Marcello Martinez

Knowledge creation and inter-organizational relationships: the development of innovation in the railway industry

Purpose – The main purpose of the paper is to explore the relationship between the design of inter‐organizational connections, the processes for knowledge creation and transfer, and innovation. The study aims to focus on the partnership between Firema, a medium‐large Italian company in the rail industry sector, and TEST, a research consortium.Design/methodology/approach – The coordination model defining the cooperative relationship is interpreted in the temporary project network (TPN) framework. In applying the methodology of case study analysis, a semi‐structured in‐depth interview was used as a tool and, in particular, interviews aimed at privileged observers.Findings – TEST, acting as a meta‐organizer, has the crucial role of organizing, governing and tuning the network of university departments, in synergy with Firema. The analysis draws attention to the possibility that TPNs are embedded in “latent networks”, in which inter‐organizational ties are routinely activated in order to accomplish a specific...

Dealing with Critical IS Research: Artifacts, Drifts, Electronic Panopticon and Illusions of Empowerment

The chapter explores the diversity of topics, views and perspectives focused on the relationship between information systems (IS) and control, from a critical perspective. The work reflects upon the framework of Critical IS Research and its relation to Foucaultian approach and IS practice, informing the discussion on the ways IS and managerial Discourses framing the organizational reality. For this purpose, a case study of call centre outsourced industry is presented. We have explained how the overlapping between “electronic panopticon” and “commitment practices” used by management becomes a powerful tool for exerting influence and control in the sense of self-discipline and self-regulation. From this point of view, these tools are merely illusions of empowerment, representing only an apparent departure from traditional form of control, reiterating the idea of technological Discourse as a means of manipulation.

The boundaries of a performance management system between learning and control

Purpose – This paper aims to consider how and to what extent it is possible to interpret a performance management system (PMS) as a typical control mechanism or in a more innovative way as a learning tool. PMSs are typically used for planning and coordination purposes. However, they may also be used as an opportunity to foster learning inside the organization. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical analysis was carried out during January-May 2014. A single case study was developed, in the first phase, through document analysis and semi-structured interviews with three top managers, to investigate the purpose and rationale of the design of the PMS. The investigation then continued with non-participant observation. Findings – The picture shows the dominance of “command and control” thinking, based on a cybernetic control system connected to targets and linking the achievement of these targets to individual performance. Practical implications – This paper helps to contextualize reflections on PMSs and p...

The Interpretation of the Project Team between Collectivity of Practice and Community of Practice

In recent years managerial studies have dealt quite extensively with the organizational issues of project teams. In particular the analysis have focused on the interpretation of the social dimensions in such settings. Two different research perspectives have emerged, concerning the relationship between project team and Community of Practice (CoP). One, departing from Wengers theoretical considerations, defines the two concepts clearly by excluding the possibility that the project teams may also be figured out as communities of practice (Wenger, 2000; Lindkvist, 2005). In the second research perspective the contributions made by the Scandinavian School of Project Studies (Bragd, 2003) are included, whereby the possibility is claimed that once having satisfied certain conditions for functioning, the project teams also assume the form of communities of practice. This paper pro-poses an analysis of the possible interpretations of the concept of project team in the light of the theoretical perspectives indicated above.

Coping with Power of Control: The Role of IS in an Italian Integrated Tariff System

The study explores the role of the Electronic Ticketing Systems in the Integrated Tariff Systems (ITS), focusing on the relationship between technology and control from the perspective of the Critical IS Research. More specifically our work reflects upon the impact of the “smart card technology” on the process of control and power centralization from the perspective of the ITS meta-organizer. It is for this purpose that a case study of UnicoCampania, an Italian ITS, is analyzed and discussed. We show that UnicoCampania’s power to control the transport operators is not only extended through technology, but also becomes more pervasive and more effective. So the electronic ticketing could be considered an artifact which enabled the power relations within the tariff network, establishing itself as the strength of the process that the drive the network. Our chapter provides an empirical example of the application of critical approach to an Italian local transport system, confirming that the two categories analyzed—political and technological—do not denote a specific and separated belonging.

Outsourcing von IT-Dienstleistungen im Bankgewerbe: Die Grenzen des Transaktionskosten-Konzepts

IT-Outsourcing entwickelt sich fur immer mehr Banken zu einem wesentlichen Bestandteil der IS-Beschaffungsstrategie. Das Transaktionskosten-Konzept wird oft als Grundlage fur Managemententscheidungen zum IT-Outsourcing herangezogen. Der vorliegende Beitrag kommt jedoch zu dem Schluss, dass das IT-Outsourcing im Bankgewerbe nicht nur nach den okonomischen Kriterien des Transaktionskosten-Konzepts bewertet werden sollte. Die Zweckmasigkeit des IT-Outsourcing sollte vielmehr im Hinblick auf die Moglichkeit betrachtet werden, zwischen der Bank und ihren IT-Dienstleistern langfristige Geschaftsbeziehungen zu entwickeln und zu managen. Unter diesem Aspekt sollte die IT-Abteilung einer Bank eine Schlusselrolle einnehmen, indem sie ihre Funktion innerhalb der eigenen Bank und im Verhaltnis zu anderen Firmen anpasst.

