Search results

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the phenomenon of the digital do-it-yourself (DiDIY) in the medical domain. In particular, the main contribution of the paper is the analysis and discussion of a questionnaire-based user study focused on 3D printing (3DP) technology, which was conducted among clinicians of one of the most important research hospital group in Lombardy, Italy.

A general reflection on the notion of knowledge artifacts (KAs) and on the use of 3DP in medicine is followed by the research questions and by a more detailed analysis of the specialist literature on the usage of 3DP technology for diagnostic, training and surgical planning activities for clinicians and patients. The questionnaire-based user study design is then emerging from the conceptual framework for DiDIY in healthcare. To help focus on the main actors and assets composing the 3DP innovation roles in healthcare, the authors model: the DiDIY-er as the main initiator of the practice innovation; the available technology allowing the envisioning of new practices; the specific activities gaining benefits from the innovative techniques introduced; and the knowledge community continuously supporting and evolving knowledge practices.

The authors discuss the results of the user study in the light of the four main components of our DiDIY framework and on the notion of KA. There are differences between high expertise, or senior, medical doctors (MDs) and relatively lower expertise MDs, or younger MDs, regarding the willing to acquire 3DP competences; those who have seen other colleagues using 3DP are significantly more in favor of 3DP adoption in medical practices, and those who wish to acquire 3DP competence and do-by-themselves are significantly more interested in the making of custom-made patient-specific tools, such as cutting guides and templates; there are many recurrent themes regarding how 3DP usage and application may improve medical practice. In each of the free-text questions, there were comments regarding the impact of 3DP on medical knowledge practices, such as surgical rehearsal, surgery, pathology comprehension, patient-physician communication and teaching.

The 3DP adoption in healthcare is seen favorably and advocated by most of the respondents. In this domain, 3DP objects can be considered KAs legitimately. They can support knowledgeable practices, promote knowledge sharing and circulation in the healthcare community, as well as contribute to their improvement by the introduction of a new DiDIY mindset in the everyday work of MDs.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the process of why a Brazilian digital startup company reached unicorn status the fastest.

After the literature review, the authors conducted the questionnaire containing 13 questions used in 18 in-depth interviews conducted in the case study. Saturation point combined with the independent and in-depth analysis of the researchers is used to achieve internal and external validity. The primary data collected underwent an analytical approach, followed by a resource-based view (RBV). RBV does not deal with time. There is a gap in the literature and an opportunity here: to analyze the fastest company to become a unicorn under the RBV lens.

The case reveals that value can be found in traditional sectors, as is the case of the real estate sector. This is a case of a company in the direct home-buying space.

The contribution of this paper is both practical, with the seven lessons, and theoretical. Resources allocated to a specific context in a specific geographic region shift the attention away from the absolute value of resources to the timing of aggregating them. Thus, the contribution accounting for time is new to the RBV.

The originality lies in the analysis of the dynamics of digital businesses with exponential growth.

Proposes providing an insight about enterprise resource planning (ERP) adoption, highlighting contact points and significant differences between the way small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and large companies approach such a task.

The research is based on a wide literature review, focused on the identification of a taxonomy of business and organizational factors influencing ERP adoption. The deriving research model was incorporated in a questionnaire that was preliminarily tested and finally provided to a sample of 366 companies of any size. Responses were collected through personal interviews made by a dedicated team to a top manager.

The analysis of the empirical data shows that business complexity, as a composed factor, is a weak predictor of ERP adoption, whereas just company size turns out to be a very good one. In other words, companies seem to be disregarding ERP systems as an answer to their business complexity. Unexpectedly, SMEs disregard financial constraints as the main cause for ERP system non‐adoption, suggesting structural and organizational reasons as major ones. This pattern is partially different from what was observed in large organizations where the first reason for not adopting an ERP system is organizational. Moreover, the decision process regarding the adoption of ERP systems within SMEs is still more affected by exogenous reasons or “opportunity of the moment” than business‐related factors, contrary to large companies that are more interested in managing process integration and data redundancy/inconsistency through ERP implementation.

The research model is based on the assumption that business complexity and organizational change are the most relevant variables influencing ERP adoption, and such variables are explained through a set of factors inherently limited by the results of the literature review.

The results of the empirical research provide indication to SMEs willing to take into consideration the adoption of an ERP system. The same outcomes could be incorporated into the development strategies of ERP software houses.

This paper contributes to enhancing the understanding of the factors influencing the evolution of information systems within SMEs with respect to large companies.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the profile of DiDIYers and the antecedents of digital do it yourself (DiDIY) in Network Marketing Direct Selling Organizations (NMDSO).

A two-step research design allowed the detection of DiDIYers strictu sensu (i.e. digital makers). After collecting data about the attitudes and the actual use of digital technology (DT) by network marketers through an online survey, an open-ended interview technique made it possible to analyze the personal characteristics of DiDIYers, the motivations that drive them and the activities that mainly foster the creation of artifacts in the DT domain. Besides, it allowed to recognize the perceived benefits and the impact of DiDIY output on networkers’ downline and firms’ performance.

The results provide a preliminary profile of the DiDIYer in network marketing communities that is suitable for further comparative studies. More specifically, this exploratory study acknowledges the most important antecedents of DiDIY in digital literacy – including the awareness of being a digital literate and/or a potential appropriateur – and in organizational culture.

