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To facilitate innovative software development, more and more software development teams (SDTs) turn to agile methods. Such agile methods develop both extensive and efficient software responses to a client’s requirement change. However, the antecedents of successful agile software development are poorly understood. The authors goal is to propose a model of how power asymmetry and paradoxical leadership interact and affect agility in SDTs, which in turn affect their capacity to innovate. By leveraging insights from research on individuals’ cognition, the authors argue that developers with relatively higher power evaluate their contributions to their teams more ambivalently, which increases their delay or postponement of their contributions to their teams’ tasks. As a result, power asymmetry is negatively related to software teams’ response extensiveness and efficiency. Second, and drawing on leadership studies on behavioral complexity, the authors consider the moderating role of paradoxical leadership that a team receives as an important moderating factor to this effect. The authors argue that, when team leaders exhibit paradoxical leadership behaviors, high-power individuals’ ambivalence is less likely to emerge; hence, transforming power asymmetry to an asset for the enhancement of agility in the SDT.

Much of what we learn from empirical research is based on a specific empirical model(s) presented in the literature. However, the range of plausible models given the data is potentially larger, thus creating an additional source of uncertainty termed: model uncertainty. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of model uncertainty on empirical research in HRM and suggest potential solutions to deal with the same.

Using a sample of call center employees from India, the authors test the robustness of predictors of intention to leave based on the unfolding model proposed by Harman et.al. (2007). Methodologically, the authors use Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) to identify the specific variables within the unfolding model that have a robust relationship with turnover intentions after accounting for model uncertainty.

The findings show that indeed model uncertainty can impact what we learn from empirical studies. More specifically, in the context of the sample, using four plausible model specifications, the authors show that the conclusions can vary depending on which model the authors choose to interpret. Furthermore, using BMA, the authors find that only two variables, job satisfaction and perceived organizational support, are model specification independent robust predictors of intention to leave.

The research has specific implications for the development of HR analytics and informs managers on which are the most robust elements affecting attrition.

While empirical research typically acknowledges and corrects for the presence of sampling uncertainty through p-values, rarely does it acknowledge the presence of model uncertainty (which variables to include in a model). To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first study to show the effect and offer a solution to studying total uncertainty (sampling uncertainty + model uncertainty) on empirical research in HRM. The work should open more doors toward more studies evaluating the robustness of key HRM constructs in explaining important work-related outcomes.

This chapter presents an analysis illustrating the evolution of information systems’ development based on three interdependent phases. In the first period, information systems were mainly considered as a strictly technical discipline. Information technology (IT) was used to automate manual processes; each application was treated as a separate entity with the overall objective of leveraging IT to increase productivity and efficiency, primarily in an organizational context. Secondly, the introduction of networking capabilities and personal computers (instead of fictitious terminals) has laid the foundations for a new and broader use of information technologies while paving the way for a transition from technology to its actual use. During the second phase, typical applications were intended to support professional work, while many systems became highly integrated. The most significant change introduced during the third era was the World Wide Web, which transcended the boundaries of the Internet and the conventional limits of IT use. Since then, applications have become an integral part of business strategies while creating new opportunities for alliances and collaborations. Across organizational and national boundaries, this step saw a transformation of IT in the background. These new ready-to-use applications are designed to help end-users in their daily activities. The end-user experience has become an essential design factor.

This study aims at understanding how higher education institutions (HEIs) can contribute to sustainable development, by designing their programmes for bringing about a transformative impact on communities and students, and also to examine what alternative pedagogical approaches could be used for that. In the past decades, HEIs have increasingly created social innovation (SI) programmes, as a way to achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These community-oriented and field-based programmes are difficult to ally with conventional classroom education. This study explores how these programmes could integrate the participatory approach and what would be the benefits. It also investigates the effectiveness of the experiential learning approach for teaching sustainability.

A case study method is used to document SI projects initiated by an HEI programme in rural India.

It was found that the participatory approach contributes to empowering communities and also benefits the students in terms of academic, professional and personal growth. Empirical findings show that experiential learning is an efficient method to teach sustainability. Ultimately, both pedagogical approaches are found to be mutually beneficial.

This study fills a gap in the literature, by providing empirical evidence on how HEI can implement innovative educational strategies such as participatory approach and experiential learning in their programmes towards teaching sustainability. A conceptual model for HEI interested in developing similar programmes is also proposed. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first studies focusing on the context of Indian HEI.

The purpose of this study is to apply the concept of organizational ambidexterity as a conceptual lens to increase the understanding of tensions between exploitation (continuity) and exploration (change) in Agile software development (ASD) project teams, and particularly the balancing (ambidextrous) strategies utilized.

A conceptual framework was constructed from interdisciplinary sources on ambidexterity. A literature review of publications on ambidexterity in ASD was then performed, and the results from the selected publications were classified according to an extension of the conceptual framework.

Contextual ambidexterity in ASD is affected by the four basic coherent concepts: time, task, team and transition. The study found that most ambidextrous factors and strategies were task and team-related. In addition, a mixture of hard (performance) strategies and soft (social) strategies is needed in order for people/teams to (be able to) become ambidextrous.

To provide a better understanding of ASD, it is important to identify a broader set of ambidextrous factors and strategies that can impact ASD project teams. The expanded conceptual framework can serve as a basis for future empirical research and provide insights to practitioners on how to strengthen ambidexterity in ASD projects.

The contribution is of great importance for ASD research and practice, as ASD methods are a popular method for managing projects within ASD and in other nonsoftware organizations. In addition, as more and more organizations struggle to deal with rapidly changing environments, interest in the phenomena of paradoxical tensions and the strategy (ambidexterity) to deal with these tensions increase.

In the current era, multiple factors have driven the IS information system to be able to cope with changes caused by internal and external factors that affect the organization’s strategy. A variety of environmental factors can influence organizational capacity and performance and tend to change organizational strategy, including political, socio-economic, financial, and technological changes. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, other changes are expected, such as those associated with cybercrime and artificial intelligence. In this chapter, the authors discuss the concept of agility, the dimension of agility, relevant literature studies, proposed agility models, and the authors propose their conceptual model of strategic agility for IS.