The Nature of Technological Knowledge: Philosophical Reflections and Educational Consequences

Technological knowledge has a normative component that scientific knowledge does not have. When we have knowledge of a computer, that often comprises normative judgements: it functions well or it does not function well. In knowledge of technical norms, rules and standards as another type of technological knowledge we also find a normative component. This characteristic has consequences for our assessment of knowledge. For scientific knowledge truth is the ultimate condition. For knowledge of norms, rules and standards as a type of technological knowledge this the condition is problematic. They refer to things that do not exist yet, but are still to be designed or made. Nor truth, but effectiveness is the condition here. For technology education the normative component is important. Pupils must learn to make judgements about effectiveness, as this is a prominent characteristic of technological knowledge, that makes it distinct from scientific knowledge. Pupils must also learn to deal with ethical and other values when doing technological project work.     

New social relations of digital technology and the future of work: Beyond technological determinism

This introduction sets out the context for the Special Issue and offers an in-depth reflection on key themes addressed by our contributors. The Special Issue aims to place the social relations of production at the centre of debates about technology and the future of work, and create space for greater critical reflection on what it means to go ‘beyond technological determinism’. We identify ways in which aspects of technological determinism continue to influence debates on technology, the labour process and industrial relations, despite efforts to reject it. We argue that this influence is manifested in some persistent problems within the literature including overly rigid periodisations (such as ‘platform capitalism’), a narrow conceptual repertoire (which reifies notions like ‘algorithmic control’) and a constricted empirical focus. We elucidate the value of a social shaping of technology (SST) approach to overcome these challenges and provide a brief overview of the articles contained within the issue.     

Global political economy of technology standardization: A case of the Korean mobile telecommunications market

This paper examines empirical cases of standardization in the Korean mobile market as vehicles for approaching the broader political and institutional context of standardization in telecommunications. A consideration of Korean standardization in the mobile telecommunications market is particularly interesting because it reveals how the state's political interests influence standards decisions, which are primarily driven by market and technological changes in telecommunications. Judged from the social construction of technology perspective which sheds light not only on technology itself but also on political, social and economic interests that surround transformations in technology, this paper highlights power relations among the major actors that have made technology standards decisions in Korea regarding second (2G) and third-generation (3G) mobile telephony. The paper also attempts to show how the Korean government has dealt with the diverse interests of various market actors while pursuing its own policy agenda.     

Cognitive biases and their impact on strategic planning

Subjective judgements by planners and managers are a major component in the process of strategic planning. If such judgements are faulty, efforts at better strategic plans are likely to be misdirected. This paper discusses those biases which appear common to both managers and planners when they make judgements about risk. Implications of biased judgement are discussed in a planning context. Although we still do not know the best ways to elicit judgements, the paper concludes with a discussion of subjective sensitivity analysis which appears to offer some hope.     

Enhancing teachers’ technological pedagogical knowledge and practices: a professional development model for technology teachers in Malawi

This paper reports on a professional development that was designed and implemented in an attempt to broaden teachers’ knowledge of the nature of technology and also enhance their technological pedagogical practices. The professional development was organised in four phases with each phase providing themes for reflection and teacher learning in subsequent phases. On-going support, reflection and feedback underpinned the professional development processes to enhance teachers’ prospects of putting aside old traditions and culture to implement new practices in their classrooms. The teachers collaboratively explored new concepts through readings of selected scholarly papers, making presentations of their views generated from the readings and engaging with peers in discussing learning, curriculum issues and concepts related to the nature of technology and technology education. A qualitative analysis of the teachers’ journey through the phases of the professional development showed the teachers’ enhanced knowledge of technology and technology education. However, their classroom practices showed technological pedagogical techniques that reflected their traditional strategies for teaching technical subjects. It is argued that although the teachers’ conceptualisation of learning in technology was still fragile at this point, attempts to shift teachers’ beliefs and practices require deep theoretical grounding and transferring that into technological practices. A professional development built on existing ideas and context helps expand the teachers’ views about the nature of technology and technology education.     

