1,720,972 research outputs found
Digital Supply Chains and the Human Factor—A Structured Synopsis
Full text linkDigital developments and changes in the production, supply chain and logistics sector as well as specific concepts like automation and Industry 4.0 or the Internet of Things are omnipresent. Especially the human role in such settings experiences important changes, which has not been adequately addressed in research yet. This introduction chapter contains an overview of elements encountered in digitalization processes in order to ensure sustainable work environments and efficient Human-Computer Interaction settings for the benefit of workers and organizations. Thus, it is the aim of this chapter to provide a structured synopsis to consider the human factor in analyzing digital work processes. This synopsis is aligned with typical workflow developments in digitalization projects and can be transferred to different work settings in supply chains. Finally, we outline the chapter structure of this book within four thematic sections in order to provide a joint storyline on investigating the human factor in digital supply chains
Workforce between autonomy and control – effects of digitalization on employment relationships in the logistics industry
Full text linkLogistics as a global innovative industry is experiencing fundamental changes because of digitalization. New business models are emerging and the organization of work is changing. In this way, work processes can be recorded and controlled digitally and transparently. This article examines the effects of these technological changes on logistics workers and their employment relationships. The aim is to analyze the digitalization of urban food logistics regarding the perception of autonomy and control from the worker’s perspective and the resulting effects on the design of employment relationships. The analysis is based on a qualitative study with professional truck drivers and cyclists in urban food logistics. The results show a ambivalence between the concurrence of autonomy and control in daily work, which can be connected to the integration of new technologies into work organization as well as the role of managers. Finally, requirements for a structured consideration of this interrelationship in digitalization processes are presented
Artificial intelligence, robotics, and logistics employment: The human factor in digital logistics
Full text linkSupply chain management is impacted profoundly by digitalization in the forms of artificial intelligence (AI) or robotics applications (Bell & Griffis, 2011; Choi et al., 2021; Fragapane et al., 2021; Klumpp & Zijm, 2019). However, research is scarce regarding the impacts on logistics employment—but obviously, logistics is facing the most severe change since industrialization as digital applications are affecting every industry and all supply chains (Vijayakumar et al., 2021). Various studies investigate the substitutability of jobs by computers, robotics, and machines (e.g., Autor, 2015; Frey & Osborne, 2013). However, automating human work must be worthwhile and sustainable. The special topic forum is forwarding the discussion with regard to current developments addressing digital applications in logistics work. This editorial is about the human factor—but not only on the individual level but showing that humans and human–human interaction are relevant on all levels of supply chains through social interactions. There is a lack of theoretical foundations to explain current developments and to consider the role of the human factor (Sgarbossa et al., 2020), and this translates into restricted concrete empirical investigations
A New Labour Unionism in Digital Taylorism? Explaining the first cycle of contention at Amazon Logistics
No full textThis chapter analyzes the cycle of worker contention at Amazon logistics
in Italy, explaining the link between digitalization in logistics and worker mobilization.
In this case, workers’ collective action has shown the critical aspects of the
Amazon model and its introduction of algorithms in delivery systems. The analysis
of the mobilization is twofold. Focused on worker power, repertoire of action and
claims, it explains on the one hand, how technology has affected working conditions
and on the other hand, how worker organization triggered specific forms of
unionism. While Amazon’s algorithmic innovation brings in what can be called a
digital taylorism, this case of contention shows the forms of worker mobilization,
which led to a critique of its implications and to new processes of unionization.
Finally, the case disconfirms any determinism and shows how technological innovation
can be negotiated as part of collective bargaining where the regulation of an
employment relations system plays a central role
In control or out of control? Worker perceptions of autonomy and control using self-reliant digital systems at airports
Full text linkSelf-reliant digital systems (SDS) can adapt to changing circumstances and
environments, evaluate complex situations, make decisions and optimise
processes. In this context, work processes also change, since SDS are
controlled by workers but are also partly out of control, that is, processing
information independently and without worker influence. It can be expected
that handling and interacting with SDS impact workers’ perception of
autonomy and control and their interrelationship. This paper focuses on these
developments at airports and is based on 24 interviews with airport and
flight staff. The findings point to a difference between objective control and
the perception of control. Moreover, we identify autonomy-enhancing and
autonomy-restricting forms of control in contexts using SDS. In this sense, the
article contributes to clarifying autonomy and control in the specific context
of SDS at airports and conceptualising the interrelation of autonomy and
control
You make me feel ... autonomous or controlled: A mixed-method study on for- and non-profit platform organizations
No full textDigitalization supports the development of platform organizations, changing work relationships between individuals and organizations. This paper analyzes workers' perceptions of autonomy and control in for- and non-profit platform organizations. Based on a mixed-methods study combining qualitative interviews and a quantitative questionnaire in digital food supply chains, this contribution empirically evaluates the interrelation of autonomy and control for two German sample groups of riders and volunteers. The analysis shows that the perceptions of autonomy and control are constitutive of work outcomes and thus essential for understanding work relationships in platform organizations. These perceptions differ in for- and non-profit contexts, providing insights to motivation and labor processes in platform work
Job demands and resources when using technologies at work - development of a digital work typology
No full textPurpose Digital technologies comprehensively change work processes and working conditions. However, the use of digital technologies and the modes of collaboration between technologies and human workers differ in terms of specific work organization and automatization. Referring to the job demands-resources model (JD-R), this paper investigates job demands and resources from the workers' perspectives and develops a digital work typology according to dimensions of digitalization and forms of human-computer interaction (HCI). Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a qualitative-empirical study with 49 interviews in four German production and logistics organizations, emphasizing different job demands and job resources for five digital work types identified. Findings The results indicate that job demands and resources are to be differentiated in relation to specific work contexts. In this sense, this paper presents an analysis of dimensions of technology use and the impact of technology use on working conditions through empirically analyzing job demands and resources in digital work settings. Originality/value The contribution of this paper is to empirically analyze job demands and resources in digital work settings from the workers' perspectives and to develop a digital work typology based on the dimensions of digitalization and form of HCI. This typology can set the basis for further research insights as well as management practice measures in human resources management (HRM)
Future air transportation and digital work at airports – Review and developments
Full text linkAir freight logistics has always been on the forefront of technological and international collaboration developments. With the increasing integration of digital systems at airports, issues in human-technology interaction are becoming important for efficient logistics processes. This paper provides a literature review with 123 analyzed papers from 2010 to 2021 about the core developments regarding the collaboration of humans and digital systems. Whereas for example autopilots were seen as a comfortable addition in the past, today digital systems emerge that fundamentally change the role of human workers and collaborative processes. This has to be integrated on all levels of management, not least due to safety and security regulations to keep up quality and efficiency. The importance of digitalization trends is also reflected in a rising number of research publications: Most topics are security, human-technology interaction and performance measurement in the wake of digitalization at airports and in the air transportation sector
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
- …
