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Tourism is currently undergoing a digital transition that is transforming it at a rapid pace. The Internet of Things has the capability to completely revolutionise tourist experiences by allowing visitors to connect digitally with local inhabitants via sensors and cameras linked to buildings and devices throughout towns and neighbourhoods. The main aim of this chapter is to discuss the loT applications in the hospitality sector, as well as their organisational consequences. After introducing a few basic ideas and terminologies, we discuss the growth of IOT in the tourism ecosystem, tracing a few exemplary scenarios and identifying the important players. The focus then shifts to the loT’s possibilities in the hospitality industry, where smart room design and development are already underway. The Marriott case study analysis is presented in the chapter’s centre portion as trailblazing evidence of an important paradigm shift toward ubiquitous smart services in high-end hotels. Finally, we discuss privacy concerns and the theoretical and practical implications regarding the adoption of the loT in hospitality.

The need for specific skills and competencies evolves in response to environmental, social and organizational conditions. However, the model for certifying competence levels has remained almost unchanged for centuries: universities (and other institutions) verify and certify that a person has reached a certain level of knowledge and through a standalone solution. The output is often a signed and stamped document that undoubtedly contains limitations in the present international, multilingual and dynamic job market. Universities, educational institutions and consortiums are increasingly exploring how technologies enable and support innovative models of competence certification. In this paper, we investigate how blockchain technologies improve the certification system and generate added value for different involved actors: learners, educational institutions and businesses. An exploratory study is proposed to systematize the overall impacts of blockchain in the field of digital certification while focusing on university education as the main research field. We conducted a first set of interviews with key players of the two Italian universities that first adopted a blockchain certification system. The aim is to investigate, through different but complementary organizational theories, the value creation factors and conditions for the various actors in the blockchain-based competence certification ecosystem.

We draw on the grounded theory methodology to analyze an automation project in a global parcel delivery company, as implemented in three parcel sorting hubs in two countries, seeking to identify key factors in successful change and the role of the change leader. We show that a crucial—but often neglected—aspect of successful change is the detection and management of tensions stemming from uncertainty. By recognizing and managing uncertainty and tensions (in this case, manual vs. automated, corporate vs. site, and planned vs. emergent), the change leader, here the industrial engineering function, can orchestrate the differing views and expectations of corporate actors toward a successful implementation of a change program. In line with recent theories on paradoxes and tensions in organizational change, our empirical outcomes imply that effective leadership of change requires the conscious acceptance of uncertainty and tensions between opposite options in key decision areas.

In this paper, we investigate how blockchain technologies improve the certification system and generate added value for different involved actors - learners, educational institutions, and businesses. An exploratory study is proposed to systematize the overall impacts of blockchain in the field of digital certification while focusing on university education as the main research area. We carried out a desk analysis, direct observation/focus groups and semi-structured interviews with key players of the two Italian universities which had first adopted certification and blockchain-based-certification systems. The aim is to understand the drivers and value generation conditions in the new scenario introduced by the development of DACS (Digital Academic Certification System) through insight into the relationships between actors in the ecosystem that characterize the different types of complementarities between actors and services before and after the introduction of blockchain-based platforms and the personal wallet containing titles and certifications. Three main findings arose from the study related to actors, ecosystem, and complementarities. The main theoretical contributions of this study is that it produces the first empirical evidence of the new Ecosystem Theory proposed by Jacobides et al. [1]. From the managerial perspective, this study contributes to better identify and debate the conditions and success factors unlocking value generation and benefits embedded in Digital Certification Ecosystems.

This paper offers a literature investigation on Organizational Learning processes stemming from Organizational Change initiatives. This interest arose from a previous study [1] on the development of an automated parcel sorting system in a major company in the logistic and parcel delivery industry.

In this paper, we explored the introduction of an automated parcel sorting system in a major company in the logistic and parcel delivery industry. Adopting a Grounded Theory approach, we carried out a study that highlighted profound and unexpected organizational implications and management challenges connected to the introduction of the new technology. Our analysis revealed the key role of the Industrial Engineering function as a change agent in devising and managing the introduction of the automated system. In particular, Industrial Engineering actually managed the organizational change by determining the right balance between several opposite dimensions (manual vs. automated; planned vs. emergent; local vs. global). Handling these tensions with a holistic approach may constitute a crucial factor for the change program effectiveness. Contrasting our findings with extant literature, we found resonance with latest works on ambidexterity, interpreted as a firm’s ability to manage tensions. The resulting outcome is a substantive grounded theory of ambidexterity in an automation enhancement program.

The basic concept underpinning the Internet of Things (IoT) is the possibility of connecting objects to the Internet, typically by means of a small and inexpensive “smart label”. The transition from a world of objects to a world of smart objects connected, identified, and monitored in real time paves the way for radical innovations in the field of manufacturing: a development known as Smart Manufacturing (also referred to as Industry 4.0, Factory 4.0, Smart Enterprise, Industrial IoT). Over the past five years, Smart Manufacturing has gained significant momentum in terms of market diffusion, levels of investment, and productivity gains, as reported by a body of analytical studies (McKinsey & Co, 2015; GE & Accenture, 2014; DHL & Cisco, 2015; PWC, 2014). Market diffusion. For example, one study indicates that the deployment of IoT by businesses has grown by 333% since 2012, reporting that 65% of companies sampled deployed IoT technologies in 2014 (compared to 15% in 2012) (Forrester Research, 2014). A survey of 235 German industrial companies conducted by the market research institution TNS Emnid found that “while today only one fifth of the industrial companies have digitized their key processes along the value chain, in five years’ time, 85% of companies will have implemented Industry 4.0 solutions in all important business divisions” (PWC, 2014:7) 1 A previous version of this research was presented at ItAIS 2016, the annual conference of the Italian chapter of the Association for Information Systems, Verona, October 7-8, 2016. 4 Human Resource Management and Digitalization Investment levels. Furthermore, investments in Industry 4.0 solutions are forecast to account for over 50% of planned capital investment over the next five years (PWC, 2014). German industry will thus invest a total of €40 billion in Industry 4.0 every year by 2020. Applying the same investment level to the European industrial sector, the annual investments will be as high as €140 bi

