The author’s contribution to this memorial collection is the letter written to Gordon on hearing of his death.
Abstract
The author’s contribution to this memorial collection is the letter written to Gordon on hearing of his death.
Details
Keywords
In this paper, the author revisits his excitement in learning Pask’s conversation theory that gave immediate prescriptions for the construction of training systems and adaptive…
Abstract
In this paper, the author revisits his excitement in learning Pask’s conversation theory that gave immediate prescriptions for the construction of training systems and adaptive, personalized information browsers. Named after Pask’s first implementation of an interactive knowledge structuring tool, the THOUGHTSTICKER system described here came to maturity in 1986, some ten years before the Web’s wide acceptance, yet it had all the components of modern Web browsers plus an organising principle for the hyperlinks – something the Web still needs. THOUGHTSTICKER’s techniques for modelling each user’s unique experiences and conceptual learning style embodied the concept of “personal computer” still unattained in other commercial software products. Over a 15‐year period, many software prototypes were constructed and gave proof to the applicability of Pask’s theory. It remains to be seen if these and other aspects of his theory will rise to the consciousness of the marketplace, becoming popular and, afterwards, irremovable and “obvious”.
Details
Keywords
Selections from topics discussed on the CybCom list over a particularly active period in early 2006 are reviewed. These include the relevance of autopoiesis to sociology, courses…
Abstract
Purpose
Selections from topics discussed on the CybCom list over a particularly active period in early 2006 are reviewed. These include the relevance of autopoiesis to sociology, courses of instruction on cybernetics, cybernetics applied to social theory, the “ethical imperative” of von Foerster, and Günther's “polylogic”. Other lists on the internet are also described.
Design/methodology/approach
The aim is to review developments on the internet, especially those of general cybernetic interest.
Findings
The relevance of autopoiesis to sociology is dubious; various courses of instruction exist but cyberneticians should try to enhance visibility; information flows in social systems have useful correspondence to those in living organisms; the “ethical imperative” is not a universal rule; “polylogic” is of interest but not yet embodied in a working computer.
Practical implications
The CybCom list, and others mentioned, are valuable sources of stimulating material.
Originality/value
It is hoped this is a valuable periodic review.
Details
Keywords
Shyh‐Wei Chen and Tzu‐Chun Chen
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between stock prices and exchange rates in 12 OECD countries.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between stock prices and exchange rates in 12 OECD countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors examine the nexus of stock prices and exchange rates for 12 OECD countries by using the vector error correction model, the bounds testing methodology and linear and non‐linear Granger causality methods.
Findings
The empirical results substantiate that a long‐run level equilibrium relationship among the exchange rates and stock prices exists in only seven out of twelve countries. The results of the linear causality tests indicate that significant short‐run and long‐run causal relationships exist between the two financial markets. The results of the tests for non‐linear Granger causality suggest that unidirectional and bidirectional non‐linear causal relationships exist between stock prices and exchange rates among these OECD countries.
Originality/value
The findings from this paper suggest the causal relationships between stock prices and exchange rates are not only linear, but also non‐linear.
Details
Keywords
Aneta Pieczka and Miłosz Miszczyński
The rise of app-based work in the gig economy, particularly within the food delivery sector, challenges traditional employment paradigms and raises questions about the potential…
Abstract
Purpose
The rise of app-based work in the gig economy, particularly within the food delivery sector, challenges traditional employment paradigms and raises questions about the potential for achieving meaningful work experiences. This study explores whether such work can be considered meaningful for food delivery couriers in Poland.
Design/methodology/approach
This research adopts a qualitative, case-study approach, conducting 30 in-depth interviews with food delivery couriers in Poland. The study investigates how these workers perceive the meaningfulness of their work, focusing on the interplay between subjective and organisational aspects of their work.
Findings
The findings reveal that despite the precarious nature of app-based work, couriers often find meaningful experiences through perceived autonomy, gamified control and the physical demands of their job. The study highlights the dual nature of app work, where the same elements that contribute to worker engagement and a sense of independence also perpetuate exploitation and job insecurity.
Research limitations/implications
The study’s reliance on a convenience sample of 30 interviews conducted via social media may not represent the broader population of food delivery couriers. Future research should expand the sample size and include a more diverse range of participants to improve generalisability.
Practical implications
The insights from this study can inform platform designers and policymakers to create more supportive environments for gig workers. Enhancing algorithmic transparency, providing better social protections and implementing fair gamification strategies can help mitigate the negative aspects of gig work and improve job satisfaction.
Social implications
The study underscores the need for regulatory changes to ensure minimum guaranteed earnings and health and safety provisions for gig workers. By fostering a supportive and transparent work environment, the gig economy can better contribute to worker well-being and social equity.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the limited body of literature on meaningful work within the gig economy, particularly focusing on food delivery couriers in Poland. It provides new insights into how workers create and perceive meaningful work in a highly digitised and algorithmically managed environment.
Details
Keywords
Lorenzo Ardito, Roberto Cerchione, Erica Mazzola and Elisabetta Raguseo
The effect of the transition toward digital technologies on today’s businesses (i.e. Industry 4.0 transition) is becoming increasingly relevant, and the number of studies that…
Abstract
Purpose
The effect of the transition toward digital technologies on today’s businesses (i.e. Industry 4.0 transition) is becoming increasingly relevant, and the number of studies that have examined this phenomenon has grown rapidly. However, systematizing the existing findings is still a challenge, from both a theoretical and a managerial point of view. In such a setting, the knowledge management (KM) discipline can provide guidance to address such a gap. Indeed, the implementation of fundamental digital technologies is reshaping how firms manage knowledge. Thus, this study aims to critically review the existing literature on Industry 4.0 from a KM perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the authors defined a structuring framework to highlight the role of Industry 4.0 transition along with absorptive capacity (ACAP) processes (acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation), while specifying what is being managed, that is data, information and/or (actual) knowledge, according to the data-information-knowledge (DIK) hierarchy. The authors then followed the systematic literature review methodology, which involves the use of explicit criteria to select publications to review and outline the stages a process has to follow to provide a transparent and replicable review and to analyze the existing literature according to the theoretical framework. This procedure yielded a final list of 150 papers.
