S.F. Kingma

Developing a cultural perspective on ERP

Purpose – To develop an analytical framework through which the organizational cultural dimension of enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations can be analyzed.Design/methodology/approach – This paper is primarily based on a review of the literature.Findings – ERP is an enterprise system that offers, to a certain extent, standard business solutions. This standardization is reinforced by two processes: ERP systems are generally implemented by intermediary IT organizations, mediating between the development of ERP‐standard software packages and specific business domains of application; and ERP systems integrate complex networks of production divisions, suppliers and customers.Originality/value – In this paper, ERP itself is presented as problematic, laying heavy burdens on organizations – ERP is a demanding technology. While in some cases recognizing the mutual shaping of technology and organization, research into ERP mainly addresses the economic‐technological rationality of ERP (i.e. matters of eff...

From means to ends: the transformation of ERP in a manufacturing company

In this paper, we present a case study of the restructuring of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system within a manufacturing company, in particular the combination of Material Requirement Planning (MRP) with a Just In Time (JIT) material management procedure at the assembly lines. We focus in this study upon the mutual shaping of technology and organizational culture, in particular the virtualization of the organization. It is argued that the implementation of ERP in this specific context was more than an adaptation of a standardized information system relative to organizational requirements, and that the organizational adaptations were more than a re-engineering of business processes relative to ERP. Instead, we suggest that in this case the ERP system itself has been transformed, including a change in the signification of ERP within the company.

Gambling and the risk society: the liberalisation and legitimation crisis of gambling in the Netherlands

The liberalisation of gambling is associated with gambling addiction; thus gambling markets can be interpreted in line with Ulrich Becks thesis of the ‘risk society’. This article analyses the dynamics of the risk society in the case of Dutch gambling markets. It is argued that a paradigm shift relative to gambling policy—from the ‘alibi model’ to the ‘risk model’—has created a legitimation crisis of gambling policy in the Netherlands. This crisis is characterised by a chain of small but significant adjustments to market forces, justified by changing and often contradictory policy motives. Although gambling markets increasingly tend to be regulated with reference to risks, what exactly constitutes these risks is in many cases controversial. This article highlights the ambiguous nature of the risk society and commercialised gambling.

Dutch casino space or the spatial organization of entertainment

The spatial organization of casinos is closely associated with entertainment. This article analyzes the spatial dynamics regarding the segregation, confinement and concentration of gambling games within Dutch casinos. Casino space is analyzed following Lefebvre’s (1991) three‐part dialectic of ‘perceived space’, ‘conceived space’ and ‘lived space’. It is argued that casino space is deeply involved in defining casino entertainment. At the same time the (re)definition of gambling as entertainment affects the construction of casino space. This reciprocal process concerns many aspects, ranging from urban planning and architecture, via advertising, access policies and the arrangement of gambling areas, to the servicing and surveillance of gamblers by casino personnel. Although casinos are predominantly perceived as entertainment facilities, this is a heavily managed image. However, what exactly constitutes entertainment in the context of casino gambling is not self‐evident and in many respects controversial. This article highlights the ambiguous nature of entertainment and casino space.

The Constitution of ‘Third Workspaces’ in between the Home and the Corporate Office

This study analyses the constitution of commercially provided work spaces situated in between the home and the corporate office. These new workspaces are enabled by digital network technologies. Theoretically, this new category of contemporary business spaces is conceptualised as ‘third workspaces’, with reference to the work of Oldenburg (1989), Soja (1996) and Lefebvre (1991 [1974]). Empirically, these workspaces are explored in two ethnographic case studies dealing with recently founded and successful third workspace providers. The grounded theory resulting from these case studies addresses the role of the material settings, the technologies, the work ideologies as well as the user practices. Overall this study offers an analytical framework for studying and managing third workspaces, and highlights the ambiguities in the constitution of third workspaces between the design and management on the one hand and the user practices on the other.

Paradoxes of risk management: Social responsibility and self-exclusion in Dutch casinos

This article deals with the basic contradictions of risk management and responsibility regarding problem gambling and self-exclusions, and draws special attention to the role knowledge production and science play in the construction and evaluation of gambling risks. This remarkable case of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is analyzed from a risk-governance perspective. It is grounded on a case study of the CSR practice of the Dutch casino monopoly, in particular the problem gambling mitigation and self-exclusion program of this corporation. The intentions and operations of this ‘responsible gambling’ practice constitute new business values and working norms. At the same time empirical evaluations of the self-exclusion program reveal that despite all the efforts put in the risk-management strategies, a significant part of the problem cannot be addressed at all. This points toward a major paradox of risk management. Overall the article highlights the ambiguous nature of risk management and responsible gambling.

