The role of competencies and interests in developing complex IT-artefacts: the case of a metering system.

In this paper we aim at contributing to the ongoing debate on the relationship between artefacts and organizational structuration. Current literature emphasises the role of artefacts as mediators between interests of different categories of actors, namely between designers and users. Alternatively, it concentrates on the processes of learning and interacting between each actor and the artefacts themselves. We explore an arrangement which is not captured by these characterizations, and yet is becoming more and more common, that is situations in which complexity imposes an integration of different actors focusing on knowledge domains which are only partly overlapping. To explore these issues, we examine the dynamics surrounding the design of a complex artefact: an electronic metering system developed by a consortium of firms. The main results emerging from the case study are 1) the relevance of each actor's interests as the main rationale for explaining the technical features of the artefact; 2) the role of negotiation and consensus in determining the final shape of the artefact in term of its features; 3) the bundling/unbundling of features within the physical object as the cooperative effort rises/falls.artefacts; interests; ambiguity; competencies

MODIS algorithm development and data visualization using ACTS

The study of the Earth as a system will require the merger of scientific and data resources on a much larger scale than has been done in the past. New methods of scientific research, particularly in the development of geographically dispersed, interdisciplinary teams, are necessary if we are to understand the complexity of the Earth system. Even the planned satellite missions themselves, such as the Earth Observing System, will require much more interaction between researchers and engineers if they are to produce scientifically useful data products. A key component in these activities is the development of flexible, high bandwidth data networks that can be used to move large amounts of data as well as allow researchers to communicate in new ways, such as through video. The capabilities of the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) will allow the development of such networks. The Pathfinder global AVHRR data set and the upcoming SeaWiFS Earthprobe mission would serve as a testbed in which to develop the tools to share data and information among geographically distributed researchers. Our goal is to develop a 'Distributed Research Environment' that can be used as a model for scientific collaboration in the EOS era. The challenge is to unite the advances in telecommunications with the parallel advances in computing and networking

The impacts of Meta Data Management on Social Dynamics: A Research Case Study

Meta data management practices often overlook the role social dynamics play in harnessing the value of an organisation’s unique business language and the behaviours it creates. Using evidence from literature, interviews and cognitive ethnography, this research case sets out to explain the impacts of meta data management on social dynamics. The emerging themes (that is, newness, continual adaption, engagement tension, production tension, inefficiency and unreliability) represent salient factors by which organisations can be constrained in exploiting the worth of their meta data. This research emphasises the critical importance of organisations having a deeper understanding of the purpose and meaning of information. This understanding is a strength for creating value and for exploiting the worth arising in networks and in the social dynamics created within those networks. This strength contributes to organisations’ economic growth and is interdependent with their ability to manage complex phenomenon in a growing interconnected society

A Theoretical Model of Nomadic Culture: Assumptions, Values, Artifacts, and the Impact on Employee Job Satisfaction

The model of an anytime-anywhere workforce is changing the landscape of business today. Increasingly employees are being emancipated from their traditional offices by the widespread infiltration of technologies that facilitate this model. The question is, how can we characterize the culture developing in support of these new ways of working and how can they be cultivated? Understanding this “ nomadic culture ” is critical to both researchers and practitioners. Due to the newness of these technologies and the speed of their integration into today’s work practices, prior research lends little direction in understanding this developing culture. This research contributes by proposing and validating a multidimensional model of nomadic culture. The model describes nomadic culture in terms of three levels: underlying assumptions, espoused values, and artifacts. Each level is then described more specifically by eight measurable nomadic culture sub-constructs. Using the Structural Equation Modeling technique, proposed relationships among the sub-constructs are tested along with the effect of organizational support for nomadic behaviors on employee job satisfaction. Significant support for the model was found in data collected from 203 working IT professionals from a wide variety of organizations. Suggestions for future research as well as implications for practice are provided

The Dissimilar Effects of Fairness on Knowledge Sharing in Distributed Workgroups: A Social Network Perspective