Incumbents,technological change and institutions: How the value of complementary resources varies across markets

This article examines the influence of complementary resources on the performance of incumbents after a radical technological change. In investigating this relationship, we join the technological management literature and the institution‐based view of strategy and maintain that the value of complementary resources is contingent on the institutional environment in which the firm operates. In particular, we submit that formal institutions, both economic and political, moderate the relationship between the stock of complementary assets and firm performance. We test our hypotheses in the context of the world mobile telecommunications industry (39 countries and 134 mobile service providers). Our findings reveal how these resources are more valuable for incumbents in markets where market‐supporting institutions are weaker and political stability is higher. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Red,blue, and purple firms: Organizational political ideology and corporate social responsibility

Research summary : Why do firms vary so much in their stances toward corporate social responsibility (CSR )? Prior research has emphasized the role of external pressures, as well as CEO preferences, while little attention has been paid to the possibility that CSR may also stem from prevailing beliefs among the body politic of the firm. We introduce the concept of organizational political ideology to explain how political beliefs of organizational members shape corporate advances in CSR . Using a novel measure based on the political contributions by employees of Fortune 500 firms, we find that ideology predicts advances in CSR . This effect appears stronger when CSR is rare in the firm's industry, when firms are high in human capital intensity, and when the CEO has had long organizational tenure . Managerial summary : Why do firms vary in their stances toward corporate social responsibility (CSR )? Prior research suggests that companies engage in CSR when under pressure to do so, or when their CEOs have liberal values. We introduce the concept of organizational political ideology, and argue that CSR may also result from the values of the larger employee population. Introducing a novel measure of organizational political ideology, based on employees' donations to the two major political parties in the United States, we find that liberal‐leaning companies engage in more CSR than conservative‐leaning companies, and even more so when other firms in the industry have weaker CSR records, when the company relies heavily on human resources and when the company's CEO has a long organizational tenure . Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Small firms' interaction with political organizations in the European Union

About 99% of all firms in the European Union are small, and politicians are increasingly emphasizing their importance for job creation, technological development and prosperity. Consequently, the political focus is on these firms and a large number of decisions influencing their business activities are constantly taken by political actors at various levels. The aim of this article is to investigate small firms' interaction with political organizations in the EU. Previous studies have shown that these firms have been obliged to follow the coercive political decisions of the EU's political units. In this paper, however, we identify some changes which demonstrate political support and influence by small firms. Based on a case study approach as well as data from a Swedish survey, four propositions concerning small firms' interaction patterns within the political context of the EU will be highlighted and further discussed.     

Exploiting innovative opportunities in global purchasing: An assessment of ethical climate and relationship performance

Purchasing managers are expected to balance costs, innovation, supplier management, and corporate social responsibility while coordinating expanding areas of the corporation. The increased responsibilities and pressures to innovate brings purchasing managers into potentially increasingly difficult ethical dilemmas. In this study, we examine the relationships between organizational culture, learning, entrepreneurial innovation, and purchasing outcomes in different ethical climates. To address external business conditions that may influence innovation in purchasing, we also examine the moderating effects of technological and market turbulence. Data from 200 purchasing managers in multinational corporations were used to test the relationships through structural equation modeling. We find that entrepreneurial innovation positively affects the quality of the relationships among sourcing participants when operating in a climate valuing ethics. The study results are particularly relevant for managers concerned that establishing an ethical climate may restrict innovation in the purchasing process.     

