Contemporary Considerations
The Degree of Virtuality of Local Governments Through the Lens of the Virtual Organization Model View Digital Media
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.
Industrial Ecosystem Organizing Sustainable Circular Economy: Value Creation of EV Battery Materials View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Nuppu Mielonen
Ecosystems have become a central focus in sustainability transition research and policy making. Circular ecosystems focus on co-producing and shared value creation as a set of actors, where the number, nature, and relationships of actors play a decisive role. This research aims to increase understanding about relational dynamics and value creation flows and practices in circular ecosystems. To increase knowledge about circular industrial ecosystems requires a close examination of regional ecosystems that seek to achieve system-level outcomes. With this qualitative research we explore the circular industrial ecosystems of electric vehicle battery metals as they are emerging and developing, and the actors and the intertwinement of resource flows in a regional circular industrial ecosystem. The empirical study is conducted in Kokkola, Finland. The empirical data comprises interviews, online research, and participant observation during workshops. This research brings new knowledge firstly about the contextual factors that shape the flows and the management of a regional circular industrial ecosystem and secondly of how value is created in the circular industrial ecosystems of electric vehicle battery metals.
Reimagine Organizational Communications in the Age of Speed, Uncertainty, and AI View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Robert Petrausch
The world of work in the US has changed dramatically in the last ten years. The organizational communications function has not kept pace with the workforce changes and, therefore, needs a reboot to remain relevant to C-Suite executives and employees in large organizations with a multicultural, global, and remote workforce. This paper offers an updated framework for the organizational communications function and suggest ways that artificial intelligence can be integrated into the function to enhance creativity, to advance new ideas and communication solutions for the organization now and in the future. Chat-GPT was instructed by prompts to provide better communication solutions for the organizational communication function as well as offer ways to integrate AI technology to improve organizational performance. Organizational communicators have the opportunity to play a major role in offering advanced communications that help the new and emerging multicultural workforce find a voice and meaning in work,live the mission of their organizations, and take part in new communications jobs that involve AI.
