Search results

1 – 10 of over 25000
Article
Publication date: 14 May 2018

A. Miller

The purpose of this paper is to offer and explore innovative strategies for building and sustaining digital initiatives at information organizations. Although the examples…

2786

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer and explore innovative strategies for building and sustaining digital initiatives at information organizations. Although the examples provided are based on case studies at an academic library, the practices are rooted in project management principles and therefore applicable to all library types, museums, archives and other information organizations. The innovative strategies on staffing and funding will be particularly useful to organizations faced with monetary and staffing shortages and highlights collaborative management practices.

Design/methodology/approach

Concept of strategic and collaborative management practices led by an experienced project manager cross-trained in management, technical and soft skills enables the successful development and sustainability of digital initiatives. A cross-trained librarian’s management practices of leading the Digital Scholarship Initiatives at a particular university will be examined as a case study and aided with literature supporting the need for digital initiatives leaders to have training beyond the credentials of librarian, curator, archivist or historian in the technologically savvy twenty-first century ecology of information centers.

Findings

The innovative strategies implemented in the case study yielded increases in the number of hours of digital lab usage, digital projects developed, seminars or workshops presented, attendance of library hosted events, number of programs implemented and awareness on campus, all with limited staff and funding. The variety and level of production and marketing is instrumental to the growth and sustainability of digital initiatives.

Practical implications

The innovative strategies emphasized in this paper use the concept of borrowed or shared time to start staffing needs and is particularly helpful to organizations that do not have a strong line of dedicated staffing or funding to begin building digital initiatives. Offers small ways to start immediately while setting the stage to plan for big ideas for the future.

Originality/value

This paper suggests a credentialed information expert, such as a librarian, archivist or curator, that is, also cross-trained in project management and technology is the key to not only successfully leading digital initiatives but is instrumental for its sustainability and the marketing, growth and future of digital initiatives.

Details

Digital Library Perspectives, vol. 34 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5816

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 September 2021

Sharon Wagg and Boyka Simeonova

This paper explores how policy-level stakeholders tackle digital inclusion in the context of UK rural communities.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper explores how policy-level stakeholders tackle digital inclusion in the context of UK rural communities.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders that operate nationally in government departments, government funded organisations and third sector organisations that provided a policy-level perspective on digital inclusion initiative provision across England, Scotland and Wales. Activity theory (AT) was utilised as a theoretical framework, where a variety of factors–tools, rules, community, division of labour and contradictions–were found to have an influence on digital inclusion initiative provision.

Findings

Digital inclusion initiative provision in UK rural communities is organised through the multi-stakeholder involvement of national organisations, and collaboration with intermediary organisations to provide digital skills training and support. The process is fraught with difficulties and contradictions, limited knowledge sharing; reduced or poor-quality connectivity; lack of funding; lack of local resources; assumptions that organisations will indeed collaborate and assumptions that intermediary organisations have staff with the necessary skills and confidence to provide digital skills training and support within the rural context.

Research limitations/implications

This study highlights the benefit of using AT as a lens to develop a nuanced understanding of how policy-level stakeholders tackle digital inclusion.

Practical implications

This study can inform policy decisions on digital inclusion initiative provision suitable for rural communities.

Originality/value

The contribution of this paper provides new insights into the understanding of how policy-level stakeholders tackle digital inclusion and the provision of digital inclusion initiatives; it builds on the use of AT to help unpick the complexity of digital inclusion initiative provision as a phenomenon; it reveals contradictions in relation to trust, and the need for knowledge sharing mechanisms to span and align different interpretations of digital inclusion across the policy-level; and reveals an extension of AT demonstrated through the “granularity of the subject” which enables the multi-actor involvement of the stakeholders involved in digital inclusion at policy-level to emerge.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 35 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 May 2018

Elizabeth Skene

The purpose of this paper is to review the evolution of technology-oriented university librarian positions and analyze digital initiatives librarian job advertisements to…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the evolution of technology-oriented university librarian positions and analyze digital initiatives librarian job advertisements to determine the number and type of skills that academic libraries desire.

