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Article
Publication date: 23 October 2009

Petra M. Bosch‐Sijtsema, Virpi Ruohomäki and Matti Vartiainen

Knowledge work (KW) is a well‐researched topic. However, KW is difficult to measure and little consensus has been reached on elements that affect knowledge work productivity on a

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Abstract

Purpose

Knowledge work (KW) is a well‐researched topic. However, KW is difficult to measure and little consensus has been reached on elements that affect knowledge work productivity on a team level. The current theories neglect teams working in distributed geographical areas. The purpose of the paper is to integrate recent literature on knowledge work productivity (KWP) in distributed teams and give an overview of the elements affecting it.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents an overview of research performed in the field of knowledge work productivity. The authors integrate theories of different fields of management theory (knowledge management, intellectual capital and learning), and work and organizational psychology. This paper answers three questions: What is knowledge work? What is knowledge work productivity? Which elements hinder or enable knowledge work productivity in distributed teams of global technology companies?

Findings

The authors define the crucial elements that either hinder or enable KWP: team tasks, team structure and processes, the physical, virtual and social workspaces as well as organizational context. The paper presents an integrative model of KWP in distributed teams of global technology companies.

Practical implications

Distributed teams are common in global companies. By understanding the elements that affect KWP, companies can stimulate or decrease specific elements in order to improve productivity of their distributed knowledge workers.

Originality/value

This paper integrates theories from different disciplines in order to create an understanding about knowledge work and its productivity for further research.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 13 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 June 2019

Maria Mercedes Martinez Sanz and Isabel Ortiz-Marcos

Knowledge is recognized to be a key asset to achieve the strategic objectives of an organization. To that end, it is necessary to count on governance mechanisms that ensure the…

Abstract

Purpose

Knowledge is recognized to be a key asset to achieve the strategic objectives of an organization. To that end, it is necessary to count on governance mechanisms that ensure the alignment between the knowledge resources and processes and the business strategy. Given that knowledge management is often performed by project management offices (PMOs), the purpose of this paper is to explore if the dimensions for PMOs governance suggested in the literature are also valid for knowledge governance and what problems do exist.

Design/methodology/approach

This research has been done using case study methodology. A large complex project in the IT industry was deeply analyzed. This project brings together most of the elements that can be found in current organizational contexts (e.g. geographical dispersed project teams, multicultural environment, technical complexity, etc.), thus reinforcing the applicability of the results obtained.

Findings

The study findings indicate that knowledge flows between PMOs take place along the dimensions defined for PMO governance, thus confirming the suitability of those dimensions also for the governance of knowledge. This research also validates the connection between the barriers to knowledge sharing and the knowledge governance mechanisms, and provides empirical evidence of the importance of informal knowledge governance to foster knowledge sharing behaviors. This is of key importance to overcome daily operational issues. The observations made are, in fact, valuable lessons learnt for future projects and a valuable input for further research.

Originality/value

This study explores the similarities between PMOs governance and knowledge governance in multi-PMO settings on the basis of a case study, thus contributing additional empirical data to the literature. Previous work with this approach has not been found.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 13 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 December 2017

M. Reza Hosseini, Petra Bosch-Sijtsema, Mehrdad Arashpour, Nicholas Chileshe and Christoph Merschbrock

The “virtuality” of a team collaborative interaction is the extent to which it is accomplished in the same place, in fully distributed virtual teams, or in a hybrid combination of…

1013

Abstract

Purpose

The “virtuality” of a team collaborative interaction is the extent to which it is accomplished in the same place, in fully distributed virtual teams, or in a hybrid combination of the two. However, existence, strength and process of potential association between virtuality and effectiveness in construction project teams have remained elusive. This paper aims to address this gap in the literature.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, a conceptual model demonstrating the association between virtuality and effectiveness of teams was developed through integrating the input-process-output (IPO) model and the “Big Five” theory. This conceptual model was contextualised for the construction industry drawing upon conducting 17 semi-structured interviews with hybrid team experts.

Findings

The findings provide the first model mapping the associations between virtuality and dimensions of team effectiveness for the construction context.

Practical implications

The discovered patterns of associations between virtuality and dimensions of effectiveness for hybrid construction project teams (HCPTs) will assist managers in designing and running more effective teams. In addition, the findings help construction practitioners better understand how virtuality influence the performance and satisfaction of team members in HCPTs. The present study concludes with outlining a set of recommendations based on the findings of the study.

