Soga, Lebene; Bolade-Ogun odun, Yemisi; de Amicis, Anna
A icle
Explo ing lexible wo king p ac ices and he digi al di ide
in a pos -lockdown e a
Eu opean Jou nal o Managemen and Business Economics (EJM&BE)
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Eu opean Academy o Managemen and Business Economics (AEDEM), Vigo (Pon e ed a)
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Soga, Lebene; Bolade-Ogun odun, Yemisi; de Amicis, Anna (2024) : Explo ing
lexible wo king p ac ices and he digi al di ide in a pos -lockdown e a, Eu opean Jou nal o
Managemen and Business Economics (EJM&BE), ISSN 2444-8451, Eme ald, Leeds, Vol. 33, Iss. 4, pp.
445-465,
h ps://doi.o g/10.1108/EJMBE-08-2023-0247
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Explo ing lexible wo king
p ac ices and he digi al di ide
in a pos -lockdown e a
Lebene Richmond Soga
Leeds Business School, Leeds Becke Uni e si y, Leeds, UK
Yemisi Bolade-Ogun odun
UCL Global Business School o Heal h, London, UK, and
Anna De Amicis
Henley Business School, Uni e si y o Reading, Whi eknigh s, Reading, UK
Abs ac
Pu pose –This pape explo es lexible wo king p ac ices (FWPs) and akes a c i ical iew ha a gues a need o
conside no only access o digi al echnological esou ces bu also he as a ay o ac o s ha cons ain one’s
abili y o use echnology o i s in ended bene i s, as cons i u ing he digi al di ide pos -COVID-19 lockdown.
Design/me hodology/app oach –Using a c i ical e alua ion o he ex an li e a u e, we engage in a
concep ual unde aking o de elop heo e ical p oposi ions ha o m he basis o u u e empi ical
unde akings. To heo e ically g ound he a gumen s aised, we deploy he on ological lens o ac o -ne wo k
heo y o illumina e he socio- echnical dimensions o he digi al di ide in ligh o FWPs.
Findings –Since he COVID-19 pandemic, he need o adop socially dis anced wo k p ac ices has become a
eali y o many o ganisa ions. We ind ha he adop ion o FWPs, enabled by digi al echnologies, simul aneously
signals hidden inequali ies. We also de elop a concep ual amewo k which depic s use esponses in di e en
echnology en i onmen s ha can ei he be limi ing o enabling o indi iduals’wo k p oduc i i y.
O iginali y/ alue –Wi h ega ds o he digi al di ide, a en ion has o en ocused on access o digi al
echnologies, as he e m “digi al di ide”po ays. The implica ion is ha he a ay o ac o s and esou ces
ha indi iduals a e he e ogeneously ne wo ked o, which also cons i u e he digi al di ide, is o en aken o
g an ed. We ake a di e en on ological iew ha b ings o he o e o he ac o s a play wi hin an indi idual’s
ne wo k o ela ions.
Keywo ds Flexible wo king, Remo e wo k, Digi al di ide, Lockdown, COVID-19, Technology en i onmen
Pape ype Concep ual pape
1. In oduc ion
Flexible wo king p ac ice (FWP) conno es a way o wo king ha is unimpeded by ixed ime
schedules, spa ial bounda ies and con ac ual limi a ions (G oen e al., 2018;Soga e al., 2022).
I has been s udied in a ious ways including i s ela ionships wi h o ganisa ional a ac ion
(Yu e al., 2019), o ganisa ional ou comes (Ma uyama and Tie ze, 2012), he s a egic mo i es
o employe s (Alwa d and Phelps, 2019;Raghu am, 2014), ela ionships wi h na ional
cul u al alues (Vallicelli, 2018) and social pe cep ions (G oen e al., 2018) among o he s. In
ecen yea s, especially as a esul o he COVID-19 pandemic and i s social dis ancing
impe a i es, FWP has gained e en mo e a en ion in schola ly li e a u e as i s
FWPs and he
digi al di ide in
pos -lockdown
445
© Lebene Richmond Soga, Yemisi Bolade-Ogun odun and Anna De Amicis. Published in Eu opean
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This pape o ms pa o a special sec ion “Inno a ion, Knowledge, and Digi aliza ion: Building
T us o Face Today’s Challenges”, gues edi ed by Alba Yela A
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The cu en issue and ull ex a chi e o his jou nal is a ailable on Eme ald Insigh a :
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Recei ed 3 Augus 2023
Re ised 14 Sep embe 2023
30 Oc obe 2023
20 Decembe 2023
Accep ed 21 Decembe 2023
Eu opean Jou nal o Managemen
and Business Economics
Vol. 33 No. 4, 2024
pp. 445-465
Eme ald Publishing Limi ed
e-ISSN: 2444-8494
p-ISSN: 2444-8451
DOI 10.1108/EJMBE-08-2023-0247
implemen a ion gained ac ion in con empo a y o ganisa ions (Chadee e al.,2021;
Fu ma
nczyk and Ka
zmie czyk, 2020). This is coupled wi h he ac ha he e is a no able
ise in he adop ion o digi al echnologies ha suppo FWP, wi h esea ch es ima ing a
$50.7 billion indus y by 2025 (Ku zman, 2021).
