MUST read it: Prof. Robert Zmud Interview for AIS SIGSEMIS

Dear all,
I am happy to announce that Professor and Michael F. Price Chair in MIS, University of Oklahoma, Robert Zmud (http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/Z/Robert.W.Zmud-1/) , provide us an interview for the forthcoming AIS SIGSEMIS Bulletin 2(2) 2005.
I am copying a question:
	13.	Miltiadis: Dear Bob, I will ask your advice to the following. Maybe you are aware that we run a SIG on Semantic Web and IS, in AIS (http://www.sigsemis.org). My main concern is how can we promote this "new technology and concept" to the IS community but also in the Business World.  It is in a way a case of technological adoption. What would you advise? How can we fasten the required time for the adoption of technology? Is it only an issue of maturing technologies? 

Professor Robert Zmud: As with all adoption situations, this is an information and communication problem.  One needs to segment the base of potential adopters (both in the IS community and in the business community) and then develop communication programs to inform each distinct segment of, first, the existence of the innovation (know-what), then the nature of the innovation (know-how), and finally why this innovation would be useful to them (know-why).  These adopter segments are likely to be very different from each other.  Each will have a different likelihood of adoption and will likely require that a somewhat unique communication strategy be devised and directed toward the segment.  My advice thus, is to segment the adopter population, identify those communities with the highest potential for adoption, develop a targeted communication strategy, and then develop the relationships necessary to deliver the commincation strategy.  Hope this helps.     	

I am inviting you to browse the contents of this interview at the following URLS:
<http://www.sigsemis.org/columns/interviews/zmoud_interview>
<http://www.sigsemis.org/columns/interviews/Interview_Robert_Zmud.pdf/download>


You will find many interesting insights from a Great Mind, that his work on Organizational Implications of Information Technology and Information systems is legendary. I liked a lot his perceptions on the business value of IT, the need to diffuse IS research impact in other contexts, and his strategy on PhD studies and IS curriculums, etc. I am looking forward for your comments.

Dear Bob, 
Accept from the deepest of my heart my best wishes fro health, creativity, insiration and well being, in order to continue contributing to our community with your thoughts and guidance.

Thank you also for the opportunity you gave me through this interview just to act as a mediator between you and the international IS community, which believe me is always interested in your thoughts. You have influenced all of us and you are still putting new milestones to our mind towards new Synergies of Management/Organizational Science and Information systems
research.

Just because simple is always beautiful.

A GREAT Thank you from all the International IS research community

Kindest Regards

Dr. Miltiadis D. Lytras (AIS SIGSEMIS and AIS SIGRLO)
KMR Group (<http://kmr.nada.kth.se/>) 
RACTI (<http://www.cti.gr>)
ELTRUN (<http://www.eltrun.gr>) 





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An Interview with Robert Zmud
Professor and Michael F. Price Chair in MIS, University of Oklahoma
For the Official Quarterly Bulletin of AIS Special Interest Group on
Semantic Web and Information Systems, Vol. 2, Issue 2, 2005
(<http://www.sigsemis.org>)


"Given the pervasiveness of technology, IS research should be salient to
other fields of research"

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Robert W. Zmud is the Michael F. Price Chair in MIS and Director of the
MIS Division in the Michael F. Price College of Business at the University
of Oklahoma. He has been elected a fellow of both the Association of
Information Systems and the Decision Science Institute.

While his research portfolio might seem at first glance to be rather
eclectic, the vast majority of Bob's refereed articles have addressed
phenomena associated with the following question, "What must an enterprise
do right in order to introduce appropriate information technology so as to
fully leverage the functionality of this technology in creating business
value?" His research examining this question has been published in over
75 refereed articles in such journals as (among others) MIS Quarterly,
Information Systems Research, Management Science, Organization Science,
Academy of Management Review, and Academy of Management Journal.

Bob has been active in promoting and developing information systems
scholarship through the leadership roles he has served with scholarly
journals in the information systems field. He served as the
Editor-in-Chief of MIS Quarterly from 1995 to 1998, as a founding Senior
Editor of Organization Science, and is currently a Senior Editor with
Information Systems Research, the Journal of the AIS, and MISQ Executive. 
In addition, he currently serves or has previously served on the editorial
boards of the following journals (alphabetical order): Academy of
Management Review, Communications of the ACM, Decision Sciences,
Information & Organization, Journal of Engineering and Technology
Management, Management Science, MISQ Executive, and Systems, Objectives,
Solutions.

Bob has also played leadership roles in professional societies and
conferences associated with the information system discipline. He has
served in officer roles with the OCIS Division of the Academy of
Management, the TIMS College on Information Systems, and the Society of
Information Management, International. In addition, through his work with
SIM, International as Research Director of the Advanced Practices Council
and as Chair of the SIM Paper Competition, Bob has played an instrumental
role in furthering practice-based research in information systems. 
Finally, Bob has also served in leadership roles in numerous information
systems conferences, including serving as General Chair for ICIS 1993 and
Program Chair for ICIS 1986.

In addition to serving on the faculties of Clarkson University, Auburn
University, Georgia State University, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, Florida State University, and University of Oklahoma, Bob has
served as a Shaw Professor at Nanyang Technological University (1997), a
Visiting Scholar at City University of Hong Kong (2001), and a Shaw
Professor at the National University of Singapore (2002). He received his
Bachelors of Aerospace Engineering Degree from the University of Virginia
(1968), his MS degree in Management from MIT (1970), and his PhD in
Business Administration degree from the University of Arizona (1974).