AI in intralogistics : how the use of AI will change the organisation of work in intralogistics. - In: Work and AI 2030, (2023), S. 287-293
Tasks of intralogistics are traditionally optimised with the help of algorithms. In contrast to methods of operations research, AI can overcome rigid objective functions and react flexibly to occurring events. The availability of real-time data and its evaluation also enables the prediction of events based on pattern recognition and thus a greater customer orientation. In addition, by 2030, real time simulations in the digital twin will become the norm and intralogistics will merge with overarching logistics chains. Furthermore, the use of drones will make the solution space for distances three-dimensional, which will lead to efficiency increases that were not possible before. Nevertheless, human beings remain the key factor in logistics. Wearables and exoskeletons enable the free collaboration with co-robots in a confined space, the human being becomes an integral part of a networked logistics system.
Changes in formal structure towards self-managing organization and their effects on the intra-organizational communication network. - In: Journal of organization design, ISSN 2245-408X, Bd. 12 (2023), 3, S. 83-98
Changes in organizational structure affect the intra-organizational communication network. However, despite an increasing relevance of less hierarchical and less bureaucratic forms of organizing, the question of how self-managing forms of organization influence employees’ communication behavior has received only scant attention yet. In our study, we analyze the case of a medium-sized firm that experiences organizational change from rigid bureaucratic structures to a more self-managing organization model and question how employees’ centrality in the communication network is affected by this reorganization. Following an explorative research approach informed by prior research on self-managing forms of organizations and communication networks, our findings show that after the change process communication generally is less dependent on formal hierarchy. However, while employees who held a higher rank before the change process loose in centrality, their centrality at the end of the change process is still higher than that of other employees. Moreover, employees who experience a promotion become more central in the communication network while demotions do not have an effect. By discussing these findings in the context of organizational change and the persistence of organizational structures, we contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the implementation process of self-managing organizations.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41469-023-00143-z
Maturity assessment for Industry 5.0: a review of existing maturity models. - In: Journal of manufacturing systems, Bd. 66 (2023), S. 200-210
With the introduction of Industry 5.0, a new paradigm shift is planned. Whereas Industry 4.0 is still focused primarily on economic objectives to be achieved through digital transformation and automation of monotonous work processes, Industry 5.0 will also bring in social and ecological objectives. The focus is on holistic, sustainable, and human-centered value creation. Thus, the complexity of digitalization is increasing with the implementation of direct collaboration between humans and machines. In particular, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are faced with major challenges as they have limited resources for implementing a successful digitalization strategy. This makes the use of maturity models (MMs) a valuable tool for shaping the strategically aligned digitalization transition of companies. In this context, this paper reviews whether the currently existing MMs for Industry 4.0 address the specific requirements of Industry 5.0, and sufficiently consider a human-centered approach along with the assessment of readiness for disruptive technologies in companies (especially SMEs). The study examines currently existing Industry 4.0 MMs as a part of a systematic literature review. A total of 297 German- and English-language publications were found and systematically investigated, of which 24 MMs provided sufficient scientific information in the end. These were categorized using a self-developed evaluation matrix. Furthermore, they were evaluated and discussed regarding their human-centered approach and applicability to SMEs. Through the analysis, key characteristics for Industry 4.0 MMs were identified, which can serve as a basis for the development of an Industry 5.0 assessment for SMEs.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmsy.2022.12.009
Dealing with the downsides of new work: the reactions of middle managers to the decline in middle management. - In: European management journal, ISSN 0263-2373, (2023)