Howe e , his inc eased ocus on digi al echnology adop ion o FWP has inad e en ly
masked a da k side: ha is, he digi al di ide, which desc ibes he in as uc u al and
echnological gaps obse ed ac oss he globe whe e some geopoli ical zones a e associa ed
wi h g ea e echnological access han o he s (Chen and Wellman, 2004). Recen esea ch on
he impac o emo e wo king on employees signals ha his digi al di ide is masked wi hin
o ganisa ions (Kuc-Cza necka, 2020). The e is he e o e a need o expand i s unde s anding in
e ms o in a-o ganisa ional in as uc u al gaps which p edispose some employees o
g ea e p oduc i i y han o he s. Such inequali ies po en ially a ec he abili y o bo h
wo ke s and o ganisa ions o add ess inhe en p oduc i i y challenges.
The challenges acing emo e wo king a angemen s a e la gely associa ed wi h he
deploymen o digi al echnologies (Sol
ıs, 2017), and au ho s a gue a ious pi alls including
social isola ion (Mulki and Ja amillo, 2011), exclusion (Soga e al., 2020), lack o eam cohesion
( an de Lippe and Lippenyi, 2020), blu ing o wo k and amily li e (Como e al., 2020) and
o he unin ended consequences e e ed o as “ he o he ace”o FWP (Soga e al., 2022).
Howe e , we obse e a dea h o s udies ha d aw a en ion o he inequali ies posed by he
digi al di ide as o ganisa ions widely adop digi al echnologies o FWP, especially du ing
and a e he COVID-19 pandemic (Fu ma
nczyk and Ka
zmie czyk, 2020). Go e nmen -
en o ced lockdowns and o he social dis ancing measu es unde pinned his shi o emo e
wo king and he consequen inc ease in he use o collabo a i e echnologies.
E iden ly, ubiqui ous digi al echnologies o o ganisa ional p ac ices make he shi o
lexible wo king a angemen s necessa y (Hi sch-K einsen, 2016), bu g ow h in he ma ke
o communica ion and collabo a ion echnologies by nea ly 25% in 2020 alone (In e na ional
Da a Co po a ion, 2021) also deepens he digi al di ide. The ampli ica ion o he bene i s o
FWPs o he mode n wo k o ce unin en ionally silences he challenges o hose on he
disad an aged side o he digi al di ide (Dwi edi e al., 2016;Ashman e al., 2022). The
esul an e ec is ha he challenges posed o FWP as a esul o he digi al di ide du ing
and pos -COVID-19 lockdown e a emain hidden and unde heo ised. This is pa icula ly he
case when i comes o indi idual esponses o he downsides o FWP, a gap in he li e a u e
we seek o add ess in his pape . We he e o e ake a c i ical iew o he implica ions o FWPs
o he digi al di ide and ice e sa, du ing and a e he COVID-19 lockdown e a.
Ou inqui y is d i en by he ollowing esea ch ques ion:
RQ1. Wha a e indi idual-le el esponses o FWP in he con ex o he digi al di ide
du ing he COVID-19 pos -lockdown e a?
