Converting individual knowledge into organizational knowledge can be difficult because individuals refuse to share knowledge for a number of different reasons. Creating an atmosphere of fairness plays an important role in the creation of a knowledge-sharing climate. This dissertation proposes that perceptions of organizational justice are crucial building blocks of that environment, leading to knowledge sharing. Data was collected using a field survey of IT managers representing a broad spectrum of the population in terms of organizational size and industry classification. The survey instrument was developed based on the adaptation of previously validated scales in addition to new items where no existing measures were found. Hypotheses regarding the influence of distributional, procedural, and interactional justice on knowledge sharing processes were tested using structural equation modeling techniques. Based on the theory of reasoned action, which states that attitudes and subjective norms are the major determinants of a person's intention, the hypotheses examining the relationship between attitude toward knowledge sharing, subjective norm and the intention to share knowledge were supported. However, results did not support the hypothesis exploring the relationship between the organizational climate and the intention to share knowledge. The results show that all three types of justice constructs are statistically …

Abstract Attracting and developing information technology (IT) professionals is one of the top concerns for companies. Although much research has been conducted about the job behavior and attitudes of IT professionals over the last three decades, findings are inconclusive and contradictory. This suggests that something may be missing in how we examine this phenomenon. Most of this research is drawn from theories of motivation, very little examines the effect of social relationships on IT professionals' behavior and attitude. Yet, social capital theory suggests that job behavior and attitude may be greatly influenced by these relationships. This suggests that IT professionals' social capital warrants empirical examination. The primary research question that this dissertation addresses is how social capital affects IT professionals' work attitude and behavior including job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, job performance and turnover intention. The research model in this dissertation examines the influence of three aspects of social capital on IT professionals' job attitude and work behavior: tie strength, the number of ties and the structural holes. Data were collected from 129 IT professionals from a range of jobs, organizations and industries. Results indicate that tie strength in the organization of an IT professional is positively related to job …

The majority of Web site design literature mainly concentrates on the technical and functional aspects of Web site design. There is a definite lack of literature, in the IS field, that concentrates on the visual and aesthetic aspects of Web design. Preliminary research into the relationship between visual design and successful electronic commerce Web sites was conducted. The emphasis of this research was to answer the following three questions. What role do visual design elements play in the success of electronic commerce Web sites? What role do visual design principles play in the success of electronic commerce Web sites? What role do the typographic variables of visual design play in the success of electronic commerce Web sites? Forty-three undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory level MIS course used a Likert-style survey instrument to evaluate aesthetic aspects of 501 electronic commerce Web pages. The instrument employed a taxonomy of visual design that focused on three dimensions: design elements, design principles, and typography. The data collected were correlated against Internet usage success metrics data provided by Nielsen/NetRatings. Results indicate that 22 of the 135 tested relationships were statistically significant. Positive relationships existed between four different aesthetic dimensions and one single success measure. …