Design/methodology/approach

Forty-nine job postings between October 2010 and March 2016 were found via the Code4Lib listserv. Information on job title, desired skills and responsibilities and other information was compiled and analyzed.

Findings

Twenty-four skills and responsibilities were identified; the top four were metadata, digital preservation, digital collections and digitization. Other skills and responsibilities are frequently listed by ACRL as emerging trends.

Research limitations/implications

Digital initiatives librarian job postings have risen substantially in the past five years. A total of 24 skills and responsibilities were identified and skills related to the administration of digital collections are the top desired skills of digital initiatives librarians.

Originality/value

Job analysis literature has influenced the design of job descriptions for new roles and the literature offers a “picture of how academic librarianship is developing” (Cox and Corrall, 2013, p. 1528). Library administrators are encourage to design digital initiatives librarian positions strategically, basing the responsibilities on demonstrated needs on their campuses, rather than in response to trends in academic librarianship.

Details

Digital Library Perspectives, vol. 34 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5816

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 June 2023

Francesco Santarsiero

This research aims to develop a strategic planning model for developing, monitoring and evaluating digital and sustainable transformation initiatives in organizations. The purpose…

Abstract

Purpose

This research aims to develop a strategic planning model for developing, monitoring and evaluating digital and sustainable transformation initiatives in organizations. The purpose of this model is to provide a useful tool for managers and practitioners in the field of digital transformation.

Design/methodology/approach

This research draws on the soft systems literature and combines the reference models of the balanced scorecard and the logical framework approach to develop the model. The model identifies the key dimensions to be considered in the planning, monitoring and evaluation phases of a digital transformation initiative

Findings

This research makes important theoretical and practical contributions to the literature on digital transformation. This study enriches the literature and proposes a model that is useful both in the strategic planning phase and in the ex-post evaluation. The model identifies the key dimensions to be considered in the planning phase of a digital transformation initiative and describes the dimensions to be taken into account when monitoring the development of the initiative and the final evaluation of the impact achieved.

Originality/value

This model is original in its approach, as it draws on the soft systems literature and combines the reference models of the balanced scorecard and the logical framework approach. The model provides a useful tool for managers and practitioners that has normative and prescriptive value. The research makes important contributions to the literature on digital transformation by proposing a model that considers both the theoretical and practical aspects of digital transformation initiatives.

Details

Measuring Business Excellence, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1368-3047

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 April 2021

Patricia Deflorin, Maike Scherrer and Katrin Schillo

The coordination of a manufacturing network is a challenging task and may be contingent upon the manufacturing environment. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how industrial…

Abstract

Purpose

The coordination of a manufacturing network is a challenging task and may be contingent upon the manufacturing environment. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and manufacturing network coordination relate.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a single case study, the paper at hand provides insights on IIoT enablers and the relationship to manufacturing coordination mechanism. The data sample is based on 15 group interviews with overall eight employees from headquarters and business units.

Findings

The derived results show that the IIoT enablers (digital technologies, connectivity, data, capabilities and management) are highly related to the manufacturing network coordination mechanism. The results indicate that IIoT initiatives and manufacturing network coordination should be designed to support each other.

Originality/value

The implementation if IIoT initiatives is often analysed in isolation without considering the manufacturing network and more specifically the manufacturing network coordination mechanism. The results highlight how the implementation of IIoT initiatives may act as trigger to adapt formal manufacturing network coordination mechanism.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 32 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 March 2018

Stuti Saxena

The purpose of this paper is to underline the role of demographic variables as far as the perception of corruption among the Indian respondents is concerned.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to underline the role of demographic variables as far as the perception of corruption among the Indian respondents is concerned.

Design/methodology/approach

Hierarchical regression analysis is conducted to ascertain the role of demographic variables in line with the study’s objectives.

