Current Research Areas and R&D Projects

Research Areas Papers/Books/Software Products

  • Business to Business (B2B) Electronic Commerce & Risk Management

    • EDI Impacts on Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)
    • B2B Risk Management
    • B2B Assurance
    • Risk Management in the Extended Enterprise Environment

Our current research activity in this area focusses on exploring and identifying the critical risk factors involved in e-commerce driven extended-enterprise systems that can potentially escalate an organization’s overall enterprise risk. We have identified critical risk factors in B2B relationships using the Khazanchi and Sutton (2001) model for B2B e-commerce risk assessment as the conceptual basis for viewing specific risk components. Based on this work, we have validated a risk assessment instrument developed and are in the process of using this to empirically examine a causal model that considers risk as a key factor influencing the inter-organizational relationship between two or more B2B business partners in the form of relationship satisfaction and assurance desirability.

  • Collaborators:
    • Steve Sutton (University of Central Florida)
    • Vicki Arnold (University of Central Florida)
    • Clark Hampton (PhD Student - University of Central Florida)

Sutton, S., Khazanchi, D., Hampton, C. and Arnold, V.(2007; Forthcoming). "Risk Analysis in Extended Enterprise Environments: Identification of Critical Risk Factors in B2B E-Commerce Relationships". Journal of the Association of Information Systems (JAIS).

Arnold, V., Hampton, C., Khazanchi, D. and Sutton, S. (2006; September 7-8th). "Risk Analysis in Extended Enterprise Environments: Identification of Critical Risk Factors in B2B E-Commerce Relationships". Proceedings of the Fourth Annual CABIT (Center for Advancing Business through Information Technology) Symposium, Phoenix, AZ, http://symposium.cabit.wpcarey.asu.edu/.

V. Arnold, C. Hampton, D. Khazanchi and S.G. Sutton (2005, August 7-10th). "B2B E-Commerce Assurance: The Influence of Partner Risk on Assurance Desirability & Relationship Satisfaction." American Accounting Association (AAA) Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California.

Khazanchi, D. (2005, Spring). "Information Technology (IT) Appropriateness: The Contingency Theory of “Fit” and IT Implementation in Small and Medium Enterprises". Journal of Computer Information Systems, Volume XLV, No. 3, pp. 88-95.

V. Arnold, C. Hampton, D. Khazanchi and S.G. Sutton. (2004, August 8-11th). "Risk Analysis in an Extended Enterprise Environment: Identification of Key Risk Factors in B2B E-Commerce Relationships." American Accounting Association (AAA) Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida.

V. Arnold, C. Hampton, D. Khazanchi and S.G. Sutton (2004, November 5-6th). "B2B E-Commerce Assurance: The Influence of Partner Risks On Continuous Assurance Desirability & Relationship Satisfaction." The Eighth Rutgers Continuous Auditing & Reporting Symposium.

V. Arnold, C. Hampton, D. Khazanchi and S.G. Sutton. (2004). Enterprise Risk Management: Identifying Risk in B2B E-Commerce Relationships. Altamonte Springs, Fl: The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Research Foundation. ISBN: 0-89413-554-6. [To purchase this book, please visit the IIA book store].

V. Arnold, C. Hampton, D. Khazanchi and S.G. Sutton. (2003, October 31-Nov 1). "Risk Analysis in an Extended Enterprise Environment: Identification of Key Risk Factors in B2B E-Commerce Relationships (Presented under the title: Invited Research Reports: IIA Study on B2B Risks)." University of Waterloo Symposium on Information Systems Assurance, Toronto, Canada.

Arnold, V., Hampton, C., Khazanchi, D., and Sutton, S.G. (2002, November 22-23). "Risk Analysis in B2B E-Business Relationships: A Model for Continuous Monitoring and Assurance in Partnering Relationships". Fifth Continuous Assurance Symposium, Rutgers Business School.

Khazanchi, D. (2002, Spring/Summer). ""An Empirical Analysis of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Implementation Benefits in Kentucky Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Some Implications for New IT Implementation," Journal of Small Business Strategy, Volume 13, No. 1, pp. 1-18.

Khazanchi, D. and S. Sutton (2001, January). "Business-to-Business electronic commerce assurance services: A framework and implications." Journal of the Association of Information Systems (JAIS) , Volume 1, Article 11, Available at URL: http://jais.isworld.org/contents.asp.

