Contemporary Considerations
The Degree of Virtuality of Local Governments Through the Lens of the Virtual Organization Model
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Luc Lagrandeur
The Internet as an architecture and the technologies it supports presents a new dynamic within organizations, such as local governments, as much in the way of structuring themselves, of organizing themselves as in the way of doing business. Information technology has become a central vehicle for administrative reforms and public sector transformation and gave rise to the term e-government. Local government officials are called upon to align the business of a municipality with technology in order to attain the business goals related to e-services. The goals of this study are 1) to propose a conceptual model of the virtual organization for local governments; 2) develop a tool to measure the degree of virtuality of local governments offering e-service; and 3) explore the relationship between the degree of virtuality score and population size. The virtual organization is defined as a strategic mindset of virtually organizing the local government around four vectors that define the virtuality of the organization. We purport that a degree of virtuality score can be calculated based on the vectors of the virtual organization model: e-service, citizen experience, knowledge leverage, and institutional competencies. Data was collected in March 2021 from a purposeful sample of 94 elected officials or civil servants from Canada, the United States of America, Greece, Iceland, Portugal and Sweden. The degree of virtuality score of 69 participating cities are presented. Results show a positive correlation between population/city size and the degree of virtually score.
Voices Unheard: Toward an Inclusive Discourse in Corporate Sustainability Reporting
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Nahid Ghani
This paper elaborates on the current understanding of how organizations may successfully integrate diverse voices into their responses to climate change using language as a pivot. In existing research, discussions about linguistic perspectives when speaking concerning organizational responses to climate change are usually ignored, thus strengthening the view that interest in where voices have been involved is very much a required point. The paper also aims at humanizing the representation of organizational responses to climate change through converse contextual perspectives that include members from different social sections, who are often ignored during the interpretation, analysis, and review of climate change approaches. It highlights the importance of presenting a holistic view on these cultural approaches, acknowledging that incorporating various experiences and narratives in organizational responses is not just an academic endeavor but an essential shift towards creating a more cohesive and comprehensive worldwide debate regarding climate activities.
Conversing in the Shadow of Echoes – a Scale Development and Validation of the Dark Side of Organizational Internal Communication
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Elena Sinitsyna, Amitabh Anand
This study aims to develop and validate the scales on the dark side of internal communication that capture a more nuanced perception of ineffective, manipulative, and miscommunication from the employee perspective. We also examine this scale's effects on employee outcomes (such as employee loyalty and quiet quitting). We developed the dark side of the internal communication scale through qualitative interviews and a review of relevant literature. Statistical techniques such as confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validity, and nomological validity were performed on the newly produced scales. We also examined the predictive validity effects of these scales on employee loyalty and quiet-quitting using participants from Hungary. Our scale development resulted in a 15-item measuring three dimensions of the dark side of internal communication. After several statistical examinations, the scale exhibited robust psychometric properties and is reliable and valid. This study empirically supported the new phenomenon of studying the dark side of IC, and the scale can be used to measure employee outcomes, the effectiveness of organizational communication, etc.