Opening the Black Box of Upper Echelons in China: TMT Attributes and Strategic Flexibility

Many scholars have suggested that strategic flexibility is a critical firm capability to survive in today's competitive arena. The decision to take strategic actions to make the firm more strategically flexible typically originates in the top management team (TMT). As the principal decision‐making unit of the firm, TMT members' information acquisition and processing capabilities and subsequent interpretation of environmental changes critically influence the decision to make the firm more strategically flexible to achieve a better fit with its market environment. Therefore, in order to understand how firms can adapt to environmental changes, scholars must study the sociopsychological processes of interaction among members of the TMT. This study examines the relationships between TMT's sociopsychological attributes (shared vision, social integration, and political ties) and strategic flexibility, which is decomposed into organizational flexibility and technological flexibility. The study further investigates how the level of competitive intensity can moderate the relationships. All the hypotheses are tested using structural equation models based on the survey data from 227 firms in China. The results show that organizational flexibility mediates the impact of TMT's social integration and political ties on technological flexibility. Surprisingly, a TMT's shared vision for the firm neither impedes nor facilitates the firm's effort in attaining the desired degree of organizational flexibility. However, TMT's shared vision does have a positive and direct impact on technological flexibility. Moreover, intense competition amplifies the positive impact of TMT social integration on the degree of organizational flexibility, but there is no significant moderating effect of competitive intensity on the relationship between a TMT's political ties and organizational flexibility. The results extend previous research by highlighting the importance of TMTs' sociopsychological attributes in driving technological flexibility, through the mediating impact of organizational flexibility.     

Open Science and Open Innovation in a socio‐political context: knowledge production for societal impact in an age of post‐truth populism

This conceptual paper traces the origins and progress of Open Science and proposes its generative coupling to Open Innovation in the contemporary socio‐political context; where universities are re‐imaging their civic missions in the face of anti‐establishment populist politics. This setting is one of changing knowledge production regimes and institutional pressures that create contradictions identifiable through the prism of the series of scientific norms conceptualised by Robert K. Merton. This paper privileges a sociological perspective to proffer scientific knowledge production as a societally embedded process, which is well illustrated by scholarship in the Science and Technology Studies (STS) and Science in Society fields. In doing so, it identifies the co‐evolution, co‐existence and co‐production of Open Science with Open Innovation; and notes how it shares the attributes of other recent diagnoses of changing knowledge production regimes; in particular Mode 2, post‐normal science and the Quadruple Helix. It also argues that Open Science can be coupled with Open Innovation to catalyse positive societal change, but that the rise of a populist post‐truth era opposed to objectivity, expertise and technocratic political solutions gives the demand for openness and participation a different complexion. Merton's norms provide a useful lens to observe recent shifts in the delivery of science, knowledge and innovation in society towards more inclusive, ethical and sustainable outcomes; and expose the limited reflection on how the appropriation and exploitation of open scientific knowledge encounters industrial R&D and Open Innovation.     

Why sustainable and ‘nutritionally correct’ food is not on the agenda: Western Sydney,the moral arts of everyday life and public policy

Within a context of delivering food security into the future, dietary guidelines are being reframed, corporations are replacing unsustainable products, and consumers are being encouraged to become ecological citizens. While there is a growing literature on the food practices of ‘alternative’ consumers, ‘mainstream’ consumers are less well understood. This paper describes qualitative research undertaken in a socio-economically disadvantaged area of Sydney, Australia, which aimed to uncover consumer views towards sustainable and healthy diets. Most participants indicated a discrepancy between their desired and actual behaviours: while they want to support Australian, or local, food producers they gravitate towards cheap and tasty food from ‘anywhere’; and while they associate nutritious food with fresh food, they will buy processed foods which can be less expensive, appeal to children and are prone to less waste. Reflecting mainstream Australian political culture, participants were compromising household food budgets in order to pursue a socially acceptable standard of living (including decent housing, car-reliance). They were also incorporating the pleasure and desires of family members as part of ‘the moral arts of everyday life’. Using social theories of consumption and practice sociology we argue that food choices and practices – easy or not – need to be interpreted as part of the role that consumption plays in political citizenship and moral subjectivity. In the Western Sydney context, food practices are essentially household budget and family nourishment practices rather than nutrition and sustainability practices; a position which is not addressed in the government’s new food policies or wage determination processes.     

