A Transactive Memory System Perspective in Software Engineering Education

The effect of governance on global software development: An empirical research in transactive memory systems

Over two decades have passed since Wegner and his co-authors published the groundbreaking paper on transactive memory systems (TMS) in 1985. The concept attracted the interest of management, psychology, and communication scholars who have employed a variety of methods to examine the phenomenon. In this paper, we review 76 papers that examined transactive memory systems and summarize the findings in an integrative framework to show the antecedents and consequences of TMS. Our review also reveals important issues in the literature related to the measurement of TMS, its multidimensional nature, extending TMS from the team level to the organizational level, and the potential role of TMS in explaining the benefits of experience in existing organizations and new entrepreneurial ventures. We conclude by calling for future research to examine the dynamic evolution of TMS, TMS in virtual teams, TMS in entrepreneurial ventures, and TMS at the organizational level facilitated with information technologies.

Learning Software Engineering principles, processes, methods and tools is a prerequisite to becoming a Software Engineer. The technological advancements and revolution in this new century are probing the boundaries of education and training in software engineering. This work tries to locate the shortcomings in existing approaches to Education in Software Engineering (ESE) in respect to today's technological advancements. We hereby proposed a new model for Education in Software Engineering to bridge the industry-academia gap.

The success of modern ICT systems is not just about the technology. The human and social dimensions are also critical – especially in terms of understanding the context and environment within which the systems operate. This is true also about the environment in which the system is developed. Although much effort has been expended on building and analysing formal models of software systems, little has been done in terms of how software development teams work and how this might be studied in a formally-based way. This research looks at one of the fundamental aspects involved in collaborative teams working in projects – the transactive memory system (TMS). This, well established, concept in psychology is an approach to how the different people in a team regard the capabilities (knowledge and abilities) of each other as it changes over time. These capabilities are the basis for decision making in software projects about who does what, and when.
\n
\nUsing a formal model of the TMS of a team, based on agent-based modelling, simulations were made of how teams might operate under different circumstances. The initial model was validated against published data. The model was then investigated in terms of how different types of project management affected the TMS of a team and on the team’s performance. In particular, a comparison was made between a traditional, plan-based approach against an agile method using pair programming. The result demonstrates strong benefits in terms of performance and learning with the agile approach.

Purpose – Transactive memory systems (TMS) is a theory of group cognition which conceptualizes knowledge sharing and retrieval processes in groups by the use of a shared “directory”. This paper aims to review and analyze the literature and outline a set of requirements for an information system to support and facilitate TMS processes.Design/methodology/approach – The author analyzed all TMS research literature in the SCOPUS and PROQUEST databases, mapping relevant observations about TMS to a TMS process model. These findings were then translated into functional requirements for a TMS information system (TMS‐IS).Findings – A reasonable integration of information management functions into the TMS process model is possible. However, it was also found that social software functions for social networking, self‐disclosure and conversation are a necessary component of such a TMS‐IS.Practical implications – The specification provides a useful consolidation of the research literature and a reliable point from whic...

PurposeDespite the recognized importance of transactive memory systems (TMS) for firm performance, this relationship remains misconstrued for entrepreneurial firms. Some researchers argue that entrepreneurial firms benefit from effective knowledge management systems, whereas others contend that such systems may prove expensive for resource-scarce entrepreneurial firms. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to explore this relationship in the context of Indian entrepreneurial firms. Furthermore, the authors argue that relationship conflict among organizational members impacts the TMS–performance link for entrepreneurial firms.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 127 entrepreneurial hotels in the Uttarakhand state of India and analyzed using multiple linear regression.FindingsThe findings of this study establish a positive relationship between TMS and firm performance for entrepreneurial firms. Also, it is found that TMS becomes more nuanced and beneficial in the presence of relationship conflict between organizational sub-units and is a unique finding that can be potentially helpful to entrepreneurs bestowed with the task of knowledge management in their organizations.Practical implicationsThis study offers at least two insights to entrepreneurs. First, establishing TMS – i.e. managing knowledge in such a way that specialization units are created, credibility is established among the knowledge units, and there is scope for sufficient communication – leads to enhanced performance in entrepreneurial organizations. Second, as the level of relationship conflict within the entrepreneurial firm increases, it becomes all the more crucial to emphasize TMS.Originality/valueAlthough researchers in the literature of knowledge management have emphasized a lot on its performance outcomes, relatively little research effort has been placed on understanding this link for entrepreneurial firms. The current study filled this void in the literature and offered crucial implications for entrepreneurial firms operating in dynamic environments such as hotels. Additionally, the data collected from a relatively unexplored context of Indian hospitality industry offer a valuable addition to the entrepreneurship literature.

