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The purpose of this paper is to focus on an information technology (IT) deployment project in the specific field of agricultural cooperatives. It also aims to underline the importance of the IT implementation phase, but also the pre-implementation phase.

A four-year canonical action research project was conducted within a network of more than 300 agricultural cooperatives. Research was carried out both during the IT implementation and after deployment. Key information was gathered through unstructured and unofficial interviews, observations, field notes, meetings, focus groups, and documentary analysis.

Despite user resistance behavior, the findings show that information systems (IS) implementation may lead to unexpected results that extend beyond the tool’s initial objectives. Indeed, four hidden facets of the tool were revealed: inductor, symbol, pretext, and reference.

Although the research is limited to one single-case study, it puts the emphasis on in-depth research, vs cross-sectional data collection, to analyze the relationship between IT implementation initiatives and organizational intelligence. Furthermore, the authors argue that while IS literature has separately developed related theories (actor-network theory, competitive intelligence), the authors conceptualize a whole theoretic system interrelating the two above-stated theories.

The implication for IS practitioners is that, by focusing only on experiences that have occurred during IT implementation, one may disregard critical information, behaviors and knowledge from unforeseen effects that have occurred after implementation. In future IT projects, IS managers therefore need to capitalize on post-implementation knowledge, through sociology of translation and competitive intelligence, in order to anticipate potential diversions from the initial objectives. Finally, while most IT implementation methods tend naturally to manage resistance maximize users’ satisfaction and to reduce potential resistance, the authors support an alternative approach. It consists into enhancing resistance in order to anticipate and resolve latent resistance behaviors directly or indirectly related to the project.

Despite widespread literature on resistance, appropriation or acceptance during IT projects, there is little research that addresses the impact of IT projects on organizational intelligence, and the kind of behaviors that lead to its failure or success. In the case, the implemented IT tool revealed hidden structural and organizational roles, which were unanticipated by IT designers and managers.

En introduisant le théme, il faut rappeler les considérations et les projections présentées par docteur Lipman, président de WTTC, au récent congrès international réalisé en Jérusalem, Israël, dont le théme général a été les investissements dans le Secteur du Tourisme. À l'occasion, il a fixé trois points:

The paper positions social and technological innovation as pivotal counterforces to conservative resistance against change, particularly in light of the recurrent economic and technological upheavals characterizing the present shape of capitalism.

The research adopts a qualitative methodology, rooted in a comparative case study approach, offering a critical retrospective analysis of societal disruptions and transformations. Central to this methodological framework is the construct of sensemaking, which is characterized as the process by which collective entities retrospectively develop plausible narratives that rationalize their experiences. The approach is informed by the dynamics of socio-ecological systems, which are understood to undergo cyclical phases of growth, stabilization, collapse, and regeneration.

The study shows evidence that resilience and adaptability are more authentically gauged by socio-technological responses to cyclical disruptions and recoveries. It delineates sensemaking as a crucial socioecological mechanism through which elicitation emerges and societies and organizations navigate these cycles, forging shared narratives from collective experiences that are driven by plausibility rather than mere accuracy.

The research calls for the development of policies that synthesize disruptive innovations with strategies for social cohesion. Such policies must ensure the protection of the socioeconomic texture from implicit structural precariousness arising from innovation. The ability to integrate and institutionalize change is emphasized as crucial, demanding a synergy between innovative creativity, new normative frameworks, and the preservation of fundamental societal values.

The paper challenges reductionist technological interpretations of societal changes, advocating for a holistic perspective that accounts for the redistributive and elicitation roles as vital to the evolution of socio-economic systems. The value of this research lies in its comprehensive framing of these transformations, underscoring the importance of a multi-faceted understanding in the effective management of socioeconomic change.

The interpretation of any emerging form or period in art history was never a trivial task. However, in the case of digital art, technology, becoming an integral part, multiplied the complexity of describing, systematizing and evaluating it. This article investigates the most common metadata standards for the documentation of art as a broad category and suggests possible next steps toward an extended metadata standard for digital art.

Describing several techno-cultural phenomena formed in the last decade, manifesting the extendibility of digital art (its ability to be easily extended across multiple modalities), the article, at first, points to the long overdue need to re-evaluate the standards around it. Then it suggests a deeper analysis through a comparative study. In the scope of the study three artworks, The Arnolfini Portrait (Jan van Eyck), an iconic example of the early Renaissance, The World's First Collaborative Sentence (Douglas Davis), a classic example of early Internet art and Fake It Till You Make It (Maya Man), a prominent example of the blockchain art, are examined following the structure of the VRA Core 4.0 standard.

The comparative study demonstrates that digital art is more multi-semantic than traditional physical art, and requires new taxonomies as well as approaches for data acquisition.

Acknowledging that digital art simply has not yet evolved to the stage of being systematically collected by cultural institutions for documentation, curation and preservation, but otherwise, in the past few years, it has been at the front-center of social, economic and technological trends, the article suggests looking for hints on the future-proof extended metadata standard in some of those trends.

