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Article
Publication date: 13 May 2014

Andy Luse and Brian Mennecke

This article revisits Nicolas Carr's popular Harvard Review article IT Doesn't Matter on its ten-year anniversary. The purpose is to analyze Carr's argument by analyzing the…

Abstract

Purpose

This article revisits Nicolas Carr's popular Harvard Review article IT Doesn't Matter on its ten-year anniversary. The purpose is to analyze Carr's argument by analyzing the development of the argument itself as opposed to finding exceptions to the argument, which has been done in the past.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use co-evolutionary theory as a case against Carr's argument by showing that Carr has only looked at the growth of IT from a population ecology perspective and has failed to anticipate the adaptive nature of IT within the organization.

Findings

The authors show that Carr's new rules for IT management may not be applicable if viewed through the lens of the three principles of self-renewing organizations espoused by co-evolutionary theory.

Research limitations/implications

The authors provide a new basis for evaluating the strategic nature of IT and offer a background for future research and case studies into evaluating IT strategic competitive advantage within the organization.

Practical implications

The research provides guidelines for organizations to better decide how to strategically implement IT to more fully utilize its capabilities.

Originality/value

The paper provides a new method for refuting a popular article by attacking the argument as opposed to finding exceptions to the argument. This is valuable to those who wish to evangelize the strategic capacity of IT within the organization.

Details

Management Research Review, vol. 37 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8269

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 30 March 2022

Pien Walraven, Rogier van de Wetering, Remko Helms, Marjolein Caniëls and Johan Versendaal

Advanced Electronic Medical Records (EMR) provide many potential benefits to hospitals. However, because of their broad scope, many stakeholders deal with the EMR and a continuous…

1397

Abstract

Purpose

Advanced Electronic Medical Records (EMR) provide many potential benefits to hospitals. However, because of their broad scope, many stakeholders deal with the EMR and a continuous effort has to be made to keep up with internal and external change. Therefore, hospitals need to deliberately shape their organizational competencies considering the pursuit of alignment, i.e. making sure that the EMR remains optimally aligned with strategies, goals and needs of the hospital and its stakeholders. This paper aims to investigate the evolutionary paths of these alignment competencies and their drivers, from a theoretical perspective of co-evolutionary information systems alignment (COISA).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reports on a longitudinal multiple case study of three Dutch hospitals which each recently implemented an advanced EMR system. The authors conducted 35 in-depth interviews in 2 phases (before and after go-live of the EMR), and studied documentation related to the EMR implementations.

Findings

The findings show that each hospital's COISA capability shows a different evolutionary path. However, two of the three case hospitals ended up coordinating part of their COISA capability to an ecosystem level, i.e. they incorporated other hospitals using the same EMR system to coordinate their alignment efforts, either from an operational perspective, or in terms of orchestration and strategy. The found evolutionary paths' key drivers include “stakeholder initiative”, “accumulating experience”, “driving events” and “emerging issues”.

Originality/value

The findings help healthcare practitioners to deliberately shape their organization's COISA capability in pursuit of EMR alignment. Furthermore, the authors add to the knowledge base on co-evolutionary approaches to alignment through the longitudinal approach.

Details

Journal of Health Organization and Management, vol. 36 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7266

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 September 2014

Melody Seah, Ming-Huei Hsieh and Hsiu-Ying Huang

Earlier research has identified adaptive leadership strategies and organizational culture as two key factors that influence a firm's adaptive capabilities. However, little is…

3059

Abstract

Purpose

Earlier research has identified adaptive leadership strategies and organizational culture as two key factors that influence a firm's adaptive capabilities. However, little is known about how leadership and organizational culture affect each other. Nor do the authors know how the combined effects of adaptive leadership and culture facilitates organizational adaptation over time. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by using a co-evolutionary perspective to enhance the understanding of this phenomenon.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through informant interviews, observations and archival material.

Findings

Study findings reveal that leaders can enhance organizational adaptability by creating an appropriate context to guide the co-evolutionary interactions between their leadership strategies, organizational culture and employees towards the ongoing achievement of firm goals.

Originality/value

The study enhances the understanding of how leaders facilitate organizational adaptability, especially in a family business context.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 52 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 May 2016

Xiaojun Zhang

The purpose of this paper is to interpret organizational change from a co-evolutionary perspective. It examines the co-evolution between institutional environments and…

1289

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to interpret organizational change from a co-evolutionary perspective. It examines the co-evolution between institutional environments and organizational change with the mediating role of uncertainty as perceived by managers.

