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1 – 10 of over 11000Åsa Tjulin and Carolina Klockmo
This study explores the organisational dynamics in a change process across work units in a Swedish municipality. The purpose of this study is to understand how and why co-creation…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the organisational dynamics in a change process across work units in a Swedish municipality. The purpose of this study is to understand how and why co-creation unfolds during efforts to bring different units into one united work unit.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative longitudinal study was designed using data triangulation for eight months, comprising written reflection texts, meeting protocols and interviews. This study is based on a back-and-forth inductive and abductive grounded theory analysis.
Findings
The main results of this study indicate that there was friction in the co-creation process between units, between the members of the change group and supervisors, as well as friction within the change group. Further, the results indicate that communications, relations, supervisor support and governing strategies clashed with work routines and methods, work cultures, roles and responsibilities and that the units had differing views of the needs of the intended target group. This thereby challenged the propensity for change which, in turn, may have limited developmental learning at a workplace and organisational level.
Originality/value
Working across units to find common and new paths and work methods for labour market inclusion proved to be challenging because of contextual circumstances. Crossing and merging organisational boundaries through co-creation processes was demanding because of new expectations from the organisation, as it shifted towards trust-based governance in conjunction with working during a pandemic when social interactions were restricted to digital communication channels.
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Ia Williamsson and Linda Askenäs
This study aims to understand how practitioners use their insights in software development models to share experiences within and between organizations.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand how practitioners use their insights in software development models to share experiences within and between organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a qualitative study of practitioners in software development projects, in large-, medium- or small-size businesses. It analyzes interview material in three-step iterations to understand reflexive practice when using software development models.
Findings
The study shows how work processes are based on team members’ experiences and common views. This study highlights the challenges of organizational learning in system development projects. Current practice is unreflective, habitual and lacks systematic ways to address recurring problems and share information within and between organizations. Learning is episodic and sporadic. Knowledge from previous experience is individual not organizational.
Originality/value
Software development teams and organizations tend to learn about, and adopt, software development models episodically. This research expands understanding of how organizational learning takes place within and between organizations with practitioners who participate in teams. Learnings show the potential for further research to determine how new curriculums might be formed for teaching software development model improvements.
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Karin Högberg and Sara Willermark
This study aims to develop the understanding of learning processes related to the new ways of interacting in the enforced digital workplace over time.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop the understanding of learning processes related to the new ways of interacting in the enforced digital workplace over time.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple, longitudinal case study of knowledge-based workers in three firms located in Sweden has been conducted from March 2020 to March 2023. In total, 89 interviews with 32 employees in three knowledge-based firms have been collected.
Findings
The study shows how the intricate interaction between rules and norms for interaction and work must be renegotiated as well as un- and relearned when the physical work environment no longer frames the work context. Furthermore, technology can be viewed as both an enable and a barrier, that is, technology has enhanced collaboration between organizational members yet also created social difficulties, for example, related to communication and interaction. The study emphasizes that individuals learned through trial and error. That is, they tried behaviors such as translating social interactions" to a digital arena, appraised the outcomes and modified the practices if the outcomes were poor.
Research limitations/implications
The present study does have several limitations. First, it is based on interviews with respondents within three organizations in Sweden. To broaden and deepen the understanding of both organizational and learning, future studies can contribute by studying other contexts as well as using a mixed method approach in other countries.
Practical implications
Results from the study can provide a practical understanding of how the rapid change from working at the office to working from home using digital technologies can be understood and managed.
Originality/value
Contributions include combining interaction order and un- and relearning among organizational employees. This insight is important given that the rapid digital transformation of our society has changed how work is performed and how the future workplace will be both structured and organized.
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This study aims to create a better understanding of how practitioners implement and work Agile while balancing the tensions arising between stability and change.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to create a better understanding of how practitioners implement and work Agile while balancing the tensions arising between stability and change.
Design/methodology/approach
A grounded theory approach was used to explore what happens in practice when software development teams implement and work Agile. The empirical data consists of twenty semi-structured interviews with practitioners working in fourteen different organizations and in six different Agile roles.
Findings
As a result, a substantive theory was presented of continuously balancing between stability and change in Agile teams. In addition, the study also proposes three guidelines that can help organizations about to change their way of working to Agile.
Research limitations/implications
The inherent limitation of a grounded theory study is that a substantial theory can only explain the specific contexts explored in that study. Thus, this study's contribution is a substantial theory that needs to be further developed and improved.