Findings

Gender is a demographic factor that influences the perception of corruption by the respondents. Other demographic factors including education, marital status, professional status and age do not have any influence on the user perception of corruption in e-government services. Implicitly, there are differences in the manner in which men and women perceive the prevalence of corruption in India. Therefore, males perceive that corruption has decreased in e-government services post-launch of “Digital India” initiative and women perceive the opposite.

Research limitations/implications

On the one hand, the study holds significance, in that no empirical investigation has been conducted which seeks to underline the impact of the “Digital India” initiatives on the citizen’s perception of corruption in public services. On the other hand, the present research is limited in the sense that only demographic variables are being probed in the present study with a small sample.

Originality/value

Studies in developing countries have remained few and far between despite the growing concern for existence of corruption in government services. The present study seeks to fill the gap by underlining the role of demographic variables as far as the perception of corruption in public services is concerned in the Indian context.

Details

Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5038

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 June 2022

Leandro Feitosa Jorge, Elaine Mosconi and Luis Antonio Santa-Eulalia

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how to support small organizations to navigate the context of an accelerated Digital Transformation using Enterprise Social Media…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how to support small organizations to navigate the context of an accelerated Digital Transformation using Enterprise Social Media platforms, in response to external contingencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

A longitudinal action research study, supported by an exploratory analysis that follows a hybrid approach of deductive and inductive reasoning, has been conducted in the context of a small organization. Several data collection techniques were used for context understanding and problem-solving.

Findings

Findings suggest that value creation related to the use of Enterprise Social Media platforms supports small organizations in this accelerated context of Digital Transformation. Value perception is central in overcoming adoption barriers and achieving sustainable use of these platforms in daily basis activities, especially in remote working. External pressures, like those imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, play an important role in catalyzing digital initiatives.

Research limitations/implications

As the main limitations to this paper, we highlight the study of a single organization in a specific context and the number of actors involved; hence, there is room to extend the study to other industries, organization sizes and contexts.

Practical implications

This paper provides managers with insights into how to conduct their Enterprise Social Media initiatives in a turbulent environment, highlighting their key success elements, and their potential to create value for their organizations and stakeholders. Furthermore, managers could explore the potential of Enterprise Social Media platforms to support organizations in the Digital Transformation journey.

Social implications

Small organizations play an important role in generating wealth for nations around the world. However, governments encounter difficulties in supporting the Digital Transformation of this type of organization. This paper provides insights into how to use an affordable and intuitive technology to include this type of organization in the Digital Transformation journey.

Originality/value

A long-term study of Enterprise Social Media is recommended, but quite rare in the Information Systems literature. This study adopts a longitudinal investigation to analyze the use of Enterprise Social Media to support a small organization to adapt, in balance with their internal and external contingencies, providing a further contribution to the contingency theory. This research also adds contributions to the sociotechnical system perspective, analyzing the deep imbrication between social and technical subsystems in the required organizational change, supporting a small organization for coping with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Details

Journal of Systems and Information Technology, vol. 24 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1328-7265

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 June 2021

Michele Colli, Verena Stingl and Brian V. Waehrens

The research aims to investigate how firms can develop their sensing capabilities for Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technology adoption through reframing their opportunity perceptions…

1078

Abstract

Purpose

The research aims to investigate how firms can develop their sensing capabilities for Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technology adoption through reframing their opportunity perceptions related to learnings from I4.0 initiatives.

Design/methodology/approach

The research follows a design science research approach. Following the case of I4.0 technology introduction at a large food manufacturer, the paper develops a theoretical framework (artefact) and validates the applicability and efficacy of the framework within the case study.

Findings

The theoretical framework highlights the different temporal (short-term/long-term) and locational (direct/indirect) value dimensions of I4.0 opportunities. The findings show that the use of the framework can shift managers’ perception regarding the business value of an I4.0 technology implementation. Specifically, the framework reversed initially negative perceptions around a narrowly scoped business case towards an opportunity-oriented attitude exploring further potentials of the technology.

