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11 – 20 of 369
Article
Publication date: 24 September 2021

Muhammad Mahmood Aslam, Ricarda Bouncken and Lars Görmar

Coworking-spaces are considered as a new formula to facilitate autonomy, creativity, self-efficacy, work satisfaction and innovation, yet they also might overburden their users…

Abstract

Purpose

Coworking-spaces are considered as a new formula to facilitate autonomy, creativity, self-efficacy, work satisfaction and innovation, yet they also might overburden their users who in that course intend to limit social interaction and collaboration in the workspace. Thus, the question is how coworking-spaces shape entrepreneurial ventures.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used an inductive research methodology based on data from three different data sources, including observations, archives and interviews from managers and entrepreneurs.

Findings

The findings suggest that the materiality in the form of spatial architectures (working, socialization and support structures) shared facilities and infrastructures (utilities, luxuries and specialties), and integrated digital technologies (applications and platforms) influence the flow of communication, internal and external linkages, as well as functional uniformity and distinctiveness. However, there exists an inherent dualism in sociomaterial assemblage in coworking-spaces, which can lead to instrumental and detrimental outcomes for entrepreneurs.

Originality/value

This study explains the role of sociomaterial assemblage on the working of entrepreneurs in shared workspaces.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 27 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 17 March 2022

Sulakshana De Alwis, Patrik Hernwall and Arosha S. Adikaram

This study aims to explore how and why employees perceive technology-mediated interruptions differently and the role of sociocultural factors in this process using sociomaterial…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore how and why employees perceive technology-mediated interruptions differently and the role of sociocultural factors in this process using sociomaterial analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were gathered from 34 Sri Lankan knowledge workers using a series of workshop-based activities. The concept of sociomateriality is employed to understand how sociocultural elements are entangled with technology in work-life boundary experiences.

Findings

The findings of the thematic analyses suggest how culture is intertwined in the way employees perceive technology-mediated interruptions and how they manage information communication technologies (ICTs) to balance their work and nonwork demands. Participants have been unable to avoid technology-mediated boundary interruptions from work, as organisations have created norms to keep employees connected to organisations using information communication technologies. Traditional gender roles are specifically found to be entangled in employees' boundary management practices, disadvantaging women more.

Practical implications

The findings highlight how national culture and gender norms create challenging work-life experiences for female employees than males. This could create a disadvantageous position for female employees in their career progression. It is crucial to consider factors such as boundary preferences and family concerns when deciding on family-friendly work policies. Also, organisations have to consider the development of explicit guidelines on after-hours communication expectations.

Originality/value

Using the lens of sociomateriality, researchers can understand the contextual entanglement of ICTs with national culture and gender norms in creating different work-life boundary experiences. It seems ICTs are creating a disadvantage for female employees when managing work–nonwork boundaries, especially in power distant and collectivist cultures where traditional gender norms are highly valued and largely upheld. This study also contributes to the current discourse on work-life boundaries by providing insights from non-western perspectives.

Details

Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, vol. 17 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5648

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 March 2024

Njod Aljabr, Dimitra Petrakaki and Petros Chamakiotis

Existing research on how professionals manage after-hours connectivity to work has been dominated by studies on the strategies/practices individuals develop. In these studies…

Abstract

Purpose

Existing research on how professionals manage after-hours connectivity to work has been dominated by studies on the strategies/practices individuals develop. In these studies, mobile technology is perceived as a tool or an enabler that supports otherwise human-centric connectivity decisions. This view sees technology as separate or external to the organisation, missing out on its nuanced role in shaping connectivity decisions. Our study aims to bring technology back into the sociomaterially imbricated context of connectivity and to unpack its parameters.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on data collected from documents and semi-structured interviews, we adopt the framework of “sociomaterial imbrications” (Leonardi, 2011) to understand the social and material parameters that influence connectivity management practices at two different academic institutions in Saudi Arabia.

Findings

The study identifies a set of social and material parameters (organisational, individual, technological and situational) that imbricate to shape, collectively and not individually, professionals’ connectivity management practices. Connectivity decisions to change practice (such as decisions of where, when or why to connect) or technology (how to connect) are not as distinct as they appear but originate from, and are founded on, imbricated sociomaterial parameters. Our study further suggests that connectivity decisions are shaped by individuals’ perceptions of sociomaterial imbrications, but decisions are not solely idiosyncratic. The context within which connectivity decisions are taken influences the type of decisions made.

