Diego Ponte

A new institutional reading of knowledge management technology adoption

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a new institutional perspective of knowledge Management technology adoption through an empirical study of a knowledge intensive firm.Design/methodology/approach – The research involved collection of qualitative data about knowledge management practices. The analysis was carried out over a six month period by means of ethnographic research and a series of interviews. It focused mainly on the personnel involved in Knowledge Management initiatives within two information technology units of a telecommunication firm.Findings – This article proposes a new institutional perspective of knowledge management as an alternative of the instrumental point of view. The authors argue that knowledge management initiatives are better understood if considered as rational myths instead of rational choices.Research limitations/implications – The paper has some limitations. First, the research is based on a single case study; secondly, the authors acknowledge the difficulty in ...

Cooperative design efforts for the development of complex IT‐artefacts

Purpose – This paper contributes to the debate on the relationship between IT‐artefacts and organisational structuration by describing the dynamics surrounding the collaborative development of an innovative electronic metering system. The aim of the paper is to address a clear gap in the current literature on collaborative IT‐artefacts design, as cooperation at early design stages has barely been analysed. This work tries to understand whether and to what extent the design of an IT‐artefact is driven by the interests of a number of heterogeneous actors and how these are able to affect the artefacts evolution.Design/methodology/approach – The research relies on a case study analysis, which focuses on a consortium of heterogeneous actors (firms, the public sector, research institutes) working within the green energy industry. The research focuses on a workgroup attempting to develop an innovative IT‐artefact: an electronic metering system.Findings – The main results emerging from the field study are: the r...

Rationality, autonomy and coordination: the sunk costs perspective

Our thesis is that an agents is autonomous only if he is capable, within a non predictable environment, to balance two forms of rationality: one that, given goals and preferences, enables him to select the best course of action (means-ends), the other, given current achievements and capabilities, enables him to adapt preferences and future goals. We will propose the basic elements of an economic model that should explain how and why this balance is achieved: in particular we underline that an agents capabilities can often be considered as partially sunk investments. This leads an agent, while choosing, to consider not just the value generated by the achievement of a goal, but also the lost value generated by the non use of existing capabilities. We will propose that, under particular conditions, an agent, in order to be rational, could be led to perform a rationalization process of justification that changes preferences and goals according to his current state and available capabilities. Moreover, we propose that such a behaviour could offer a new perspective on the notion of autonomy and on the social process of coordination.

Internet and Innovative Knowledge Evaluation Processes: New Directions for Scientific Creativity?

This paper explores the evolution in the last decades of scientific knowledge evaluation processes. Both technological improvements (due to the Internet and the Web 2.0) and new theoretical frameworks (e.g., open innovation, open access initiatives, and crowd-sourcing) call for the exploration of new models of scientific knowledge evaluation. Analyzing second-hand data and a representative sample of scientific publishing initiatives, we show that the evaluation processes might be categorized in both incremental and radical innovations. The second group of innovations generates a radical change in the way scientific knowledge is evaluated, by making the process more collaborative, open and interactive. Although the shift to more collaborative approaches is moving slowly, we analyze how these innovative opportunities might have a huge impact on the creativity of the scientific publishing sector.

Understanding socialization practice: factors fostering and hindering its evolution

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the ongoing debate on organizational socialization by exploring the constitutive aspects of socialization practice. By taking a practice stance, the paper explores how the constitutive aspects shape the evolution of the socialization practice and of the overall organizational functioning. The aim is to address a clear gap in the literature as it does not have fully investigated socialization as an evolving practice in the web of other organizational practices.Design/methodology/approach – The research relies on a case study analysis, which focuses on a multinational consulting firm. The paper focuses on the evolution of two main practices within the company one of which is socialization and the second is knowledge management.Findings – The main result emerging from the field study is that the evolution of the socialization practice as well as its alignment with other organizational practices is affected by a set of constitutive aspects. The analysis ...

Gamification solutions for software acceptance: A comparative study of Requirements Engineering and Organizational Behavior techniques

Gamification is a powerful paradigm and a set of best practices used to motivate people carrying out a variety of ICT-mediated tasks. Designing gamification solutions and applying them to a given ICT system is a complex and expensive process (in time, competences and money) as software engineers have to cope with heterogeneous stakeholder requirements on one hand, and Acceptance Requirements on the other, that together ensure effective user participation and a high level of system utilization. As such, gamification solutions require significant analysis and design as well as suitable supporting tools and techniques. In this work, we compare concepts, tools and techniques for gamification design drawn from Software Engineering and Human and Organizational Behaviors. We conduct a comparison by applying both techniques to the specific Meeting Scheduling exemplar used extensively in the Requirements Engineering literature.

The Role of Competencies and Interests in Developing Complex Information Technology Artefacts: The Case of a Metering System

This paper contributes to the ongoing debate on the relationship between artefacts and organizational structuration by describing the dynamics surrounding the collaborative development of information technology artefacts. The research addresses a clear gap in the literature, as cooperation in artefact design has rarely been analyzed. To explore this issue, we analyze as a case study the various attempts, undertaken by a consortium of various economic actors, at developing an electronic metering system. The main results emerging from the field 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, and (3) the bundling/unbundling of features within the physical object as the cooperative effort rises/falls.

Between mission and revenue: measuring performance in a hybrid organization

Purpose This paper aims to contribute to the literature concerning performance measurement tools which allow a balanced control of both social goals and financial performances in a hybrid organization. Design/methodology/approach This paper shows the result of an action research project performed within a hybrid organization in Northern Italy. The tool and the main indicators it should reflect were selected cooperating with the management and stakeholders, and the project was brought on by following Lewin’s (1947) three-stage approach (freezing, moving and, unfreezing). Findings The paper shows how a useful tool for measuring social and financial performances has to be driven by the stakeholders’ needs and has to take into consideration the organizational mission. Originality/value The paper contributes to the performance evaluation literature, as it focuses on a hybrid organization with an action research approach which contributes to bridging the gap between research and practice.