Findings
By providing a clear picture of what scholars have studied so far on Industry 4.0 transition, in terms of KM, this literature review highlights that among all the studied digital technologies, the big data analytics technology is the one that has been explored the most in each phase of the ACAP process. A constructive body of research has also emerged in recent years around the role played by the internet of things, especially to explain the acquisition of data. On the other hand, some digital technologies, such as cyber security and smart manufacturing, have largely remained unaddressed. An explanation of the role of these technologies has been provided, from a KM perspective, together with the business implications.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first attempts to revise the literature on Industry 4.0 transition from a KM perspective, and it proposes a novel framework to read existing studies and on which to base new ones. Furthermore, the synthesis makes two main contributions. First, it provides a clear picture of the different digital technologies that support the four ACAP phases in relation to the DIK hierarchy. Accordingly, these results can emphasize what the literature has looked at so far, as well as which digital technologies have gained the most attention and their impacts in terms of KM. Second, the synthesis provides prescriptive considerations on the development of future research avenues, according to the proposed research framework.
Details
Keywords
Jan Koch and Carsten C. Schermuly
In times of market volatility and uncertainty, finding effective strategies to attract and retain individuals continues to be a challenge for organizations. Based on the…
Abstract
Purpose
In times of market volatility and uncertainty, finding effective strategies to attract and retain individuals continues to be a challenge for organizations. Based on the psychological empowerment process (Spreitzer, 1996), this paper strives to examine if the application of agile project management could serve as such a strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
In two independent studies, the authors used an experiment with students as potential applicants (N = 121) and a field study with employees (N = 229) to test the predictive quality of agile project management for attracting individuals toward the organization.
Findings
Using structural equation modeling, the authors identified an indirect relationship between agile project management and attraction toward the organization via psychological empowerment. The authors found this relationship for potential applicants as well as employees. Furthermore, individuals high in sensation seeking are found to be more attracted toward organizations that apply agile project management than individuals low in sensation seeking.
Research limitations/implications
The findings contribute to the empowerment literature by establishing agile project management as a work structure that fosters feelings of psychological empowerment.
Practical implications
Taken together, these results suggest that agile project management can attract individuals who seek novel, complex and intense sensations. Where applicable, organizations may highlight their practice of agile project management methodologies as part of their employer brand to attract future specialists for agile projects.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to integrate the research streams on agile project management and attraction toward the organization using quantitative data.
Details
Keywords
Sara Lindström, Heli Ansio and Tytti Steel
This study identifies how self-employed older women experience and represent self-integrity – an element and source of meaningfulness – in their work, and how these experiences…
Abstract
Purpose
This study identifies how self-employed older women experience and represent self-integrity – an element and source of meaningfulness – in their work, and how these experiences are intertwined with gendered ageing.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used thematic analysis, influenced by an intersectional lens, to scrutinise qualitative data generated during a development project, with ten over 55-year-old self-employed women in Finland.
Findings
The study reveals three dominant practices of self-integrity at work: “Respecting one's self-knowledge”, “Using one's professional abilities”, and “Developing as a professional”. Older age was mostly experienced and represented as a characteristic that deepened or strengthened the practices and experiences of self-integrity at work. However, being an older woman partly convoluted that. Self-integrity as a self-employed woman was repeatedly experienced and represented in contrast to the male norm of entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
The authors contribute to the literature on gender and entrepreneurship by highlighting the processual dimensions – how integrity with self is experienced, created and sustained, and how being an older woman relates to self-integrity in self-employment. The results show a nuanced interplay between gender and age: Age and gender both constrain and become assets for older women in self-employment through older women's experiences of self-integrity.
Details
Keywords
Vasileios Georgiadis and Lazaros Sarigiannidis
The paper redefines workplace spirituality (WS/WPS) by transcending the existential vacuum (in psychiatric terms a sense of lack of meaning of human existence and thus of work)…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper redefines workplace spirituality (WS/WPS) by transcending the existential vacuum (in psychiatric terms a sense of lack of meaning of human existence and thus of work), leading to the development of workplace creativity, productivity and satisfaction, targeting operational profitability and organizational optimization.
Design/methodology/approach
Spirituality is analyzed philosophically, following the Nietzschean definition in response to Schopenhauer’s primordial suffering. Philosophical syncretism yields a viable organizational culture change model of spiritualizing the workplace. For this purpose, specific techniques are proposed which are combined with those already applied to various large companies and organizations.
Findings
Spirituality in the workplace acts as a catalyst for developing beneficial qualities by increasing employee job satisfaction, organizational efficiency and business profitability, when equally responding to stakeholders’ needs.
Practical implications
The suggested change model holistically fosters organizational, operational, individual and collective effectiveness through work place spirituality redefined.
Originality/value
For the first time spirituality in the workplace is discussed under a brand new perspective, resulting in an interdisciplinary emerging model, contributing to the field by providing guidance to academics and practitioners to its auspicious implementation through organizational culture change.