Safety vs. reputation: risk controversies in emerging policy networks regarding school safety in the Netherlands

This article deals with risk controversies in emerging policy networks regarding school safety in the Netherlands. It offers a grounded account of the interpretations of school risks and safety measures by the various stakeholders of the policy network, in particular, schools, local government and the police. Theoretically, policy networks are conceived as mediating between the structural conditions of the ‘risk-society’ and the ‘culture of fear’ on the one hand and the institution of safety standards on the organizational level of schools on the other hand. It is argued that in the low-risk context of schools, it is particularly important to take into account the soft, cultural side of safety next to the hard, material side of safety. This distinction also accounts for the ambiguities and controversies over school risks. A further conclusion is that in this network a lack of local leadership seems to hinder the development of firm safety measures. Overall, this article highlights the paradox between a concern for safety and a concern for a school’s reputation.

The remarkable case of golden ten: an interplay of justice and science

THE DECADE OF THE 1980s was the heyday of the Golden Ten game in the Netherlands. At that time there were more than 100 casinos in the country that exploited Golden Ten; many were small casinos with no more than one or two playing tables but a number were larger gaming places that could measure up to the three state casinos in Zandvoort (1976), Valkenburg (1977) and Scheveningen (1979). Mostly the Golden Ten casinos were tolerated but they were often controversial as well. Not only were some of the casinos suspect of fraud and associated with criminality, but they also had an unclear legal status. The uncertainty lay therein if Golden Ten was to be considered a game of skill, as the operators claimed it was, or rather a gaming game, as, among others, the Dutch Casino Counsel marked it. In the early nineties all uncertainty was ended, and consequently Golden Ten bloomed. In 1991 the Supreme Court finally decided that Golden Ten is indeed a game of chance and that exploitation is therefore illegal according to the Dutch Gaming Act. Since this decision the Golden Ten casinos have been leading a marginal existence. On the other hand, the Dutch state casinos, known as Holland Casino since 1989, has expanded and extended considerably in the late eighties and early nineties. Its number went up from 3 to 10 between 1985 and 1995 and profits rose from 142 to 665 million guilders. This way, the rise of the legal casino industry seems to present a classic example of a market of “vices” that enter the business illegally, are then tolerated and eventually legalized, a developmental logic that, generally speaking, seems to revolve around alcohol, drugs, and prostitution as well.1

Paradoxes of control: the (electronic) monitoring and reporting system of the Dutch High Speed Alliance

Recently, some the large public (transport) infrastructures became an important issue on the Dutch political agenda. It was especially the High Speed Alliance (HSA), one of the major transport infra-structural projects in the Netherlands that attracted a lot of attention. On one hand, this project was highly advanced from a technical point of view; on the other hand, the HSA was characterized by enormous (budgetary, time, and technical) problems. A large part of these problems was supposed to be covered by a complex (electronic) monitoring and reporting system. The system, which was established to exclude uncertainty and risk, created its own uncertainty. In this paper, the authors examine the role of this system in the process of rationalization and control within the HSA-organization by focusing upon the process of sensemaking. The authors argue that the problems within the HSA can best be understood in terms of a paradox: rationalization and control versus local, individual freedom and initiatives. Three major paradoxes have been distinguished: the cost paradox, the control paradox, and the risk paradox.

New ways of working (NWW): work space and cultural change in virtualizing organizations

ABSTRACT This study offers a grounded theory of ‘new ways of working’ (NWW), an organizational design concept of Dutch origin with a global relevance. NWW concern business solutions for flexible workspaces enabled by digital network technologies. Theoretically, NWW are analysed with reference to Lefebvre’s theory on the ‘production of space’ and are defined along three dimensions: the spatiotemporal ‘flexibilization’ of work practices, the ‘virtualization’ of the technologically pre-defined organization, and the ‘interfacialization’ of meaning making in the lifeworld of workers. Empirically, NWW are explored in a case study of an insurance company which in 2007 radically implemented NWW. The case study consists of a longitudinal – before and after implementation – research based on ethnographic fieldwork, conducted in 2007 and 2010. The article contributes with a conceptual framework for the analysis and management of NWW, and highlights contradictions and ambiguities in the implementation and appropriation of this innovative organizational design.