The COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown has caused massive economic disruption, leading businesses to make a rapid transition and take a new approach to business strategy. Therefore, the aim ...of the paper is to examine if there are statistically significant gender differences in work satisfaction, work engagement, and work efficiency among employees who work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, the paper aims to identify the importance of individual dimensions of work satisfaction, work engagement, and work efficiency, and gender differences perspective. The research is based on a survey of 785 employees in Slovenian companies. The factor analysis and the t-test for two independent samples were used to test the research hypotheses. Findings: The results show significant gender differences in work satisfaction, work engagement, and work efficiency among employees who work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper provides change management insights and recommendations to assist companies in minimizing the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their employees.
The main objective of this research is to test the hypothesis that the two-step structural equation modelling (SEM) and artificial neural network (ANN) approach enables better in-depth research ...results as compared to the single-step SEM approach. This approach was used to determine which factors have statistically significant influence on extended use of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. The research model and the hypothesized relationships are based on the technology acceptance model (TAM). Majority of research on ERP acceptance has been conducted with SEM based research approaches. The purpose of this paper is to extend basic TAM research which is traditionally based on SEM technique with ANN approach. In the first step of the present research the SEM technique was used to determine which factors have statistically significant influence on extended use of the ERP systems; in the second step, ANN models were used to rank the relative influence of significant predictors obtained from SEM. The main finding of this research is that the use of multi-analytical two step SEM–ANN approach provides two important benefits. First, it enables additional verification of the results obtained by the SEM analysis. Second, this approach enables capturing not only linear but also complex nonlinear relationships between antecedents and dependent variables and more precise measure of relative influence of each predictor.
Purpose
Increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) in education has, along with other consequences, shifted the context from teacher-centric to student-centric. These changes ...pose fresh challenges to the prevalent education systems all over the world, which already have fallen short of the expectations. The purpose of this study is to show that e-learning is not only about ICT following a holistic approach to learning which embeds systemic approach and learning loops but also about students and teacher’s actions in ICT-enabled learning environment. This study investigates the importance of engagement of students and teachers in blended learning with a focus on factors which affect this engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on systems theory and socio-technological approach to e-learning, the paper documents an experiment which was carried out in a higher education institution. Postgraduate students of one course were divided into two groups. Instructor of the first group was not required to engage with the online content and had to deliver his course in a traditional face-to-face format. Instructor of the second group continuously spent time on the learning management system (LMS), developing more content, participating in online discussions and responding to students. LMS tracked the online activity of both the instructors, and semi-structured interviews of students were conducted.
Findings
Based on behaviour of 152 students of a postgraduate programme, students’ time spent online is directly proportional to the instructor’s online time, promptness of instructor’s response to online activities queries of students increased student engagement, the students’ engagement increases if the online content is related to the syllabus but engagement is not the same as the face-to-face lectures in the class.
Research limitations/implications
The research was conducted in India and is based on the behaviour of instructors and students in India. It was focussed on engagement issues of blended learning, while other issues of blended learning have not been in the focus of the research.
Practical implications
The research is important for the practice of higher education, and the result of the study can be taken into consideration while developing online courses for students enrolled in higher education.
Social implications
If higher education institutions take a strategic decision to use ICT in e-learning, engagements of participants and factors affecting engagement are crucial for the better quality of education. In such a way, blended learning fulfils requirements of a holistic approach to learning.
Originality/value
Despite the fact that e-learning as a way to deliver academic content has been extensively researched, there are not many studies focussed on engagement issues in blended learning, and even fewer studies have been conducted in an experimental way which allow in-depth research.
Document management systems (DMS) have become an important topic regarding digital transformation in organizations because they enable paperless business, speed up processes, lower business costs, ...and support sustainability activities in organizations. DMSs should be considered as green technology and also as technology crucial for green digital transformation. Sustainability is becoming increasingly crucial for organizations and society, and DMSs, along with paperless business, can contribute to the sustainable orientation of organizations. However, the problem with DMS implementations is that they often fail and that DMS users often use DMSs at a basic level, which means that, among other things, they still prefer to print documents rather than use electronic documents. A framework that can contribute to a better implementation and a higher level of use of DMSs, which both lead to a more green digital transformation of the organization, represents an organization’s maturity. We used the Process and Enterprise Maturity Model (PEMM) to assess the organization’s maturity level concerning the DMS’ life cycle. Findings are presented from the research study. The research study was based on a questionnaire and collected data from DMS users. The research study showed that an organization’s maturity impacts the DMS’ life cycle. Organizations that manage the DMS’ life cycle will better cope with digital transformation and sustainability issues related to paperless business.
