In this paper, we explored the introduction of an automated parcel sorting system in a major company in the logistic and parcel delivery industry. Adopting a Grounded Theory approach, we carried out a study that highlighted profound and unexpected organizational implications and management challenges connected to the introduction of the new technology. Our analysis revealed the key role of the Industrial Engineering function as a change agent in devising and managing the introduction of the automated system. In particular, Industrial Engineering actually managed the organizational change by determining the right balance between several opposite dimensions (manual vs. automated; planned vs. emergent; local vs. global). Handling these tensions with a holistic approach may constitute a crucial factor for the change program effectiveness. Contrasting our findings with extant literature, we found resonance with latest works on ambidexterity, interpreted as a firm’s ability to manage tensions. The resulting outcome is a substantive grounded theory of ambidexterity in an automation enhancement program.
Virili, F., Ghiringhelli, C., Automation as management of paradoxical tensions: The role of industrial engineering, in Cabitza, F., Batini, C., Magni, M. (ed.), Organizing for the Digital World: IT for Individuals, Communities and Societies, Springer Heidelberg, Heidelberg 2019: <<LECTURE NOTES IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND ORGANISATION>>, 28 7- 21. 10.1007/978-3-319-90503-7_2 [https://hdl.handle.net/10807/225023]
Automation as management of paradoxical tensions: The role of industrial engineering
Virili, Francesco
Primo
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
2019
Abstract
In this paper, we explored the introduction of an automated parcel sorting system in a major company in the logistic and parcel delivery industry. Adopting a Grounded Theory approach, we carried out a study that highlighted profound and unexpected organizational implications and management challenges connected to the introduction of the new technology. Our analysis revealed the key role of the Industrial Engineering function as a change agent in devising and managing the introduction of the automated system. In particular, Industrial Engineering actually managed the organizational change by determining the right balance between several opposite dimensions (manual vs. automated; planned vs. emergent; local vs. global). Handling these tensions with a holistic approach may constitute a crucial factor for the change program effectiveness. Contrasting our findings with extant literature, we found resonance with latest works on ambidexterity, interpreted as a firm’s ability to manage tensions. The resulting outcome is a substantive grounded theory of ambidexterity in an automation enhancement program.
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