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of transactive memory system (TMS) and interaction platforms in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) on social presence perceptions and self-regulation skills of learners. Within the scope of the study, social presence perceptions and self-regulation skills of students in collaborative groups constructing knowledge in wiki, blog, podcast and Facebook platforms in CSCL processes were compared. The study is designed as a pretest and post-test control group study and was carried out with 97 university students. Social presence and self-regulation scales were administered as pretest in the study. At the end of process, social presence, self-regulation, transactive memory scales and semi-structured student opinion forms were administered as post-test. When the findings were examined, it was seen that interaction platforms and the TMS level of the group did not have a significant impact on social presence perception individually; yet common impact of these two variables was significant. When the impact of interaction platforms and the TMS on self-regulation skills was examined, it was found that whilst interaction platforms had a significant impact, the TMS alone and interaction platforms–TMS common impact were not significant.

Theoretical descriptions of transactive memory systems (TMSs) have postulated that intimate couples develop coordinated systems for sharing and distributing cognitive labour. Although such systems have been well-studied in research on organisational teams, little research has examined how TMSs operate in the context of intimate relationships. In the current study, we used semi-structured interviews to ask 39 older long-married couples to describe how they shared cognitive labour between them. We used qualitative analysis to examine themes relating to specialisation, credibility, and coordination – the key components of successful TMSs identified in organisational teams. We found that couples described their everyday memory sharing practices in ways that reflected these themes, with our findings revealing nuanced descriptions of sources of specialisation and the division of memory labour in relationships, as well as the impacts of ageing and cognitive decline on couples’ TMSs. We discuss these findings in terms of applications of transactive memory theory to intimate relationships, couples as a dyadic unit of analysis, and the role of intimate relationships in adapting to age-related change.

Task interdependence within teams is critical towards the team's performance. However, there has not been strong support in examining the effect of task interdependence on the relationship between Transactive Memory Systems (TMS) quality and team performance. Using a survey, this research examines the potential effects of the moderating and mediating effects between task interdependence towards team performance. A partial support was found in the mediating effect between task interdependence and team performance. However, a significant negative effect was obtained in the moderating effect between TMS quality and team performance. Both of these findings provide empirical evidence of the possible effects of the task interdependence between TMS quality and team performance.

BackgroundIn recent years, temporal leadership has gradually attracted academic attention.PurposeThis paper discussed the impact of temporal leadership on team innovation performance.MethodologyThrough the sample analysis of 385 team members in 98 teams. The measurements of temporal leadership, team innovation performance, transactive memory system, and team reflection were used to measure the relationships between temporal leadership, transactive memory systems and team innovation performance.Findings/ResultsIt is found that temporal leadership has a positive impact on team innovation performance, which is transmitted through the credibility dimension and coordination dimension of transactive memory systems. Positive team reflection regulates the relationship between temporal leadership and transactive memory systems.ValueThis paper reveals the specific impact mechanism of temporal leadership on team innovation performance and provides a new perspective on how to improve team innovation performance in limited time resources.