As ou con ibu ion, we p opose a model ha a gues a ious esponse mechanisms by
indi iduals ha a e a ec ed by he digi al di ide. We conside ac o s ha in e ac wi h he use
o a ailable echnologies as also con ibu ing o he digi al di ide. Addi ionally, wi h esea ch
on he impac o he COVID-19 pandemic s ill a i s nascen s age, we deploy ou unde s anding
o he s udies published du ing his pe iod o de elop p oposi ions ha con ibu e o ongoing
deba es in he ield ega ding FWP and he digi al di ide, and also open up a eas o u u e
esea ch. We begin by explo ing he concep o FWP in he COVID-19 lockdown e a o lay ou
he b oade ield wi h espec o he digi al di ide. To g ound ou a gumen s wi hin a
heo e ical amewo k, we d aw on he philosophical asse ions o ac o -ne wo k heo y (ANT),
which emb aces he agency o echnological a e ac s in human sociali y. We hen discuss he
digi al di ide wi hin he con ex o FWP in a pos -lockdown e a while aising heo e ical and
p ac ical implica ions. We discuss he implica ions hese hold o wo king lexibly in he digi al
di ide and aise p oposi ions ha open up a enues o u u e esea ch.
EJMBE
33,4
446
2. FWP in he COVID-19 lockdown e a
FWPs occu in a ious o ms in he li e a u e wi h e ms such as emo e wo k, i ual wo k,
elewo k, on-demand wo k, on-call wo k, lexiwo k and eelancing used o desc ibe his
wo king model (Ma ica, 2019;Tudy, 2021). Al hough hese e minologies ca y nuances in
how FWP is concep ualised, he common denomina o is he idea ha hese wo king
a angemen s do no ely on ixed employe con ac ual documen s ha spell ou wo k
pa e ns (Choi, 2018). Ano he commonali y is he dimension o spa ial and ime lexibili y
FWP a o ds o which se e al bene i s a e a gued. Fo example, pa en s wo king emo ely
a e mo e able o a end o childca e needs (Genadek and Hill, 2017), wo k a el imes a e
educed (Hopkins and McKay, 2019), o ganisa ions a e able o sa e on ene gy and o he
u ili y bills as a esul o ewe use o he o ice space (Richa dson and McKenna, 2014) and
mo e adically edundan o ice space is a ailable o be epu posed o o he uses in e alia.
Howe e , he manda o y lockdown pe iod necessi a ed by he COVID-19 pandemic
exposed hidden pi alls as mos o ganisa ions adop ed he p ac ice (Ma li, 2020;Adisa e al.,
2022). Fo example, Como e al. (2020) show ha 38% o jobs in Canada ha we e be o e done
onsi e could now be done emo ely, wi h simila s a is ics epo ed o he Uni ed S a es. Wi h
o ice spaces closed and wo ke s now ha ing o depend on digi al echnologies and
associa ed echnological de ices o wo k, s udies show ha imbalanced home/wo k
unc ions and echnological dependence eme ge as po en ial pi alls o wo ke s (Genadek
and Hill, 2017;Pascucci e al., 2022). Job demands, coupled wi h he s esses o he pandemic,
ha e esul ed in amily con lic s, pa icula ly o wo king pa en s (Bolade-Ogun odun e al.,
2022). These amily p essu es we e shown o be p onounced o hose who needed o o e
suppo o hei child en who we e also now ully lea ning om home (Kuc-Cza necka, 2020).
Addi ionally, a wo king a angemen epi omised as “ lexible”dec eased he p ac ice o
lexibili y in a con ex o manda o y implemen a ion, since i co-occu ed wi h he absence o
p ac ical and emo ional suppo se ices, such as childca e o “ ace- o- ace”social ga he ings
(Adisa e al., 2022).
Addi ionally, FWP du ing he lockdown e a seemed o ha e downsides o a gende ed
na u e, wi h women bea ing he b un . This is because o he “ adi ional”gende oles and
expec a ions which place addi ional p essu es on emale employees (Bolade-Ogun odun e al.,
2022). Achie ing a “wo k-li e balance”appea s o be an impossible ask o women as he
combina ion o home commi men s and emo e wo k p essu es o en leads o bu nou ,
anxie y and o he heal h challenges (Peasley e al., 2020). These ha m ul e ec s ela e o he
blu ing o wo k ime and home ime as ex a wo k e o s spill in o domes ic ac i i ies. The
gende ed na u e o hese e ec s is also obse ed in si ua ions whe e wo king mo he s ecei e
wage penal ies o un a ou able e alua ions abou hei commi men o wo k whe e hey a e
unable o pu in ex a hou s in o hei day jobs (Collins e al., 2021).
Empi ical s udies ha explo e FWP in he COVID-19 e a also iden i y some gende ed
issues including pa ia chal cul u es a he wo kplace a ec ing emale elewo ke s (G
al ez
e al., 2021), employee heal h challenges (Johnson e al., 2020) and manage ial issues such as
emo e leade ship ensions wi h employees (Toleikien_
ee al., 2020). We o e a summa y o
hese key issues in he COVID-19 p e-/pos -lockdown pe iod in Table 1 based on he ele ance
o hei empi ical indings ha speak o he a gumen s aised in his pape .
