A business model perspective for ICTs in public engagement

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published article can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2012 ElsevierPublic institutions, in their efforts to promote meaningful citizen engagement, are increasingly looking at the democratic potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Previous studies suggest that such initiatives seem to be impeded by socio-technical integration barriers such as low sustainability, poor citizen acceptance, coordination difficulties, lack of understanding and failure to assess their impact. Motivated by these shortcomings, the paper develops and applies a business model perspective as an interceding framework for analysis and evaluation. The underlying principle behind this approach is that it is not technology per se which determines success, but rather the way in which the businessmodel of the technological artifact is configured and employed to achieve the strategic goals. The business model perspective is empirically demonstrated with the case of an online petitioning system implemented by a UK local authority. The case illustrates the importance of considering ICTs in public engagement from a holistic view to make them more manageable and assessable

The moral microfoundations of institutional complexity: Sustainability implementation as compromise-making at an oil sands company

Research on institutional complexity has overlooked the fact that moral judgements are likely involved when individuals face a plurality of logics within organizations. To analyze the moral microfoundations of institutional complexity, we build on Boltanski and Thévenot’s (2006 [1991]) economies of worth (EW) framework and explore how individuals produce moral judgement in response to the institutional complexity triggered by a major shift in the sustainability strategy within an oil sands company. Fifty-two interviews with employees, managers and executives reveal how actors rely on four types of justification that combine different moral principles and related objects with the aim of either forming (sheltering and solidifying work) or challenging (fragilizing and deconstructing work) a new compromise with regard to sustainability within the organization. Our results show how the EW framework can enrich institutional complexity theory by bringing morality back into the analysis as a core dimension of inhabited institutions while advancing the microanalysis of compromise-making around sustainability in organization studies

An approach for identifying conflicts in technology adoption at the informal, formal and technical level

Innovation and technology adoption is crucial to the effective enhancement and/or improvement of an organisation's performance. Existing technology adoption models fail to facilitate consideration of all aspects (i.e. individual, organisational, technology systems), and fail to highlight where conflict between aspects occurs. By considering the interplay of individual, organisational and technological aspects, the aim of this thesis is to investigate innovation patterns within business environments and/or relationship structures that encourage positive individual adoption activity in organisations. Data was captured in Thailand, a country that has recently faced considerable technology and infrastructure adoption. Technology turnover in Thailand is fast, and innovation adoption across Thai society is a key to economic development. Using a mixed methods approach, with the use of both quantitative and qualitative data capture, this thesis combines three interconnected activities: Activity 1 relates to identification of a classification scheme to support innovation adoption pattern analysis. The research justifies the need for, and describes the development of, a dual aspect adoption model, which was developed on the theoretical foundation of Ronald Stamper. The dual aspect model was strongly influenced by Stamper’s semiotic onion, which divides systems into informal, formal and technical norm layers. Stamper’s semiotic onion, which in turn was influenced by Edward T. Hall’s ‘Crucial Trio Concept’. Two overlapping semiotics onions were used to represented, and highlight, the interaction between two systems; with each system representing either an individual, an organisation, or a technology. Adoption matrices were identified and nine points of potential conflicts were discovered. The adoption matrix was validated using a survey questionnaire, conducted by 217 respondents, who had been or were involved in technology adoption projects. Results showed that the order, definition of, and flow between Stampers norm layers, i.e. as defined in Stamper’s organisational semiotics onion, is not evidenced empirically within modern day organisations. Results implied that norm definitions, and norm layer interaction or empirical data aligned with Hall’s original Major Triad definition. Moreover, results highlighted a significant relationship between the innovation matrix and individual cognitive dissonance and technology perception states, suggesting the need to consider individual internal beliefs/concepts when considering innovation adoption. In terms of contributions, the section: provides a quantitative validation of Stamper’s semiotic onion; suggests a new onion that should be used when representing individual, technology and/or organisational systems; proposes the reshaped dual aspect model, based on Hall’s Major Triad, as a tool to study the interplay between two systems; introduced a reshaped alignment framework, based on Hall’s Major Triad, which allows the decomposition of systems conflict, and implies that full informal and formal alignment between the two systems is not essential, as implied by Stamper, in order for a business to achieve technical level innovation. The contributions allow combined consideration of individual, organisational and technology aspects, and supports, decomposes, and guides management of the innovation process. Activity 2 relates to the expansion of our understanding of the technology adoption conflicts by development of a framework to identify, in context of business, potential aspect conflict impacting technology adoption; i.e. to support problem identification, communicate and support resolution of aspect conflict, and affiliate management of change. This research investigated relevant norm structures from the literature, i.e. to capture the activities related to individual, organisational and technology aspects. By facilitating common business methods, i.e. BPMN / UML components and norm analysis, a framework was proposed to identify relevant structures, using the classification scheme. The research subsequently, using case example, qualitatively investigated how problem identification, communication, conflict resolution, and management of change can be contextually handled in a range of business contexts. The framework was validated via the use of relevant case studies. From the framework, we were able to answer to the research question in terms of contributions, practitioners can apply the developed framework to guide their gap analysis process, and apply the bundled framework as a guidance towards detailed analysis, towards detecting possible conflicts arising from technology adoption. Moreover, this framework can be considered as a method for capturing and highlighting conflict in the innovation adoption process. Activity 3 investigated the relationship between adoptions and individual factors, i.e. to support enhancement of the conceptual innovation model. The research investigated the impact of individuals by applying the CVScale, which captures Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions enhanced for measurement at the individual level. Moreover, by employing use of 3D-RAB and Kano model, i.e. to investigate the relationship between innovation, technology and the individual dimension, we show the importance of the individual’s concept layer on user behavioural activity. The result from SEM analysis shows that long-term orientation (LTO) dimension, influences the attitude towards targeted behaviour (ATTB) and the attitude towards changing non-target and/or maintaining current target behaviour (ATCMB); sub factors of individual cognitive dissonance. SEM confirmed that individual dimensions influence the individual’s cognitive dissonance state; i.e. the individual’s attitude towards target behaviour and the individual’s attitude towards changing / maintaining behaviour. Moreover, it was shown that gender and technology types have moderating effects on the relationship between LTO and ATTB. In terms of contributions, this section provides insightful understanding of the relationship between individual dimensions, individual attitude according to the innovation adoption process. This thesis, as a whole, provides a significant contribution as combination of the activities allows us to investigate adoption patterns and/or relationship structures that encourage positive individual adoption activities in organisations. The practical contribution, from this thesis, is that business users can fundamentally apply the dual aspect model, the dual innovation path incorporating with the framework for analysis of interacting systems. These models help identifying of, and support management of, potential conflicts and changes that must be implemented to support innovation adoption in business

