Search results

This paper aims to contribute toward the extension and further development of the social exchange theory. It provides conceptual insights on social networks in geographically dispersed organizations, and how intra-organizational social interactions influence organizational behavior, employees relationship exchange inclination and innovation drive.

A thematic literature review method was used to conduct an extensive review of relevant literature.

Guided by the tenets of the social exchange theory, the authors’ analysis and discussions elucidate how intra-organizational social network architecture can be developed, supported and utilized to drive innovations in geographically dispersed organizations.

A general limitation and perhaps also a strength of this type of conceptual paper is that it is a synthesis (thematic discursive analysis) of existing theory and published research. Thus, there are no primary empirical content. However, the issue of empirical evidence is nevertheless mediated by the fact that the discussions and argumentation process generate key propositions which could be validated in subsequent research endeavors. Also, the selection of relevant literature is restricted specifically to the topic of the study. The authors strived to ensure rigor through a robust and comprehensive literature review which was organized thematically according to all the key words in the main and sub-topics covered in Section 2.

The insights presented suggest that management should pay serious attention to organizational design – that is, not only from the conventional contractual obligations point of view, but rather, the increasing importance of social capital should also be given some priority when thinking of resilient ways to encourage collaborations and efficient knowledge management. In other words, intra-organizational social network architecture should be considered as organizational capability and utilized as a toolset for the SIHRM to harness knowledge flow and unleash innovation.

As both bonding and bridging ties are not only critical for success of project teams but also intensify knowledge symmetry across different units of the organization, they are a major conduit for sustainable open innovation culture within organization. To develop competitive capabilities throughout the organization, it is important for the SIHRM to be involved in global networking, and as a network leader, the human resource management function must have an awareness of leading trends and developments in social networking. The ability to mobilize the appropriate resources and a sense of timing and context in implementing such architecture within the geographically spread organization is crucial.

The novel contribution of this paper is twofold. First, the study provides an implementable framework which scholars and practitioners could use to develop and test the actualization of an intra-organizational social network architecture in a geographically dispersed organization. Second, the study has provided some key propositions and a well-grounded direction for further research to inspire further development/extension of the social exchange theory.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the contribution of corporate architecture to social value creation. It especially analyses the social effects of investments in experiential corporate architecture that have been carried out by Italian industrial companies.

This study follows a qualitative approach. It is based on a survey and semi-structured in-depth interviews undertaken with six Italian industrial companies. The dimensions of the social-entrepreneurship model (innovativeness, proactiveness, risk management) proposed by Weerawardena and Sullivan Mort were chosen as a framework to investigate the social effects of investments in corporate architecture.

The social effects of the innovativeness dimension are the integration of the company with the territory and development of sustainability. Proactiveness is related to improving the employees’ wellbeing in the workplace and the community’s quality of life. Risk management ensures the development of the local economic-social fabric.

This study combines social entrepreneurship and corporate architecture by highlighting the social effects of corporate architecture. Further, it proposes the structural embeddedness of the company in the territory of reference, a sense for beauty, and a sense of gift giving as further entrepreneurial traits that are generally not proposed in the social entrepreneurship literature.

The results of this study suggest that top management should consider: that investments in corporate architecture are a deliberate strategy of the company; that profits are not a purpose in and of themselves, but rather a means to achieve the social mission’s objectives; and the relationship with architects in terms of mutual involvement in order to understand corporate and local needs and effectively transform them into appropriate architectural solutions.

Corporate architecture can help to solve a number of social problems, such as improving the community’s quality of life, providing employments opportunities, allowing the community to benefit from places of socialisation and aggregation, and offering facilities and services that support culture and encourage cultural exchange. Given that the social benefits are reciprocal, all stakeholders should financially support companies that invest in corporate architecture.

To the knowledge, this is the first study to connect social entrepreneurship and corporate architecture. This research brings to light some Italian industrial companies that are investing in corporate architecture to create social value in the twenty-first century, after the pioneering investments of the Olivetti company.

Sustainability, especially in terms of development and growth, has been in the agenda of the world community for several decades. However, apparently not all the aspects of sustainability are given equal importance. Ecologic and economic components of sustainability have been in the focal point of many theoretical and practical works, as the social aspect has been mostly left out of emphasis. The purpose of this paper is to examine the social aspects of sustainability and its relation to architecture, with respect to the strong connection between the society and the built environment.

The core of the paper consists of a case study conducted at a design studio course for third-year architecture students whereas the outcomes of the student works on the design problem are evaluated as examples for design approaches to reflect the effects of the built environment on social sustainability. The case study is supported with a literature review and examination of existing approaches to similar subjects regarding social sustainability.

The findings resulted in a better understanding of social sustainability in architectural education which is reflected on the built environment through several architectural strategies.

This paper contributes to the literature by providing a holistic understanding of sustainability including its social aspects and creating an awareness for the importance of social sustainability in architectural education.

The Tourist Gaze has been debated, reimagined and applied to a variety of actors and settings. This paper helps investigate how contemporary architecture operates as subject and participant in gazing practices.

Using Yelp reviews of art museums in a regional US city, a thematic analysis of text reviews and image uploads was conducted.

Reviewers do refer to buildings as objects of the gaze; but they also connect their experience of the building to emotions and to actions and use the building to orient themselves spatially. This article demonstrates that contemporary buildings are important components of tourist experiences as objects of the gaze, but also as frames for gazing and as stages for tourist practices.

The research implications are both topical and methodological: the paper demonstrates that contemporary (neo-modern) architecture is a vibrant avenue of research, and that social networking sites are a promising potential source of data for studying architecture in the social field.