Originality/value

Connectivity management emerged from sociomaterial imbrications within a context constitutive of four interacting parameters: organisational, technological, situational and individual. Decisions around the “how” and the “what” of connectivity – i.e. the practice of connectivity and its underpinning technology – originate from how people perceive sociomaterial imbrications as enabling or constraining within a context. Individual perceptions account for changes in practice and in technology, but the context they find themselves in is also important. For instance, we show that professionals may perceive a certain technology as affording, but eventually they may use another technology for communications due to social norms.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 6 June 2019

David M. Boje

Abstract

Details

The Emerald Handbook of Management and Organization Inquiry
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-552-8

Book part
Publication date: 9 August 2017

Johan Gregeby and Mårten Hugosson

This chapter addresses a lack of theory building in electronic-HRM (e-HRM) research and attempts to contribute with a (re-)conceptualisation of e-HRM as a nexus of practices and…

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter addresses a lack of theory building in electronic-HRM (e-HRM) research and attempts to contribute with a (re-)conceptualisation of e-HRM as a nexus of practices and their material arrangements.

Methodology/approach

The work draws on theories from information systems research, science and technology studies, and sociology and organisation studies.

Findings

The (re-)conceptualisation indicates that future research should make further enquiries into the role of human agency and political processes in e-HRM.

Practical implications

As a methodological pathway a combination of ethnography and philosophical hermeneutics is proposed, enabling the achievement of a required pertinent sensibility in the study of social practices and human intentionality. Action research is also considered to be relevant for an engaged e-HRM scholarship.

Social implications

The social implication of this research is the advancement of theories that emphasise the importance of human agency, morality and materiality in organisational processes.

Originality/value of the chapter

The conceptualisation may thus facilitate research that reveal insights about involvement, reciprocity and power in e-HRM projects – knowledge that can direct the development of e-HRM project teams and thus facilitate strategic HRM.

Book part
Publication date: 6 June 2019

Anete M. Camille Strand and Tonya L. Henderson

Tonya and Anete are new players at sc’MOI, but this theme emerges at the tail end of sc’MOI so they are best to explicate it. This chapter describes the theoretical contributions…

Abstract

Tonya and Anete are new players at sc’MOI, but this theme emerges at the tail end of sc’MOI so they are best to explicate it. This chapter describes the theoretical contributions of quantum storytelling theory (QST) and practice. Building on the application of complexity theory in the hard sciences as well as social contexts and theory on multimodal constituency, this chapter considers the areas of overlap and difference between quantum storytelling and its theoretical fellows, with special attention given to sociomateriality, storytelling, feminism, fractal, and complexity theory.

Details

The Emerald Handbook of Management and Organization Inquiry
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-552-8

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 November 2023

Marko Niemimaa

The purpose of this research is to study how compliance evaluation becomes performed in practice. Compliance evaluation is a common practice among organizations that need to…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to study how compliance evaluation becomes performed in practice. Compliance evaluation is a common practice among organizations that need to evaluate their posture against a set of criteria (e.g. a standard, legislative framework and “best practices”). The results of these evaluations have significant importance for organizations, especially in the context of information security and continuity. The author argues that how these evaluations become performed is not merely a “social” activity but shaped by the materiality of the evaluation criteria

Design/methodology/approach

The authors adopt a sociomaterial practice-based view to study the compliance evaluation through in situ participant observations from compliance evaluation workshops to evaluate organizational compliance against a information security and business continuity criteria. The empirical material was analyzed to construct vignettes that serve to illustrate the practice of compliance evaluation.

Findings

The research analysis shows how the information security and business continuity criteria themselves partake in the compliance evaluations by operating through (ventriloqually) the evaluators on three strata: the material, the textual and the structural. The author also provides a conceptualization of a hybrid agency.