Palm oil is a versatile ingredient of many food and non-food products. Yet, over the last year it has rapidly become a controversial product due to its alleged harmful health and environmental effects. Palm oil has rapidly become a controversial product. As a consequence, many food companies have introduced alternative fat sources into their products, in order to meet consumers’ concerns. The purpose of this paper is to: first, investigate consumer purchase intention by assessing whether the environmental, social and health concerns (HCs) act as drivers with regard to the choice of not consuming products containing palm oil; and second, estimate the direct effect of participants’ information seeking (IS) upon their intention, and whether IS mediates the effects of the attitudinal latent constructs on intention.

A quantitative survey of 608 respondents was performed. A structural equation modelling (SEM) procedure was implemented.

Results show that: first, HC is the main driver of participants’ intention to reduce palm oil consumption; second, consumers’ attitudes towards environment and social fairness exert significant direct effects upon intention; third, IS exerts a direct effect on intention; also, it partially mediates the effects of environmental and social concerns, whereas it totally mediates the HC effect.

This is the first study to address the issue of comparison between different drivers of sustainable consumer intentions using a formal test by SEM. Moreover, findings add insightful discussion points to some important issues concerning the role of consumers in the current food system organisational structure and strategies.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a reconfigurable model that is a combination of a schedule model and a queuing system M/M/m/K to reduce the duration of the wind turbine construction project closure phase and reduce the project documentation waiting time in the queue.

This research was implemented in a wind farm project. The schedule model deals with reducing the duration of the turbines closure phase by an activity overlapping technique, and the queuing system deals with reducing the turbine documentation waiting time in the queue, as well as reducing the probability of server idleness during the closure phase.

After the implementation of the model, the obtained results were compared to those of similar previously conducted projects in terms of duration, and the model was found effective.

Project closure is an important and mandatory process in all projects. More often than not, this process is faced with problems including prolonged project duration, disputes, lawsuits, and also in projects like the implementation of wind farms, a queue of documents at closing stage may also cause difficulties in project closure phase.

The contributions of this research are twofold: first, a combination of project management and queuing system is presented, and second, a reconfigurable model is introduced to enhance the performance and productivity of the closure phase of the project through reducing the implementation time and reducing the turbine documentation waiting time in the queue, as well as reducing the probability of server idleness during the closure phase of the wind farm project.

This study aims to introduce an efficient project buffer and resource management (PBRM) model for project resource leveling and project buffer sizing and controlling of project buffer consumption of a wind power plant project to achieve a more realistic project duration.

The methodology of this research consists of three main phases. In the first phase of the research methodology, resource leveling is done in the project and resource conflicts of activities are identified. In the second phase, the project critical chain is determined, and the appropriate size of the project buffer is specified. In the third phase of the methodology, buffer consumption is controlled and monitored during the project implementation. After using the PBRM method, the results of this project were compared with those of the previous projects.

According to the obtained results, it can be concluded that using PBRM model in this wind turbine project construction, the project duration became 25 per cent shorter than the scheduled duration and also 29 per cent shorter than average duration of previous similar projects.

One of the major problems with projects is that they are not completed according to schedule, and this creates time delays and losses in the implementation of projects. Today, as projects in the energy sector, especially renewable projects, are on the increase and also we are facing resource constraint in the implementation of projects, using scheduling techniques to minimize delays and obtain more realistic project duration is necessary.

This research was carried out in a wind farm project. In spite of the initial plan duration of 142 days and average duration of previous similar projects of 146 days, the project was completed in 113 days.

This paper introduces a practical project buffer and resource management model for project resource leveling, project buffer sizing and buffer consumption monitoring to reach a more realistic schedule in energy sector. This study adds to the literature by proposing the PBRM model in renewable energy sector.

This paper aims to be a conversation with Simon Dolan, conducted by Santiago Ibarreche, about his career as a successful scholar, author of many books, change agent, and a cross-cultural international observer.

This paper is an interview.

The interview explores Dolan’s career, his achievements and continued search for excellence in terms of teaching, research, and service in academia. It explores his experiences as faculty member and prolific author and developer of new approaches in teaching, research, also looking at the importance of anticipating the future of the work place and the importance of Management by Values.

The interview in this special section, A Life in Research, brings out an individual scholar’s experience and history, not only as recognition of scholarly impact, but also as recognition of the person.

This paper aims to explore the interplay between international experiences and male and female top managers' career paths, taking into consideration gender differences. Furthermore, the research investigates the specific job and personal demands and resources related to the different types of international work experiences.

This study provides an in-depth subjective reconstruction of the international professional experience of 37 male and female top managers employed in Italy, using semi-structured interviews.

Participants highlighted the benefits of their international assignments (IAs) in terms of the development of managerial, soft and cross-cultural skills. Family issues and cultural differences were frequently cited as challenges by the top managers interviewed. Culture shock and perceived difficulty in managing multicultural teams were reported by both women and men. Men reported experiencing long periods of separation from their family more often than women and cited the support of their partner as a valuable resource. In addition to the support of a partner, women also indicated that certain job resources and welfare policies played a crucial role. Moreover, women appear to be more interested in work-family management issues, thus suggesting that the traditional division of roles between men and women continues to persist in Italy.

This study provides an insight into the extrinsic factors linked to career success, as well as the challenges and the resources associated with different forms of global work other than traditional expatriation. It takes into consideration a specific country, Italy, where a traditional family paradigm persists, providing an insight into better understanding the link between IA experiences and gender roles in global mobility. Managerial implications are also discussed.