The adoption of technological innovations in a B2B context and its impact on firm performance: An ethical leadership perspective

The introduction of the digital economy has opened much discussion on the various business models that challenge traditional thinking in B2B marketing. This includes technological innovation in the digital space which has brought about theoretical changes in the way marketing is applied, more so in the B2B environment where communication is essential in the alignment with various stakeholders. Several discussions on ethical leadership in the digital economy have provided some insights into addressing increased complexity in a society where markets are connected (physically) yet disconnected (proximity) and this has led marketing practices going astray. Our paper proposes the relevance of ethical leadership and its role in the application of technological innovation by arguing that technological innovation has a positive impact on firm performance and that ethical leadership plays a critical role in moderating this effect. We use a dynamic panel data system Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) approach to examine secondary data from 465 IT service companies and demonstrate that ethical leadership plays a critical role as it enables innovation through technology, and this has an impact on the firm's performance.     

Mind the gap: The interplay between external and internal actions in the case of corporate social responsibility

Research summary : We explore the effect of the interplay between a firm's external and internal actions on market value in the context of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Specifically, drawing from the neo‐institutional theory, we distinguish between external and internal CSR actions and argue that they jointly contribute to the accumulation of intangible firm resources and are therefore associated with better market value. Importantly, though, we find that, on average, firms undertake more internal than external CSR actions, and we theorize that a wider gap between external and internal actions is negatively associated with market value. We confirm our hypotheses empirically, using the market‐value equation and a sample comprising 1,492 firms in 33 countries from 2002 to 2008. Finally, we discuss implications for future research and practice. Managerial summary : Companies often accumulate intangible assets by taking internally and externally oriented CSR actions. Contrary to popular beliefs, the data show that they undertake more internal than external ones: firms do more and communicate less. How does a potential gap (i.e., a misalignment) between internal and external CSR actions affect a firm's market value? We find that although together (the sum of) internal and external actions are positively associated with market value, a wider gap has negative implications. In other words, firms do not realize the full benefits of their internal actions when such actions are not externally communicated to key stakeholders, and to the investment community in particular. This negative association with market value is particularly salient in CSR‐intensive and the natural resources and extractives industries. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Factors affecting the sustainability of telecentres in developing countries

Due to rapid technological changes, governments in developing countries have paid special attention to sustainability. However, understanding insights into the sustainability of telecentres remains an open question. This paper aims to fill this gap. We conducted a case study in Vietnam by using both qualitative and quantitative data. We used the Kumar and Best's (2006) model as our theoretical lens to analyse the sustainability of telecentres in Vietnam. The paper finds that telecentres have shifted their concept to provide a wide range of services, both online and offline. The paper indicates that technological, political, and social sustainability are important for the sustainability of telecentres. The paper recommends that we should take the role of state-owned enterprises and the digital transformation into consideration to sustain telecentres. Furthermore, the paper indicates the mutual relation between political and technical sustainability with social sustainability that has not been yet unveiled in the prior literature.     

The Mixed Blessings of Technological Innovativeness for the Commercial Success of New Products

This study addresses the contradiction that, although technological innovativeness of new products is often seen as a major driver of competitive advantage and commercial success, empirical research is not always able to show a significant performance influence. In order to find an explanation, the effects of technological innovativeness are decomposed as its influence on the market, the innovating firm, and the firm's environment is considered. The proposed model is tested on a sample of new product development projects. In order to avoid systematic biases, this paper uses a longitudinal survey design with two informants and a sample that includes both incremental and highly innovative projects. The results show that technological innovativeness has both positive and negative effects on the commercial success of new products. On the one hand, technological innovativeness can increase customer value, which in turn has a positive effect on success. On the other hand, incorporating new technologies into new products also implies changes in the innovating firm and potentially in its environment. These changes have a negative impact on commercial success. The positive and negative effects compensate for each other, so that the total effect of technological innovativeness on commercial success is close to zero. The findings imply that firms developing new products through incorporating radically new technologies often seem to underestimate the inherent complexities with respect to both internal and external changes. Developing and introducing new products with a radically changed technology also implies anticipating the need for new competences, processes, structures, and network partners. Social and political resistance against technological changes, large investments in new infrastructures, and the long duration of these changes additionally become frequent features of such innovation endeavors. Hence, firms embarking on a path of exploiting radically new technologies should consider those complexities very carefully when making their new product development decisions.     

