Research Report Year 2003
Management and Business Administration
Management and Business Administration
- People
- Research activity in 2003
The
development of ICTs within the economic system, as well as the increasing
success of Internet have caused an epoch making change in interaction
and communication patterns between individuals and organizations. The
issue of the introduction of the aforementioned technologies in single
enterprises and its consequent influence on competitive behavior and
boost on economic growth is currently being discussed. However, in order
for the opportunities offered by new technologies to be fully accepted,
it might not be enough to focus only on the technological dimension.
As it usually occurs, the introduction of new technologies requires
a redefining of the organizational and institutional patterns.
In our research, these new technologies are not regarded as a specific
and direct object of research, but rather as innovation and creativity
harbingers and as springs towards a change in the two variables which
identify the Enterprise, i.e. Communication and Knowledge, the latter
being implicitly included in a communication process. In all cognitive
processes that take place both inside and outside, i.e. within the socio-economic
environment of the Enterprise or – as commonly referred to by its stakeholders
– within its internal and external public, the Web is to be regarded
as the main protagonist of the whole research. The term new economy,
is often associated to net- or web-economy with all its application
branches, such as e-commerce, e-governement, e-procurement, supply-chain
net-based, market place, e-marketing, as well as all the concepts related
to virtual Enterprise, network-Enterprise, etc. Many theories and interpretations
originating from such branches become the necessary – although not the
only – elements for a redefinition of the Enterprise in terms of its
interpretation parameters, i.e. Communication and Technology.
Research activities consider that of H.A. Simon and of the mainstream
of academics referring to it as the fundamental and basic framework.
The issue of innovation and creative processes referring to the central
role of the entrepreneur had already been dealt with by Shumpeter (1932).
The studies carried out by Marris (1964), Winter (1982), and Drucker
(1986) focus on the issues of knowledge and manager behavior, with particular
reference to the functions and skills required to manage a Company.
As far as Italian cultural and scientific tradition is concerned, studies
by Zappa (1957) do not only consider and configure accounting systems,
but also regard the organization as an important aspect for the internal
management of a company thanks to a system-based and a managerial approach.
Saraceno (1978) considers the computer as a useful study issue for both
Enterprise and industrial development, while Pacces (1974) includes
technology as one of Enterprise systems.
Only recently Herbert Simon (1997) has regarded the Enterprise as a
complex system of decision-making processes as well as of varied individual
behaviors within the same organization. Such system reveals itself through
a Corporate Governance action (Administration and Corporate Governance).
Knowledge and expertise – or professionalism – therefore become Cognitive
Science issues (Simon, 1989), are interwoven with rationality topics
(see Simon’s “bounded rationality” concept), and are strictly linked
to technology, with particular reference to Computer Science (Simon,
1988).
The research entails the assumption that development of Enterprises
is based on ICTs (Bussolin and Pironti 2003). According to Simon’s framework,
such development can arise only from the competence of the organizational
individual in a general sense and from that of the Corporate Manager.
Such expertise and skills (hereby generally referred to as “knowledge”
for synthesis reasons) arise from human relation opportunities, i.e.
from communication processes that rely – more or less strongly – on
ICTs.
New economy based on knowledge and diffusion of Web information (i.e.
Web- or Net-economy) is not only affected by technology changes, but
also by the changes in the people’s behavior due to a new way of working
(Valdani, 2000). Millions of people communicate via Internet from their
own home or workplace, overcoming any kind of barrier (time, space)
or hierarchy.
Nowadays, enterprises are going through the stage of adapting their
operational processes to new information technologies in order to obtain
higher productivity and profits, as well as for surviving on the markets.
The first effects of such transformation are particularly clear in the
relationship between the Enterprise and its stakeholders: employees,
stockholders, suppliers, distributors, real and potential customers
and competitors. Information exchange is vital in these relations.
During the month of Novembre 2001, a workshop named "Sotto l’ ombrello
del Web: nuove tecnologie della comunicazione e dell’informazione e
lo sviluppo delle imprese" was carried out in collaboration with
local institutions and a consulting company. The invited speakers were
managers of IT companies and academic members of the University of Turin.
Proceedings referring the workshop pressed in 2003.
- 2003 Publications
Pironti
M. Information and Communication Technologies and knowledge management.
An application of the content management model, ECKM proceedings 2003
(in press)Bussolin G., Pironti M. “L’impatto delle nuove tecnologie
dell’informazione e della comunicazione sull’organizzazione d’impresa.
Lo scenario attuale e le prospettive delle PMI del nord-ovest” Atti
del XXV Convegno annuale Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale, Università
Piemonte Orientale, Giuffré 2003Bussolin G., Pironti M. (a cura
di) “Sotto l’ombrello del Web: nuove tecnologie della comunicazione
e dell’informazione per lo sviluppo delle imprese” Atti del Workshop,
Cedam, 2003
- Software Products
- Research grants
| Title
of project |
Project
leader |
Funding Organization |
Kind of grant |
| Tecnologie della informazione e della comunicazione
per lo sviluppo delle imprese : i modelli per il trasferimento
delle conoscenze. |
G. Bussolin |
Università di Torino |
|
| Progetto per la costruzione
di sistemi cooperativi basati sulla rete ed orientati alla formazioni
ed alla comunicazione d’Impresa |
G. Bussolin |
Fondazione CRT |
Progetto Lagrange |
|