Design/methodology/approach

The author employed an inductive case study to explore how institutional environments interact with organizational change in a novel context: a Chinese state-owned enterprise.

Findings

The author developed a co-evolutionary model of organizational change that emphasizes the interaction between institutional-level factors and organizational-level change as bridged by top management perceptions of uncertainty. The model also illustrates the dynamics of organizational uncertainty and its effects on organizational change.

Practical implications

The study implies that uncertainty may not be an inevitable negative influence on organizational development, and tell managers how to manages the dynamics of uncertainty through two principles.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the organizational change literature by interpreting organizational change as the results of interaction between multi-level factors from institutional, organizational, and team levels. The author also expand the understanding of uncertainty from a dynamic perspective.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 29 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 July 2022

Harald Bathelt, Maximilian Buchholz and John A. Cantwell

While conventional views of foreign investment activity primarily relate to efficiency-seeking investments, the authors argue that most other outward foreign direct investments…

Abstract

Purpose

While conventional views of foreign investment activity primarily relate to efficiency-seeking investments, the authors argue that most other outward foreign direct investments (OFDIs) likely have positive effects on income development in the home region. Data on the US urban system not only illustrates this but also shows that this impact is not equal in all city-regions. The purpose of this paper is to develop an explanation as to why high- and low-income cities are associated with self-reinforcing cycles of OFDI activity that have different home-region impacts.

Design/methodology/approach

Conventional views assume that inward foreign direct investments (IFDIs) have a positive impact on target regions, while OFDIs are often treated as the flip side of this story, being seen as having negative effects by shifting jobs and income abroad. This paper counters this logic by developing a conceptual argument that systematically distinguishes different types of OFDIs and relates them to economic development effects in the home (investing) region.

Findings

Using a co-evolutionary conceptualization, this paper suggests that many high-income cities are characterized by a virtuous cycle of development where high, successful OFDI activity generates both positive income effects as well as incentives to engage in further OFDIs in the future, thus leading to additional income increases. In contrast, it is suggested that low-income cities are characterized by what we refer to as vicious cycles of development with low OFDI activity, few development impulses and a lack of incentives and capabilities for future investments.

Originality/value

This paper develops a counter-perspective to conventional views of OFDI activity, arguing that these investments have a positive impact on regional income levels. The authors develop a spatially sensitive explanation which acknowledges that OFDIs do not trigger a linear process but are associated with diverging inter-urban development paths and may contribute to higher levels of intra-urban inequality. From these findings, the authors derive conclusions for future research and public policy.

Details

Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal , vol. 33 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1059-5422

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 30 January 2023

Abstract

Details

Big Data and Decision-Making: Applications and Uses in the Public and Private Sector
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-552-6

Article
Publication date: 9 March 2015

Simon James Ford

In the late 2000s, the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) emerged to become the dominant mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation, bringing the sport to mainstream acceptance. The…

Abstract

Purpose

In the late 2000s, the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) emerged to become the dominant mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation, bringing the sport to mainstream acceptance. The purpose of this paper is to draw on theories of co-evolution and positive feedbacks to provide insights into how the UFC has assumed this dominant position.

Design/methodology/approach

A single historical case study is compiled drawing on data from a number of sources, including the UFC, US State Athletic Commissions, MMA web sites and prior UFC-related academic literature.

Findings

A number of significant growth dynamics are identified, including interconnections between the increase in free-to-air events and the generation of new UFC fans and revenues; the increased financial rewards to successful fighters that allows them to improve the quality of their training and the improved quality of UFC content; and the accumulation of a critical mass of high-level fighters that increases the reputation of the UFC and the increased attraction of new fighters to the organisation.

Research limitations/implications

Further in depth studies are necessary to substantiate and quantify the interconnections identified in this paper.

Practical implications

The paper provides insights for other non-mainstream sports organisations that are attempting to grow their participation and viewership.

Originality/value

The emergence of new sports and sports organisations such as the UFC with global appeal and significant commercial returns is infrequent. This study contributes to the need for understanding of how new sports enter the mainstream and the role that governing organisations such as the UFC play in achieving this transition.

