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1 – 10 of over 5000Gustavo Guzman and Luiz F. Trivelato
This paper aims to analyse and evaluate the transfer process of codified knowledge (CK) performed under two different approaches: the “socio‐technical” and the “top‐down”. It is…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyse and evaluate the transfer process of codified knowledge (CK) performed under two different approaches: the “socio‐technical” and the “top‐down”. It is argued that the socio‐technical approach supports the transfer of CK better than the top‐down approach.
Design/methodology/approach
Case study methodology was used, in the explanatory and qualitative study. The empirical evidence focused on the development of work standards following ISO 9000 norms at a Steelworks plant. This process was examined as a process of CK transfer.
Findings
First, the socio‐technical approach supports the process of CK transfer better than the top‐down view. Second, CK is a dynamic concept that may need different varying amounts of tacit knowledge in order to enable knowledge codification and assimilation. Three, the examination of the degree of context and task similarity between sender and receiving units needs to be detailed, since small variations in organizational processes might imply significant alterations on informal work practices, a key issue that affects the CK transfer process.
Research limitations/implications
This study, on the one hand, might assist to further develop theories of knowledge transfer, such as Argote's et al. integrative knowledge management framework. On the other hand, it complements Szulanski's research since he did not explore the approach used during the implementation process.
Practical implications
Research finding contain practical advice that can the taken up by practitioners.
Originality/value
By focusing on different approaches to transfer CK, this study has filled a research gap in the CK transfer literature.
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Masike Malatji, Sune Von Solms and Annlizé Marnewick
This paper aims to identify and appropriately respond to any socio-technical gaps within organisational information and cybersecurity practices. This culminates in the equal…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify and appropriately respond to any socio-technical gaps within organisational information and cybersecurity practices. This culminates in the equal emphasis of both the social, technical and environmental factors affecting security practices.
Design/methodology/approach
The socio-technical systems theory was used to develop a conceptual process model for analysing organisational practices in terms of their social, technical and environmental influence. The conceptual process model was then applied to specifically analyse some selected information and cybersecurity frameworks. The outcome of this exercise culminated in the design of a socio-technical systems cybersecurity framework that can be applied to any new or existing information and cybersecurity solutions in the organisation. A framework parameter to help continuously monitor the mutual alignment of the social, technical and environmental dimensions of the socio-technical systems cybersecurity framework was also introduced.
Findings
The results indicate a positive application of the socio-technical systems theory to the information and cybersecurity domain. In particular, the application of the conceptual process model is able to successfully categorise the selected information and cybersecurity practices into either social, technical or environmental practices. However, the validation of the socio-technical systems cybersecurity framework requires time and continuous monitoring in a real-life environment.
Practical implications
This research is beneficial to chief security officers, risk managers, information technology managers, security professionals and academics. They will gain more knowledge and understanding about the need to highlight the equal importance of both the social, technical and environmental dimensions of information and cybersecurity. Further, the less emphasised dimension is posited to open an equal but mutual security vulnerability gap as the more emphasised dimension. Both dimensions must, therefore, equally and jointly be emphasised for optimal security performance in the organisation.
Originality/value
The application of socio-technical systems theory to the information and cybersecurity domain has not received much attention. In this regard, the research adds value to the information and cybersecurity studies where too much emphasis is placed on security software and hardware capabilities.
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Dong-Hee Shin and Yong Jin Park
This study aims to conduct socio-technical analysis of the rapidly evolving Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem and industry, including such factors as market growth and user…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to conduct socio-technical analysis of the rapidly evolving Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem and industry, including such factors as market growth and user experiences, policy and the impact of IoT on various areas.
Design/methodology/approach
By applying a multi-level socio-technical framework to IoT in South Korea, this study seeks an ecological understanding of how IoT will evolve and stabilize in a smart environment.
Findings
The study shows the values influencing potential users’ adoption of IoT by integrating cognitive motivations and user values as primary determining factors. Along with user modeling, the findings reveal the challenges of designing, deploying and sustaining the diverse components of IoT, and provides a snapshot of Korea’s current approach to meeting these challenges.
Originality/value
The study’s findings offer a contextualized socio-technical analysis of IoT, providing insight into its challenges and opportunities. This insight helps to conceptualize how IoT can be designed and situated within human-centered contexts.