Originality/value

This research contributes to lack of studies on the organizational-level compliance. Further, the research is an original contribution to information security and business continuity management by focusing on the practices of compliance evaluation. Further, the research has theoretical novelty by adopting the ventriloqual agency as a hybrid agency to study the sociomateriality of a phenomenon.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 January 2023

Hélène Bussy-Socrate and Karina Sokolova

Relying on social influence and sociomateriality theories, this research provides new insights about the social and material drivers relating to the sexualisation of online…

Abstract

Purpose

Relying on social influence and sociomateriality theories, this research provides new insights about the social and material drivers relating to the sexualisation of online behaviour of social media influencers.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a netnographic approach, observation data were gathered from the Instagram accounts of 20 influencers dedicated to beauty and fashion. In addition, 15 in-depth interviews were conducted with women adopting sexualisation practices online. The data were analysed using an abductive strategy; all materials were coded according to thematic analysis principles.

Findings

The authors observe that sexualisation is a result of a complex system of social interactions encouraged and reinforced by multiple factors and actors. In particular, the authors outline the major influence of technology that has become a non-human authority defining implicit norms and shaping the beliefs and behaviours of women influencers.

Originality/value

In contrast to existing literature which mainly focuses on the negative consequences of sexualisation, this work sheds some light on social constructs in social media. The authors contribute to the growing literature on social media influencers. Although many works focus on their persuasiveness, this work helps to better understand the social setting, motivations and pressures that are contained in social and technological contexts.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 37 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 July 2018

Charlotte Morland and Inger Johanne Pettersen

The purpose of this paper is to understand how changes in technological devices, implemented to increase productivity and enhance performance are translated by medical professions…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand how changes in technological devices, implemented to increase productivity and enhance performance are translated by medical professions in their clinical work. As organizations become more technology dependent by digitalization, deeper understanding of change processes will enhance change outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study based on interviews, observations, on site and document analyses is undertaken to study the use of electronic speech recognizer (SR). An actor network theory (ANT) approach is used to address practice.

Findings

Doctors diversely adjust to the new technology. The use of the SR technology was negotiated and translated by the doctors. The technology was continuously re-designed and interacting with the human actors. In the translation process, powerful actors (doctors) influence outcome of changes, and thus, they affect the effectiveness of the change initiatives.

Research limitations/implications

The theoretical approach enables a detailed and rich understanding of the sociology of technology. Future research should go deeper into case studies in other contexts.

Practical implications

Technology is not deterministic entities, and politicians and managers should pay attention to how technology interact with key actors in implementation of system (technology) changes. The design and use phases implicate on the effect of such changes.

Social implications

In order to successfully manage change processes, powerful actors should be motivated to actively participate in the design and the implementation phases in order to design and redesign the functions and roles of technologies.

Originality/value

The theoretical approach (ANT) addresses technology according to the concept of sociomateriality. This approach enables understanding technology, people and organizations as entangled (integrated). The theoretical concepts developed knowledge to gain deeper and wider understanding of the role of technology in managing of performance and productivity initiatives.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. 67 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 June 2019

Sut Ieng Lei, Dan Wang and Rob Law

This study aims to investigate how hoteliers leverage mobile technologies to shape services that allow customers to create their own unique and personalized experiences.

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate how hoteliers leverage mobile technologies to shape services that allow customers to create their own unique and personalized experiences.

Design/methodology/approach

Guided by service-dominant logic and sociomateriality, this study analyzes hoteliers’ reasoning behind the design of mobile-based services through qualitative research. Data were collected from interviews with hotel managers representing best-practice companies in the industry.

Findings

The findings provide a rich description of mobile-based value co-creation in the hotel context. They delineate hoteliers’ understanding of mobile technologies as a means to co-create value, their strategic considerations and the forms in which value is expected to be co-created.

Research limitations/implications

This study unearths the new roles of hoteliers, unique forms of value co-creation and their underlying structures in the specific context of mobile-based value co-creation. Practical implications based on industry best practices are provided for hospitality companies seeking to innovate by co-creating value with customers using mobile technologies.

Originality/value

This research paper contributes to the hospitality literature on IT-enabled service innovation and value co-creation by comprehensively explaining the underlying structure and design of co-created experiences facilitated by mobile-based services.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 31 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

11 – 20 of 369