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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 15 August 2023

Ingrid Wahl, Daniel Wolfgruber and Sabine Einwiller

Teleworkers need to use information and communication technology (ICT) to communicate and collaborate with their team members, however, when new and complicated information…

Abstract

Purpose

Teleworkers need to use information and communication technology (ICT) to communicate and collaborate with their team members, however, when new and complicated information systems should be used, this can lead to stress. Receiving adequate information and emotional support from team members could reduce the stress caused by technological complexity and subsequent work and occupational strains.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants (N = 400) teleworked at least half of their working hours and were employed in organizations with a minimum of 250 employees. Data from the online survey were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Findings

Results demonstrate that aspects of informational and emotional communication contribute to perceived social support from team members, with emotional communication explaining more variance. Stress from technological complexity is mitigated by both supportive team communication and the extent of telework. Perceived stress from technological complexity, however, still increases work and occupational strains.

Practical implications

The findings emphasize the importance of supportive internal communication to foster a collaborative telework environment. Practitioners in internal communication need to encourage teleworkers to help each other with adequate information and provide also emotional support to overcome the negative effects of complex ICT.

Originality/value

The study shows that supportive communication among team members is important for teleworkers to reduce work and occupational strains, especially when facing difficulties with complex ICT.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 29 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 December 2023

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.

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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.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 36 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 9 February 2024

Hussein-Elhakim Al Issa and Mohammed Mispah Said Omar

The empirical study of factors related to digital transformation (DT) in the banking sector is still limited, even though the importance of the topic is universally evident. To…

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Abstract

Purpose

The empirical study of factors related to digital transformation (DT) in the banking sector is still limited, even though the importance of the topic is universally evident. To bridge that gap, this paper aims to explore the role of digital leadership (DL), innovative culture (IC) and technostress inhibitors (TI) to support engagement for improved digital innovation (DI). Based on the literature, these variables are crucial aspects of digitalisation, even though there is no agreement on their conclusiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

This quantitative study tested a new conceptual model using survey data from five major banks in Libya. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data from the 292 usable responses.

Findings

The results showed that DL and IC positively affect DI. Techno-work engagement (TE) mediated the relationship between leadership, culture and innovation. TI played a significant moderating role in leadership, culture and engagement relationships.

Practical implications

The research findings highlight critical issues about how leadership style and fostering organisational support in the banking sector can enhance DT. Leaders must demonstrate a commitment to long-term resource allocation to avoid possible negative effects from digital stress while pursuing DI through work engagement.

Social implications

The study suggests that fostering organisational support can enhance DT in retail banks, potentially leading to improved customer experiences and increased access to financial services. These programs will help banks contribute to societal and economic development.

Originality/value

This timely study examines predictor mechanisms of innovation in retail banking that resonate within the restrictions of organisational and DI frameworks and the social exchange theory. Exploring the intervening effect of TE in the leadership, culture and innovation associations is unprecedented.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 32 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 23 April 2024

Abstract

Details

Technological Innovations for Business, Education and Sustainability
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-106-6

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 October 2023

Anil Kumar, Michelle Salmona, Robert Berry and Sara Grummert

Digital transformation (DT) harnessing the potential of emerging technology creates opportunities and challenges for organizations worldwide. Senior executives view DT as a key…

Abstract

Purpose

Digital transformation (DT) harnessing the potential of emerging technology creates opportunities and challenges for organizations worldwide. Senior executives view DT as a key initiative for future competitiveness, a view shared by academic researchers. What may challenge the organization is that the vision may be present while preparedness may be lacking. Organizational preparedness depends on managers and employees charged with implementing DT and their perceptions on preparedness are often not aligned with senior executives.

Design/methodology/approach

In this research, the authors explore the perceptions of managers and employees on DT preparedness in an organization by gathering data from 579 participants. This study uses an innovative approach to qualitative data analysis using interactive topic modeling.

Findings

Findings in this qualitative study provide valuable insights on the perceptions of these individuals and helps understand (a) how they view DT preparedness and (b) may behave in this context. In general DT is well understood, however managers are not keen to change work processes to take advantage of the new digital tools and there appears that generational gap is a barrier to successful DT.

Originality/value

Senior executives play a central role communicating the DT vision necessary to inspire managers and employees. As organizations continue to invest large sums of money to explore value creation for customers and stakeholders by leveraging digital technologies, the information systems (IS) discipline can take the lead by asking the question, what can be done to improve the understanding of DT implementation in an organization?

Details

Digital Transformation and Society, vol. 3 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2755-0761

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 22 February 2024

Daniele Morselli

This article focuses on the assessment of entrepreneurship competence by selected vocational teachers in Italy. The exploratory research question addresses the extent to which…

Abstract

Purpose

This article focuses on the assessment of entrepreneurship competence by selected vocational teachers in Italy. The exploratory research question addresses the extent to which entrepreneurship assessments are competence based, and the research seeks to identify fully fledged assessment programmes with both a formative and summative component, and the use of assessment rubrics. It also explores the extent to which entrepreneurship competence is referred to in school documentation and later assessed, and the tools and strategies used for such assessment.

