About Project
Overview | Description | Become Research Sponsor | Top 10
Overview
The ultimate goal of this project is to help people manage their information flows in ways that make them more productive. To do that, we need to precisely observe information flows. We seek to balance the interests of all participants, including the strategic goals of multiple host sites, the privacy interests of individuals, and the academic standards for the highest quality research.
Description
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT RESEARCH DESCRIPTION
Objective: Our goal is to determine the best business practices for
information management, which practices contribute to results, and why.
Background: Almost every major consulting firm offers a variation on
information technology (IT) benchmarking or knowledge management to help companies
improve their resource use. To date, however, there is almost no hard data
indicating which management practices actually work. This is a $500,000 study
conducted by professors at the University of Michigan and Harvard Business
School.
Methods: We use newly developed research tools to create an image of
the information network supporting a business unit. We then compile measures
of activity and of results from firm data and correlate these measures with
the information network. Data sampling and encryption protect individual privacy
and firm confidentiality. The statistical analysis draws from a wide range
of disciplines including econometrics, computer science, social network analysis,
and information theory.
Sample Hypotheses: Initial hypotheses examine, for example, whether
integrating information flows improves success? Does a diversity of sources
matter? Do sharing incentives promote more internal data capture? How might
better coordination matter? Can you measure information overload?
Benefits: These vary according to the level of firm participation but
the study should generally provide each original research site with:
Individuals
- Assured payments of $125 ($25 in 1st stage + $100 in 2nd stage)
- A chance to win $1000 based on number of employee participants (est. odds ~1/40)
- Individually tailored information use in communication workflow
- Access to research results
- Access to software tools
- Complete confidentiality
Companies
- Privileged and early access to research results vis-a-vis research articles published 1-2 years later
- A confidential benchmarking of information management practices relative to other firms in the study
- A possible competitive advantage over non-participants
- The option to retain software tools at the close of the study
- Complete confidentiality
Participants may be among the first anywhere to have a look at what statistically
significant information practices really work.
Become Research Sponsor
Help understand the information needs of your colleagues during work. Our online survey is simple, short and provides a comprehensive breakdown of how your colleagues process information during work tasks. If interested, please contact Marshall Van Alstyne about being a survey sponsor.
Top 10 reasons to participate
(1) If you stay in, you also have a chance at $1000 cash (based on
number of employee participants, est. odds roughly 1/40, max 1/20 min 1/60
– we need a minimum of 20 participants to proceed).
(2) In stage 1, you get a $25 Amazon gift certificate (for books, electronics,
music or whatever) just for filling out one lousy survey.
(3) You’ll receive valuable custom feedback on your information
profile and you can have access to our research results.
(4) The university Human Subjects board has reviewed this research
for ethical conduct, risk, and invasion of privacy and found that it presents
little or no danger beyond that already present in the workplace.
(5) In stage 2, you get a $100 Amazon gift certificate just for permission
to observe the mail server (and you don’t have to do anything!).
(6) Privacy will be protected via encryption (we can’t ready anything
you send or receive) and there will be no reporting of individual identities
of any kind (your boss won’t get anything from us!)
(7) It will not impact your day-to-day routine.
(8) At the end, you will gain access to specific software tools and
all software we develop will be open source, so you can see what we’re
up to.
(9) You keep access to this website where summaries like the survey
data will eventually appear.
(10) Your company may be able to improve knowledge management and beat
the pants off competitors! Non-participants will NOT
be eligible for the gift certificates or payments, they will NOT have access
to the website and summary profiles, they will NOT receive the software, and
will NOT be sent courtesy copies of the eventual research findings.
Overview | Description | Become Research Sponsor | Top 10
