Search Results (8)

The paper explores the key strategic tensions in the development of organizational ecosystems as well as the applied responses. It presents a conceptual overview of the key tension areas faced by the coordinators of complex inter-organizational systems and the results of empirical case studies conducted in knowledge-intensive industrial clusters in Lithuania (in the fields of high-technologies, information and communications technology, medical innovations and wellness products, cinema and game industries, machinery production and tourism). The research presented in the paper identifies eight strategic tensions faced by the leaders responsible for the development of organizational ecosystems: (1) focused interventionism vs. self-organization; (2) hierarchy-based structures vs. network-based (eco)systems; (3) under-connectedness vs. over-connectedness; (4) central rules vs. emerging metanorms; (5) short-term vs. long-term orientation; (6) focus on elements vs. relationships in the system; (7) big wins vs. small wins; and (8) exploitation vs. exploration. Case studies and expert interviews with the coordinators of different industrial clusters revealed the diversity of adopted approaches. The more mature the social and industrial context of the industrial cluster is, the less pronounced are the strategic tensions, and there is less need for focused interventions. In cases where such interventions are needed, the leaders of ecosystems adopt one of the following approaches: (1) take a position on one of the extremes by seeking to leverage the situation; (2) adopt a trade-off approach by seeking a point of balance; (3) capitalize on both extremes at the same time. The adopted approach may vary from one strategic tension to another within the same organizational ecosystem. Full article

Information systems research lacks a validated scale for assessing and measuring the adoption of information and communication technologies (ICTs) by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The relevant literature is limited in studies mainly concentrating on developing country settings. Furthermore, the emergence of new technological elements and increasing digitalization and digital transformation efforts in the last two years have changed how an organization utilizes and adopts ICTs. Therefore, it is inevitable that the conceptual dimensions proposed in the previous literature and the definitions of these dimensions will also alter. Hence, it is essential to revisit and validate the prior work and enhance it based on current vitality and developments. This study developed and validated a scale for measuring ICT adoption and digitalization for SMEs in a developing country context. The researchers followed an eight-step scale development procedure: (1) comprehensive literature review on ICT adoption and digitalization; (2) identification of dimensions of the level of ICT adoption and digitalization; (3) generation of items; (4) item refinement through focus group; (5) pretest of the measurement; (6) scale purification; (7) data collection; and (8) measurement evaluation. Within the Turkish setting, the ICT adoption scale was determined to have sufficient reliability and validity. Data for this study were gathered from 421 respondents of 219 Turkish SMEs. Supporting the multidimensionality of ICT adoption, 14 items and five dimensions (communication, internal integration, integration with customers, interorganizational integration, and strategic integration) constituted the ICT adoption construct. Considering the dominance of conceptual frameworks that were proposed based on developed countries and the prevalence of unidimensional constructs in the field, the developed multidimensional scale is expected to contribute significantly. Practitioners and policymakers can utilize the suggested scale to discover areas where specific changes are required for the digital transformation in SME utilization efforts that need attention. The outcomes can be applied to industrial sectors and different geographic contexts. By considering stage-based integration, the developed scale can also be used in future studies to investigate the effects of different variables on the extent of ICT adoption and the impact of ICTs on several organizational outcomes. Full article

Since 2012, the Alberta Parks division in the Province of Alberta, Canada has been engaged in a process of building scientific, research, and evidence-informed capacity and practices across the parks system. Following a series of priority-setting workshops and agreements with the research, Parks management, and local communities, Alberta Parks has adopted a working group approach and subsequent framework, to support the research and decision-making goals of parks and protected areas management, and the research communities. This Social Science Framework is an innovative way to support evidence-informed decision-making in the public sphere by explicitly linking data-specific needs (benchmark data in social, natural, and applied sciences) with both established and emerging policy and research priorities. It is also a way to situate those needs within a broader goal of inter-organizational collaboration. This paper presents the background and developmental context to the framework, and its structure and desired functionality. The paper concludes with an assessment of the anticipated benefits and potential liabilities of this direction for linking academic and policy agents and organizations in a more formalized structure for environmental policy. Full article

Small and medium-sized tourism companies (SMEs) strongly depend on their collaborators to achieve competitiveness and sustainability. In this sense, these organizations need to identify those factors that help them to use their resources and efforts to achieve the aforementioned goals. This article proposes a model oriented to organizational sustainability in the tourism sector. A systemic approach was adopted to articulate this research; therefore, the soft systems methodology was applied to structure the problem and express a conceptual model that suggests relationships as an alternative solution to the expressed problem. Partial least squares path modeling was applied to statistically validate the relationships expressed in the construct. Results suggest that the relationships proposed in the construct are valid and may promote organizational sustainability. The ideas developed are restricted to the organizational domain and although the results apply in a Mexican context, this potential limitation can be offset by the multi-methodological approach proposed, extending the model’s application to other types of organizations. This study may enable scholars and managers to improve communication and inter-organizational relationships, allowing organizations to focus their strategies and efforts using systems thinking to increase responsiveness and adaptation. Full article