Originality/value

As the first study in its kind, the present study offers a new insight into the concept and impacts of virtuality for construction teams and provides instructions and guidelines for designing and maintaining the effectiveness of such teams on construction projects.

Details

Construction Innovation, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-4175

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 6 March 2024

Erik Johansson, Erik Rådman, Hendry Raharjo and Petra Bosch-Sijtsema

This paper aims to identify and prioritize the needs of coworking members. The authors focus on maintaining the existing members rather than attracting new ones.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to identify and prioritize the needs of coworking members. The authors focus on maintaining the existing members rather than attracting new ones.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use two phases and multiple methods. The first phase focuses on a qualitative approach using observations and interviews to uncover and formulate the members’ needs. The second phase focuses on prioritizing the needs using a quantitative approach.

Findings

The authors discovered 19 member needs from the coworking spaces. Based on an online survey, the authors classified those needs into three main Kano model’s categories.

Originality/value

The resulting member needs and their strategic priorities provide a useful basis for coworking providers to direct their improvement efforts towards achieving greater member satisfaction.

Details

Journal of Corporate Real Estate , vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-001X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 24 February 2021

Petra Bosch-Sijtsema, Christina Claeson-Jonsson, Mikael Johansson and Mattias Roupe

This paper aims to focus on 11 digital technologies (i.e. building information modeling, artificial intelligence and machine learning, 3D scanning, sensors, robots/automation…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on 11 digital technologies (i.e. building information modeling, artificial intelligence and machine learning, 3D scanning, sensors, robots/automation, digital twin, virtual reality, 3D printing, drones, cloud computing and self-driving vehicles) that are portrayed in future trend reports and hype curves. The study concentrates on the current usage and knowledge of digital technologies in the Swedish architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry to gain an insight in the possible expectations and future trajectory of these digital technologies.

Design/methodology/approach

The study applies an abductive approach which is based on three different types of methods. These methods are a literature and document study which focused on 11 digital technologies, two workshops with industry (13 participants) and an online survey (N = 84).

Findings

The paper contributes to a current state analysis of the Swedish AEC industry concerning digital technologies and discusses the trajectory of these technologies for the AEC industry. The paper identifies hype factors, in which the knowledge of a digital technology is related to its usage. From the hype factors, four zones that show different stages of digital technology usage and maturity in the industry are induced.

Originality/value

The contribution of the paper is twofold. The paper shows insight into opportunities, the current barriers, use and knowledge of digital technologies for the different actors in the AEC industry. Furthermore, the study shows that the AEC industry is behind the traditional Gartner hype curves and contributes with defining four zones for digital technologies for the Swedish AEC industry: confusion, excitement, experimentation and integration.

Details

Construction Innovation , vol. 21 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-4175

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 26 December 2023

Daniel Magnusson, Hendry Raharjo and Petra Bosch-Sijtsema

Sustainability is regarded as a core value that the coworking movement aspires to. However, most sustainability efforts focus on the providers’ perspective while neglecting the…

Abstract

Purpose

Sustainability is regarded as a core value that the coworking movement aspires to. However, most sustainability efforts focus on the providers’ perspective while neglecting the coworking members’ role. Therefore, this paper aims to explore sustainable coworking from the members perspective by focusing on sustainable behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a flexible pattern matching approach. Theoretical patterns are identified using literature on coworking space and sustainable behavior while matching them with the empirical data. Data were collected from three different coworking spaces in Sweden through interviews and observations.

Findings

Based on the theoretical patterns, three constructs for sustainable coworking were identified, namely, productive behavior, prosocial behavior and responsible space sharing behavior. Through the empirical data, the constructs were further concretized to understand their different aspects. The findings uncovered a new layer of complexity where members can show the same behavior and be perceived differently.

Originality/value

This study offers a more holistic understanding of sustainable coworking by highlighting the members’ role and identifying different member perceptions on sustainable coworking behaviors.

Details

Journal of Corporate Real Estate , vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-001X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 June 2008

Margaret McCabe and Margaret Nowak

The purpose of this paper is to examine the views of directors of public‐listed Australian companies regarding the role of the independent director and the significance of that…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the views of directors of public‐listed Australian companies regarding the role of the independent director and the significance of that role in relationship to the composition of the board of company directors.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study using a grounded research approach was used and 30 directors of Australian public‐listed companies were interviewed.

