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Global virtual teams (GVTs), also known as transnational or distributed teams, are increasingly common as organizations strive to maintain a global presence, find top and diverse talent, and cope with economic constraints. Despite increasing adoption of GVTs, there is a dearth of research addressing whether GVTs are an effective coping strategy for dealing with the world economic crisis and if there are unintended negative consequences on employee well-being as a result of their use. Thus, a focal question guiding the development of this chapter is whether or not GVTs are a sustainable solution for organizations? In this chapter we present a generic framework depicting the cycle by which macroeconomic demands impose changes on organization's structures, which trickle down to the level of the individual who has to cope with the demands the new structure has imposed. We discuss GVTs as an intervention (or cure) for organizations’ dealing with the current world economic crisis and how this organizational intervention inevitably becomes the context (or cause) for the kinds of stressors or demands employees face.

This paper aims to present a transnational research intervention that relies on the qualitative monitoring of disadvantaged people’s work integration program. In particular, the paper adopts the concept of networking and knotworking to intercept and describe the ways in which organizational payers shape knowledge in their contexts of work inclusion.

The research is based on a developmental ethnographic research to detect meaningful, situated knowledge related to the activities for work integration of disadvantaged people. Two main techniques, “at home ethnography” (Ellis and Bochner, 2000; Hansen, 2006) and participant observation (Alvesson, 2009), were used for gathering data.

The paper highlights the existing contradictions within and between the multiple activity systems. The advantages of using the activity theory’s lenses are underlined together with two main approaches related to the assumption of a networking and knotworking orientation. The findings also refer to some new paths professionals identified for their daily activity.

The paper provides a better understanding of the contemporary challenges of working, that is extremely helpful to policy makers and other practitioners, including researchers.

One way in which the manufacturing and construction industries are moving is to adopt the philosophy of concurrent engineering (CE), better utilising the expertise of other companies in the supply chain. This paper draws on the results of several previous studies to discuss from a conceptual rather than an empiric point of view some ergonomics issues involved in CE from the perspective of supply chains. It outlines some generic attributes, and discusses some concepts of federated control systems within supply chains. The implications of these for information flows and the management of distributed knowledge within supply chains are then discussed. A key issue that arises from this is the need for trust in individuals external to the company if the CE philosophy is to work effectively. The paper then discusses the implications of this for the design of roles within the CE workgroup, concluding that the principles of socio‐technical design for roles are appropriate for the design of these roles, ensuring that they have the right attributes for trustworthiness. This provides a link between these principles and business needs that is not often present in discussions of role design. Examples are drawn mainly from manufacturing and the implications for construction supply chains highlighted, as appropriate.

Knowledge management (KM) has become a key driver of organisational performance. The existing literature suggests that many organisations fail in their attempts to align their KM strategies with knowledge processes within their organisation. Based on the management literature on alignment, there is a gap in the understanding of how an organisation's KM strategy and KM processes in workgroups can be aligned. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate that alignment in terms of KM is important and underpins the improvement of KM processes in organisations.

A qualitative case study research approach was used to examine alignment between strategy and processes of knowledge in organisations. In total, three case organisations representing different industry sectors were chosen to examine how organisations align their KM strategies with workgroup knowledge processes.

This study proposes a Strategic‐Workgroup Alignment Framework that explains the key alignment enablers and different alignment approaches required to align KM strategy with workgroup KM processes in organisations.

The authors acknowledge the limitations of this paper. Although the proposed framework provides valuable insights with respect to different alignment approaches, it does not specify how each alignment approach can be assessed in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. As part of the alignment approaches, this study's focus was between strategy and processes of knowledge: further research could bring to light new alignment options of knowledge and the associated implications.

This study illustrates that organisations can improve the management of knowledge through alignment between KM strategies and KM processes. Such an improvement is also possible in the absence of a KM strategy emphasis, where alignment would require a deeper examination of workgroup knowledge processes. This study also identifies specific alignment enablers to align KM strategy and KM processes.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how to reconcile the contradiction between two paradigms employed in analyzing IT‐related change requirements: knowledge‐as‐thing versus knowledge‐as‐process.

These tensions are explored in the high‐risk decision‐making environment of an Immigration and Naturalization Service agency. The study combines competitive intelligence risk‐analysis methods with an ethnographic analysis of knowledge‐flows, to determine how the roles of human decision‐makers may be supported effectively by ICT‐based knowledge support.

The findings demonstrate how high‐risk decision‐making may be analyzed as a integrated hybrid human/ICT intelligence system. The study exposes detailed mechanisms by which knowledge of different forms is transferred, exposing failures in training, interpersonal communications, ICT system support, and reward structures. Four roles for ICT support are identified, to supplement human intelligence effectively.

This research is based on an investigation across knowledgeable experts in various geographical locations, functional contexts, and organizational roles in a single government agency. Future research could seek to explore whether our distinctions between knowledge types and ICT‐roles are transferable across different organizations.

Four stages of analysis for a hybrid intelligence framework are suggested: risk‐category identification; the application of risk‐categories to decision‐cases; testing and adapting categorizations against global conditions; and transfer of locally‐meaningful categorizations of risk across communities of practice.

The contributions of this paper are: to provide a taxonomy for the analysis of organizational knowledge‐flows; and to suggest a framework for the analysis of roles for human vs. ICT knowledge management in distributed, high‐risk decision‐making environments.