Fu he mo e, FWPs du ing he lockdown pe iod showed he impo ance o he o en
aken- o -g an ed digi al echnologies ha wo ke s deploy o hei daily asks, bu also
e ealed a da k side o o ganisa ional digi isa ion (T i in-Ulb ich e al., 2021) and
echnological dependence (San-Ma in and Jim
enez, 2023). In his ega d, s udies
conduc ed du ing he lockdown pe iods ha e no only examined how digi al echnologies
impac emo e wo k (see Toleikien_
ee al., 2020), bu also how his dependence on digi al
echnology impac s wo ke heal h (Johnson e al., 2020), wo ke dispe sion (Ruille e al., 2019)
and, mo e impo an ly, digi al inequali ies and dep i a ion (Kuc-Cza necka, 2020).
FWPs and he
digi al di ide in
pos -lockdown
447
This dominance o digi al echnology in he li es o wo ke s du ing he lockdown aises
conce ns abou echnos ess (Benne e al., 2021) bu also ha indi iduals isk unheal hy and
de imen al a achmen s o echnology (Chadee e al., 2021;Rohwe e al., 2022). A he
o ganisa ional le el, he conce ns aised ha e la gely been abou he di icul y o managing
wo ke s ac oss di e en geog aphic and ime zones (A oles e al., 2022). A he indi idual
le el, he e a e also isks o exclusion, isola ion, su eillance, sel -censo ship and, ul ima ely,
unemploymen due o lack o echnological know-how and he digi al di ide (Soga e al.,
2021a,b), all o which, we a gue, e lec an on ological eali y.
Au ho s Yea Pape i le Recognised issues
Loca ion o
s udy
Johnson A., Dey S.,
Nguyen H., G o h M.,
Joyce S., Tan L., Glozie
N., Ha ey S.B.
2020 A e iew and agenda o
examining how echnology-
d i en changes a wo k will
impac wo kplace men al
heal h and employee well-
being
Men al heal h a ec ed
by echnology use
Aus alia
Bhumika B 2020 Challenges o wo k–li e
balance du ing COVID-19
induced na ionwide
lockdown: explo ing gende
di e ence in emo ional
exhaus ion in he Indian
se ing
Gende di e ences in
emo ional exhaus ion
India
El e ing, A; Igic, I;
K i ze , R; Semme , NK
2020 Commu ing as a wo k- ela ed
demand: E ec s on wo k- o-
amily con lic , a ec i e
commi men , and in en ion o
qui
Tempo ospa ial
p essu es
Swi ze land
Kuc-Cza necka, M 2020 COVID-19 and digi al
dep i a ion in Poland
E-exclusion; digi al
inequali ies
Poland
Toleikiene, R;
Rybniko a, I;
Jukne iciene, V
2020 Whe he and how does he
C isis-Induced Si ua ion
Change e-Leade ship in The
Public Sec o ? E idence F om
Li huanian Public
Adminis a ion
E-leade ship and
ensions wi h employees
Li huania
Bohman, H; Ryan, J;
S je nbo g, V; Nilsson, D
2021 A s udy o changes in
e e yday mobili y du ing he
Co id-19 pandemic: As
pe cei ed by people li ing in
Malmo, Sweden
Changes in mobili y Sweden
Gal ez, A; Ti ado, F;
Alca az, JM
2021 Resis ing Pa ia chal
Cul u es: The Case o Female
Spanish Home-Based
Telewo ke s
Resis ance by emale
elewo ke s
Spain
Tudy, RA 2021 F om he co po a e wo ld o
eelancing: he phenomenon
o wo king om home in he
Philippines
T ans o ma ion o wo k
in o eelancing
Philippines
Mangla, N 2021 Wo king in a pandemic and
pos -pandemic pe iod –
Cul u al in elligence is he key
Dis up ed
communica ion o
i ual eams in pos -
COVID-19 pe iod
US
Sou ce(s): Table by au ho s
Table 1.
