Seminar at the IUC Dubrovnik (April 11-15th, 2016) & Special Issue of Management Revue

Working life is undergoing a radical change in which new digital technologies are changing the nature of labour and its organizational forms in a pervasive manner, regardless of whether it concerns qualified professionals or labourers. The framework, which previously regulated the content of work, as well as when, where and how it would be conducted is being reconsidered. A process that presents both challenges and possibilities.

One fundamental aspect of ICT is that it can make employees more accessible to others and allow work to become more available to the employee. Easy access to ICT functions (e.g., email, text and voice messages), for example, enable employees to continue working after leaving the office for the day. This ease of access may have both positive and negative effects. Although much of the research focus to date has concentrated on how ICT may act as demands, stressors or certain characteristics of ICT can enhance work-life balance, employee satisfaction, well-being and productivity.

Another aspect of new digital technologies concerns the manner in which the work process is monitored and controlled. Surveillance in the workplace is not a novelty. Nor is it unreasonable to expect that employers have both rights and reasons to do so. To a certain extent, of course. However, increasing availability of relatively inexpensive and easy to use technology, for example software monitoring programs, enables employers to expand the range and scope of their control over their employees’ activities. The increase in potential methods to track and monitor employee behaviour poses questions that concern where the borders for personal integrity are drawn. Who has the right to personal details, and at what point? In what way does this monitoring affect the social relations between employer and employee in terms of control, autonomy and trust?

Digital technology, in computers, phones or in the “Internet of things” also provides tools that enable the standardization of work on a completely different level than previously. For some workers, we see a degradation and depletion of work, and also that the control of work is increasing; a development that is usually described using the concept of “Digital Taylorism.” How does this development affect the working man or the working class?

In the special issue and the corresponding seminar (IUC Dubrovnik, http://www.iuc.hr, 11.-15.April 2016), we would like to discuss our topic in an appropriately broad and interdisciplinary manner. We are particularly interested in questions such as:

• Virtual work and stress
• Digital technologies and work-family boundaries
• Virtual teams and E-leadership
• Digital Taylorism
• Virtual work and trust
• Digital surveillance

This is not an exhaustive list.

Deadline
Potential contributors to the seminar at the IUC Dubrovnik are encouraged to submit an abstract of 1-2 pages before January 31st, 2016 electronically via Management Revue’s online submission system at http://www.management-revue.org/submission/ using ‘IUC Dubrovnik’ as article section.

All contributors to the seminar are invited to submit their paper for the special issue of Management Revue. Full papers must be submitted by July 31st, 2016. All contributions will be subject to a double-blind review. Papers invited to a ‘revise and resubmit’ are due October 31st, 2016. Please submit your papers electronically via the online submission system at http://www.management-revue.org/submission/ using ‘SI Digital Working Life’ as article section.

Hoping to hear from you!

Mikael Ottosson
Calle Rosengren
Doris Holtmann
Wenzel Matiaske

Seminar at the IUC Dubrovnik (April 11-15th, 2016) & Special Issue of Management Revue

Working life is undergoing a radical change in which new digital technologies are changing the nature of labour and its organizational forms in a pervasive manner, regardless of whether it concerns qualified professionals or labourers. The framework, which previously regulated the content of work, as well as when, where and how it would be conducted is being reconsidered. A process that presents both challenges and possibilities.

One fundamental aspect of ICT is that it can make employees more accessible to others and allow work to become more available to the employee. Easy access to ICT functions (e.g., email, text and voice messages), for example, enable employees to continue working after leaving the office for the day. This ease of access may have both positive and negative effects. Although much of the research focus to date has concentrated on how ICT may act as demands, stressors or certain characteristics of ICT can enhance work-life balance, employee satisfaction, well-being and productivity.

Another aspect of new digital technologies concerns the manner in which the work process is monitored and controlled. Surveillance in the workplace is not a novelty. Nor is it unreasonable to expect that employers have both rights and reasons to do so. To a certain extent, of course. However, increasing availability of relatively inexpensive and easy to use technology, for example software monitoring programs, enables employers to expand the range and scope of their control over their employees’ activities. The increase in potential methods to track and monitor employee behaviour poses questions that concern where the borders for personal integrity are drawn. Who has the right to personal details, and at what point? In what way does this monitoring affect the social relations between employer and employee in terms of control, autonomy and trust?