Design/methodology/approach

This case study is part of a larger European research project promoted by Cedefop; in Italy it focused on six selected vocational IVET and CVET programmes and apprenticeship schemes. It used a wide range of instruments to ensure triangulation and multiple perspectives: analysed policy documents and undertook online interviews with experts and policy makers. At VET providers' premises it deployed: analysis of school documents; observations of learning environments; interviews and focus groups with (in schools) teachers, directors and vice directors, learners and alumni (in companies) instructors, company tutors and employers, apprentices and alumni.

Findings

Assessment tasks were rarely embedded within fully fledged assessment programmes involving both formative and summative tasks, and assessment rubric for grading. Most of the time, entrepreneurship programmes lacked self-assessment, peer assessment and structured feedback and did not involve learners in the assessment process. Some instructors coached the students, but undertook no clear formative assessment. These findings suggest institutions have a testing culture with regard to assessment, at the level of both policy and practice. In most cases, entrepreneurship competence was not directly assessed, and learning outcomes were only loosely related to entrepreneurship.

Research limitations/implications

One limitation concerned the selection of the VET providers: these were chosen not on a casual basis, but because they ran programmes that were relevant to the development of entrepreneurship competence.

Practical implications

At the policy level, there is a need for new guidelines on competence development and assessment in VET, guidelines that are more aligned with educational research on competence development. To ensure the development of entrepreneurship competence, educators need in-service training and a community of practice.

Originality/value

So far, the literature has concentrated on entrepreneurship education at the tertiary level. Little is known about how VET instructors assess entrepreneurship competence. This study updates the picture of policy and practice in Italy, illustrating how entrepreneurship competence is developed in selected IVET and CVET programmes and apprenticeships.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 66 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 December 2023

Cristina A. Huertas-Abril and Francisco Javier Palacios-Hidalgo

Considering the potential of Collaborative International Online Learning (COIL) for cross-boundaries interacting and collaborating effectively, this study aims to explore the…

Abstract

Purpose

Considering the potential of Collaborative International Online Learning (COIL) for cross-boundaries interacting and collaborating effectively, this study aims to explore the intercultural awareness of pre-service language teachers after participating in a COIL project.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a quantitative research approach and an exploratory cross-sectional method, the authors administered a 13-item questionnaire to unveil the perceptions of 64 future language teachers from Spain after their online experience with counterparts from the USA.

Findings

Participants consider that COIL may have enhanced their intercultural and global awareness and equipped them with valuable skills and knowledge for the future, being women more positive than men. Moreover, the results also suggest that those participants who have not traveled abroad consider COIL to be a good opportunity to compensate for the lack of knowledge or experience with other cultures resulting from not having had the opportunity to visit other countries.

Practical implications

COIL needs to be seen as a powerful tool to promote global learning, intercultural understanding and the development of skills among students that will be vital for success in today’s interconnected world. Nevertheless, universities and teacher training centers need to rethink the preparation of future teachers for the increasing demands to prepare students for the requirements of the global world, and to do so, they need to consider that COIL may offer them significant benefits.

Originality/value

This work offers an interesting exploration of teachers’ attitudes toward COIL, providing insights into the potential of online collaboration for developing intercultural awareness.

Details

Journal for Multicultural Education, vol. 18 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-535X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 26 March 2024

Andrew Ebekozien, Clinton Aigbavboa, Mohamad Shaharudin Samsurijan, Noor Alyani Nor Azazi and Okechukwu Dominic Saviour Duru

Studies show that building information modelling (BIM) technology can improve construction productivity regarding the design, construction and maintenance of a project life cycle…

Abstract

Purpose

Studies show that building information modelling (BIM) technology can improve construction productivity regarding the design, construction and maintenance of a project life cycle in the 21st century. Revit has been identified as a frequently used tool for delivering BIM in the built environment. Studies about BIM technology via Revit are scarce in training middle-level workforce higher education institutions. Thus, this study aims to investigate the relevance of BIM technology and offer measures to promote digitalisation in Nigeria’s built environment polytechnic undergraduates via Revit.

Design/methodology/approach

Given the unexplored nature of training the middle-level workforce in Nigeria, 37 semi-structured virtual interviews were conducted across Nigeria, and saturation was achieved. The participants were knowledgeable about construction-related BIM. The researchers used a thematic analysis for the collected data and honed them with secondary sources.