Eme ging esea ch o
p e-/pos -COVID-19
ela ed issues
EJMBE
33,4
448
2.1 Ac o -ne wo k heo e ical aming
The ANT challenges he concep o agency in sociology in ways ha adically conside
objec s (including echnological applica ions) as ha ing he abili y o ac on humans (La ou ,
2005;Law, 1992). To “ac ”in his sense is o ac wi h o wi hou in en ionali y. In ac , he
de ini ion o agency om an ANT pe spec i e is “ he abili y o ac and elici a esponse ei he
wi h inhe en in en ionali y in he case o a human agen , o (un)p og ammed in en ionali y in
he case o a designed a e ac ”(Soga e al., 2020, p. 646). This ANT asse ion has implica ions
o wha he na u e o human sociali y is. This is because i b ings objec s in o he space o he
social (La ou , 2005). In his sense, digi al echnologies ha a e deployed o wo k a e
conside ed as being able o ac on hose ha use hem. The unde pinning on ological iew is
ha echnologies, ex s, “ hings”and so o h a e all cons i uen s o he social and a e pa o a
he e ogeneous ne wo k o ela ions (La ou , 1992,2005).
The idea o he e ogenei y he e is in e e ence o humans and non-humans, bo h o which
mus be ea ed equally (me hodologically) in ANT’s p inciple o gene alised symme y
(Callon, 1986); ha is, he same desc ip i e o explana o y amewo ks mus be applied o
bo h human and non-humans in he he e ogeneous ne wo k. F om ha ANT pe spec i e,
FWPs a e cons i u i e o he humans in ol ed and he e y digi al echnologies hey deploy.
The wo en i ies a e ela ionally connec ed in ways ha gi e hem hei on ological s a us,
such ha he e is no FWP wi hou he echnologies used o make i a p ac ice (Yu e al., 2019).
These ANT-inspi ed asse ions colou ou lens as we de elop p oposi ions in his pape . The
insigh s help us explo e wha is o en aken o g an ed, which in his pape , we a gue, a e he
hidden aspec s o he digi al di ide in ela ion o FWP.
3. De eloping concep ual p oposi ions
We engage in a concep ual unde aking ha de elops heo e ical p oposi ions based on an in-
dep h and c i ical e iew o he ex an li e a u e. This ollowed ou sys ema ic li e a u e
e iew (see Soga e al., 2022) published in Jou nal o Business Resea ch. We choose his
app oach o u he deepen ou insigh s om he sys ema ic e iew whose aim was o
o ganise he li e a u e. Whe eas ou sys ema ic e iew unco e ed insigh s on he downsides
o FWP, i was limi ed in i s scope wi h espec o he digi al di ide. Addi ionally, i s gene al
ou look mean ha he “mic o-le el”indi idual esponses o he downsides o FWP in
ela ion o hei echnology en i onmen s could no be mo e deeply explo ed. This concep ual
unde aking was hus wa an ed o espond o he ob ious gaps we iden i ied. This is
pa icula ly necessa y as he COVID-19 pandemic p ecipi a ed a ious condi ions ha
a ec ed indi iduals’ echnology-media ed wo k p ac ices. We do so h ough a c i ical
e alua ion o he digi al di ide and FWP. This led o he aising o p oposi ions in he
li e a u e, which simul aneously p esen a enues o u u e empi ical unde aking.
The ea e , we explo e use esponses o echnology due o (a guably, in spi e o ) he
digi al di ide, a con ibu ion ha also suppo s ou a gumen s owa ds he e ec s o he
digi al di ide on a ious o ms o FWP.
3.1 The digi al di ide and FWP
The concep o he digi al di ide has o en been conside ed as a symp om o he gap be ween
he Global No h and he Global Sou h. The e is s ong e idence o his iew, as sa elli e
image y o global In e ne pene a ion shows some pa s o he wo ld as well-li ( ha is he
Global No h) and o he s as poo ly li o comple ely da k ( ep esen ing he Global Sou h).
Al hough he digi al di ide is adi ionally unde s ood o e e o (non-)access o echnological
de ices and hei co esponding applica ions, esea ch indings indica e he need o a
b oade concep ualisa ion ha includes he a ay o esou ces ha ei he enable o p e en
FWPs and he
digi al di ide in
pos -lockdown
449
indi iduals om using digi al echnology (Wa schaue , 2004;Ly h ea is e al., 2022). In o he
wo ds, he li e a u e’s na ow concep ualisa ion o he digi al di ide ails o ecognise he
my iad o enabling ac o s such as he echnological know-how, spa ial equi emen s, ime
and he lexibili y needed especially o hose in lexible wo king a angemen s. Acco dingly,
he concep o he digi al di ide goes beyond issues o “access”alone ha has plagued he
Global Sou h (Chen and Wellman, 2004).