Sustainability, non-financial, integrated, and value reporting (extended external reporting) : a conceptual framework and an agenda for future research

PURPOSE : This paper aims to develop a conceptual framework for extended external reporting (EER) influences (EERI), including sustainability, non-financial, integrated and value reporting. Using the Environmental Legitimacy, Accountability, and Proactivity (ELAP) framework as the base, we modify its proposed concepts and linkages using relevant conceptual models, prior reviews and findings of recent studies on EER. This paper presents contributions of the special issue on “non-financial and integrated reporting, governance and value creation” and avenues for future research. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : Drawing on relevant conceptual models, prior reviews and recent EER studies, we reframed the ELAP framework into a framework that theorises the factors that affects, or are affected by, EER. FINDINGS : The EERI framework poses relationships between and within proactivity, external verification, accountability and legitimacy. It also consolidates possible determinants and consequences of EER. The papers published in this special issue contribute further insights on factors that influence reporting practices, processes and suggestions for capturing and communicating value creation information, and the value of integrated reports and assurance to capital providers. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : Along with the insights provided by papers in this special issue, the conceptual framework can be used to theorise influences of EER and guide future research.https://www.emerald.com/insight/publication/issn/2049-372Xhj2023Accountin

Bridging normative democratic theory and internet technologies: a proposal for scaling citizen policy deliberations

This article presents an experimental model for citizen deliberation that bridges the gap between developments in normative deliberative theory, and online participation and deliberation in practice. The Social Web for Inclusive and Transparent democracy (SOWIT) model is designed for integration into policy‐making processes. It is currently being developed in consultation with citizens, civil society organizations, and Councilors in an Irish local authority and will be implemented in 2014. Our approach is rooted in Dryzek and Niemeyer's (Dryzek and Niemeyer [2008]. American Political Science Review 102(4): 481–93) innovations in discursive representation and meta‐consensus as well as Bächtiger et al.'s (Bächtiger et al. [2010]. Journal of Political Philosophy 18: 32–63) sequential approach to deliberation. SOWIT pioneers a dynamic implementation of a meta‐consensus framework for structuring and incentivizing policy deliberations. In this article, we present the model, explain its normative rationale, and outline the experimental framework

Inclusive/exclusive talent management, responsible leadership and organizational downsizing

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to focus on three Egyptian public business schools in an attempt to explore the effect of inclusive/exclusive talent management on the organizational downsizing of academics and the mediating role of responsible leadership. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 330 academics were contacted and given a set of questionnaires. After three follow-ups, a total of 240 responses were collected with a response rate of 72.73 percent. Multiple regressions were employed to show how much variation in organizational downsizing can be explained by inclusive/exclusive talent management and responsible leadership. Findings: The findings highlighted a very weak statistical association between academics’ inclusive talent management and organizational downsizing, whereas a strong statistical association has been discovered between exclusive talent management and organizational downsizing. Statistical analysis showed that responsible leadership has no role in mediating the relationship between inclusive/exclusive talent management of academics and their downsizing. Research limitations/implications: The authors have focused on only three Egyptian public business schools, the matter that may limit opportunities to generalize the results of this study to private business schools and other faculties in Egypt. Future research could use a double source method. Practical implications: By preparing a set of academic competences, business schools will be able to classify their academic staff into talented and non-talented, and accordingly they can initiate their tailored downsizing strategies. Furthermore, undertaking a responsible strategy of downsizing, which includes and is not limited to justifying the need to decrease academic staff numbers to guarantee post-redundancy care practices for laid-off academics may alleviate many of the negative psychological, societal and economic consequences of downsizing. Originality/value: This paper contributes by filling a gap in HR management and higher education literature, in which empirical studies on the relationship between talent management and academics’ organizational downsizing have been limited until now. This may create better research opportunities for cross-disciplinary papers that should be done by HR, higher education and leadership scholars

Process Mining Concepts for Discovering User Behavioral Patterns in Instrumented Software

Process Mining is a technique for discovering “in-use” processes from traces emitted to event logs. Researchers have recently explored applying this technique to documenting processes discovered in software applications. However, the requirements for emitting events to support Process Mining against software applications have not been well documented. Furthermore, the linking of end-user intentional behavior to software quality as demonstrated in the discovered processes has not been well articulated. After evaluating the literature, this thesis suggested focusing on user goals and actual, in-use processes as an input to an Agile software development life cycle in order to improve software quality. It also provided suggestions for instrumenting software applications to support Process Mining techniques