When an organization implements practices within the context of new work, individual actors must translate and adapt them to their local context. These change agents thereby often encounter the paradox of being both translators and targets of change. However, how they react to such a situation, which strategies they use, and whether their reactions legitimize the implementation of new work attempts in their organization have hardly been considered so far. We filled this gap by studying middle managers translating organizational change toward more self-managing structures and other procedures that empower employees. At the same time, however, these changes make the institution of middle management redundant. Findings of a qualitative 32-month single-case study at a medium-sized firm showed that middle managers reacted with five distinct reactions. Informed by translation and institutional theory, we showed that middle managers’ intraorganizational social positions determined their reactions over time, making them either victims or phoenixes of the change process toward new forms of work. Our findings contribute to contemporary research on the implementation of self-managing organizations and help to better understand how such concepts are translated within an organization.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2023.01.001
How design rules emerge and evolve: a coevolutionary architectural perspective on firm and industry organization. - In: Industrial and corporate change, ISSN 1464-3650, Bd. 32 (2023), 1, S. 28-46
This paper elaborates on how design rules emerge and evolve as firms' micro-level choices of product and organization architectures coevolve with changes in product markets and an industry's competitive and cooperative dynamics. We suggest that the design rules a firm adopts will vary according to firms' strategic choices of product and organization architectures that they believe are or may become feasible in a given industry. Building on the mirroring hypothesis that product designs a firm adopts will influence the organization designs it uses, we develop a model that identifies key relationships that influence firms' strategic choices of product and organization architectures and associated design rules. We then elaborate on key interactions between firm-level architectural choices and the architecture-enabled competitive and cooperative dynamics that obtain in an industry. Our model identifies strategically important aspects of open- and closed-system architectures and modular and nonmodular architectures that impact industry structures, interfirm interactions, and resulting industry dynamics. Drawing on these analyses, we suggest how firms' strategic choices of architectures are influenced by their assessments of (i) the potential for capturing value through both gains from specialization and gains from trade that firms believe will be enabled by their architectural choices and (ii) both ex ante and ex post transaction costs implied by their architecture decisions. We conclude by suggesting how the perspective on firm's strategic architectural decisions we develop here enables new approaches to understanding evolutions of both product markets and industry structures for serving product markets.
https://academic.oup.com/icc/article-pdf/32/1/28/49001162/dtac052.pdf
The adoption of MBA programs in Germany: an institutional perspective. - In: Academy of Management learning & education, ISSN 1944-9585, Bd. 22 (2023), 2, S. 216-238
This study examines the adoption of MBA programs by higher education institutions in Germany. Using arguments from neo-institutional theory and imprinting theory, we propose that private ownership, mimetic processes, and founding period are likely to impact MBA adoption. In an empirical analysis of 86 German universities over the period 1999-2015, we show that private universities are more likely to offer MBA programs. For public universities, we find that prior adoption by other universities and an early foundation period (prior to World War II) positively influence MBA adoption. Interaction analyses show that the positive impact of prior adoption by other universities is attenuated by organizational status and augmented by the regional density of academic institutions. Our findings thus elucidate the major role of institutional factors for the diffusion of MBA programs among German universities.
https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2020.0289
Intrapreneurs are laterborns: exploring the effects of birth order on managers' entrepreneurial intentions and risk taking. - In: International review of entrepreneurship, ISSN 2009-2822, Bd. 20 (2022), 4, S. 561-584
This paper investigates the effects of birth order on entrepreneurial intention (EI) and risk taking propensity of managers. Data from 230 managers from different industries in Kosovo were collected through self-report questionnaires. The results show that laterborns demonstrate a higher EI and risk taking propensity compared to their firstborn counterparts. Our findings have important implications for practitioners and researchers since we investigate the EI and risk taking propensity of managers in a non-Western culture. Moreover, given that individual characteristics cannot be changed, the knowledge of the impact of birth order on managers’ attitudes towards intrapreneurship and risk taking is indispensable for organizations. Information about managers’ EI and risk taking related to their birth order can be useful for fostering an entrepreneurial climate for managers of certain birth orders to act intrapreneurially rather than spin out.
http://hdl.handle.net/2262/102685
Since Albert and Whetten: the dissemination of Albert and Whetten’s conceptualization of organizational identity. - In: Management review quarterly, ISSN 2198-1639, (2022), insges. 29 S.