A he o ganisa ional le el, he a gumen s o “access” o echnology do no seem o hold as
wo ke s a e gi en he ele an echnological esou ces o do hei jobs, al hough hese also
come wi h p i acy conce ns (Bha e e al., 2019). Howe e , a hidden dange lu ks in a-
o ganisa ionally, as he a ailabili y o echnological de ices o employees masks he digi al
di ide wi hin he o ganisa ion. The COVID-19 pandemic ep esen s a con ex which e eals,
we a gue, he hidden inequali ies in he digi al di ide. The shi o wo king om home
necessi a es he need o employe s o p o ide wo k ools and equipmen as well as upda ed
so wa e subsc ip ions and cybe secu i y p o ec ion o wo ke s. Howe e , i is silen on he
ac ha employees a e consequen ly saddled wi h di ec esponsibili y o p o iding
ongoing In e ne connec i i y o sus ain long hou s o wo king. Di e ences in employee
capabili ies wi h espec o p o iding such c i ical connec i i y implies ha we can expec
a ia ions in wo ke p oduc i i y (Pon ones-Rosa e al.,2021). As employees we e
geog aphically sca e ed as a esul o he wo k- om-home manda e ha he pandemic
necessi a ed, he a ailabili y o echnological de ices o employees did no necessa ily equa e
o echnological access ha ensu ed wo ke p oduc i i y. We a gue ha he a ay o o he
esou ces ha a e, in ANT e ms, he e ogeneously ne wo ked wi h he wo ke should also be
gi en conside a ion so as o close he gap.
The global digi al di ide is hus conside ed o also include h ee aspec s: geog aphic,
socioeconomic and use - ela ed ac o s (Chen and Wellman, 2004). The geog aphic digi al
di ide desc ibes he conside a ion gi en o wi hin-coun y loca ions whe e access o he
In e ne and o he echnological de ices a e limi ed in compa ison o o he loca ions. The
socioeconomic digi al di ide speaks o issues ega ding income inequali ies which c ea e
limi a ions o ad an ages o ce ain g oups o e o he s in ela ion o ha ing access o he
In e ne and associa ed echnologies. Use - ela ed ac o s ha e o do wi h a conside a ion o
he echnological know-how o li e acy ha enables one g oup o people o ha e access, while
o he s a e le ou (Chen and Wellman, 2004). These a gumen s challenge he con en ional
unde s anding o he digi al di ide in he li e a u e and unde pin ou call o b oadening he
ypical loca ion-speci ic concep ualisa ion. We a gue ha he idea o he digi al di ide occu s
no only ac oss he Global No h-Global Sou h dicho omy, bu also wi hin each con ex (Rico
and Cab e -Bo
as, 2019). Fo FWP du ing he COVID-19 lockdown e a, indi iduals we e
hus suscep ible o he digi al di ide, being geog aphically dispe sed and le o ca e o hei
digi al connec i i y needs (Ba sness e al., 2005). In o he wo ds, wo ke s who possess all he
needed esou ces o e ec i e emo e wo k a e hose who a e p i ileged, while o he s may be
unable o do so despi e ha ing company-owned equipmen o wo k ools, o example
lap ops. We he e o e p opose he ollowing:
P oposi ion 1. The success ul adop ion o FWP in o ganisa ions is de e mined by he
ex en o which he digi al di ide a he le el o indi iduals is esol ed.
3.2 Use esponses o digi al echnology due o he digi al di ide
In he con ex o emo e wo king and he digi al di ide, an analysis o wo k con ex s would
include no only echnology and i s a o dances bu also esou ces ha acili a e o impede
p oduc i i y as well as use esponses. Responses by indi iduals o echnological
deploymen s ake a ious o ms along se e al lines and a e d i en by a numbe o ac o s
(Choud ie and Zamani, 2016). Fa ou able esponses mani es in ea ly adop ion o
EJMBE
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echnologies and hei applica ion o wo k, which esul s in p oduc i i y, while o he use
esponses include esis ance o new wo k p ocesses and pla o ms (Beaud y and
Pinsonneaul , 2005;Bu chell, 2011), echnological dependence (Ma li, 2020), isola ion om
wo k colleagues (Mulki and Ja amillo, 2011), exclusion om wo k ac i i ies and sel -
censo ship (Soga e al., 2021a,b) among o he s.