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Joyce M. Ranney and Carolyn E. Carder
The purpose of this article is to discuss the application of socio‐technical design concepts and methods to office settings. Certain translations and modifications for offices are…
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to discuss the application of socio‐technical design concepts and methods to office settings. Certain translations and modifications for offices are necessary in order to use socio‐technical methods, originally developed for use in factory settings. We will briefly review the socio‐technical systems history and approach, discuss design concepts and principles, describe two office cases, and identify important consulting issues for managers and implementors of office technology.
Tiina Kalliomäki-Levanto and Antti Ukkonen
Interruptions are prevalent in knowledge work, and their negative consequences have driven research to find ways for interruption management. However, these means almost always…
Abstract
Purpose
Interruptions are prevalent in knowledge work, and their negative consequences have driven research to find ways for interruption management. However, these means almost always leave the responsibility and burden of interruptions with individual knowledge workers. System-level approaches for interruption management, on the other hand, have the potential to reduce the burden on employees. This paper’s objective is to pave way for system-level interruption management by showing that data about factual characteristics of work can be used to identify interrupting situations.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors provide a demonstration of using trace data from information and communications technology (ICT)-systems and machine learning to identify interrupting situations. They conduct a “simulation” of automated data collection by asking employees of two companies to provide information concerning situations and interruptions through weekly reports. They obtain information regarding four organizational elements: task, people, technology and structure, and employ classification trees to show that this data can be used to identify situations across which the level of interruptions differs.
Findings
The authors show that it is possible to identifying interrupting situations from trace data. During the eight-week observation period in Company A they identified seven and in Company B four different situations each having a different probability of occurrence of interruptions.
Originality/value
The authors extend employee-level interruption management to the system-level by using “task” as a bridging concept. Task is a core concept in both traditional interruption research and Leavitt's 1965 socio-technical model which allows us to connect other organizational elements (people, structure and technology) to interruptions.
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Shlomo Globerson and Gavriel Salvendy
Some of the limitations of the methodologies of productivity measures, human resource accounting and socio‐technical aspects of job design are reviewed. In order to overcome some…
Abstract
Some of the limitations of the methodologies of productivity measures, human resource accounting and socio‐technical aspects of job design are reviewed. In order to overcome some of the limitations inherent in the above methodologies, a Socio‐Technical Accounting System (STAS) is developed and proposed for possible use in evaluation of personnel, jobs, and value of human assets.
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Nishtha Rai and Ankur Srivastava
This study aims to examine the factors influencing trust toward mobile health applications (mhealth apps) among young consumers. By building on the socio-technical systems…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the factors influencing trust toward mobile health applications (mhealth apps) among young consumers. By building on the socio-technical systems framework and self-congruence theory, the authors develop and examine a conceptual model of the trusting intentions of young consumers toward mhealth apps.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for the study was collected from a sample of 285 young consumers via an online survey by using a purposive sampling method. All the respondents were existing users of health apps and resided in the urban areas of the country. The sample comprised 53% male respondents and 47% female respondents. Subsequently, the data was analyzed using the structural equation modeling technique.
Findings
The findings revealed that psychological factors like self-congruence and technical factors such as flow experience and perceived playfulness aid in building trust among young mhealth app users, which in turn influences the purchase intention and user loyalty toward the application. Social factors like perceived critical mass and social influence did not significantly impact trust.
Research limitations/implications
The data was collected from Generation Z, recognized as the most influential consumer demographic worldwide, primarily involved in mhealth app usage. Nonetheless, it is essential to understand that these findings might only partially apply to a specific user group. In addition, the study did not focus on any specific mhealth applications. Hence, it is prudent to exercise caution when generalizing these results to the broader population.
Originality/value
This study advances the comprehension of socio-technical elements in establishing trust, subsequently impacting purchase intentions and loyalty among young users in the context of mhealth apps. In addition, it expands the socio-technical framework by incorporating a psychological factor that could influence trust and purchase intentions toward mhealth apps. Furthermore, the post hoc findings reinforce this comprehension by identifying the moderating effects of operating system type and gender. These insights could provide valuable guidance for developing tailored marketing strategies targeting the young consumer base.