Research limitations/implications

The research adds to the debate when and why firms engage in, and sustain their I4.0 initiatives by providing a novel perspective on firms’ sensing capabilities. As a single-case study, the framework requires further validation in practice.

Practical implications

The proposed framework provides practitioners with an extended view concerning the potential value of digital transformation projects and serves as a conversational tool.

Originality/value

The presented wider frame for evaluating digital transformation projects, taking into account the more “intangible” value of their learnings, tackles the fundamental issue of translating explorative innovation efforts into exploitative value – a key challenge when dealing with innovation and one of the main barriers for the digital transformation.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 33 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 16 December 2022

Panagiota Koukouvinou, Nadia Simbi and Jonny Holmström

Prior research has highlighted the pervasive importance of digital technologies in business and societal settings, but their enabling role in digital transformation, and effective…

2540

Abstract

Purpose

Prior research has highlighted the pervasive importance of digital technologies in business and societal settings, but their enabling role in digital transformation, and effective forms of organization to address tensions that arise during attempts to promote it, have been insufficiently explored. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how and why tensions affect clusters established to foster digital transformation.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical data were acquired through a qualitative exploratory holistic single case study, focused on the Swedish Cluster of Forest Technology. This included interviews with informants, selected by homogeneous purposive sampling, and event observation to investigate the personal perspectives of representatives of every company engaged in the cluster, followed by a thematic analysis of their comments.

Findings

The case study revealed three major tensions, between knowledge flow, collaboration and competition, but also others that were interrelated with those major tensions, related to matters such as trust and protection of intellectual property, power equality and hierarchy, and networks that must be managed in digital transformation efforts.

Originality/value

The paper extends understanding of the tensions that arise, and their management, in digital transformation processes.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 36 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 September 2023

Maqsood Ahmad, Qiang Wu and Shakeel Ahmed

This study aims to investigate the influence of the digitalization of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the sustainable competitive performance (SCP) of small- and…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the influence of the digitalization of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the sustainable competitive performance (SCP) of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in an emerging economy and to examine the moderating effect of digital organizational culture on this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

Data collection was conducted through a survey completed by 311 owners and top managers operating in service, trading and manufacturing sector SMEs positioned within the twin cities of Pakistan. A convenient purposively sampling technique and snowball method were used for data collection, and structural equation modeling was used for data analysis.

Findings

The results of this study suggest that CSR digitalization has a markedly positive influence on the SCP. Digital organizational culture appears to moderate these relationships.

Practical implications

This study highlights the importance of considering CSR digitalization and fostering a digital organizational culture for SMEs to achieve SCP. The findings provide valuable insights for strategic decision-makers, including owners, CEOs and senior management of SMEs, to enhance their knowledge concerning how and why a digital organizational culture makes it easier to digitalize CSR activities, with the ultimate objective of ensuring SCP and SME growth. Overall, the findings of this study have practical implications for policymakers and managers in SMEs as they can promote the adoption of digital technologies in CSR initiatives and develop a digital organizational culture within the organization. This would contribute to enhancing the SCP of SMEs. Thus, this research is beneficial for business actors, policymakers and researchers seeking to enhance SMEs’ SCP.

Social implications

This study provides valuable guidance to the senior management of SMEs regarding successfully adopting and integrating digital technologies into their CSR practices. This integration can lead to increased social and environmental benefits, which positively impact both business and society. Policymakers can use these findings to develop policies and initiatives to encourage CSR digitalization among SMEs. By providing support and incentives for digital transformation, policymakers can help SMEs adopt digital tools to improve their CSR performance, contributing to economic growth and sustainability.

Originality/value

This study pioneers research on the links between CSR digitalization, digital organizational culture and the SCP of SMEs. This study contributes to the literature by defining CSR digitalization as an antecedent to the SCP of SMEs. In addition, this study underlines the significance of CSR digitalization for the achievement of SMEs’ SCP of SMEs with the moderating role of digital organizational culture. Overall, this study enriches the resource base view literature through empirical evidence.

Details

Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8021

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 25000