Calls for papers

 

International Journal of Information Technology and Management
International Journal of Information Technology and Management

 

Special Issue on: “Work Change in the Era of ICTs”


Guest Editor: Professor Francesca Sgobbi, University of Brescia, Italy


The ever-lasting debate on the changes in the workplace and the evolution of labour content has recently focused around two related ideas, both claiming the central role played by human resources. Firstly, remarkable complementarities exist between technological and organisational change and their role is particularly important when pervasive technologies such as Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are involved. Secondly, a skill-biased nature has characterised the change of work in recent decades, which has been progressively marginalising poorly skilled workers and individuals lacking basic ICT capabilities.

Despite the growing body of available literature, important pieces to build up the comprehensive puzzle of how work is changing in the era of ICTs are still missing. In particular, most existing analyses try to assess the impact of change over firm performance or workforce composition. Less effort has been devoted to understanding how the joint effect of technological and organisational changes affect skills, competencies and performance at the individual level. Nonetheless, analysis at the micro level represents a compulsory step to evaluate if and how achieved results will be sustainable in the future.

This Special Issue will address the impact of technological and organisational change on individual skills and performances, in a search for the tools and solutions which promise the better sustainability of learning processes and the narrowing of the digital divide among workers. Authors are encouraged to submit both theoretical and empirical papers, the latter including quantitative analyses as well as research based on case studies.

Subject Coverage
Suitable topics for the Special Issue include, but are not limited to:

  • The impact of technological and organisational change on the evolution of skills and competencies at the individual level
  • The sources of polarisation of employees’ competencies in changing working environments
  • The sustainability of learning processes at the workplace under continuous change
  • The role of training as a tool to support learning processes and the transferability of competencies
  • Measurement issues concerning the assessment of individual competencies and performance under technological and organisational change

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere

All papers are refereed through a peer review process. A guide for authors, sample copies and other relevant information for submitting papers are available on the Author Guidelines page


Important Dates

Submission of papers: 1 December 2006

Notification to authors: 1 February 2006

Final versions due by: 10 April 2007