Khazanchi, D. (1999). "The nature and structure of impediments to EDI adoption and integration: A survey of small- to medium-sized enterprises." Journal of Failures and Lessons Learned in Information Technology Management, 3, pp. 101-100.

Khazanchi, D. (1999). "Whither EDI? An Analysis of Emerging Trends in Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Use in Kentucky Small- to Medium-Sized Enterprises." Kentucky Journal of Economics and Business, 18, pp. 51-74.

Khazanchi, D. (1998). The organizational impact of Electronic Data Interchange on small- and medium-sized enterprises. (Research Monograph). The Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and the Northern Kentucky University Research and Grants Foundation sponsored this project.
  •  IT Project Management 
    •  Virtual Project Management
    •  Best Practices in Project Management
    •  Project Management Training
    • Project Management Assurance

    Our current work in this domain focuses on the effective management of virtual projects. We argue that irtual projects are fundamentally different from traditional projects in many ways. Project managers, however, are naturally inclined to carry their assumptions about and skills in traditional project management into a virtual environment. Three things often keep project managers from rapidly adapting and being effective in this new environment – their existing mindset, skill set, and tool set. The rare manager who can combine all three things is someone who can manage through technology, rather than simply with technology. Being able to combine perspectives in a seamless way with skills and technology is something that could be taught if we had the blueprint. The research described in this proposal addresses this issue and makes both theoretical and practical strides toward understanding and specifying such blueprints. We use the theoretical frame of patterns to propose an entirely new concept. Our underlying hypothesis is that effective (and ineffective) patterns of virtual projects can be identified. We focus on three concepts as the underlying theoretical elements for identifying patterns: (1) coordination, (2) communication, and (3) control. We believe that these elements are uniquely different in virtual projects because of the reliance on communication technology, which defines the environment through which coordination, communication, and control take place. The technology both constrains and enables how each element is handled, as well as the balance or pattern among elements. It is the existence and implications of such patterns that we are currently investigating. We are in the process of developing a method for identifying patterns for effective virtual project management.

  • Collaborators:

Khazanchi, D. and Zigurs, I. (2007; Under Review). "A Systematic Method for Discovering Effective Patterns of Virtual Project Management". IEEE Software.

Zigurs, I. and Khazanchi, D. (2008, Spring; Forthcoming). "From Profiles to Patterns: A New View of Task-Technology Fit", Information Sytems Management.

Zigurs, I., Khazanchi, D. and Mametjanov, A. (2007. Forthcoming). "The Practice and Promise of Virtual Project Management." in: Kock, N., Editor (2007), Encyclopedia of E-Collaboration,  Hershey, PA: Idea Group Inc., Chapter 116.

Khazanchi, D. and Zigurs, I. (2007, January 3-7). "An Assessment Framework for Developing and Using Patterns for the Effective Management of Virtual Projects." Proceedings of the Hawaii International conference on System Sciences (HICSS-40).

Khazanchi, D. and Zigurs, I. (2006, July-September). "Patterns for Effective Management of Virtual Projects: Theory and Evidence." International Journal of electronic Collaboration (IJeC) -- Special Issue on Collaborative Project Management, Volume 2, No. 3, pp. 25-49.

Khazanchi, D. and Zigurs, I. (2005, May 21st). "Patterns of Virtual Projects", PMI Project Management Research Programme Working Session", Edinburgh, Scotland, UK (part of the PMI Global Congress-EMEA). [Reported in July 2005 PMI Newsletter].

Khazanchi, D. and Zigurs, I. (2005). Patterns of effective management of virtual projects: An exploratory study. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute. ISBN: 1930699832. [To purchase this book, please visit the PMI book store]. [Read a review of the book]. [Read editorial comments about the book and study in redmonmag.com; Local version]

Khazanchi, D. and Zigurs I. (October 1st-April 15th, 2005; Completed). "A Simulation for Executive Sponsors of Projects." [Play with our innovative simulation].

Khazanchi, D. and Zigurs I (May 15th-August 15th, 2003; Completed). "A Simulation for Budding Project Managers." [Play with our innovative PM Simulation].