Details

Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-678X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 January 2024

Paola Maria Anna Paniccia, Gianpaolo Abatecola and Silvia Baiocco

How does the interaction between time and knowledge affect the evolution of organizations? Past research in organizational evolution has mostly investigated time and knowledge as…

Abstract

Purpose

How does the interaction between time and knowledge affect the evolution of organizations? Past research in organizational evolution has mostly investigated time and knowledge as two separate variables. In contrast, theoretical perspectives integrating these variables are still seemingly scant. The authors believe that filling this literature gap needs attention. Thus, this study aims to contribute by developing a conceptual framework.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual study. The framework is centred on the concept of “co-evolutionary time”, which the authors explain through a business example from the tourism industry. Supported by a narrative-based style, from a methodological point of view the framework is featured by the attempt to synthesize specific, extant literature into new theoretical development.

Findings

As its main theoretical contribution, the co-evolutionary time suggests how firms can adapt in a way that, from an evolutionary perspective, proves fitting both in terms of contents and methods, thus opening possibilities for new long-term social construction and reconstruction. As its main practical contribution, co-evolutionary time can constitute not only a temporary source of organizational success and competitive advantage but also an agent of enduring change and long-term business survival.

Originality/value

As its main novelty, the framework is developed through merging two literature streams. In particular, the authors first consider the literature about time, with a focus on its objective and subjective dimensions. The authors then consider the literature about organizational evolution, with a focus on the co-evolutionary nature of the firm/environment relationship.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 28 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 June 2018

Vincenzo Uli

What new empirical implications can emerge in the organizational adaptation domain by adopting a multi-level co-evolutionary theoretical perspective? How does the performance…

Abstract

Purpose

What new empirical implications can emerge in the organizational adaptation domain by adopting a multi-level co-evolutionary theoretical perspective? How does the performance appraisal process affect the evolution of the organization? The purpose of this paper, positioned within the organizational evolution research field, is to untangle the complexity behind emergence, development, and extinction of business processes over time, highlighting the inner mechanisms behind the adaptation process.

Design/methodology/approach

The work is presented as a longitudinal, single case study of a service firm. Scholars concur in considering this approach particularly reliable when investigating the evolution of a practice (Feldman, 2000; Howard-Grenville, 2005; Lazaric and Denis, 2005). Data have been collected during 2014 through three main methods: unstructured interviews, meeting observations, and direct observation of participants.

Findings

From the analysis, it emerges that the impact of the performance appraisal routine on individual and group dynamics is the main determinant behind organizational inertia and resistance to change. In particular, the degree of managerial control exerted, the feedback scheme applied, and the group interaction mechanisms are predictors of the degree of business process exploitation or exploration within a practice.

Research limitations/implications

In order to address the exploratory nature of the work, further developments may deepen the analysis investigating and comparing the findings obtained in different business contexts, highlighting important similarities or differences in various sectors. Different empirical settings might also be beneficial in further investigating the complexity of additional dimensions of routines’ evolution, especially at the group and organization level of analysis.

Practical implications

The insights from the case may serve as useful inputs to improve the efficiency of the service firm examined, and to identify possible mechanisms to foster knowledge production and replication within the practice.

Originality/value

The paper, by adopting a co-evolutionary perspective, has been conceived as a deliberate search for new empirical implications in the organizational evolution research domain at multiple levels of analysis.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 24 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 January 2023

Francesca Loia

The growing turbulence of the external environment has progressively led to the necessity by organizations of exploiting new opportunities provided by data-driven approaches for…

Abstract

The growing turbulence of the external environment has progressively led to the necessity by organizations of exploiting new opportunities provided by data-driven approaches for supporting the even more complex decision-making processes. The new digital environment has led to the development and adoption of innovative approaches; also in the urban context which has always been characterized by different, interconnected, and dynamic dimensions. Urban governance models have been enhanced by smart technologies, which act as enablers of advanced services and foster connections between citizens, public and private organizations, and decision-makers. In this context, the objective of this chapter is to examine the role of data-driven approaches in the urban context during the chaotic and high variable circumstances related to the diffusion of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). Thanks to the adoption of the co-evolutionary perspective, a cycle in urban governance decision-making approach based on digital technologies is depicted and its contribution for managing the ongoing Covid-19 is traced. The results of the analysis highlight how the data-driven approach supports urban decision-making process and shed light on the co-evolutionary perspective as heuristic device to map the interactions settled in the networks between local governments, data-driven technologies, and citizens. In this sense, this chapter offers interesting insights, potentially capable of generating useful implications for both researchers and professionals in the public sector.

Details

Big Data and Decision-Making: Applications and Uses in the Public and Private Sector
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-552-6

Keywords

1 – 10 of 770