Nuertingen-Geislingen University, GERMANY, OPUS
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Kunsttherapie und Schule. Kunsttherapeutisch-orientierte Präventionsangebote im Rahmen der ›Leitperspektive Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung (PG)‹ des Bildungsplans 2016 in Baden-Württemberg
No full textActive seed sowing can overcome constraints to passive restoration of a critically endangered vegetation type
No full textReady for new business models? Human and social capital in the management of renewable energy cooperatives in Germany
No full text
How Mercedes-Benz addresses digital transformation using Holacracy
No full textPurpose
Firms are challenged by digital transformation, as their organizational design is not up to par. Mercedes-Benz.io, a 100% subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz AG Daimler group, employs Holacracy, a self-management framework that abolishes traditional hierarchies in order to be more responsive to changes. This paper aims to explore how Mercedes-Benz.io utilizes Holacracy in order to address the challenges posed by digital transformation.
Design/methodology/approach
Using qualitative expert interviews, the authors show that organizational life becomes more meaningful but also more engaging and demanding. The authors highlight that agile principles can be embedded in the organizational structure, a strong contrast to conventional management design. Decision-making authority and accountability is decentralized toward employees who face operational realities. This fosters commitment but might prolong the decision process. Leadership seems to be fairly contextual, and career paths are fundamentally different; development avenues are rather functional.
Findings
The authors conclude that Holacracy seems suitable for industries where the need for adaptability outweighs the need for reliability. It leads to increased transparency and accountability but is not a ready-made solution and requires ample resources.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first that qualitatively assess the changes, implications and outcomes of organizations that employ Holacrac
What Drives Senegalese SMEs to Adopt Renewable Energy Technologies?
No full textRenewable energy technology (RET) can help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing economies to both meet the need for a stable energy supply and contribute to the fight against climate change. In Senegal, SMEs have the opportunity through RET to become electricity prosumers. Whether it works as such in Senegalese SMEs is one of the questions we were able to address through qualitative interviews with 23 SMEs and 13 experts. Using qualitative content analysis, we examined what factors promote the adoption of RET by these SMEs. We also examined how well the established Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model (UTAUT2) can serve as a guiding framework for this type of investigation. We find that effort expectancy is generally underestimated. Performance expectancy, when high, may influence the adoption process positively, while social influence does not seem to play a role. Both SMEs and experts point to customer service and government support for SMEs adopting RET as important facilitating conditions. The cost of RET is another factor influencing the adoption of these technologies. However, we regard the UTAUT2 as only partially helpful for the Senegalese context, due to the informal sector economy in Senegal. This leads us to add the factors knowledge, communication channels and entrepreneurial orientation. Moreover, we question the unequivocally positive notion of prosumerism for African contexts, as the idea draws its motivating power from a Western mindset