This research uses an underexplored data set, Yelp reviews, to capture what people pay attention to and think others will find interesting about architecture. It also adds important layers to studies on the tourist gaze. First, it emphasizes that architecture is important to tourists not only as an object of the gaze but also as a site for affective experience, action and daily life. Second, it addresses some building styles beyond the historical ones that are foundational to the idea of the tourist gaze.

Traditional architecture and urban form is a harmonious and interrelated blend of social relations, cultural beliefs and religious principles forming coherent spatial organisation living in harmony despite diversity of religious beliefs, social class or cultural practices of different communities. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the theoretical background of social cohesion and solidarity in the everyday life of the Mahalla with reference to its religious background in Islam.

The study of Beit Hadawi and Beit Hammadi el-Hassan as distinct evidences of prominent families within the boundaries of Mahallat El Mahdia in Old Hilla offers an empirical investigation on how values of the past informed and, to some extent, governed the very organic organisation of interlocking residential units in Iraq.

It investigates the architecture of home and the spatial organisation of Mahalla’s social activities through highlighting the effect of previous factors in creating a responsive environment that sustained its operational mechanism and fluidity over centuries.

This paper examines how previous values, traditions and rituals are behind the organic tissue of traditional quarters and thus providing an effective criterion to be considered when discussing sustainable development or creating a responsive environment in societies with exceptional privacy.

This study aims to define the main characteristics and possibilities of ontological approaches to research in architecture by considering content, methodologies and subject position in this type of research and questions if there is a future for this type of research or not.

The primary data collection method of this research is based on the ethos of the author who has taught research courses for many years. This research has also been questioned through the discussions made within a related PhD course.

Results of this research reveal that the spontaneous ideology of architecture might have influenced the neglection of the ontological approaches in academic research in architecture.

Architecture has an interesting position towards reductionism because architectural thinking has ontological characteristics. The ontological approaches to academic research seems to be more applicable to architecture. However, research in architecture does not necessarily have this ontological character.

The “ontological approach to academic research” covers a larger set of research than the method of ontology, which is used to discuss the categories, limitations in research. Thinking on ontological approaches to research is needed because there is a considerable increase in the use of mixed research methods, which combine qualitative and quantitative research. The second reason for this is the criticisms about the unethical reductionism directed towards contemporary science by philosophers. However, there is no sufficient literature on the ontological approaches to research. This is true also for the academic research in architecture.

Taking Community Design Centers (CDC) in the USA as case studies, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of a type of service learning increasingly found in colleges of architecture. Typically, the CDC is a model of architecture's civic engagement that makes claims to “give back” to under-served communities and enhance student learning with applied architectural design work.

This project is part of a long-term engagement as participant observer and ethnographer in the field of architecture. Fieldwork in this investigation is presented as four case studies in separate and specific contexts.

Initial findings suggest there are conflicting intentions and aspirations at work through service learning in architecture and its implementation calls into question who or what is served. The author argues architecture's epistemology, pedagogical structure, and ideology precludes effective civic engagement.

The value of this research is the understanding of how those with power and resources are able to frame their work in low-income communities as service, even though there is little of worth given. It also demonstrates how stratification is reinforced through institutional arrangements in the USA.

There has been a recently growing interest by architects in practice-based research and the impact of research. At the same time, several post-graduate architecture programmes with practice-led research agendas were founded. This shift towards architectural design research is analysed using the notions of “process-driven research”, “output-driven research” and “impact”. The study aims to investigate and unveil the link between graduate programmes and graduates with a research interest and to test the tripartite model of “process-driven research”, “output-driven research” and “impact” in the context of small architectural practices.

The study uses a qualitative and exploratory research approach that includes 11 in-depth interviews conducted in 2020, during the first nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom (UK) selected interviews were architects representing (1) members or alumni of practice-related graduate architecture programmes in London and (2) founders of London-based small architectural practices within the last decade.

While focussing on the London context, the paper offers transferable insights for the key potentials of practice-led design research in small architectural practices and the actions that might improve research practice.

This paper addresses a lack of studies on how design research differs between diverse types and sizes of architectural firms, why emerging small architectural practices increasingly engage with research and how this shapes their practice. This knowledge is important to fully understanding architectural design research and its strengths or weaknesses.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics of “leadership and organizational learning” process and the factors that shape this process. Building upon the ideas of transformational and transactional leadership (TFL and TAL), explorative – and exploitative – learning (ERL and ETL), dynamic capabilities (DCs) and intellectual capital architecture (ICA), this paper develops a model of organizational learning. The model explains how leadership styles trigger versatile learning, and how DCs and ICA of a firm influence this process.

This paper builds upon a systematic review of the literature to develop propositions delineating the complex and poorly understood relationship between leadership styles, organizational learning and the role of DCs and ICA in this process. The paper develops multiple propositions, which together constitute an overarching framework explaining how leadership styles shape organizational learning.

Leadership approaches, DCs and ICA of a firm all have a differential effect on ERL and ETL. TFL and TAL promote ERL and ETL, respectively. The presence of DCs facilitates the effect of TFL in supporting ERL but negatively influences the role of TAL in ETL. The effect of ICA is discussed in terms of knowledge stocks (generalist vs specialist), social architecture (entrepreneurial vs cooperative) and organizational capital (organic vs mechanistic). The generalist knowledge facilitates TFL → ERL, while the specialist knowledge facilitates TAL → ETL path. Entrepreneurial architectures are suitable for TFL → ERL, while cooperative structures promote TAL → ETL trajectory. Finally, organic systems facilitate TFL → ERL, while the mechanistic systems promote TAL → ETL.

The key contribution of the paper is in developing a model furnishing profound insights into leadership approaches and organizational learning and the role of two critical factors. To the best of the author’s knowledge, these aspects have not been discussed in a unified framework in the previous studies. Hence, the paper is novel in its contribution.