F om an ANT pe spec i e, esponses o digi al echnologies a e as much abou wha he
echnology allows as i is abou o he ac o s o condi ions which con ibu e o ensu ing ha
he wo k is done (Beaud y and Pinsonneaul , 2005;Sun, 2012). Gi en ou concep ualisa ion o
he digi al di ide as also being abou he a ay o condi ions necessa y o wo k e ec i ely
in he digi al space, employees acing di icul ies wi h connec i i y o lacking in echnological
know-how ace a di e en se o challenges ha equi e pa icula esponses o echnology in
o de o ge wo k done (Shakina e al., 2021). Olson and Olson (2000) show how indi iduals a e
able o adap o weak echnology en i onmen s h ough beha iou modi ica ions as hey
engage wi h echnology. Fo example, in he case o elephone con e ences, an indi idual who
is commi ed o his/he collabo a i e ask may si o an hou on a weekly basis, shou ing
h ough mee ings as a esponse o he low olume o he oices om o he pa icipan s on he
o he end (see Olson and Olson, 2000, p. 154). The assump ion is ha di e en echnology
en i onmen s elici pa icula esponses om use s so ha expec ed ou comes a e achie ed
(Sun, 2012).
By “ echnology en i onmen ”, we mean he o ali y o echnological in as uc u e
including he social ac o s ha enable an indi idual o do hei job o which cons ain an
indi idual om (e ec i ely) doing hei job since hey a e in a he e ogeneous ne wo k.
Consequen ly, we concep ualise echnology en i onmen s as ei he enabling o limi ing.An
enabling echnology en i onmen is one in which he echnological in as uc u e and he
social ac o s su ounding he use o echnology allow he use o ealise he bene i s o
which he echnology was deployed. In his ligh , s udies iden i y di e ences in echnological
en i onmen s a indi idual, o ganisa ional and coun y le els which a ec access o and
abili y o adop deployed echnologies o wo k (Riggins and Dewan, 2005). These include
use access, use knowledge gaps, o ganisa ion size, digi isa ion capaci y, owne ship s a us,
indus y o coun y loca ion, socioeconomic ac o s o in as uc u e, echnological con ex
and so o h (Pillai e al., 2022). In o he wo ds, an enabling echnology en i onmen is one
ha is i o pu pose, and which allows he indi idual o ge hei job done i espec i e o a
“lockdown”scena io. Con e sely, a limi ing echnology en i onmen e e s o one in which
he echnological in as uc u e and he social ac o s su ounding he use o echnology
cons ain he use in ways ha inhibi he deli e y o he bene i s o which he echnology
was deployed. I is a echnology en i onmen ha is p esen bu no i o pu pose. Examples
may include low In e ne bandwid h p e en ing smoo h ideo online communica ion, limi ed
RAM o a lap op p e en ing he use o esou ce-hung y so wa e and spa ial limi a ions
p e en ing a wo k- om-home pa en om pa icipa ing in an online mee ing among o he
hings.
Whe eas some indi iduals may ope a e in adequa ely esou ced echnology en i onmen s
ha allow hem o e ec i ely wo k emo ely, o he s ac oss he digi al di ide po en ially ace
si ua ions in which hey wo k a ound he limi a ions o hei echnology en i onmen s o a e
cu o al oge he (Riggins and Dewan, 2005). In he case o he o me , he indi idual is highly
mo i a ed o ind a solu ion o challenges aced, while in ha o he la e , he indi idual is
ei he no mo i a ed o is limi ed by condi ions ou side hei con ol due o he weaknesses o
he echnology en i onmen (Beaud y and Pinsonneaul , 2005). In ANT e ms, a ious non-
human condi ions a e ac ing upon he indi idual. In o he wo ds, he echnology en i onmen
is exe cising agency o which he indi idual ei he has a s ong o a weak esponse. We hus
p opose he ollowing:
FWPs and he
digi al di ide in
pos -lockdown
451
P oposi ion 2. Use esponse o digi al echnology en i onmen s in FWP is de e mined
by he na u e o he echnology en i onmen (limi ing o enabling).