Practical implications
The proposed guidelines can help organizations about to change their way of working to Agile. They can also assist organizations in switching from “doing Agile” to “being Agile”, thus becoming more successful.
Originality/value
The new perspective that this study contributes is the fact that our discovered categories show that several inherent processes are ongoing at the same time in order to balance the need to have both stability and change.
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Carla A.J. Bastiaansen and Celeste P.M. Wilderom
After deciding to become agile, many information technology (IT) units struggle; they underestimate the needed managerial expertise to alter their current culture toward an agile…
Abstract
Purpose
After deciding to become agile, many information technology (IT) units struggle; they underestimate the needed managerial expertise to alter their current culture toward an agile one, particularly when cross-cultural (f)actors are involved. Given that work values are the key to an organizational culture, the study derived a set of agile work values of culturally diverse IT professionals together with a set of well-known generic work values. Consequently, the authors illustrate that managers in charge of the transition to an effective agile culture must pay serious attention to the specific value constellations of its often highly diverse workforce.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review resulted in an initial list of agile work values. Then, mainly through a Delphi round, 12 agile-specific work values were established. These were survey rated, along with the validated set of 18 generic work values, by 102 British and Indian IT professionals in a digital service and consulting firm that was requested by its client to become agile. The observations made in 14 feedback group-interview-type dialogs enriched the surveyed data further.
Findings
In the current exploratory study, four generic value dimensions were complemented by two agile-specific ones: team communication and shared responsibility. Among the British and Indian (on-site and offshore) workers, only 2 of the 30 current work values were shared while 7 significant value differences were found, explaining the noted employee bitterness, productivity losses and client disengagement. This situation was reflected in the many discrepancies between the professionals' ideal agile way of working and how their unit was currently functioning.
Originality/value
The multi-method study shows an over-optimistic approach to becoming agile in a common cross-cultural context; insights are gained on how to optimize agile ways of organizing IT work when British IT workers collaborate with Indian IT workers. It may benefit many agile practitioners and managers working with(in) cross-culturally mixed and partly remote teams.
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Debbie Vermond, Esther de Groot, Niek de Wit and Dorien Zwart
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020–2022, the immutable and fragmented character of our healthcare system changed. Healthcare professionals and their institutional leads…
Abstract
Purpose
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020–2022, the immutable and fragmented character of our healthcare system changed. Healthcare professionals and their institutional leads proved remarkably agile and managed to change toward collaborative care. The purpose of this paper is to examine experiences with collaborative practice in healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic in two regions in the Netherlands, to explore and understand the relationship between policy and practice and the potential development of new collaborative care routines.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a methodology informed by theories that have a focus on professional working practice (so called “activity theory”) or the institutional decision-makers (discursive institutionalism), respectively, the perspective of physicians on the relationship between policy and practice was explored. Transcripts of meetings with physicians from different institutions and medical specialities about their collaborative COVID-19 care were qualitatively analysed.
Findings
The findings show how change during COVID-19 was primarily initiated from the bottom-up. Cultural-cognitive and normative forces in professional, collaborative working practice triggered the creation of new relationships and sharing of resources and capacity. The importance of top-down regulatory forces from institutional leads was less evident. Yet, both (bottom-up) professional legitimacy and (top-down) institutional support are mentioned as necessary by healthcare professionals to develop and sustain new collaborative routines.
Practical implications
The COVID-19 crisis provided opportunity to build better healthcare infrastructure by learning from the responses to this pandemic. Now is the time to find ways to integrate new ways of working initiated from the bottom-up with those longstanding ones initiated from top-down.
Originality
This paper presents a combination of theories for understanding collaboration in healthcare, which can inform future research into collaborative care initiatives.
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Simon van Zoest, Leentje Volker and Marleen Hermans
The purpose of this paper is to address the barriers that Dutch housing associations encounter in implementing new procurement strategies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address the barriers that Dutch housing associations encounter in implementing new procurement strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
Several aspects of purchasing, portfolio management, project delivery and supply management are discussed in relation to the changing role of housing associations as semi-public commissioning bodies in the Dutch construction industry, based on data derived from workshops with six Dutch housing associations.
Findings
Housing associations are adapting their procurement strategy towards a more integrative and performance-based approach to supply management. Due to the complexity of implementing this process, housing associations struggle especially with moving beyond pilot projects, increasing the maturity levels throughout the organisation and aligning new policies with daily practices at a tactical and an operational level.