This is an exploratory study based on a limited sample of DiDIYers, nevertheless it offers a preliminary view of the subjective side of the DiDIY phenomenon in network marketing and represents as well a context-bound study.

Considering the ascribed benefits of DiDIY output on the traditional network marketing objectives (effectiveness, efficiency, cohesion, mutual assistance and reinforcement) network marketing communities could benefit from an increase of attention to the topic.

The study throws light on the process of DiDIY within direct sales and network marketing activities by defining a preliminary profile of digital makers and thus, underlining a phenomenon neglected so far.

This manuscript explores the evolving roles of HR professionals amidst global megatrends and organizational transitions, focusing on the Italian context, which has experienced disruptive adoption of new forms of work such as remote and hybrid work. In this challenging scenario, our research aims to uncover if and how HR professionals are transforming their roles or maintaining the status quo in navigating organizational changes, dealing with the upcoming working scenario, and challenging conventional perceptions of HR practitioners.

The study employs the social-symbolic work lens, that contributes to a deeper understanding of how HR professionals work to construct organizational life, the identities of employees, and the societal norms and assumptions that provide the context for organizational action. This perspective highlights HR professionals’ personal efforts, consisting of the emotional labor entailed in steering organizational transformations and, eventually, maintenance in a context where remote work has become prevalent. Data was collected through 16 online focus groups involving 76 HR professionals from Italian organizations.

Our research offers two interrelated contributions to HR literature. First, we provide pieces of evidence on how HR practitioners act as agents of change in two emerging roles: the “Wannabe Hero” and the “Ordinary Hero”. This challenges the prevailing rhetorical discourse about the so-called HR business partner. Secondly, we delve into the persistent obstacles that hinder HR professionals from making a substantial impact in addressing radical changes. These findings will provide useful insights into effectively engaging HR practitioners as agents of change in organizational transformation, shedding light on praxis, structures, and their emotional work.

The paper analyzes HR professionals’ social-symbolic work, which offers an original contribution to the comprehension of the activities they carry on in practice and the emotions they have been experiencing. These influence both the way HR professionals play their role and the organizational and institutional environment.

The study aimed to focus on how well information technology (IT) was supporting business processes in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).

The study collected data using a questionnaire that incorporated the 12 processes of the American Productivity and Quality Center's (APQC) process classification framework. Structured interviews were conducted with managers in 66 SMEs.

The data indicated the importance of each process and how well IT supported each process. The following two core business processes were identified as strategically most important: deliver products and services, and manage customer service. Although the evidence indicated that the most important business processes were supported at an acceptable level, IT support was found to be low for many business processes. IT support also varied considerably across the sample, indicating that some firms have much higher IT support for business processes than others.

A limitation of the study is that it used a new instrument. Also, all the firms were SMEs in one part of one country. The study created an instrument that can be used by managers as a diagnostic tool to help SMEs identify areas for business improvement.

The study indicates that the business process view provides a useful lens for studying IT support. There seems to be much potential for SMEs to improve their IT support for some business processes.

The focus on IT support for business processes is original, especially by examining support for the broad range of processes of the APQC's model.

Small enterprises are very different in size and organisation, and cannot be considered scaled‐down larger companies. Thus the adoption of ERP by an SME may occur in a highly different environment and cannot directly leverage on corporate experiences. Therefore, finding this subject interesting, this paper aims to analyse the peculiarities of this innovation in SMEs and specifically to cross‐assess the benefits obtained with context/project factors that could influence them.

The research was explicitly focused on an ex post evaluation of a panel of Italian SMEs which completed the introduction of an ERP system. Data about actual achievement, advantages and context/project characteristics were collected through direct interviews with SMEs' managers. A factors‐outcomes model is proposed, discussed and finalised in its most significant variables.

ERP introduction is considered successful to a greater extent than was expected. The most frequently observed benefits are internal procedure simplification, much easier information retrieval, improved performance management, and some production efficiency increases. The factors that seem to mostly affect them are depth of organisational change and type of chosen ERP producer.

Possible associations between each context/project variable and every outcome were identified and their intensity evaluated to suggest which decisive factors to manage.

The key aspects of the research are exclusive focus on the SME segment and the choice of the post‐introduction phase as the moment to assess ERP outcomes. From a review of the literature, no study seems to have adopted a similar perspective.

This chapter explores the relationship between higher education leadership and humanizing pedagogy. It is premised on the assumption that higher education leadership, as a social construct, is both a philosophical problem and policy imperative. Yet, the fourth industrial revolution and artificial intelligence (AI) imperatives have far-reaching implications for the “dominant” higher education leadership theory and practice. With this in mind, this chapter advocates for a broader and culturally inclusive understanding of higher education leadership perspectives. Among others, this thesis is that in a developing country context such as South Africa, for example, the dominant approach of higher education leadership should be guided by the Ubuntu principles and humanizing pedagogy. The author argue that the humanizing pedagogy and Ubuntu principles, in a culturally diverse setting of the fourth industrial revolution era and AI, have the prospects of changing the current unacceptable levels of performance and bring change in a larger scale in higher education institutions.