Since the seminal work of Albert and Whetten, the organizational identity concept has become ubiquitous and highly relevant in various fields. This study systematically reviews how Albert and Whetten’s concept of organizational identity has been disseminated in different research areas. It employs quantitative (topic modeling) and qualitative text analysis, as well as a network analysis to examine a sample of 1,041 papers published between 1985 and mid-2022 that cite Albert and Whetten’s seminal work. Using this method of systematic literature analysis, the current study investigates the criteria of the basic definition and hypotheses mentioned in their work that contribute to its increasing significance, and those with the potential to become substantial aspects of future organizational identity research. Accordingly, Albert and Whetten’s conceptualization of organizational identity is often partially adopted in the literature. Thus, this study contributes to organizational identity research by unveiling further research questions on the evolving character of organizational identity, research methodology, and quantitative operationalization, on the basis of Albert and Whetten’s organizational identity conceptualization.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-022-00311-7
Offene Organisationsformen und ihre Implementierung. - Ilmenau, 2022. - XIII, 173 Blätter
Technische Universität Ilmenau, Dissertation 2022
Offene Organisationsformen ermöglichen Flexibilitätsvorteile und gelten angesichts der Veränderungen in der Um- und Arbeitswelt daher als vielversprechende Gestaltungslösungen. Durch transparente Informationen, grenzüberschreitende Zusammenarbeit sowie gleichberechtigte, inklusive, selbst- und mitbestimmungsorientierte Entscheidungsfindung sollen nicht nur ökonomische, sondern auch gesellschaftlich relevante Vorteile erschlossen werden. In Anbetracht der Phänomen-getriebenen und fragmentierten Forschung zu diesen neuen Organisationsformen ist allerdings unklar, warum, wie und unter welchen Bedingungen diese Vorteile erreicht und beibehalten werden können. Insbesondere Erkenntnisse zur Implementierung offener Organisationsformen werden benötigt, zumal dem entgegenstehend der Großteil der Unternehmen bürokratisch-hierarchisch organisiert ist. Passend zu diesem Forschungsbedarf besteht das Erkenntnisinteresse dieser Arbeit darin, zu erforschen, wie und wo sich eine Organisation öffnen kann und welche Wirkungen dabei unter der Berücksichtigung von Kontextbedingungen auftreten. Dazu wird zunächst ein konzeptioneller Ordnungsrahmen zu offenen Organisationen und ihrer Implementierung im Krisenkontext geschaffen, um die sich anschließenden vier einzelnen Untersuchungen innerhalb dieses Rahmens zu verorten. Hierbei steht auf Netzwerkebene zunächst die agile Organisation unternehmensübergreifender Zusammenarbeit im Vordergrund. Projiziert auf das Entscheidungsproblem, veränderungsgerecht zu beurteilen, ob und wie sich eine Organisation gegenüber anderen öffnet, werden die Möglichkeiten plattformbasierter Ökosysteme hervorgehoben. Darauffolgend wird auf Organisationsebene der wechselseitig positive Einfluss zwischen der COVID-19-Krise bzw. deren Bewältigung und der Implementierung der Soziokratie nachgewiesen. Daran anschließend wird in dem gleichen Kontext auf Teamebene festgestellt, dass sich der pandemiebedingte Zwang virtuell zusammenzuarbeiten, nicht negativ auf die Kommunikation und Leistung auswirkte. Darüber hinaus wird auf Individualebene gezeigt, dass mittlere ManagerInnen im Zuge der Implementierung einer offenen Organisationsform in ihrer paradoxen Doppelrolle als Betroffene und Gestaltende über die Zeit unterschiedlich reagieren. Ihre Reaktionen werden dabei entscheidend von ihrer sozialen Position in der Organisation beeinflusst. Abschließend werden die Anschlussmöglichkeiten der Ergebnisse an den wissenschaftlichen und praktischen Diskurs sowie deren Implikationen aufgezeigt.
How market conditions affect new ventures’ propensity to engage in category spanning. - In: Strategic Organization, ISSN 1741-315X, Bd. 0 (2022), 0
In our study, we examine how category density affects entrepreneurs? propensity to engage in category spanning, and investigate the moderating effects of category fuzziness, regional density, and the number of entrants in a system of categories. We test our hypotheses by focusing on 3707 bands in the British metal music industry. Our findings indicate that increased category density reduces the degree of category spanning, but this effect is attenuated by increased category fuzziness and an increase in the number of new ventures founded in the same market. Regional density has no moderating effect, but its positive main effect points to the independence of the effects of categorical and regional density on category spanning. Our findings facilitate theory building regarding the antecedents of category spanning and the evolution of the categorical system of markets.
https://doi.org/10.1177/14761270221086857