the Oxford University, U.K. He was a World Bank consultant in Educational Technology and is an invited member of the Technical Board of the Working Group WG 8.5 (Informatics in the Public Administration) of the IFIP (International Federation for Information Processing). His research interests lie on IT for Development, eGovernment, e-Business, Strategic Use of IT, and Actor-Network Theory. Jose Antonio Robles-Flores is an Assistant Professor of Information Systems at Universidad ESAN in Lima, Peru. He holds a PhD in Information Systems from the W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University. He had experience in software development and software process improvement. He contributed to the Internet Community Centers Project in Peru when he was working for the Peruvian Scientific Network (Red Cientifica Peruana Internet Peru). Currently, he teaches information systems and quantitative analysis courses at the Graduate School of Business at Universidad ESAN. He is also the Academic Coordinator of the Business Intelligence Program and the Director of the International Dual MBA. His research interest is in the areas of Knowledge Management, knowledge acquisition and dissemination, information retrieval, and the impact of ICTs on individual performance. His work has been presented in conferences such as AMCIS, TREC, PACIS, HICSS, WWW, and JCDL among others. He has published in DSS, CACM, CAIS, IJIEM, and IJBIR. Carlos Ferran, a Venezuelan currently teaching in the United States, is an assistant professor of Accounting and Management Information Systems at Governors State University. He obtained his doctoral degree in Business Administration from Boston University. Before entering academia he was a CIO at a major financial institution in Venezuela, a planning and financial analyst in the Venezuelan oil industry, and a manager and developer of banking and accounting applications at a software company. Dr. Ferran has published seven peer-reviewed articles (one in Management Science and one in CAIS), five peer-reviewed book chapters, and 12 peerreviewed conference proceedings. He authored a book and co-edited an academic book on Global ERP. He is currently the editor-in-chief of RELCASI –a journal of the AIS– and he is also in the advisory board of four other international journals. He is currently Vice-President for the Latin American and Caribbean Association for Information Systems (LACAIS). He has previously served as a panelist and as a moderator in several past AMCIS panels.

The panel is about the basic/required MIS course in Latin-American MBA programs. Given the current insufficiency of qualified MIS faculty in Latin-America this course is frequently taught by faculty from other areas and its content is often highly technical. The panel (introduced and moderated by Dr. Carlos Ferran) will discuss the current and the ideal content of this course as well as avenues to move forward. Two panelists are resident faculty in Latin-American universities (Dr. Aurora Sanchez –UCNA in Chile– and Dr. David Montesinos –INCAE in Costa Rica–), one visits Latin-America regularly to teach MIS in MBA programs (Dr. Enrique Mu), and one is completely unrelated to Latin-America (Dr. Janis Gogan) who will question why the course should be any different to the ones taught elsewhere. The panel is of interest to Latin-American academics but also for any academic interested on what should be included in the basic/required MIS course in MBA programs regardless of geography. Panel Facilitator: Dr. Carlos Ferran (cferran@psu.edu; Pennsylvania State University, Malvern, PA, USA): Dr. Ferran is an Assistant Professor of MIS at the Pennsylvania State University. He Holds a D.B.A. from Boston University and a Master in Finance from Universidad Metropolitana (Venezuela). Dr. Ferran was born in Venezuela and is the current Editor-in-Chief of the AIS’s Journal RELCASI (Revista Latinoamericana y del Caribe de la Asociacion de Sistemas de Informacion). He has taught and given academic lectures in IAE (Argentina), INALDE (Colombia), IESA (Venezuela), and ULA (Venezuela). His latest publication appeared in Management Science. He is currently the vice-president of publications for the Latin American and Caribbean Association of Information Systems (LACAIS).

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems integrate into one single system the control and accounting of all the enterprise resources. Just like the previous systems (material requirements planning and accounting information systems among others) became ERPs, it is highly probable that ERPs will keep evolving towards a different and more comprehensive system. Logically, this evolution will be driven by the unsatisfied expectations of the current markets. One of these expectations is to lower the emphasis on the mid- and long-term planning functionality in favor of some kind of short-term, more dynamic planning functionality. In this sense, the chapter glimpses at a system that could be called ERM, where the “M” stands for management instead of the “P” for planning. The chapter also discusses the potential effects of the Open Source Initiative on ERPs. Other outstanding expectations examined are: (1) lower cost and duration of the implementation process, (2) less dependency on external consultants for the implementation, and (3) improved and standardized interaction functionality?or middleware?between different ERPs.

Local functional systems that create inefficient islands of information are being replaced by expensive enterprise-wide applications that unify the functional areas; however, while we have not yet been able to completely and seamlessly integrate across functions, we find that the new islands of information are no longer functional but political, cultural, linguistic, and geographical. The global village is a reality and enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations face new issues and challenges. Enterprise Resource Planning for Global Economies: Managerial Issues and Challenges provides authoritative research on the theoretical frameworks and pragmatic discussions on global implementations of information systems, particularly ERP systems. This book offers professionals, managers, and researchers who want to improve their understanding of the issues and challenges that arise when information systems cross national boundaries with an authoritative, essential research resource.

Knowledge is generated and propogated by cultural selection, a process that—like it genetic counterpart, natural selection—consumes much time and resources in contrasting every new (or mutated) information with reality. However, if we hasten to minimize the field tests or marketing tests—forms of cultural selection—we run into the risk of not testing the knowledge sufficiently and make a deficient contrast with reality. In this chapter we present the concept of pragmatic minimization as the compromise of minimizing the amount of resources invested in contrasting the newly acquired knowledge with reality, while not falling into a lack of realism—blind idealism—or a cominatorial explosion of mental possibilities. Then, we advocate “simulated praxis” and a “more pragmatic artificial intelligence” as new avenues to optimally solve the problem of pragmatic minimization.

Resumen es: Las nuevas tecnologias de la informacion (ti) pueden aumentar la brecha digital entre paises. Usando la teoria de la informacion, este articulo establece...