Digital technology, in computers, phones or in the “Internet of things” also provides tools that enable the standardization of work on a completely different level than previously. For some workers, we see a degradation and depletion of work, and also that the control of work is increasing; a development that is usually described using the concept of “Digital Taylorism.” How does this development affect the working man or the working class?

In the special issue and the corresponding seminar (IUC Dubrovnik, http://www.iuc.hr, 11.-15.April 2016), we would like to discuss our topic in an appropriately broad and interdisciplinary manner. We are particularly interested in questions such as:

• Virtual work and stress
• Digital technologies and work-family boundaries
• Virtual teams and E-leadership
• Digital Taylorism
• Virtual work and trust
• Digital surveillance

This is not an exhaustive list.

Deadline
Potential contributors to the seminar at the IUC Dubrovnik are encouraged to submit an abstract of 1-2 pages before January 31st, 2016 electronically via Management Revue’s online submission system at http://www.management-revue.org/submission/ using ‘IUC Dubrovnik’ as article section.

All contributors to the seminar are invited to submit their paper for the special issue of Management Revue. Full papers must be submitted by July 31st, 2016. All contributions will be subject to a double-blind review. Papers invited to a ‘revise and resubmit’ are due October 31st, 2016. Please submit your papers electronically via the online submission system at http://www.management-revue.org/submission/ using ‘SI Digital Working Life’ as article section.

Hoping to hear from you!

Mikael Ottosson
Calle Rosengren
Doris Holtmann
Wenzel Matiaske

Journal of Change Management (JCM)

Author Invite – Special Issue: Managing Change in Industry Clusters: Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, Smart Specialisation & Regional Development

Special Issue Guest Editors:

Professor Kerry Brown (Curtin University) Kerry.Brown@curtin.edu.au
Professor John Burgess (Curtin University) John.Burgess@curtin.edu.au
A/Professor Susanne Gretzinger (University of Southern Denmark) sug@sam.sdu.dk
Professor Susanne Royer (Europa Universität Flensburg) royer@uni-flensburg.de

The aims and scope of JCM:

JCM is committed to becoming the leading journal in its field by establishing itself as a community for all scholars with an interest in the complex and multidisciplinary field of change and its management. JCM is a multidisciplinary and international forum for critical, mainstream and alternative contributions – focusing as much on motivation, ethics, culture and behavior as on structure and process. JCM is a platform for open and challenging dialogue and a thorough critique of established as well as alternative practices.

About the Special Issue:

Changes in markets, networks and clusters lead to change within companies and this induces the need for (re-)thinking current concepts and/or developing new concepts about the way organisations adapt and change. We are particularly interested in explorations and research in this change context, with specific interest in the field of cluster management directed towards the establishment of entrepreneurial ecosystems, smart specialization strategies and regional development. This special issue aims to link these topics better into the fields of public policies, organisational and sectoral strategies and change management and, to develop new knowledge in the discussion field with focus on a resource-oriented perspective on clusters. The editors would like to encourage scholars from a wide range of disciplinary and/or multidisciplinary approaches to submit papers in the following topic areas related to managing change in clustered organisations and across industry clusters in regions:

• Smart Specialisation Strategies supporting the management of change in clusters
• Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and clustering strategies
• The role of Public Policy in change management for industry clustering
• Firm resources, strategy and change in industry clustering
• Cluster management and change facilitation
• Cluster mapping and evaluation leading to change

Submission Dates and Deadlines:

Paper Submission: 1st October 2015
Decisions from Editors: 1st February2016
Revise and Resubmit Submission: 1st April 2016 (open call opportunity if needed)
Second Round Reviews: 1st June 2016
Final Paper Submissions: 1st August 2016
Special Issue Publication: March 2017

Whilst the special issue is invite-only, all papers will go through a robust review and editorial process and therefore publication cannot be guaranteed. In addition to addressing relevant content for the special issue, submissions should adhere to the Scope and Aims of the Journal of Change Management. Papers should be prepared in line with the JCM Author Guidelines and should adhere to the JCM Style and Submission Guidelines.

All manuscripts should be submitted to Professor John Burgess (John.Burgess@curtin.edu.au) and should be marked as being submitted for the Special Issue on “Managing Change in Industry Clusters: Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, Smart Specialisation & Regional Development.”

For queries related to this special issue, please contact any of the following guest editors: Kerry Brown (Kerry.Brown@curtin.edu.au), John Burgess (John.Burgess@curtin.edu.au), Susanne Gretzinger (sug@sam.sdu.dk), Susanne Royer (royer@uni-flensburg.de).