Findings

The analysis indicates that participating directors were convinced that a majority of non‐executive directors (NEDs) provided a safeguard for a balance of power in the board/management relationship. The difference between NEDs, who are also independent directors, and NEDs who are not independent, was highlighted as an important distinction. The capacity for board members to think independently was seen to be enhanced, but not necessarily ensured, with majority membership of NEDs. However, a majority of independent minds expressing multiple points of view was perceived to reduce the board room hazard of “group think.”

Research limitations/implications

The study was conducted within the context of the preferred model for board composition in Australian public‐listed companies which requires a majority of NEDs.

Originality/value

Conflicting evidence surrounding the claim that a majority of independent members in the board structure contributes to “best pratice governance” makes the paper relevant to governance issues being debated in the global arena.

Details

Managerial Auditing Journal, vol. 23 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-6902

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 July 2019

Manjula Wijewickrema, Vivien Petras and Naomal Dias

The purpose of this paper is to develop a journal recommender system, which compares the content similarities between a manuscript and the existing journal articles in two subject…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a journal recommender system, which compares the content similarities between a manuscript and the existing journal articles in two subject corpora (covering the social sciences and medicine). The study examines the appropriateness of three text similarity measures and the impact of numerous aspects of corpus documents on system performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Implemented three similarity measures one at a time on a journal recommender system with two separate journal corpora. Two distinct samples of test abstracts were classified and evaluated based on the normalized discounted cumulative gain.

Findings

The BM25 similarity measure outperforms both the cosine and unigram language similarity measures overall. The unigram language measure shows the lowest performance. The performance results are significantly different between each pair of similarity measures, while the BM25 and cosine similarity measures are moderately correlated. The cosine similarity achieves better performance for subjects with higher density of technical vocabulary and shorter corpus documents. Moreover, increasing the number of corpus journals in the domain of social sciences achieved better performance for cosine similarity and BM25.

Originality/value

This is the first work related to comparing the suitability of a number of string-based similarity measures with distinct corpora for journal recommender systems.

Details

The Electronic Library , vol. 37 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 20 January 2017

Robert F. Bruner, Robert E. Spekman, Petra Christmann, Brian Kannry and Melinda Davies

This case may be taught singly or used as a merger-negotiation exercise with “Daimler-Benz A. G.: Negotiations between Daimler and Chrysler” (UVA-F-1241). Set in February 1998…

Abstract

This case may be taught singly or used as a merger-negotiation exercise with “Daimler-Benz A. G.: Negotiations between Daimler and Chrysler” (UVA-F-1241). Set in February 1998, the case places students in the position of negotiators for the company; their task is to value both firms, assess the potential earnings dilution of a combination, and negotiate a detailed agreement with their counterpart. The case can be used to explore such interesting negotiation issues as determination of a share-exchange ratio, treatment of major stockholders, and structuring a deal. Also, the case and exercise can be used to spark a discussion of acquisition in comparison with strategic alliance, or other less formal models of combination.

Details

Darden Business Publishing Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2474-7890
Published by: University of Virginia Darden School Foundation

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 20 January 2017

Robert F. Bruner, Robert E. Spekman, Petra Christmann, Brian Kannry and Melinda Davies

This case may be taught singly or used as a merger-negotiation exercise with “Chrysler Corporation: Negotiations between Daimler and Chrysler” (UVA-F-1240). Set in February 1998…

Abstract

This case may be taught singly or used as a merger-negotiation exercise with “Chrysler Corporation: Negotiations between Daimler and Chrysler” (UVA-F-1240). Set in February 1998, the case places students in the position of negotiators for the company; their task is to value both firms, assess the potential earnings dilution of a combination, and negotiate a detailed agreement with their counterpart. The case can be used to explore such interesting negotiation issues as determination of a share-exchange ratio, treatment of major stockholders, and structuring a deal. Also, the case and exercise can be used to spark a discussion of acquisition in comparison with strategic alliance, or other less formal models of combination.

Details

Darden Business Publishing Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2474-7890
Published by: University of Virginia Darden School Foundation

Keywords

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