Findings

Improved visualisation of design, effective and efficient work productivity, automatic design and quantification, improved database management and collaboration and data storage in the centrally coordinated model, among others, emerged as BIM’s benefits. BIM technology via Revit is challenging, especially in Nigeria’s polytechnic education curriculum. The 24 perceived issues were grouped into government/regulatory agencies-related, polytechnic management-related and polytechnic undergraduate students-related hindrances in Nigeria’s built environment.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited to BIM implications for Nigeria’s built environment polytechnic undergraduates.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature paucity in attempting to uncover perceived issues hindering the implementation of BIM technology via Revit in training Nigeria’s built environment polytechnic undergraduates via a qualitative approach.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 15 April 2024

Ingrid Marie Leikvoll Oskarsson and Erlend Vik

Healthcare providers are under pressure due to increasing and more complex demands for services. Increased pressure on budgets and human resources adds to an ever-growing problem…

Abstract

Purpose

Healthcare providers are under pressure due to increasing and more complex demands for services. Increased pressure on budgets and human resources adds to an ever-growing problem set. Competent leaders are in demand to ensure effective and well-performing healthcare organisations that deliver balanced results and high-quality services. Researchers have made significant efforts to identify and define determining competencies for healthcare leadership. Broad terms such as competence are, however, inherently at risk of becoming too generic to add analytical value. The purpose of this study is to suggest a holistic framework for understanding healthcare leadership competence, that can be crucial for operationalising important healthcare leadership competencies for researchers, decision-makers as well as practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach

In the present study, a critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) was conducted to analyse competency descriptions for healthcare leaders. The descriptions were retrieved from peer reviewed empirical studies published between 2010 and 2022 that aimed to identify healthcare services leadership competencies. Grounded theory was utilised to code the data and inductively develop new categories of healthcare leadership competencies. The categorisation was then analysed to suggest a holistic framework for healthcare leadership competence.

Findings

Forty-one papers were included in the review. Coding and analysing the competence descriptions resulted in 12 healthcare leadership competence categories: (1) character, (2) interpersonal relations, (3) leadership, (4) professionalism, (5) soft HRM, (6) management, (7) organisational knowledge, (8) technology, (9) knowledge of the healthcare environment, (10) change and innovation, (11) knowledge transformation and (12) boundary spanning. Based on this result, a holistic framework for understanding and analysing healthcare services leadership competencies was suggested. This framework suggests that the 12 categories of healthcare leadership competencies include a range of knowledge, skills and abilities that can be understood across the dimension personal – and technical, and organisational internal and – external competencies.

Research limitations/implications

This literature review was conducted with the results of searching only two electronic databases. Because of this, there is a chance that there exist empirical studies that could have added to the development of the competence categories or could have contradicted some of the descriptions used in this analysis that were assessed as quite harmonised. A CIS also opens for a broader search, including the grey literature, books, policy documents and so on, but this study was limited to peer-reviewed empirical studies. This limitation could also have affected the result, as complex phenomenon such as competence might have been disclosed in greater details in, for example, books.

Practical implications

The holistic framework for healthcare leadership competences offers a common understanding of a “fuzzy” concept such as competence and can be used to identify specific competency needs in healthcare organisations, to develop strategic competency plans and educational programmes for healthcare leaders.

Originality/value

This study reveals a lack of consensus regarding the use and understanding of the concept of competence, and that key competencies addressed in the included papers are described vastly different in terms of what knowledge, skills and abilities they entail. This challenges the operationalisation of healthcare services leadership competencies. The proposed framework for healthcare services leadership competencies offers a common understanding of work-related competencies and a possibility to analyse key leadership competencies based on a holistic framework.

Details

Leadership in Health Services, vol. 37 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1879

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 29 April 2024

Francesco Paolo Appio, Emanuele Cacciatore, Fabrizio Cesaroni, Antonio Crupi and Veronica Marozzo

The purpose of this paper is to fill a gap in the literature regarding the open innovation management approaches that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can use to access…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to fill a gap in the literature regarding the open innovation management approaches that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can use to access digital technologies and incorporate them into their organizational processes. The research question is: What organizational and process-level managerial actions do SMEs take to successfully access and implement digital technologies within their organizational processes?

Design/methodology/approach

Using Guertler et al.'s (2020) Action Innovation Management Research (AIM-R) framework, this study examines the digital transformation experiences of 10 European SMEs to gain insights into the managerial actions that foster successful digital transformation.

Findings

The findings of the paper reveal two major contributions. First, a digital transformation roadmap for SMEs is proposed, with a focus on accessing external resources and reconfiguring internal ones to ease their digital transformation journey. Second, three distinct paradoxes that influence the digital transformation process in SMEs are highlighted, providing useful insights into the challenges and tensions SMEs face during this journey.

Originality/value

This paper provides a unique perspective on the digital transformation of SMEs by examining the managerial actions required for successful technology adoption and revealing the paradoxes that may emerge during this transformative process. The findings form the basis for future research, deepening our understanding of digital transformation in SMEs and providing actionable advice to managers and practitioners navigating this journey.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

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