Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the process of initial sensemaking that organizational members activate when they reflect on AI adoption in their work settings, and how the perceived features of AI technologies trigger sensemaking processes which in turn have the potential to influence workplace learning modes and trajectories.

Design/methodology/approach

We adopted an explorative qualitative and interactive approach to capture free fantasies and imaginative ideas of AI among people within the industry. We adopt a conceptual perspective that combines theories on initial sensemaking and workplace learning as a theoretical lens to analyze data collected during 23 focus groups held at four large Swedish manufacturing companies. The data were analyzed using the Gioia method.

Findings

Two aggregated dimensions were defined and led to the development of an integrated conceptualization of the initial sensemaking of AI technology adoption. Specifically, sensemaking triggered by abstract features of AI technology mainly pointed to an exploitative learning path. Sensemaking triggered by concrete features of the technology mainly pointed to explorative paths, where socio-technical processes appear to be crucial in the process of AI adoption.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies that attempts to explore and conceptualize how organizations make sense of prospective workplace learning in the context of AI adoption.

This study includes the design and testing of a model of research inquiry with the purpose of exploring how agency as well as learning can be increased among industrial companies within the context of competence provision.  We apply the model to an interactive, collaborative research project including researchers, industrial firms and trade organizations and report on the design of the model as well as the evaluation of its ability to increase agency and generate learning. By applying and integrating theories of agency and effectuation logic within the framework of work-integrated learning, our study contributes to the call for developing the micro-practices of interactive research methods and deepen the knowledge on the role of agency, joint learning, and reflection for organizational learning as key prerequisites to sustainable changes in how competence provision challenges is approached by organizations.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to shed light on different types of knowledge created and how this links to the project design, process, and content. Design/methodology/approach In this paper the authors investigate participants' experiences from a three-year interactive research project, designed to trigger reflection among the participants. They apply a knowledge creation perspective on experiences expressed by participants as a result of different research project activities. Findings The study resulted in five categories of insights with potential for sustainable influence on the participating organizations: an understanding of concepts and theories; an understanding of the impacts of collaborative, reflective work processes; an understanding of the meaning of one's own organizational context; an understanding of the importance of increased organizational self-awareness; and an understanding of the potential for human interaction and communication. Practical implications The author's findings suggest that it is possible to design a project to promote more profound and sustainable effects on a business beyond the explicit purpose of the project. They advise practitioners to make room for iterative reflection; be mindful to create a trustful and open environment in the team; challenge results with opposing views and theories; and make room for sharing experiences and giving feedback. Originality/value This study contributes to unraveling key practices which can nurture conditions for knowledge creation in interactive research projects and business projects alike.

The paper presents a study of Swedish academic leaders’ perception of their work situation. The aim was to explore the conditions which can enable creativity and learning in higher education institutions. The KEYS survey was sent to a sample of 64 university managers from social sciences, humanities and technical departments at Swedish universities. The response rate was 39 % (n25). The result indicates that education managers perceive a lack of feedback from upper management, but at the same time, they claim to have a high level of trust from upper management.

AI has the potential to be a disruptive technology causing paradigm shifts in industries and greatly impacting both operational and strategic decision making. Adopting AI technologies requires proactively engaging both the technical and social system of the organization as processes, workflows, as well as individual employees, are influenced. This paper explores potential tensions between the social and technical systems in the early change process of AI transformation to understand the nature and degree of AI transformation. We do this by analyzing in-depth inquiry from 23 focus groups involving 112 white-collar industrial employees in large multinational industrial firms using a change management perspective. Our study revealed nine categories of tensions divided into tensions between the current and future state and tensions between humans and machines. This stresses the need to adopt a socio-technical perspective in the attempt to understand organizations approaching AI and provides practical implications for organizations considering adopting AI technologies.

Objectives

The current Covid-19 pandemic has confronted the hospitality industry with an unprecedented challenge. The corona crisis provides an exceptional platform to further our understanding on how entrepreneurs operate under extreme uncertainty. We adopt an exploratory qualitative approach to study the decision-making heuristics Finnish restaurant entrepreneurs have used during a time of external crisis. More specifically we ask ourselves 1) how do entrepreneurs come to the decisions made, i.e. their decision making heuristics? and 2) what is the underlying logic of that rational?

Prior work

Decision making in the context of entrepreneurial action and uncertainty is largely covered in the effectuation framework, which outlines principles employed by experienced entrepreneurs when starting new firms and/or creating new markets. The corona crises offers a unique opportunity to study effectuation under absolute uncertainty and with unpredictable temporal dynamics.

Approach

We interviewed 11 restaurateurs in Helsinki and using a thinking aloud -protocol we analyseddecision-makers’ cognitive processes, priorities and related actions for a period of one year, starting from thecommencement of Finland’s first national Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020 and lasting until March 2021.

Results

The 11 entrepreneurs differed considerably in terms of their use of effectual and causal logics despite their seemingly similar backgrounds and business context. In order to understand the decision-making logic of the entrepreneurs, two other aspects appear pivotal: first, the entrepreneurs’ time horizon and second, an additional set of pre-heuristics rooted in the entrepreneur’s personal beliefs and values used to steer the direction of future decisions.

Implications and value

The main contribution of the present study for the entrepreneurship research field is the identification of three separate heuristics used by entrepreneurs during a temporal crisis: 1) creating opportunities responding to personal values, 2) pragmatic action and 3) preserving business values. Both the first and third are strongly linked to values; the first to the personal values of the entrepreneur and the third to the business values of the enterprise.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented the hospitality industry with novel challenges. In this paper, we follow four case restaurants for a period of 12 months and track how they have innovated their business models and their learning processes through several cycles of iteration. Our work is based on the notion of simple rules. Eisenhardt and Sull (2001) propose simple rules as an approach to help businesses make decisions under fast-changing and uncertain environments. Methodologically, our study is a comparative case study with data comprising of interviews (two rounds in 2020 and 2021) and secondary data such as newspaper articles, web articles, restaurant websites and social media validating the timelines. Our results reveal that each of the case companies has 2-3 simple rules that have been pivotal for their business model innovation, and that these simple rules have become more explicit through different learning mechanisms.

In this paper, we address issues related to the measurement of effectuation. We identify and examine 81 empirical studies focusing on research tensions (fundamental assumptions, theoretical underpinnings, boundary conditions, units of analyses, measures, and temporal issues) within the effectuation literature. Our findings suggest these tensions inhibit the accumulation of empirical knowledge. We highlight the challenges involved in effectively measuring effectuation and offer solutions and recommendations for systematic knowledge accumulation.