We a gue ha in FWP, use esponses o digi al echnology en i onmen s may p oduce ou
le els o engagemen wi h wo k (summa ised in Figu e 1). Whe eas some indi iduals migh
make some beha iou al adjus men s due o hei echnology en i onmen s (Olson and Olson,
2000;Soga e al., 2021a,b), we a gue ha o he s may ei he be disengaged o be limi ed in hei
le el o engagemen o commi men o he ask (Soga e al., 2020). Fi s , we concep ualise
beha iou al adjus men s whe e indi iduals ha e a s ong esponse o limi ing echnology
en i onmen s as adap i e engagemen . In o he wo ds, we p opound ha indi iduals
demons a ing s ong esponse a e hose ha adap o he cons aining ac o s o wo k
a ound hose ac o s o achie e hei wo k goals. The second le el o engagemen is shown in
he con e se whe e indi iduals make no beha iou al adjus men s o a e simply unable o do
so due o ac o s beyond hei con ol. We ca ego ise his as a weak esponse o he limi ing
echnology en i onmen whe e he indi idual is al oge he disengaged om he job. In he
hi d le el o engagemen , we do no assume ha an enabling echnology en i onmen
au oma ically p oduces s ong indi idual esponses o deli e s e ec i e wo k ou comes.
Ins ead, limi ed engagemen may occu e en in cases whe e he echnology en i onmen is an
– e + e
S ong use esponse
Disengaged
Engaged
Adap i e engagemen
Limi ed engagemen
Weak use esponse
Limi ing echnology en i onmen
Enabling echnology en i onmen
Use is ully engaged wi h he
echnology as designed, is highly
mo i a ed, possesses echnological
know-how, po en ially has s ong
use suppo
Use is engaged and commi ed o
he ask, possesses echnological
know-how, is highly mo i a ed o
he job, he job po en ially has
s ong demands
Use po en ially lacks
echnological know-how, is
unmo i a ed, lacks access o
a ious echnological ools o use
suppo , is limi ed by o he non-
con ol
Use lacks mo i a ion, po en ially
lacks echnological know-how,
may ha e weak use suppo
Digi al Di ide
Sou ce(s): Figu e by au ho s
Figu e 1.
Use esponses o
digi al echnology
en i onmen s in FWP
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Abou he au ho s
Lebene Richmond Soga is a p o esso o en ep eneu ship and managemen p ac ice a Leeds Business
School, Leeds Becke Uni e si y, UK. His esea ch explo es echnology-media ed manage ial p ac ices,
en ep eneu ship ecosys ems and leade ship. His esea ch seeks o p og ess he unde s anding o
a ious o ganisa ional challenges and he implica ions o new echnologies o managemen p ac ice.
His insigh s a e ea u ed in he Wall S ee Jou nal, Financial Times, Fo bes and so on. He has published
in leading jou nals including O ganiza ional Resea ch Me hods, Ha a d Business Re iew, MIT Sloan
Managemen Re iew, Eu opean Jou nal o Wo k and O ganiza ional Psychology, Jou nal o Business
Resea ch, Small Business Economics, In o ma ion Technology and People and so on. Lebene Richmond
Soga is he co esponding au ho and can be con ac ed a : [email p o ec ed]
D Yemisi Bolade-Ogun odun is an associa e p o esso in o ganiza ional beha iou a Global
Business School o Heal h, Uni e si y College London, UK. She equen s in e na ional esea ch
symposia – egula ly p esen ing he esea ch o academics and policymake s – o ad ance socie al
unde s anding o cul u al di e si y and echnology, pa icula ly in ela ion o alues ha unde pin wo k
p ac ices, such as p oduc i e job design. She has published seminal pape s in leading jou nals including
Ha a d Business Re iew, MIT Sloan Managemen Re iew, O ganiza ional Resea ch Me hods, Jou nal o
Business Resea ch, Jou nal o Human Beha iou in he Social En i onmen and so on.
D Anna De Amicis is an o ganisa ional psychologis wi h 17 yea s o expe ience, who in 2016
en e ed he wo ld o he c ea i e a s as a cu a o ial assis an a Reading In e na ional, pa o he
Reading School o A s (UK). She is a esea che and lec u e a Henley Business School, Uni e si y o
Reading (UK), whe e she in es iga es al e na i e o ms o o ganising wi h a ocus on p ac ices. He
esea ch in e es s include o ganisa ional aes he ics by he means o mundane ma e iali ies, he
emo ional dimension o c ea i e endea ou s ca ied by people, hings (including echnologies) and
con ex , and he p esence and alue o se endipi y du ing p ojec de elopmen s.
Fo ins uc ions on how o o de ep in s o his a icle, please isi ou websi e:
www.eme aldg ouppublishing.com/licensing/ ep in s.h m
O con ac us o u he de ails: [email p o ec ed]
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