Practical implications
Increased knowledge of change processes and seeing the potential of maturity models will be valuable for practitioners who are dealing with changes on the work floor.
Social implications
Client organisations are considered one of the key drivers of change in the construction industry. Insights into these particular organisational change processes contribute to the potential of industry reform.
Originality/value
Most studies on collaboration and integration in the supply chain focus on the inter-organisational level or on the supply side, rather than the internal organisation of the client.
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This paper aims to explore whether the principles behind improvement methods and the underlying learning orientations of ambidexterity have the potential to support the managing of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore whether the principles behind improvement methods and the underlying learning orientations of ambidexterity have the potential to support the managing of ideas for implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
By combining improvement methods and ambidexterity, this study presents a pragmatic framework for innovative working with a scientific underpinning linked to organizational learning.
Findings
The descriptive stages in the plan-do-check-act method for improvement are instructive in their focus on progress and helpful in untangling the more explanatory nature of ambidexterity to frame innovative working.
Research limitations/implications
Although the framework’s usefulness for innovative working is subject to future studies, the implementation, validation and results of the framework in pilot research may contribute to the body of knowledge.
Practical implications
The proposed framework can be used in teaching the key role of strategic leadership to explore and exploit over time. The framework has the potential to guide innovative working in practice by making better use of the employees’ tacit knowledge in such a way that they are empowered to explore new ways of defining problems and searching for solutions to improve organizational performance. The results of the implementation will impact the employees’ quality of life.
Originality/value
This study advances the current understanding of how the seemingly contradictory activities of exploration and exploitation can model an integrative learning approach.
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Charlotta Kronblad, Johanna E. Pregmark and Rita Berggren
This paper aims to understand what prevents established law firms from embracing digitalization and discusses barriers to solving the emerging ambidexterity problem. Law firms…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to understand what prevents established law firms from embracing digitalization and discusses barriers to solving the emerging ambidexterity problem. Law firms have been organized in the same way for decades. However, digital opportunities are emerging and new competitors are challenging established firms. This presents established law firms with an ambidexterity problem: How can law firms simultaneously uphold their successful way of working while entering a new world of digitalization, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning?
Design/methodology/approach
Previous research suggests that law firms are slow in digital transformation, compared to other Professional Service Firms (PSFs). In this paper, the authors explore why this happens. Interview data from representatives in law firms are complemented with data from architects as well as legal industry data and field notes. The data have been analyzed to spot patterns and emerging themes.
Findings
The authors find that established law firms face structural and cultural barriers to applying ambidextrous solutions. When comparing law firms with architecture firms, the authors see that while established architecture firms have combined digital exploration with ongoing exploitation, established law firms have focused on exploitation, leaving digital exploration to new legal tech firms. This difference can be attributed to industry context and professional culture.
Originality/value
This paper shows that both structural and contextual ambidexterity is a challenge for established law firms. This paper contributes to the understanding of barriers to embrace digital technology, and supports practitioners in efforts to remove these barriers.
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Corin Kraft, Johan P. Lindeque and Marc K. Peter
The study explores the alignment of Swiss small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) managers' understanding of digital transformation, with evidence of digital tool adoption in…
Abstract
Purpose
The study explores the alignment of Swiss small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) managers' understanding of digital transformation, with evidence of digital tool adoption in managerial and operative work. This reveals opportunities for more fully realizing the potential of digital transformation for SMEs.
Design/methodology/approach
This multiple-case study, with four theoretically sampled cases, analyzes data from the qualitative answers of 1,593 respondents to a survey of Swiss SMEs about digital transformation. The study draws on a convenience sample of Swiss SME managers.
Findings
The analysis shows little understanding of digital transformation as related to managerial work. However, there are two clear digital tool adoption patterns for managerial work: (1) workflow and workforce management and (2) work-flow and team management. Understandings of digital transformation and operative work focus on the (1) organization of operational work or (2) a combination of organization and changing the way people work. The digital tool adoption in operational work additionally focuses on the digital skills of operational employees.
Research limitations/implications
The study is only able to identify patters of understanding of digital transformation and digital tool adoption in managerial and operative work. More research is needed to understand why these patterns are observed.
Practical implications
SME managers need to think far more carefully about aligning their vision for digital transformation and the digital tools they adopt in both managerial and operational work, but especially in managerial work.
Originality/value
This is the first empirical study of the digital transformation of Swiss SMEs and their digital tool adoption. Significant potential for alignment is revealed, suggesting potential performance gains are possible.
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