The application of Information Technology to Human Resource Management (e-HRM) is believed to be a mature practice within organizations that facilitates strategic transformation of the HR function and keeps it business-oriented. However, a number of scholars have begun to question the appropriateness of this deterministic view of e-HRM as leading to strategic organizational outcomes, suggesting that e-HRM may better be interpreted as the result of strategic decision-making. In this paper, a contingent theoretical perspective was brought to bear on exploring factors that may determine the adoption of e-HRM, with a specific focus on strategic HRM. Logistic regression was applied to data from a sample of N=168 Italian organizations in order to test the effect of the organizational and HRM contexts on the adoption of three different kinds of e-HRM: operational, relational and transformational. The findings suggest that the decision to adopt operational and relational e-HRM is mainly affected by organizational factors and is not related to strategic HRM. However, there appears to be a greater link between strategic HRM and transformational e-HRM, given that choosing to introduce this type of e-HRM is associated with a priori emphasis on the strategic role of the HR function as well as a specific focus on external strategy and organizational repositioning. Practical implications and future research directions are discussed.

The aim of this exploratory study was to identify the training needs of virtual team members and consequently the role of the HR function in supporting them. We investigated three main aspects: the needs, challenges and benefits associated with the early stages of virtual team membership; the factors likely to influence the effectiveness of virtual teams, with a specific focus on training requirements; the role of the HR function in helping virtual teams to develop the knowledge and skills they require to be effective. Specifically, our research questions were: What are the perceived needs, challenges and benefits experienced in the early stages of virtual collaboration? What training needs are perceived by virtual team members? How can the HR function contribute to making virtual teams more effective? We adopted a qualitative approach based on a model developed by Bal and Gundry, conducting interviews with five members of virtual teams at Nielsen TAM Italy. We present the results and suggest directions for future research.

The Internet of Things as a Tool for Enhancing the Manufacturing Sector: An Organizational Perspective and Research Agenda

Purpose This paper aims to expand the job crafting perspective by examining the role of organizational learning culture in enhancing job crafting. Design/Methodology This cross sectional study is based on data collected through a questionnaire administered to a large sample of Italian employees from different sectors. SEM was applied in order to analyze how organizational learning culture as well as job characteristics (eg. autonomy, skill variety, etc.) and demographic variables affect job crafting. Results Employees were more prone to craft structural and social job resources and to decrease hindering job demands when they perceived a high organizational learning culture. However, organizational learning culture had no impact on crafting challenging job demands, whereas autonomy and skill variety had a more prominent influence. Moreover, as employees get older their job crafting behaviors decrease. Limitations Cross-sectional data doesn’t allow to establish causal relationships. Research/Practical Implications These findings suggest that, to the extent that a company continuously creates learning opportunities, promotes dialogue and encourages collaboration among employees, it will be more likely that its employees will develop and adopt job crafting strategies. Practical implications are discussed with a specific focus on how HRD professionals can foster job crafting strategies by supporting a positive organizational learning culture. Originality/Value Previous research suggests that employees proactively change and adapt some aspects of their jobs but more research is needed in order to identify what contextual factors stimulate job crafting. By addressing this research gap, this is the first study examining the effect of organizational learning culture on job crafting.

La survey: le finalità, il modello, la metodologia; Lo scenario: il punto di vista degli allievi e dei CTA in servizio; Le condizioni di efficacia dell'ambiente simulato di apprendimento secondo il caso ENAV

Perché gli ambienti simulati di apprendimento sono così efficaci?; La progettazione di ambienti simulati di apprendimento: linee guida e fattori critici; I fattori di successo e le barriere nella gestione dell'ambiente di apprendimento simulato

The development of social leadership is triggered by the adoption of social media for internal purposes by organizations. It involves dynamics of collaborative and mutual influence between leaders and followers, and among followers themselves, mediated by social media. The aim of this paper is to analyze individual attitudes to social leadership as a function of cultural and technological factors. Using data collected from a sample (N=178) of employees, we developed and adapted multiple item scales from a wide range of sources in the literature to assess organizational culture, information technology and social media adoption, in addition to other individual and organizational variables. Regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between these variables. What emerged was a three-dimensional model of social leadership as a positive attitude towards: shared responsibility, social media usage and direction. In particular, organizational culture strongly influenced two of these three dimensions, while the use of social media for personal purposes predicted attitudes to the use of social media in organizations.

A research gap in the existing research literature on job crafting is the role of contextual factors on the proactivity of employees in redesigning and redefining their job at the task, social, and cognitive level. The purpose of the present mixed methods study was to address this gap by developing an organizational framework on job crafting focused on three main factors: a) autonomy and skill variety; b) organizational learning culture; c) HR policies and practices. Based on organizational learning and job characteristics perspectives, we collected both quantitative and qualitative data. We carried out a survey at the individual level (N=760) in order to test if organizational learning culture as well as autonomy and skill variety affect job crafting, and conducted semi-structured interviews (N=30) with managers in order to explore how HR policies and practices can foster job crafting. This study revealed that increasing employees’ perception of autonomy and skill variety lead to an increase of crafting at the level of task. In addition, increasing organizational learning culture and adopting a set of HR policies and practices that maps onto the organizational learning culture model is associate with an increase in social and cognitive crafting. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed

Il contributo descrive la metodologia della pedagogia immaginale