The topic of the article addresses the management of the document management system (DMS), which represents one of the important steps for organizations to speed up the implementation of business ...processes, achieve better control over documents, and ensure safer operations. When implementing and using DMS, the importance of the organization’s maturity shall not be forgotten, as it gives the organization a framework to evaluate and improve the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the organization’s DMS, which can contribute to better decision-making and increased productivity. On the other hand, sustainable-oriented organizations are likely to show interest in choosing, implementing, and using DMS. In the article, the impact of an organization’s maturity and the role of sustainability on the DMS lifecycle are researched. Results are presented based on a case analysis of Company X. Supporting the case analysis, structured interviews with the project leader on the clients’ and the project leader on the providers’ side have been performed, which shall give a deeper insight into DMS implementation and the importance of sustainability and organizational maturity, resulting in more successful DMS implementation and use.
Growing importance of sustainable development, corporate social responsibility and business ethics requires various types of contemporary organisations innovation. This research assesses the problem ...related to business policy innovation (BPI), which represents organisational governance determination. The main purpose of the paper is to qualitatively and quantitatively present a new, requisitely holistic strategic model of the soft factors influencing BPI, which interdependently incorporates changes in organisational values, culture and business ethics, as well as stakeholders’ interests reconciliation, thus determine soft possibilities for more sustainable business policy, management and practice. While the relevance of these factors for business policy is in the literature widely recognized, there is a small amount of empirical research on their influence on BPI. To mitigate this research gap, advanced structural equation modelling (SEM) based partial least squares (PLS) method was used for analysing data of 734 organisations in Slovenia, the EU state. The research results show that researched soft factors organisational values, culture and stakeholders’ interests reconciliation statistically confirmed influence BPI. Thus, these recognitions can be used as the basis for strategic managerial decision making towards social responsibility and sustainability of an organisation. Reasons why it has not been statistically confirmed that business ethics influence BPI needs to be investigated in future research.
E-learning platforms have become more and more complex. Their functionality included in learning management systems is extended with collaborative platforms, which allow better communication, group ...collaboration, and face-to-face lectures. Universities are facing the challenge of advanced use of these platforms to fulfil sustainable learning goals. Better usability and attractiveness became essential in successful e-learning platforms, especially due to the more intensive interactivity expected from students. In the study, we researched the user experience of students who have used Moodle, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. User experience is, in most cases, connected with a person’s perception, person’s feelings, and satisfaction with the platform used. Data were collected using a standard UEQ questionnaire. With this research, we examined whether user experience factors: perceived efficiency, perceived perspicuity, perceived dependability, perceived stimulation, and perceived novelty affect perceived attractiveness, which is an important factor in the sustainability of e-learning tools. The collected data were processed using SmartPLS. The research study showed that all studied factors have a statistically significant impact on perceived attractiveness. Factor perceived stimulation has the strongest statistically significant impact on the perceived attractiveness of e-learning platforms, followed by perceived efficiency, perceived perspicuity, perceived novelty, and perceived dependability.
GIS is often used in companies where employees already use enterprise information systems/enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and where both systems are used simultaneously. This article is a ...research study of GIS acceptance by users using GIS, not as a stand-alone tool, but as an integrated tool into the ERP system. The research was conducted using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), one of the most often used research models for researching behavioral intention and actual use of information systems. For this research study, TAM has been modified and extended with external factors. The main research objective is to identify determinants of GIS acceptance and the attitude of individuals toward using GIS integrated with ERP systems. The structural equation model with partial least squares (PLS) method was used to analyze collected survey data. The study researched 12 external factors in the TAM model, out of which 10 were found significant. The most important factors that impact behavioral intention to use ERP-GIS systems are perceived usefulness of ERP-GIS systems and attitude toward using GIS, followed by education and training about ERP-GIS systems and perceived enjoyment using ERP-GIS systems.