Although trust has received much attention in many streams of information systems research, there has been little theorizing to explain how trust evokes sentiments and affects task performance in IT-enabled relationships. Many studies unquestionably assume that trust is intrinsically beneficial, and dismiss the possibility that the effects of trust may be dependent on the situation (or conditions) at present. This paper theoretically and empirically examines outcomes of an individual's trust in global virtual teams under differing situations (or conditions). In Study 1, we find that early in a team's existence, a member's trusting beliefs have a direct positive effect on his or her trust in the team and perceptions of team cohesiveness. Later on, however, a member's trust in his team operates as a moderator, indirectly affecting the relationships between team communication and perceptual outcomes. Study 2 similarly suggests that trust effects are sensitive to the particular situation or condition. Combined, the studies find that trust affects virtual teams differently in different situations. Future studies on trust will need to consider situational contingencies. This paper contributes to the literature on IT-enabled relationships by theorizing and empirically testing how trust affects attitudes and behaviors.

For corporations engaged in e-commerce, the Web serves as their primary interface with customers. Consequently, quality Web site design is a critical success factor for corporations with an e-commerce strategy. However, no comprehensive and coherent set of evaluation criteria exists that corporations and researchers can use to examine Web sites. This paper fills this gap by proposing Web site evaluation criteria and applying these criteria to different industry groups within Korea. Based on the literature survey, six categories of Web site evaluation criteria are defined: business function; corporation credibility; contents reliability; Web site attractiveness; systematic structure; and navigation. Using these criteria, Web sites in 12 industries were evaluated to determine if there are differences in Web site design between industries. The objective was to determine differences between industries which may provide information for benchmarking purposes. The results show significant differences in the design of Web sites across these different industry groups.

The classic story of the blind men and the elephant teaches us that in order to fully understand something, we need to observe it from more than one perspective. In this paper, we extend the range of perspectives available for researchers by developing a typology of models. The typology is based on the process-variance dichotomy suggested by Mohr (1982). A selection of empirical IS research is classified with the typology, resulting in the identification of four distinct hybrid models. The research using these four forms is able to make valuable contributions to our knowledge of IS, refuting Mohr's claim that hybrid models are inferior to pure process and variance models. The analysis of the IS research using the typology is combined with a series of interviews with process researchers to yield a collection of implications for researchers interested in studying process or hybrid models. A. S. Lee et al. (eds.), Information Systems and Qualitative Research © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 1997 Process Models in Information SystemsThe reason for our existence in the business school is to provide prescriptions to managers on how to improve things. Only the process approach can lead us to these prescriptions. 71(statement by an IS researcher experienced in the study of process models)