Distributed workgroups are increasingly adopted by global organizations, enabled by technology advances. While social ties and performance of such workgroups have been examined in existing literature, the distinctions in knowledge sharing practices remain blurred. We developed a research model to examine the effects of social ties on knowledge sharing practices through the lens of justice perceptions (i.e., fairness) from a dyadic level. The model was tested in a field study of distributed workgroups at a large multinational organization. Our results suggested that Simmelian-tied dyads (dyads embedded in three-person cliques) had significant influence on justice perceptions and knowledge sharing. Expertise knowledge sharing was influenced by procedural and informational justice perceptions. Contrary to previous studies, our study suggested that product knowledge sharing occurred regardless of distributive justice perception. The findings provided insights to the mechanisms underlying social ties, justice perceptions, and knowledge sharing

Crossing digital frontiers with cultural intelligence - a new paradigm for project managers

The evolution of the international business environment during the past twenty years due to globalization and the recent pandemic determined an increase in international projects requiring new organizational and individual capabilities to ensure project success. Cross-cultural competencies have been analyzed within the crosscultural management field and organizational behavioral studies, with limited research available in the international project management field. Through a comprehensive literature review, the current research outlines the gap within the project management domain concerning the need triggered by the pandemic to acquire cross-cultural and digital abilities among project professionals. We disclose how the existent globalized virtual environment differs from the new one triggered by the pandemic due to the forced shift to the digital setting with a strong impact on in-person interactions, verbal and non-verbal communication. The originality of this work resides in the development of a novel project professional ability framework, including digital and cross-cultural components that emerged during the pandemic. Secondly, we propose the application of the identified cross-cultural and digital abilities within the project process group of the life cycle based on their scope and outputs

Information security management and virtual collaboration: A Western Australian perspective

This paper presents an ongoing case study into stakeholder perceptions regarding information security management systems in emergent organisations operating in Western Australia. It takes a socio-political perspective on the problem of how to manage simultaneously virtual collaboration and information security management. A literature review introduces the context and history of the research. In light of this, it is proposed that social and political issues need to be researched and addressed before many of the existing technological strategies for information security will succeed. The research project is then outlined and the design and preliminary results presented. The results point to a lack of clarity and cohesion amongst stakeholders about how their information security management systems operate and who has ownership of the security function. This emerging trend is discussed and the plans for future research explained

Mirroring or misting: On the role of product architecture, product complexity, and the rate of product component change

This paper contributes to the literature on the within-firm and across-firm mirroring hypothesis – the assumed architectural mapping between firms’ strategic choices of product architecture and firm architecture, and between firms’ architectural choices and the industry structures that emerge. Empirical evidence is both limited and mixed and there is evidently a need for a more nuanced theory that embeds not only whether the mirroring hypothesis holds, but under what product architecture and component-level conditions it may or may not hold. We invoke an industrial economics perspective to develop a stylised product architecture typology and hypothesise how the combined effects of product architecture type, product complexity and the rate of product component change may be associated with phases of mirroring or misting. Our framework helps to reconcile much existing mixed evidence and provides the foundation for further empirical research

NATIONALITY DIVERSITY AND PERFORMANCE IN GLOBAL SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT TEAMS: THE ROLE OF TEMPORAL DISPERSION AND LEADERSHIP

Data from 247 global software development teams were used to examine the impact of temporal dispersion and leadership roles on the relationship between nationality diversity and team performance. Nationality diversity was positively related to team performance when project leaders regularly coordinate and monitor team members’ activities, and acted as mentors and facilitator. However, when nationality diversity was low teams performed better when leaders did not regularly engage on these roles. Teams that experienced low temporal dispersion performed better that team that experienced high temporal dispersion regardless of their degree of nationality diversity. Finally, the effect of nationality diversity on team performance was positive on teams with low temporal dispersion, but negative on teams with high temporal dispersion. These findings suggest that teams under different conditions require different leadership schemas and emphasizes the complex roles that nationality diversity, temporal dispersion and leadership play on global teams