Sajed M. Abukhader and Gunilla Jönson
There are accelerating trends for the implementation of electronic commerce (e‐commerce) as an extra marketing channel for selling products globally via the access of the…
Abstract
There are accelerating trends for the implementation of electronic commerce (e‐commerce) as an extra marketing channel for selling products globally via the access of the Internet. This is expected to influence the shape of future cities and the conservation of natural resources. This paper critically reviews the current research work to date regarding the environmental implications of e‐commerce. The main observation is that there are difficulties to generalise the results. There is a general agreement that it is highly difficult, if not impossible, to state if the damaging effects of e‐commerce on the environment can weigh over the advantageous effects or the contrary. One proposition in this context is that instead of looking at e‐commerce as “a vehicle driving towards freely satisfying the market needs”, we should look at e‐commerce as “a cart attached to our vehicle towards sustainable development”.
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Annika Olsson, Urban Bjöörn and Gunilla Jönson
The purpose of this paper is to describe a retrospective reflection over unconscious, emergent learning among employees of an organization and to suggest how to capture these…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe a retrospective reflection over unconscious, emergent learning among employees of an organization and to suggest how to capture these moments of experiential learning for future organizational learning.
Design/methodology/approach
Action research in organizations is undertaken in interaction with the employees of the organization studied. The outcome is characterized by a deep understanding of the individuals as well as of the course of events in the system. The paper therefore applies action research, focusing on the experiential learning from daily actions in the case organization at Volvo Cars’ production plant in Sweden.
Findings
The conclusion is that an evolution toward a learning organization, as exemplified by the case studied, is not identified until after it actually happens, i.e. in retrospect. It is suggested that the competence build‐up recognized in retrospect should become an integral part of future educational programs. The multidisciplinary competence established should also be considered when teams are set up for new projects.
Practical implications
Future strategies for capturing learning are provided and summarized, to structure the capturing of learning as it takes place in the daily operation, to identify the individuals who initiate changes and let them act as learning ambassadors, to integrate multidisciplinary competencies in the early stages of projects, and to facilitate multidisciplinary cooperation along organizational processes, within and between firms.
Originality/value
The paper's contribution is the identification of and reflection about emergent learning that takes place in daily work tasks. It also provides suggestions for future strategies of capturing these experiential learning occasions.