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Stylianos Karatzas, Vasiliki Lazari, Kalliopi Fouseki, Valeria Natalia Pracchi and Evagelos Balaskas
Heritage building management serves as a potent catalyst for sustainability, yet it poses a distinctive set of challenges. Achieving a harmonious balance between conserving the…
Abstract
Purpose
Heritage building management serves as a potent catalyst for sustainability, yet it poses a distinctive set of challenges. Achieving a harmonious balance between conserving the building's historical and cultural value and ensuring modern functionality and safety remains a primary concern. The present work proposes a socio-technical approach to the development and use of a digital twin (DT) that will integrate social data related to the use of heritage buildings with building and environmental data.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a logical and systematic joined-up management framework to the targeted heritage buildings, according to a “Whole Building” approach. Our approach is informed by the underpinning assumption that a heritage building and even more a heritage neighborhood is a socio-technical, complex and dynamic system, the change of which depends on the dynamic interconnections of materials, competences, resources, values, space/environment, senses and time.
Findings
A heritage dynamics approach is adopted to unfold the dynamic nature of heritage and to better inform decisions that can be made in the present and future, achieving people-centered and place-based heritage management. This proposition underlines the heritage transformation as a complex systemic process that consists of nonlinear interconnections of multiple heterogeneous factors (values, senses, attitudes, spaces and resources).
Originality/value
This paper presents a multi-level framework of DTs that interact hierarchically to comprehensively understand, assimilate and seamlessly integrate intricate contexts, even when faced with conflicting conditions from diverse cultural heritage entities. This paper outlines the importance of the iterative system dynamics (SD) approach, which enables adaptive management and ensures the resilience of cultural heritage over time.
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Xi Zhang, Xuyan Wang, Fangqing Tian, Dongming Xu and Longwei Fan
Feedback-seeking behavior is an important way for individuals to actively seek information feedback to achieve individuals' goals. In the environment driven by contactless digital…
Abstract
Purpose
Feedback-seeking behavior is an important way for individuals to actively seek information feedback to achieve individuals' goals. In the environment driven by contactless digital technologies, the way of individual feedback-seeking behavior through monitoring indirectly becomes obvious, especially for people who complete the work online in digital collaboration. However, previous empirical research on feedback-seeking behavior mainly focused on direct inquiry. The purpose of this paper is to verify the impact of individual learning goal orientation and the digital feedback environment on individuals' feedback-seeking behaviors through inquiry and monitoring approaches. And the moderating effect of time pressure on these relationships was also investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on socio-technical system theory, this study proposes a model to describe the formation of the two approaches of feedback-seeking behaviors (inquiry and monitoring). The hypotheses were examined with the structural equation model method and data were collected from 152 graduate students who completed online surveys.
Findings
The results show that both the digital feedback environment and learning goal orientation can promote individual inquiry and monitoring approaches of feedback-seeking. Furthermore, time pressure moderates the relationship between the digital feedback environment and feedback monitoring negatively.
Originality/value
This study establishes an antecedent model that influences the choice of feedback-seeking approaches in digital environments from the perspective of a socio-technical system. The empirical results supplement the explanation of the influence of both technical and social factors on individual feedback-seeking behavior in digital environments.
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Wendy Olphert, Leela Damodaran, Panos Balatsoukas and Catherine Parkinson
The term ‘digital assistive technology' refers to the use of ICTs for the support of older people's everyday tasks. These tasks could range from online shopping to information…
Abstract
The term ‘digital assistive technology' refers to the use of ICTs for the support of older people's everyday tasks. These tasks could range from online shopping to information seeking and searching the web in a variety of ways eg. by the use of desktop or ubiquitous computing. Currently, research under the New Dynamics of Ageing Programme, funded by the ESRC, EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC and AHRC, and research funded by other bodies, including SPARC, tries to improve older people's quality of life through the exploitation and exploration of new developments in computing and information technology. However, the acceptance rate of digital assistive technology by older people is still low, while the abandonment of already existing technologies increases. The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for process requirements to inform the decision‐making of designers and implementers of digital assistive technologies. These process requirements should facilitate the development of more adaptable user‐centred systems that can dynamically accommodate the changing needs of older people and decrease the rate of abandonment of digital assistive technologies.
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