<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<sec>
<h3>Purpose</h3>
<p>The purpose of this paper is to identify reasons for punishing employees, prevalent types of punishment, consequences of punishment, and the factors that determine whether employees are punished for the poor quality of products and services.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Design/methodology/approach</h3>
<p>The main research method was a diagnostic survey using a questionnaire technique. A personal interview was a complementary method aimed at providing additional data and broaden the extent of research findings.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Findings</h3>
<p>The conducted research shows that employees are punished mainly when some irregularities occur and are detected (someone does not respect the procedures and standards in force in a given organization). Penalties provided for in-work discipline systems are rarely used. They are supplemented by various informal punishments. As a consequence of penalties received, employees feel injustice, a lack of motivation to work, a lack of satisfaction, and an unwillingness to propose improvement actions.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Originality/value</h3>
<p>The factors influencing punishment include the ability to set a quality criterion for a job appraisal, the presence of a quality criterion in a remuneration system, as well as the results of quality audits. The narrow spatial and temporal scope of the conducted research should be considered as its main limitation. The research was of a partial character, so its representativeness is rather limited. The interpretation of data obtained through interviews depends on their structure, the knowledge and skills of interviewees, and their ability to avoid bias.</p>
</sec>
</abstract>

Punishment of employees – its causes, types, and consequences, as well as factors determining punishment for poor quality

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<sec>
<h3>Background</h3>
<p>The global work landscape has undergone a significant transformation in the aftermath of the pandemic in 2019, resulting in the widespread adoption of remote working or working from home (WFH) practices. This paradigm shift has necessitated the adaptation of business strategies and the implementation of novel remote work policies by human resources (HR) and management departments within technology companies. Nevertheless, this rapid transition in the work model has introduced a range of benefits and drawbacks that warrant careful examination in terms of their impact on efficiency, challenges, recruitment processes, training, and psychological well-being.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Research aims</h3>
<p>The primary objective of this study is to investigate and comprehend the impact of remote work applications within technology companies, specifically focusing on the changes experienced by management departments, challenges, recruitment practices, communication and engagement strategies, performance evaluation methods, and training programs.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Methodology</h3>
<p>The study sample comprised of nine executives/managers who were currently employed in five distinct multinational technology companies. The research approach employed was qualitative in nature, utilizing a combination of interview, document review, and observation techniques.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Findings</h3>
<p>The findings reveal varied impacts of remote work on organizational functioning in technology companies. Challenges in functions, responsibilities, and employee engagement were observed. Online evaluation systems and meetings were commonly adopted. The research supports the hypothesis and emphasizes the need for adaptation and tailored approaches in remote work environments.</p>
</sec>
</abstract>

Exploring the Remote Work Revolution: A Managerial View of the Tech Sector’s Response to the New Normal

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<sec>
<h3>Purpose</h3>
<p>This paper focuses on social (informal, interpersonal) relationships and identifies their positive effects on business activity in – a rarely empirically analyzed – the video game industry.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Methodology</h3>
<p>Given the lack of previous research on the positive business effects of social relationships in the chosen empirical context, qualitative and explorative research was conducted. To address the research goals, seventeen semi-structured in-depth interviews and one focus group interview with six video game developers were carried out. The interviews were analyzed using inductive coding procedure.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Findings</h3>
<p>The key contributions are as follows: (1) specific industry characteristics determine the relevance of social relationships for business activity; (2) among the key actors maintaining such relationships are: consumers (i.e., gamers), business partners (investors, contractors, and co-operators), employees (past and current), and competitors; (3) industry-specific social relationships benefits are identified by comparing them with the general social relationships benefits indicated in the literature, detailing them in the chosen empirical context, and addressing the type of actors with which social links are exploited.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Practical implications</h3>
<p>Game developers can realize with whom to maintain social relations within video game industry to generate particular business benefits, for example, better promotion and higher game sales, building a proper firm’s image.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Originality</h3>
<p>The identification of actors of social relationships diverse in terms of establishing and intentional usage of social relationships, the recognition of the specific business-related benefits of maintaining social relationships by video game developers, and providing empirical evidence of the industry-wide determinants of the benefits of maintaining social relationships.</p>
</sec>
</abstract>

Playing with social relationships. Their role among actors in the video game industry

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<sec>
<h3>Purpose</h3>
<p>Markets are sites of collaboration as well as contestation between their various actors, including firms and consumers. In this respect, a narrative that consumers are more empowered than ever has been in vogue. Drawing from Kafka’s literature and philosophy and the paradigm of critical marketing, this paper argues for a broadened perspective.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Design/methodology/approach</h3>
<p>Using a selective and exploratory-review approach, six dimensions of the state of today’s consumer emerge. These are subsequently assessed and developed as manifestations challenging the empowerment thesis.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Findings</h3>
<p>The depiction of intense subjugation in Kafka’s fiction and the lack of agency his characters portray furnish narrative frames to view the paradoxical state of contemporary consumption. Specifically, consumer choice and sovereignty, service failures and recoveries, privacy concerns, the capitalist nexus, transformation in service provisioning modes, and frontline employees’ lowered stakes comprise six analytical frames of consumers’ lives that depict their paradoxical simultaneity of empowerment and entrapment.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Originality/value</h3>
<p>The work contributes to critical marketing theory in particular and critical philosophy in general. Specifically, the proposed framework of consumption challenges depicted herein can serve as a mid-range theoretical taxonomy. The exemplar states highlighted reveal managerial and policy challenges.</p>
</sec>
</abstract>

