Soga, Lebene Richmond;
Bolade-Ogunfodun, Yemisi;
De Amicis, Anna;
(2024)
Exploring flexible working practices and the digital divide in a post-lockdown era.
European Journal of Management and Business Economics
10.1108/EJMBE-08-2023-0247.
(In press).
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Abstract
Purpose: This paper explores flexible working practices (FWPs) and takes a critical view that argues a need to consider not only access to digital technological resources but also the vast array of factors that constrain one’s ability to use technology for its intended benefits, as constituting the digital divide post-COVID-19 lockdown. // Design/methodology/approach: Using a critical evaluation of the extant literature, we engage in a conceptual undertaking to develop theoretical propositions that form the basis for future empirical undertakings. To theoretically ground the arguments raised, we deploy the ontological lens of actor-network theory to illuminate the socio-technical dimensions of the digital divide in light of FWPs. // Findings: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to adopt socially distanced work practices has become a reality for many organisations. We find that the adoption of FWPs, enabled by digital technologies, simultaneously signals hidden inequalities. We also develop a conceptual framework which depicts user responses in different technology environments that can either be limiting or enabling for individuals’ work productivity. // Originality/value: With regards to the digital divide, attention has often focused on access to digital technologies, as the term “digital divide” portrays. The implication is that the array of factors and resources that individuals are heterogeneously networked to, which also constitute the digital divide, is often taken for granted. We take a different ontological view that brings to the fore other factors at play within an individual’s network of relations.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Exploring flexible working practices and the digital divide in a post-lockdown era |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1108/EJMBE-08-2023-0247 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ejmbe-08-2023-0247 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © Lebene Richmond Soga, Yemisi Bolade-Ogunfodun and Anna De Amicis. Published in European Journal of Management and Business Economics. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode. |
| Keywords: | Flexible working, Remote work, Digital divide, Lockdown, COVID-19, Technology environment |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10188970 |
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