Khazanchi, D., Raghavan, V.V., and J.L. Webster (1994), "Relationship between information system project characteristics and project management activities: An empirical study." Journal of Information Technology Management, V:4, pp. 17-28.
  •  Application of Philosophy Science to IS/T Research
    • Relevance of IS Research
    • Scientific Realism in IS Research
    • Truth in IS Research
    • Patterns Theory and Design Science
    • Validation of Concepts

Our research effort in this domain concentrates on applying philosophy of science concepts to the Information Systems (IS) discipline.  We are interested in the study of relevance of IS research and the phenomenon of paradigmatic oscillation apparent in published IS research as one phenomenon of interest in this area. The ongoing debate about the survival of Information Systems as a professional and scientific discipline is a basis for a second stream of research in this area. Finally, the notion of truth and scientific realishm in IS research is of interest.

Khazanchi, D. and Munkvold, B.E. (2007; Work in progress). "The Rhetoric and Relevance of IS Research Paradigms: Conceptual Foundations and Empirical Evidence."

Khazanchi, D. and Munkvold, B.E. (2004, April 20th). "The Rhetoric and Relevance of IS Research Paradigms: Conceptual Foundations and Survey Research". Presented by Dr. Khazanchi to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, College of Business Administration, MS/PhD students.

Khazanchi, D. and Munkvold, B.E. (January 06 - 09, 2003). "On the Rhetoric and Relevance of IS Research Paradigms: A Conceptual Framework and Some Propositions". Proceedings of the 36th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS’03), Big Island, Hawaii, pp. 252b.

Khazanchi, D. (2001). "Whither IS? A Scientific Realist Viewpoint," Invited presentation to the Kristiansand International Workshop on Information Systems Research (KIWISR), August 10-11, Kristiansand, Norway.

Khazanchi, D. and Munkvold, B.E. (2001, March). "Expanding the notion of relevance in IS research: A proposal and some recommendations." Communications of the Association of Information Systems (CAIS), Volume 6, Article 14, Available at URL: http://cais.isworld.org/contents.asp. 

Khazanchi, D. and Munkvold, B.E. (2000) "Is information systems a science? An inquiry into the nature of the information systems discipline." The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems, Volume 31, Issue 3, Summer, pp. 26-44.

Khazanchi, D. (1995, Spring) "Truth in education," Effective Teaching--NKU's teaching newsletter, pp. 6-7.

  • Mutual Knowledge in Virtual Teams

Our current work has focussed on developing and describing the notion of mutual knowledge and its potential impact on virtual team performance. Based on an analysis of extant literature, we have argued that there is a gap in our understanding of what is known about mutual knowledge as it impacts team dynamics and virtual team performance. Supporting literature, anecdotes, and case studies are used to discuss the importance of mutual knowledge for virtual team performance and the research issues that need to be addressed in the future. We are curently developing our notins of how transcative memory theory can explain the use of mutual knowledge in virtual team performance.

  • Collaborators:

 

Davis, A. and Khazanchi, D. (2008, May). " An Empirical Study of Online Word of Mouth as a Predictor for Multi-product Category E-commerce Sales ", Electronic Markets , Volume18, Issue 2, pp. 130-141.

Davis, A. and Khazanchi, D. ( 2006, May 5-6th). "Mutual Knowledge and its Impact on Virtual Team Performance." Proceedings of the 1st Midwest United States Association for Information Systems Conference (MWAIS06), Grand Rapids, Michigan. Davis, A. and Khazanchi, D. (2007; Forthcoming).

Davis, A. and Khazanchi, D. (2007, May 18-19th). "The Influence of Transactive Memory on Mutual Knowledge in Virtual Teams: A Theoretical Proposal." Proceedings of the 2nd Midwest United States Association for Information Systems Conference (MWAIS07), Springfield, Illinois.

Davis, A. and Khazanchi, D. (2007; Forthcoming) "Does Mutual Knowledge Affect Virtual Team Performance? Theoretical Analysis and Anecdotal Evidence." American Journal of Business (AJB).
  • Metaverses, Virtual Worlds and Other Reality Environments

This research broadly focusses on undestanding the nature of metaverses and virtual world environments, paritculalry with regards to how people organize and meet other people to collaborate on Virtual World Projects (VWPs) using metaverse technology capabilities.

  • Collaborators:
    • Alanah Davis (ABD - University of Nebraska at Omaha)
    • John Murphy (PhD student - University of Nebraska at Omaha)
    • Dawn Owens (PhD student - University fo Nebraska at Omaha)
    • Ilze Zigurs (University of Nebraska at Omaha)