Andrea Carugati

Are we doing the right thing?: Food for thought on training evaluation and its context

Purpose – This paper aims to advance the debate regarding the use of training evaluation tools, chiefly the Kirkpatrick model, in reaction to minimal use of the tools reported in the literature and the economic changes that have characterised the industrialised world in the past 20 years.Design/methodology/approach – The main argument – the need to design new evaluation tools – emerges from an extensive literature review of criticism of the Kirkpatrick model. The approach is deductive; the argument emerges from extant literature.Findings – The main findings of the literature review show that the major criticisms of the Kirkpatrick model, though rigorous, are not relevant in todays post‐industrial economy. Issues of complexity, accuracy and refinement, which are relevant in stable industrial organisations, must be revised in the new economic world.Research limitations/implications – This paper is based on a literature review and presents a call for new research. As such, it is not grounded in original emp...

Escaping ‘localisms’ in IT sourcing: tracing changes in institutional logics in an Italian firm

Organizations are limited in their choices by the institutional environment in which they operate. This is particularly true for IT sourcing decisions that go beyond cost considerations and are constrained by traditions, geographical location, and social networks. This article investigates how a company can disentangle itself from the constraints of the institutional environment. We do so drawing on a longitudinal case study of an Italian SME active in the steel industry that successfully changed its institutionally sound, but increasingly inefficient, IT sourcing practice. Our main result suggests that by attending steadily to institutional logics, organizations can become selective in how the institutional environment influences them and act more purposefully in their decisions. In particular, through the creation of companywide IT management competencies and targeted hiring practices, organizations can strike a balance between the different institutional logics guiding IT sourcing decisions and eventually shift from the dominant logic of localism to a logic of market efficiency. This change does not depend from a choice but rather builds on a process through which IT management competences are slowly integrated in the organization.

Emerging themes in information systems and organization studies

This book consists of an anthology of writings. The aim is to honour Marco to celebrate the 35th year of his academic career. This book consists of a collection of selected opinions in the field of IS. It includes themes such as: IT and Information Systems organizational impacts, Systems development, Business process management, Business organization, e-government, and social impact of IT.

Escaping "localisms" in IT sourcing: tracing changes in institutional logics in an italian firm

Organizations are limited in their choices by the institutional environment in which they operate. This is particularly true for IT sourcing decisions that go beyond cost considerations and are constrained by traditions, geographical location, and social networks. This article investigates how a company can disentangle itself from the constraints of the institutional environment. We do so drawing on a longitudinal case study of an Italian SME active in the steel industry that successfully changed its institutionally sound, but increasingly inefficient, IT sourcing practice. Our main result suggests that by attending steadily to institutional logics, organizations can become selective in how the institutional environment influences them and act more purposefully in their decisions. In particular, through the creation of companywide IT management competencies and targeted hiring practices, organizations can strike a balance between the different institutional logics guiding IT sourcing decisions and eventually shift from the dominant logic of localism to a logic of market efficiency. This change does not depend from a choice but rather builds on a process through which IT management competences are slowly integrated in the organization.

War outside, ceasefire inside: An analysis of the performance appraisal system of a public hospital in a zone of conflict

Our study examines the use of the performance appraisal system at Hebron Public Hospital (Palestine) during the second intifada, started in 2000. The aim of the article is to shed light on the reasons behind the use of performance appraisal systems in organizations operating in zones of conflicts, an area relatively neglected by HR scholars. To create the theoretical fundament we draw on mainstream literature on performance appraisal, contextualizing it to the Middle-Eastern context. From the literature analysis, we identify five guiding logics for the implementation and use of performance appraisal systems (Appendix A). We use a multi-method approach, qualitative and quantitative, to analyze the longitudinal performance evaluation data over the period 2000-2002 for about 250 individuals. These data are complemented with interviews and observations in the field. Our analysis shows that the trends evidenced in the quantitative analysis are similar to trends evident in Western contexts. However, these trends were not the consequence of the same five Western logics found in the literature. The qualitative study allows us to identify two additional logics for making sense of the performance appraisal system at Hebron Public Hospital: the need to find peace within the organization (organizational peacefulness logic); and the need to maintain order through the acceptance of the status quo (dominance logic). These results allow us to draw conclusions for theory and practice of HR management and to identify useful criteria for doing research in areas of conflicts.

Performance Appraisal Systems in the Middle East: Moving Beyond Western Logics

This paper critically examines the logics behind performance appraisal systems in Western contexts in an effort to better understand their applicability in the Middle East (ME). We present a literature review that investigates the major justifications and uses of Performance appraisal systems (PASs) articulated around five main logics: control, continuity, formality, information and motivation. On the basis of this literature review and exemplified through a case study, we show that research on PAS in the ME cannot be conducted assuming the same logics. The evaluation of success and failure of PAS in the ME should therefore be preceded by a study of the logics existing in the specific context. Our findings allow us to pose key questions for future PAS research in the ME as well as general non-Western contexts characterized by prolonged critical external conditions.

Differences in e-commerce behavior between neighboring countries: the case of France and Belgium

It is often (implicitly) assumed that e-commerce behavior is similar in countries with a similar culture in terms of Hofstedes dimensions. Through a study of e-commerce behavior of 969 private consumers and company representatives on 50 products, this paper proves there are actually significant differences in e-commerce behavior (information finding, suppler selection, and purchase) between people from two neighboring, culturally similar countries: Belgium and France. Furthermore, contrary to what was found in various US studies, very few differences in e-commerce behavior were detected between men and women in these two countries. Furthermore, clear differences were detected between age groups for product information finding and supplier selection but not for product purchase. Finally, to a big extent differences in e-commerce behavior between private consumers of two countries also exist between company representatives of the two countries.

Speed-to-fashion: Managing global supply chain in Zara

The apparel industry is one of the most globalised industries, with 23.6 million workers in over 20 countries. The market characteristics in this industry are short product lifecycles, high volatility, low predictability, and a high level of impulse purchase, making such issues as quick response of paramount importance. This paper will focus on Zara, the largest and the most successful chain of Inditex a renown apparel company based in Spain, to explore it as a successful business model in service innovation.

Business Intelligence System Design and its Consequences for Knowledge Sharing, Collaboration, and Decision-Making: An Exploratory Study

This exploratory study analyses the effects of the technical and organisational characteristics of business intelligence systems BIS on knowledge sharing, collaboration, and decision-making processes. The authors conducted a two-phase multi-method investigation. First, we surveyed 30 enterprises using BIS on a regular basis; then, we engaged in an in-depth case study with one of the respondent companies. Our results show that, on average, the technical and organisational characteristics of the BIS are positively associated with an increase in knowledge sharing, leading to an improvement in internal collaboration that subsequently brings improvement in the quality of decision-making. This case study adds that the way the BIS is designed and appropriated in organisations is important in obtaining such results is. A BIS being designed so that it can be appropriated by the general employee base is key in obtaining the desired organizational impacts. This suggests some requirements for BIS design that we will discuss in terms of theoretical and managerial implications.

The dark side of computer-mediated control

Research on the dark side of computer‐mediated control has explained the consequences of computer‐mediated control when work is tightly coupled with its electronic representation because information systems record work automatically. Our study complements prior research by addressing the dark side of computer‐mediated control when work and its electronic representation are loosely coupled, because it is employees who report their work in IT systems. Data from a 15‐month ethnographic study of the appropriation of a customer relationship management system in the sales department of a large organization reveal that loosely versus tightly coupled computer‐mediated control produce key differences that re‐specify the dark side of computer‐mediated control.