Myth #8: The Myth of Scale

Elephants have bigger brains than humans, but less interconnected and, consequently, less developed (adapted from Morgan 1986). The quest for measurement in health care paved the way for the myth of scale, which ultimately assumes that higher dimensions are associated with better organizational performance. Moreover, it pretends that organizational design is a simple issue, which could be dealt with through reductionism (Gharajedaghi 1999). Organizations are conceived as engines (Morgan 2016): human resources are easily replaceable and performance is predictable (Thietart and Forgues 1995). This approach produces a veil of ignorance, which diminishes the meaningfulness of organizational science. Sticking to this, several scholars have found that organizational dimensions are able to affect organizational performance in terms of efficiency (Chadwick et al. 2004), effectiveness (Sahin and Ozcan 2000), and adoption of innovative technologies (Irwin et al. 1998). However, this reductionist reasoning does not capture the real nature of healthcare organizations.

The adoption of knowledge integration mechanisms in an interdisciplinary research project

Purpose This paper aims to study knowledge integration mechanisms in an interdisciplinary research project. It develops the theoretical literature on the concept of knowledge integration, particularly the adoption of different organizational mechanisms. The research helps to explain how to adopt different integration mechanisms in the various steps of a typical university industry research project. Design/methodology/approach This research relies on a case study. The authors used three data collection techniques: internal document analysis, observation/site visits and semi-structured interviews. Documentary analysis was used to understand the organizational structure and to identify knowledge integration issues. Observation and site visits at university research laboratories were used to increase understanding on particular issues. Staff interviewed included managers and academic researchers. Findings Findings are primarily related to a better understanding of choices of knowledge integration mechanisms in a university industry research project. A crucial aspect was the level of mutual understanding of specialist knowledge. When project members were derived from different sides of the university-industry border, there was a major need for recurring to more structured knowledge integration mechanisms, even if the scientific background of participants was homogeneous. Originality/value Previous studies on the relationships between university and industry deals with the issue of governing the knowledge exchange on the border at a macro level; conversely, an interesting research gap is represented by knowledge integration mechanisms to be deployed on the university-industry border, especially at micro level. In this paper, the authors do not cope explicitly with university-industry coordination mechanisms but use the University-Industry border to study knowledge integration in interdisciplinary setting. The study is exploratory, which may be useful in generating future research hypotheses, connecting the features of research projects with the need to achieve knowledge integration.

Bridging business model and inter-organizational coordination mechanisms in the Italian wine industry

Purpose The aim of this paper is to interpret the concept of a business model from the pattern of coordination mechanisms used by an Italian wine cooperative to manage its inter-organizational relationships. Design/methodology/approach The business model is taken as the structure and governance of the relationships between the focal firm and its exchange partners. The empirical analysis is based on a qualitative investigation, analyzing material collected at the Farming Cooperative Gran Cru. Findings Several different coordination mechanisms were used to rethink the firm customer value proposition, showing a very complex and dynamic inter-organizational system: process control mechanisms, knowledge suppliers and clan control mechanisms. The combination of mechanisms enables the firm to govern the extreme complexity of external complementarities and interdependence among activities and resources. Practical implications The study is particularly helpful to managers because wine entrepreneurs and managers can influence their networks’ features and strategies, as well as the mechanisms for governance of the relationships and extracting customer value. Originality/value The study seeks to enrich the debate on the strategy/structure fit by shifting the focus from the organizational to inter-organizational level of analysis. The analysis centers on boundary-spanning relationships between one wine firm and its partners and knowledge suppliers. This perspective brings business model analysis and inter-organizational design closer because variables of the business model – such as customer value – can be seen as combinations of inter-organizational coordination mechanisms.

Processes of Technological Change in Healthcare Organisations: An Analysis of Coordination and Effectiveness

The main goal of the paper is to explore the importance of the complementarities between ICT and organizational change in order to plan new organizational forms. In particular, the paper analyzes whether and how technology can be an important instrument of coordination for healthcare organizations. Results from our empirical research indicate that ICT solutions and initiatives play a significant role in improved information management and therefore re-engineering of business processes. We show how traditional organizational models and coordination are no longer consistent and sufficient in turbulent environments such as that of the Italian health. ICT provides new ways of coordination and control. So the traditional coordination mechanisms are scaled or enhanced with the use of ICT.