Contemporary challenges of consumption: a Kafkaesque and critical marketing perspective

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<sec>
<h3>Purpose</h3>
<p>The purpose of the article is an attempt to fill a research gap in the field of issues re-lated to innovation projects and, in particular, to identify the types of risks associated with their implementation in organizations.</p>
<p>Current identification and monitoring of the level of occurrence of various types of risk in in-novative projects is a key task for project managers in order to make effective decisions on how to eliminate or reduce them.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Design/methodology/approach</h3>
<p>The empirical verification is based on the methodology of our own research. The study developed and used a questionnaire for owners and managers imple-menting innovative projects.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Findings</h3>
<p>This research, and the results we obtained, make it possible to answer how innovation projects are treated in organizations, what the dynamics of the implementing various types of innovation projects in recent years has been, and the level at which various types of risk in in-novation projects have been assessed and identified.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Practical implications</h3>
<p>The literature review and research results show that the issue of risk in innovation projects is timely and important for many organizations, even more so for project managers looking for effective methods of identifying and managing it. Identifying the level of risk is crucial for the success of innovation projects because it reduces the negative impact of risk factors on a project’s timeliness and budget, as well as its economic and technical-technological effects. The authors emphasize that it will be worth continuing the undertaken research and work towards identifying and evaluating all components of risk management sys-tems. Proper identification of risks in projects, and understanding their nature, is a kind of guar-antee of security for the organization implementing them.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Originality/value</h3>
<p>For the purpose of carrying out this empirical research, we adopted our own classification system of the types of risk associated with various innovation projects undertaken by organizations. Risk categories should be well-defined, corresponding to typical sources of risks for a type of innovation project in a given industry and the specificity of company’s activity. The types of risk most frequently named by respondents across six types of projects were time, personnel and cost.</p>
</sec>
</abstract>

Identification of risk types in innovation projects

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<sec>
<h3>Purpose</h3>
<p>This article aims to present the results of original empirical research on the diagnosis of factors predicting employee trust in managers in - Small and Medium Enterprises organizations undergoing the process of digitization. The concepts of digitization and trust are both defined and several determinants of trust in managers are established.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Design/methodology/approach</h3>
<p>The research methods used were a study of existing literature, as well as empirical research using quantitative methods, conducted using a questionnaire developed by the authors.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Findings</h3>
<p>The collected factual material indicates that the size of an organization is a variable affecting the level of trust between employees and managers in SME-sector organizations undergoing the process of digitization, and also affects which indicators of trust are professed by employees.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Practical implications</h3>
<p>The conducted research identified leading determinants of trust in managers in SME-sector organizations undergoing digitization. This article contributes to reducing a theoretical knowledge gap in the discussed area, while also indicating tools for optimizing the effectiveness of the human capital management process in a world dominated by modern technologies.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Originality/value</h3>
<p>Employees are a key element of modern organizations, and their success depends on the effectiveness of digital change management. Working in an environment based on trust has a positive effect on employees and thus determines the success of the entire organization. This article fills a research gap regarding the role of trust in relationship between employees and their superiors.</p>
</sec>
</abstract>

Trust in managers in SME organizations undergoing digitization

AHEAD OF PRINT

Volume 60 (2024): Issue 1 (March 2024)

Volume 59 (2023): Issue 4 (December 2023)

Volume 59 (2023): Issue 3 (September 2023)

Volume 59 (2023): Issue 2 (June 2023)

Volume 59 (2023): Issue 1 (March 2023)

Volume 58 (2022): Issue 4 (December 2022)

Volume 58 (2022): Issue 3 (September 2022)

Volume 58 (2022): Issue 2 (June 2022)

Volume 58 (2022): Issue 1 (March 2022)

Volume 57 (2021): Issue 4 (December 2021)

Volume 57 (2021): Issue 3 (September 2021)

Volume 57 (2021): Issue 2 (June 2021)

Volume 57 (2021): Issue 1 (March 2021)

International Journal of Contemporary Management

 The International Journal of Contemporary Management (IJCM) aims to contribute to the development of research, new insights and the challenges to current thinking around the field of contemporary management. IJCM publishes empirical research, conceptual and thought pieces from both researchers and practitioners that focus on the subject of contemporary management across national boundaries and diverse cultures. The aim of IJCM is to provide up-to-date information on new developments and trends within contemporary management, and to enable a community of researchers and practitioners to exchange their diversity and inclusion ideas, develop and contribute to current research agendas and to progress the development of both the theoretically and practical notions of contemporary management within various emerging, and non-maintained contexts. This is an open, multidisciplinary forum welcoming articles that cross discipline boundaries and/or address contemporary management.　  IJCM invites conceptual papers alongside empirical research irrespective of whether a qualitative or quantitative approach is used. However, it is key to the ethos of the journal that all manuscripts include some organizational aspect to "management". 　  Subject areas include, but are not limited to:　   management: managers, leadership, and managing　  values, attitudes, emotions, the culture of the contemporary manager　  the environment of contemporary management　  ethics of contemporary management　  managing in the global environment　  decision making, planning, strategy, learning, creativity, entrepreneurship　  organizational control, change, motivation performance 　  managing critical organizational processes　  promoting effective communication　  advanced information technology within contemporary management.   Publication of a paper is free for authors. The journal has been published continuously since 2002. Archival issues available here: www.ejournals.eu/ijcm.   Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 