Balancing Work and Life in a Virtual World: the Impact of Boundary Management, Virtuality, and Climate on Organizational Identification

Rooted in Boundary theory, this study extends recent research which suggests boundary management is a multi-dimensional process that can be broken into clusters of cross-role interruptions, role identity centrality, and boundary control (Kossek, Ruderman, Braddy, & Hannum, 2012). In addition, the study identifies relationships between these boundary management clusters, virtuality, organizational climate supporting work-home boundary customization, and organizational identification. This research also considers how the modern-day challenge of virtual work arrangements influences boundary control and perceptions of a supportive organizational climate. Finally, the study examines the relationships of boundary control and climate to employees\u27 organizational identification. Findings indicate that Kossek et al.\u27s boundary management clusters can be replicated and influenced by virtuality, and one cluster was positively related to organizational climate and identification. In addition, virtuality was positively related to perceptions of a supportive organizational climate for customizing work-home boundaries, and negatively related to perceived boundary control. Finally, organizational climate supportive of customization of boundaries was positively related to organizational identification

Moving toward a framework to compose intelligent web services

A framework for contract-based support to establish virtual collaboration is proposed using loosely coupled and heterogeneous intelligent Web services. A business process redesign scenario is also discussed for integrating shared business process between a PC manufacturer and a semiconductor manufacturer. Contracts encapsulate the control information for intelligent Web services (IWS) engaged in e-business transactions. IWS show promise as a means of supporting cross-organizational business transactions

Negotiating Temporal Commitments in Cross-Organizational Business Processes

Cross-organizational business processes emerge from the cooperation of intra-organizational business processes through exchange of messages. The involved parties agree on communication protocols, which contain in particular temporal constraints: as obligations on one hand, and as guarantees on the other hand. These constraints form also requirements for the design of the hidden implementation of the processes and are the basis for control decisions for each party. We present a comprehensive methodology for modeling the temporal aspects of cross-organizational business processes, checking dynamic controllability of such processes, and supporting the negotiation of temporal commitments. We do so by computing the consequences of temporal constraints in choreographies, and by computing the weakest preconditions for the dynamic controllability of a participating process

An Approach for Supporting Ad-hoc Modifications in Distributed Workflow Management Systems

Supporting enterprise-wide or even cross-organizational business processes is a characteristic challenge for any workflow management system (WfMS). Scalability at the presence of high loads as well as the capability to dynamically modify running workflow (WF) instances (e.g., to cope with exceptional situations) are essential requirements in this context. Should the latter one, in particular, not be met, the WfMS will not have the necessary flexibility to cover the wide range of process-oriented applications deployed in many organizations. Scalability and flexibility have, for the most part, been treated separately in the relevant literature thus far. Even though they are basic needs for a WfMS, the requirements related with them are totally different. To achieve satisfactory scalability, on the one hand, the system needs to be designed such that a workflow instance can be controlled by several WF servers that are as independent from each other as possible. Yet dynamic WF modifications, on the other hand, necessitate a (logical) central control instance which knows the current and global state of a WF instance. For the first time, this paper presents methods which allow ad-hoc modifications (e.g., to insert, delete, or shift steps) to be performed in a distributed WfMS; i.e., in a WfMS with partitioned WF execution graphs and distributed WF control. It is especially noteworthy that the system succeeds in realizing the full functionality as given in the central case while, at the same time, achieving extremely favorable behavior with respect to communication costs

CrossFlow: Cross-Organizational Workflow Management for Service Outsourcing in Dynamic Virtual Enterprises

In this report, we present the approach to cross-organizational workflow management of the CrossFlow project. CrossFlow is a European research project aiming at the support of cross-organizational workflows in dynamic virtual enterprises. The cooperation in these virtual enterprises is based on dynamic service outsourcing specified in electronic contracts. Service enactment is performed by dynamically linking the workflow management infrastructures of the involved organizations. Extended service enactment support is provided in the form of cross-organizational transaction management and process control, advanced quality of service monitoring, and support for high-level flexibility in service enactment. CrossFlow technology is realized on top of a commercial workflow management platform and applied in two real-world scenarios in the contexts of a logistics and an insurance company

Resource-Based View and SMEs Performance Exporting through Foreign Intermediaries: The Mediating Effect of Management Controls

Following the resource-based view, this research empirically explores the role of formal and informal management control in mobilizing export resources to develop export capabilities, influencing the export performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in an interorganizational relationship context. Empirical data were collected using a survey administrated online to finance managers in Spanish SMEs which use foreign intermediaries to access export markets. In this setting, evidence mainly suggests, first, that management control systems (MCSs) play a relevant mediating role between the effect of, on the one hand, resources on capabilities, and, on the other hand, resources and capabilities on performance. Second, that MCSs and capabilities play a interrelated double mediating effect between the impact of resources on performance; more specifically, a significant double indirect effect is found (1) between financial resources, behavior control, customer relationship building capability and performance, and (2) between physical resources, behavior control, customer relationship building capability and performanc

Agent Technology in Supply Chains and Networks: An exploration of high potential future applications

This paper reports on an ongoing research project that\ud is aimed at evaluating how software agents can improve\ud performance of supply chains and networks. To conduct\ud this evaluation, first a framework is developed to classify\ud potential applications of software agents to supply\ud networks. The framework was used in workshop sessions\ud with logistics and information systems experts from\ud industry, software/consultancy and academia to identify\ud promising areas for agents. Based on the framework and\ud the outcome of the workshop sessions, this paper presents\ud promising application areas for the near future and\ud beyond

An agile business process and practice meta-model

Business Process Management (BPM) encompasses the discovery, modelling, monitoring, analysis and improvement of business processes. Limitations of traditional BPM approaches in addressing changes in business requirements have resulted in a number of agile BPM approaches that seek to accelerate the redesign of business process models. Meta-models are a key BPM feature that reduce the ambiguity of business process models. This paper describes a meta-model supporting the agile version of the Business Process and Practice Alignment Methodology (BPPAM) for business process improvement, which captures process information from actual work practices. The ability of the meta-model to achieve business process agility is discussed and compared with other agile meta-models, based on definitions of business process flexibility and agility found in the literature. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE IN PROCESS-BASED ORGANIZATIONS

This paper investigates the role of the organization structure in process-based organizations. We argue that companies cannot be designed upon organizational processes only or that process management can be simply imposed as an additional structural dimension on top of the existing functional or product dimension. It is more promising to consider process-based companies as organizations with a multidimensional structure with process ownership as a dominant dimension. The paper focuses on a number of consequences of the implementation of process-based organization structures. First, the complementary role of different types of processes is clarified. Second, we focus on the question how processes can be translated into the design of organizational units. Two key ideas underpin a process-based organizational structure. First, organizational units are organized around core processes. Second, other processes are added to these units minimizing the necessity of cross-unit coordination. This has several implications for planning and control activities and the way how process-based business units fit together to create a performing corporation. The latter can no longer be conceived within the traditional strategy- structure paradigm because of the fundamentally different role of middle and top managers.management and organization theory ;