Indian software industry has set up huge growth targets for future. These targets would be heavily affected by the software engineering (SE) education scenario in the country. The purpose of this paper is to provide a holistic understanding of SE education issues and challenges specific to Indian context, from both industry and academic perspective. This study is based on our (a) interaction with industry through SE education related projects, surveys and discussions. (B) Observations as an integral part of Indian SE educators' community. There is an urgent need for addressing these deep rooted issues, as the lack of proper SE education may be the single largest factor that may negatively affect the industry. Understanding these issues will help to identify the action items that initiate software engineering educational reforms in the country. We also discuss the essential and minimal set of SE knowledge, skills and dispositions that the Indian industry expects from engineers who will be joining the industry. Indian software industry is a global leader in software application development and maintenance services, but there very few studies on the issues and effects associated with SE education in the Indian context. Though this discussion is limited to India, but we believe that it represents the existing conditions in many developing countries where IT and ITES (IT enabled services) industry is gaining importance.

Transactive memory system (TMS) refers to the knowledge storage in individual's memory. Members in the organization rely on the knowledge network, and they have to utilize their knowledge and expertise to achieve shared goals. TMS consists of three parts: specialized team knowledge, mutual trust between members, and organized task processes (Lewis, 2003). Past research focused on the group level inside the organization. In the current study, TMS is applied to a higher level - inter-organizational situation. We attempt to explore if this mechanism may exert an effect on the performance of inter-organizational cooperation in regional innovation systems (RIS). Data is collected from the industries in central Taiwan, which is a developing RIS. The main purpose of this paper is to reveal the implicit mechanism of inter-organizational cooperation. The results show that TMS is indeed a catalyst of organizational level collaboration. This research provides a new perspective to evaluate industrial cooperation, and the difference between the effects of these three dimensions is further discussed as well.

Tourism and hospitality firms generally recover from crises but the resources and capabilities they leverage to maintain social performance remain elusive. Embedded in the resource-based view of the firm, we argue that psychological resources, such as employee resilience, and knowledge embedded in teams, through a transactive memory system, as well as dynamic capabilities can sustain social performance during crises. We test this proposition on a sample of 350 UK tourism and hospitality firms that survived the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from partial-least square structural equation modeling and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis identify different combinations of employee resilience, transactive memory systems, and dynamic capabilities that can boost social performance. Theoretically, micro and meso-level organizational resources and capabilities are intertwined in shaping social performance during crises. Managerially, recommendations on how to improve employee resilience in a way that boosts team knowledge, dynamic capabilities and ultimately social performance are offered.

The leadership literature suggests that followers are likely to be autonomously motivated when working for servant leaders, leading them to experience greater psychological empowerment. Guided by self-determination theory, we predicted that this empowerment would then heighten individuals’ perceptions of their teams’ transactive memory systems. When subordinates perceive that discrimination is occurring in their workgroup, however, we expected that the empowerment—transactive memory systems link would be weakened. This moderated mediation model was tested at multiple timepoints using 211 employees from a variety of industries and job types. The results generally supported our predictions, and the implications for theory and practice are discussed.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to evaluate the roles of a transactive memory system and the supply network flexibility (SNF) of the firm as antecedents of a firm’s supply chain agility (FSCA), also incorporating the moderating role of the transactive memory system; and, second, to evaluate the relationship between FSCA and operations performance (OP).Design/methodology/approachFour hypothesized relationships are tested with survey data from 190 high-tech firms using structural equation models.FindingsFSCA can be enhanced through the transactive memory system and SNF, although a higher degree of transactive memory system weakens the positive relationship between SNF and FSCA. A positive relationship is identified between FSCA and OP, while FSCA mediates the relationship between SNF and OP.Practical implicationsManagers can increase FSCA and improve OP by developing both the transactive memory system and SNF. Given that firms have limited resources, investment in internal capabilities should be prioritized as this appears to be more effective at developing FSCA.Originality/valueThe findings expand the literature by exploring two antecedents of FSCA and by analyzing the impact of FSCA on different measures of OP. Few prior studies have highlighted the importance of the transactive memory system to the operations function.