Hyperloop transportation technologies: practices for open organizing across VUCA contexts

Terri L. Griffith (), Ann Majchrzak () and Luca Giustiniano ()
Additional contact information
Terri L. Griffith: Simon Fraser University
Ann Majchrzak: University of Southern California
Luca Giustiniano: Luiss University

Journal of Organization Design, 2023, vol. 12, issue 3, 99-120

Abstract: Abstract Open organizations are structures in which members of the public engage in work for the organization. Examples include open-source software, Amnesty International, Wikipedia, and Lego communities. Much research focuses on structural design characteristics of open organizations, such as pre-specified task divisions and integration teams. These practices require the organization to a priori structure in response to its mission. Increasingly, however, open organizations like CrowdDoing and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT) require public involvement across volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous (VUCA) contexts. These open organizations must respond to changing political, competitive, and socio-economic events. Structural clarity is more difficult, and contributors may participate in the creative development of new technologies, new policies, and new sources of funding. Working from practices supporting participant engagement in more stable environments, we qualitatively observe HyperloopTT to understand internal practices for open organizing in more VUCA contexts. We observe four practices allowing for the flexibility, versatility, and accommodations needed for open organizing in such settings. The HyperloopTT practices allow more porosity and self-determination—not simply in how people divide and integrate tasks, but also in the exploration and experimentation of the work itself. More than task workers, we see a new class of open organizing participants: creative work designers.

Keywords: Open organizing; Self-organizing; Open innovation; VUCA; Work design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s41469-023-00141-1 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:jorgde:v:12:y:2023:i:3:d:10.1007_s41469-023-00141-1

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/journal/41469

DOI: 10.1007/s41469-023-00141-1

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Organization Design is currently edited by Børge Obel and Charles C. Snow

More articles in Journal of Organization Design from Springer, Organizational Design Community
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().