Developing (tele)work? A multi-level sociotechnical perspective of telework in Ireland

Mike Hynes

Research in Transportation Economics, 2016, vol. 57, issue C, 21-31

Abstract: The ubiquitous nature and use of technology in contemporary societies continues to transform lives and work environments. At the same time, transport continues to be a major source of harmful emissions. Telework has been suggested as a means to reduce unnecessary work-related travel, including the daily commute. Telework occurs when Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) are applied to enable work be accomplished at a distance from the location where results are needed. However, despite its promising nature and early optimist predictions, telework has largely failed to capture management and workers' attention and imagination. Using a multi-level perspective (MLP) on sociotechnical transitions approach, this study reveals why telework continues to remain a ‘niche’ practice dominated by a small set of industries, managers and workers. The paper builds on MLP thinking with a view to highlighting behavioural, cultural, and political aspects of socio-technical transitions and their interactions, which are frequently limited in classical MLP thinking. The failure to enrol additional niche-actors, the dominance of traditional forms of working and automobility, and the absence of policy and lack of legitimacy, all act negatively to keep telework from emerging from the niche to the regime level and becoming established as a more mainstream practice.

Keywords: Telework; Multi-level perspective; Sociotechnical transitions; Ireland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0739885915301311
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

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:eee:retrec:v:57:y:2016:i:c:p:21-31

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/regional
https://shop.elsevie ... _01_ooc_2&version=01

DOI: 10.1016/j.retrec.2016.06.008

Access Statistics for this article

Research in Transportation Economics is currently edited by M. Dresner

More articles in Research in Transportation Economics from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().