Geographies of imperfection in telecommunication analysis

Rapid increases in computing power and data storage capacity, along with the continued evolution of commercial geographic information systems (GIS), have significantly widened the production and consumption of spatial data. Considering the varying disciplines (sociology, economics, public policy, city and regional planning, regional science, geography, etc.) investigating digital economies, the Internet, and telecommunications, it is no surprise that spatial data related to such topics is in high demand. Due to the technological complexities of telecommunication systems, however, analysts need to be aware of potential impacts associated with the use of imperfect spatial information when evaluating telecommunication infrastructure, particularly in the context of social, political, economic and environmental issues. More importantly, the implications of imperfect information on telecommunication policy development must be considered. The purpose of this paper is to explore how data imperfection is resident in a range of telecommunication analyses. A framework is presented for identifying and addressing spatial analysis sensitivities in the use of imperfect information. In addition, a case study examining imperfect information associated with digital subscriber line (xDSL) deployment in Columbus, Ohio is provided. Results suggest a significant difference in the proposed vs. actual availability of xDSL services in the study area.     

Making Ethical Judgements: A Cross-Cultural Management Study

This article reports the results of a cross-cultural empirical study across seven countries which investigates the differences in the way managers structure their ethical judgements regarding the loyalty of a corporation to its employees, the loyalty of employees to the corporation, and the loyalty of employees towards their co-workers. Managers' ethical judgements from the East Asian tiger countries of Japan, Korea and Hong Kong are compared with those from the Anglo countries of the United States and Australia, and with those from the transitional countries of Asiatic Russia and Poland. An adapted version of the well documented Reidenbach-Robin instrument is used, and its cross-cultural application investigated. As hypothesized, cross-cultural differences were indicated for both the structure and content of managers' ethical judgements, which have important implications for the way organizations are effectively managed both nationally, regionally and internationally. Weaknesses in the a priori constructs of the research instrument were also indicated, and recommendations made for future development of methodology in this area.     

The Politics of Social Pacts

The paper develops an analytical framework for the politics of negotiated voluntary wage restraint in the context of social pacts. It argues that, in contrast to earlier political exchanges, tripartite negotiations on wage restraint under restrictive economic policies are not based on a political exchange whereby governments had to compensate trade unions for wage restraint. Rather, governments can threaten trade unions with tight monetary policy and trade unions can either engage in negotiated adjustment or suffer restrictions. Social pacts are therefore an instrument of adjustment by governments to a new economic environment, and not a tool of economic policy.     

Designing the future? Technology,values and choice

There is a widespread recognition of the desirability of broadening the scope of technology education with the objective of a form of technological literacy which would embrace social relations as well as technique. In 1990, Technology was introduced as a compulsory element of general education in England and Wales. Initially the curriculum gave equal weight both to the context as well as the content of technological activity, but subsequent revisions point the way back to an emphasis on technique and a narrower view of the role of the designer. In some respects, this simplifies the task of the technology teacher, and it might also be said to reflect the everyday realities of much technological activity. It is, however, an essentially conservative approach which tends to reinforce and legitimise attitudes which place a high value on technical performance while consigning the purposes and outcomes of technological activity to the shadows. It is argued that, for the sake of the future, it is essential that values in design and technology are brought up to the light. Technology teachers should take some responsibility for this, but cannot be expected to shoulder the whole burden.