STRATEGIC TELEWORK AND THE CONCEPT OF FIT

This conceptual paper puts research on individual teleworker outcomes in the context of an open systems model of organisation. It is suggested that the concept of fit might be a useful way of conceptualising the task of designing and implementing effective telework interventions. The paper explores the concept of career anchor (Schein, 1996; 1978) and its potential utility for helping establish fit between individual teleworker and telework context. The concept of career anchor may also help understand the often reported problems in the relationship between teleworkers and their managers. Career anchor may also help explain teleworkers reaction to organisational control systems. The paper includes initial research questions that will provide a program of future research.

[1]  A. Bandura.  Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory , 1985 .

[2]  Wayne F. Cascio,et al.  Managing a virtual workplace , 2000 .

[3]  Edgar H. Schein,et al.  Career anchors revisited: Implications for career development in the 21st century , 1996 .

[4]  Fit, failure, & the hall of fame: How companies succeed or fail: by Raymond E. Miles and Charles C. Snow (The Free Press, 1994) 215 pp., $24.95 , 1995 .

[5]  A. Bandura.  Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. , 1977, Psychological review.

[6]  Charles C. Snow,et al.  Fit, failure, and the hall of fame : how companies succeed or fail , 1994 .

[7]  Jeffrey R. Edwards,et al.  Person-job fit:: A conceptual integration, literature review, and methodological critique. , 1991 .

[8]  V. Venkatesh,et al.  AGE DIFFERENCES IN TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION DECISIONS: IMPLICATIONS FOR A CHANGING WORK FORCE , 2000 .

[9]  Thomas J. Barth,et al.  Career Anchor Theory , 1993 .

[10]  Tor Guimaraes,et al.  Exploring Differences in Employee Turnover Intentions and Its Determinants Among Telecommuters and Non-Telecommuters , 1999, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[11]  Subodh P. Kulkarni,et al.  Winning through Innovation: A Practical Guide to Leading Organizational Change and Renewal , 1998 .

[12]  Nicole B. Ellison,et al.  Social Impacts , 1999 .

[13]  Carol Saunders,et al.  There's no place like home: Managing telecommuting paradoxes , 2001 .

[14]  Amitai Etzioni,et al.  The Spirit of Community: Rights, Responsibilities, and the Communitarian Agenda , 1993 .

[15]  Adolph I. Katz.  The management, control, and evaluation of a telecommuting project: A case study , 1987, Inf. Manag..

[16]  D. Rousseau.  Organizational behavior in the new organizational era. , 1997, Annual review of psychology.

[17]  Daniel C. Feldman,et al.  Career Patterns of the Self-Employed: Career Motivations and Career Outcomes , 2000 .

[18]  Magid Igbaria,et al.  A Short Form Measure of Career Orientations: a Psychometric Evaluation , 1992, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[19]  Jane Yarnall.  Career anchors: results of an organisational study in the UK , 1998 .

[20]  Ewuuk Lomo-David,et al.  Personality Traits of White-Collar Telecommuters: Perceptions of Graduating Business Students , 2001 .

[21]  Steven J. Armstrong,et al.  The effects of cognitive style on leader-member exchange: A study of manager-subordinate dyads , 2001 .

[22]  A. Bandura.  Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control , 1997, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.

[23]  William F. Joyce.  Leading Corporate Transformation: A Blueprint for Business Renewal , 1997 .

[24]  David A. Nadler,et al.  The organization of the future: Strategic imperatives and core competencies for the 21st century , 1999 .

[25]  J. Alexander,et al.  Images of Organization , 1988 .

[26]  Michael Brocklehurst,et al.  Power, Identity and New Technology Homework: Implications for `New Forms' of Organizing , 2001 .

[27]  J. Reinsch,et al.  Selected Communication Variables and Telecommuting Participation Decisions: Data from Telecommuting Workers , 1999 .

[28]  W. Richard Scott.  Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems , 1981 .

[29]  Colin Coulson-Thomas,et al.  Business process re‐engineering and teleworking , 1995 .

[30]  Diane E. Bailey,et al.  The advantages and challenges of working here, there anywhere, and anytime , 1999 .

[31]  Sridhar Narasimhan,et al.  Communication and Coordination in the Virtual Office , 1998, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[32]  J. Finegan,et al.  The impact of person and organizational values on organizational commitment. , 2000 .

[33]  E. Schein.  Career Dynamics: Matching Individual and Organizational Needs , 1978 .

[34]  C. Higgins,et al.  A Self-Efficacy Theory Explanation for the Management of Remote Workers in Virtual Organizations , 1999 .

[35]  C. Cooper,et al.  International review of industrial and organizational psychology , 1986 .

[36]  Toby D. Wall,et al.  Job and work design. , 1987 .

[37]  David A. Nadler,et al.  A model for diagnosing organizational behavior , 1980 .

[38]  W. Schutz.  The Interpersonal Underworld , 1966 .