To develop a theory to explain how national diversity within a workgroup can lead to intra‐group conflict, and how this effect may be exacerbated in the presence of nationalistic attitudes.

Defines and discusses what national diversity is and why it is relevant to multinational organizations. Then constructs a multi‐level, theoretical framework to propose the conditions under which national diversity may lead to high levels of conflict. Describes and explains the role of nationalism (i.e. individuals' attitude towards their and others' nationalities) in diverse workgroups and explore the moderating effect of nationalism on the relationship between national diversity and intra‐group conflict.

Proposes that in nationally diverse workgroups the presence of workgroup members with strong nationalistic attitudes (e.g. ingroup favoritism and outgroup rejection) will exacerbate the likelihood that national diversity may lead to relationship conflict and process conflict, and that it will weaken the likelihood that national diversity leads to task conflict.

The model demonstrates the necessity of examining national diversity and the factors and conditions, such as the presence of nationalistic attitudes that may hinder the potential of a nationally diverse workgroup.

Addresses the rapid expansion of computer connectivity and the opportunities provided for criminals to exploit security vulnerabilities in the online environment.

International efforts to combat cyber‐crime are reviewed by evaluating the forms of mutual legal assistance (MLA) now in place.

Cyber‐crime is often traditional crime (e.g. fraud, identify theft, child pornography) albeit executed swiftly and to vast numbers of potential victims, as well as unauthorised access, damage and interference to computer systems. Most detrimental are malicious and exploit codes that interrupt computer operations on a global scale and along with other cyber‐crimes threaten e‐commerce. The cross‐national nature of most computer‐related crimes have rendered many time‐honoured methods of policing both domestically and in cross‐border situations ineffective even in advanced nations, while the “digital divide” provides “safe havens” for cyber‐criminals. In response to the threat of cyber‐crime there is an urgent need to reform methods of MLA and to develop trans‐national policing capability.

The international response is briefly outlined in the context of the United Nations (UN) Transnational Organised Crime Convention (in force from September 2003) and the Council of Europe's innovative Cyber‐crime Convention (in force from July 2004). In addition, the role of the UN, Interpol, other institutions and bi‐lateral, regional and other efforts aimed a creating a seamless web of enforcement against cyber‐criminals are described.

The potential for potent global enforcement mechanisms are discussed.

This paper seeks to discuss the Leadership, Academic and Student Ownership and Readiness (LASO) model for enterprise‐wide technological transformation in higher education developed by the writer as part of his PhD research.

The article uses a comparative analysis of three case studies of the implementation of the LASO model over nine years. These case studies are the eLearning implementation on the Wellington campus of Massey University, New Zealand from September 1995 to December 2000, a five‐month consultancy in 2000 at the Cape Technikon, South Africa to lead the enterprise‐wide implementation of eLearning, and four years of implementing eLearning at the University of Botswana to January 2005.

The LASO model is an approach to ensure enterprise‐wide technological transformation in higher education through a strategically developed framework based on a clear and unified vision and a central educational rationale.

The paper questions the strong bottom‐up approach of Rogers' innovation of diffusion theory and the smooth contours of the innovation curve when applied to the enterprise‐wide infusion of eLearning in higher education.

The aim of this paper is to explore whether national diversity in the form of national variety (differences in kind, e.g. number of nationalities) has a positive effect on group processes and performance whereas national separation (differences in attitudes and beliefs; i.e. social distance and national stereotypes) has a negative effect.

This cross-cultural comparative study examines the moderating role of national diversity in the relationship between social attitudes on conflict and performance across two samples. Participants are presented with one of the two national variety conditions (low or high national variety) who then report on social distance, national stereotype, conflict, and performance.

National separation negatively relates to performance and positively relates to conflict. However, there is less conflict and higher performance, despite national separation, when there is high national variety.

This study is limited to individual perceptions. Research could be extended to experienced conflict and effects of individual national separation on conflict and performance at the group level.

Although social distances and negative stereotypes may not be completely eliminated, the results imply that managers can modify the effects by promoting and celebrating national variety. The results show that even conflict is modified (task conflict increases while relationship and process conflict decreases) when there is national variety despite social distances and negative stereotypes.

This study contributes to workgroup research on diversity and conflict management by exploring social attitudes and opinions. Individual attitudes are the bases of group processes and this study attends to two of the social attitudes that need to be added to our understanding of group processes.

This study aims to determine how cognitive diversity at the workplace influences team creativity. In this regard, the authors examined knowledge sharing and team-focused inclusion through which team members’ cognitive diversity was expected to elevate their positive work outcomes.

A quantitative method is used to accumulate the data. The authors surveyed workers and their respective managers at a single China-based food company. The supervisors rated the outcome variables (creativity and team effectiveness) regarding their employees, whereas employees were asked to rate the cognitive diversity, inclusion and knowledge sharing within the workgroup. The final valid sample size (n = 391) consisted of 137 workgroups with an adequate response rate (62.3%).

Cognitive diversity is related to team effectiveness but not creativity. The research found that cognitive diversity can increase creativity only through enhanced inclusion and knowledge sharing. Inclusion, likewise, explained the impact of cognitive diversity on effectiveness.

The originality of the current research lies in its contemporary exploration of inclusion and cognitive diversity and their pathways to team creativity and effectiveness. The social capital theory was applied to explain the proposed relationships.