Higher education institutions (HEIs) could act as pivotal change agents for sustainable development (SD) in times of global climate action. However, HEIs have to respond to increasingly complex demands simultaneously, such as massification, globalization, marketization, and digitalization. Based on Graves’ model of systemic development, this paper discusses two main strategies to deal with increased complexity in order to meet the challenge of SD: (a) Promoting general systemic development of a given HEI, progressively opening up to various stakeholders and focusing on co-creative collaboration, and (b) participating in inter-organizational networks to find inspiration for dealing with challenging trends. Four distinct phases of higher education development are presented. It is argued that transdisciplinary research and research-based learning will increasingly be needed for tackling societal issues and that HEIs should address different organizational subsystems individually. Furthermore, four types of inter-organizational networks are proposed and implications for network management are discussed. A case study of the HOCH-N network illustrates the practical application of the presented ideas. Finally, adopting a multi-dimensional and networked organizational model as an integrative University 4.0 is argued to be suitable for increasing the capacity to deal with complexity, thus meeting the challenge of sustainable development. Full article

A circular economy has been gaining momentum as the most innovative approach in business. Its proposed model, based on sustainability and new product-driven differentiated strategies of production and organizational exchange, has brought to light the need to better understand the relevance of stakeholders as a critical factor in the creation of new added value in business management. The primary purpose of this paper is to investigate how the B-Corp Certification System could contribute to a process of awareness raising in business organizations. It also focuses on the stakeholders’ commitment, within the framework of circular economy principles, and demonstrates that those companies who are adopting the certification concerning “recycling service and waste management” strongly contribute to the development in the direction of the circular economy. The analysis of the case studies shows two possible scenarios describing the circular approach in business and the different roles of stakeholders in the activation of such a virtuous path. “Social recycling” considers the key role of social participation and contribution in circular-economy related activities of primary and secondary stakeholders, and “highly regenerative recycling” aims to involve qualified stakeholders to start inter-organizational symbioses within the circular process of waste recycling. Key factors, such as industrial symbiosis, tax benefits, financial incentives, legislative harmonization, and the consumers’ behavior, represent the tenets of the circular economy model An awareness-raising perspective and the capacity on the part of companies to understand the relevance of stakeholders and the way to transform their role into the most effective lever to reinforce competitiveness is therefore necessary. Accordingly, the whole system of Benefit Corporation certification could boost business towards new business models involving stakeholders in several directions. Full article

Telemonitoring, a sub-category of telemedicine, is promoted as a solution to meet the challenges in Western healthcare systems in terms of an increasing population of people with chronic conditions and fragmentation issues. Recent findings from large-scale telemonitoring programs reveal that these promises are difficult to meet in complex real-life settings which may be explained by concentrating on the practices that emerge when telemonitoring is used to treat patients with chronic conditions. This paper explores the emergence and unfolding of telemonitoring practices in relation to a large-scale, inter-organizational home telemonitoring program which involved 5 local health centers, 10 district nurse units, four hospitals, and 225 general practice clinics in Denmark. Twenty-eight interviews and 28 h of observations of health professionals and administrative staff were conducted over a 12-month period from 2014 to 2015. This study’s findings reveal how telemonitoring practices emerged and unfolded differently among various healthcare organizations. This study suggests that the emergence and unfolding of novel practices is the result of complex interplay between existing work practices, alterations of core tasks, inscriptions in the technology, and the power to either adopt or ignore such novel practices. The study enhances our understanding of how novel technology like telemonitoring impacts various types of healthcare organizations when implemented in a complex inter-organizational context. Full article

Real-time and continuous monitoring of high value goods can considerably improve the reliability and effectiveness of supply chains. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) offer technical capabilities for continuous sense and respond capabilities. WSN offer complementary advantages over the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in supply chains. Still, WSN have not been massively adopted. While some success stories on the use of RFID in supply chains have appeared, little research is available that studies the slow adoption of WSN. This paper presents results of a qualitative case study of the ongoing adoption of WSN in a Pharmaceutical Cold Chain to prevent loss of high value shipments. Based on interviews with various actors in the supply chain, benefits and barriers that impact the adoption process are identified. Using a process view and inter-organizational adoption model, the complex relationships between adoption factors are analyzed. The results show that WSN can effectively improve process quality and reduce waste in the cold chain. However, careful attention needs to be paid to managing the various interconnected factors that may support or hinder adoption. The study demonstrates that a process view contributes to understanding the adoption process. Moreover, an inter-organizational view to the adoption process is needed to successfully introduce WSN in the Pharmaceutical Cold Chain. Full article