Deutsche Unternehmen sind seit Beginn der 2000er Jahre mit zwei entscheidenden technischen Veränderungen konfrontiert: Web 2.0 und Internet der Dinge. Die zunehmende Nutzung mobiler Endgeräte wie Smartphones und Tablet Computer sowie der Einsatz von Social Media im Unternehmensumfeld steigt stetig an (ACC1, BIT2). Aus diesen beiden Entwicklungen ergibt sich neben neuen technischen Möglichkeiten, auch ein Verhaltenswechsel der Mitarbeiter. Durch die verstärkte Anwendung von Social Media-Technologien innerhalb der Unternehmen werden die Mitarbeiter und ihre Vorgesetzten vor neue Herausforderungen gestellt.

Industry 4.0 is a new generation of manufacturing based on robotics, automation and new trends in ICT. It was for the first time introduced at the Hannover Fair in 2011 and has been part of the European, German and Czech discourse since then. This Master thesis deals with the topic of Industry 4.0 in the Czech Republic and assesses to what extent the concept is coming to the Czech Republic as a result of a top-down (EU) or horizontal (Germany) Europeanization. The thesis came to the conclusion that there are two perceptions of Industry 4.0. One is narrow and deals with the industrial policy and the other is broad and deals with society wide implications of the fourth industrial revolution. The debate about Industry 4.0 in the Czech Republic is mainly a result of a horizontal Europeanization based on bilateral agreements and close cooperation between Germany and the Czech Republic in the area of R&D, innovations and business. However, the top-down Europeanization cannot be neglected as the EU provides much broader context where Industry 4.0 is taking place. Moreover, Industry 4.0 gave a new impetus to the digital economy and society in the Czech Republic. It turned into agenda 4.0 and moved forward the debate about digital skills.

Despite the growing expectation on corporate Learning & Development (L&D) units to transform practices and roles and take a more strategic role to better meet the needs of lifelong learning and up- and reskilling in organizations, many fail to use technology such as Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platforms that could support the shift. The aim of this study is to provide a better understanding of why those in L&D who are using MOOC platforms do so and what impact it has on the role of L&D. Empirical data from in-depth interviews with six L&D professionals, with extensive experience from large, global companies, has been employed in this exploratory research. The analysis imply a situation in which MOOC platforms, when used in organizations where employee language, literacy and digital devices are not a limitation, can support in meeting the needs of lifelong learning and up- and reskilling in ways not possible with traditional L&D practices. The findings also indicate that while L&D units in large, global organizations can transform traditional practices and roles and contribute strategically, with the support of MOOC platforms, they struggle to make full use of the platforms due to lack of prioritization in the organization. This could inhibit L&D to fully take on a strategic role. Previous research has not explored the impact and possibilities the use of MOOC platforms can have specifically on the L&D role. The findings provide a novel contribution to L&D research as well as input to professionals in L&D or Human Resource, business leaders, organizational developers and MOOC platform providers in decisions connected to digitalization of corporate learning.

This thesis investigates the impact of a more digitised economy on the inflation rate. European countries have historically done well in reaching their inflation target. In recent years however, policymakers have been puzzled over low inflation rates that seem to be difficult to stimulate. Just recently the impact of digitisation on price stability has gained some interest in economic research however the lack of empirical evidence on this relationship is severe. Based on scarce literature and existing theories hypotheses were constructed to test certain digitisation channels effect on the inflation rate. By gathering relevant data on inflation and the identified digitisation channels for 17 European countries over an 11- year period, econometric models corresponding to the hypotheses were analysed. The estimated results show that digitisation have a varying net-effect on the inflation rate, demonstrating that digitisation plays a role in determining fluctuations in price stability when controlling for other macroeconomic factors. These findings indicate that policymakers should consider digital technological development when targeting inflation, even though the effects may be temporary.

To improve the quality of teaching, many governments around the world have begun implementing extensive programs aimed at supporting teachers in their efforts to employ information and communication technologies (ICTs) to facilitate their introduction in the teaching-learning process. A prominent case study is the “One Laptop per Teacher” (OLPT) initiative, which was introduced in Bolivia in 2011. Due to the lack of evidence regarding the success and effect of this program, this empirical study first deals with teachers’ attitudes towards ICTs by employing a quantitative approach based on three dichotomous distinctions, including: (a) personal experience with ICTs use versus consequences for the society of ICTs use, (b) ICTs use for learning and working versus ICTs use for entertainment and communication, and (c) positive attitudes (i.e., ICTs as beneficial tools) versus negative attitudes (i.e., ICTs as autonomous entities). Study results confirm that most teachers display positive attitudes towards the use of technologies from a personal perspective, but from a social point of view, the use of ICTs to deliver entertainment and communication content is perceived quite negatively, and many teachers still consider ICTs as suppressors of creativity and personal interactions. Significant differences were found in personal attitudes between rural and urban areas, the indicators for ICTs as generators of anxiety were higher in the former. Moreover, teachers with more experience in the use of ICTs and teachers who have participated in virtual courses clearly held more positive attitudes towards the use of ICTs in the workplace.

Information security risks in the operational technology (OT) environment is becoming legitimate challenges for businesses pursing an industrial digitalisation. IT and OT di˙erences reach across managerial, technical and operational aspects, creating unique challenges in developing a suÿcient security posture. The goal of the study is to gain an understanding of the challenges businesses face when applying information security in the operational technology environment in the context of an increased connectivity to the IT environment. In order to understand how information security is adapted to an OT environment, semi-structured interviews was conducted with respondents working with information security in process and production industries. These findings suggest that businesses tends to view the interconnection of IT and OT as two separate environments rather than one shared, which is causing managerial challenges when adapting an information security strategy to cover both the IT and the OT aspect of an organisation.

This thesis aims to interpret the changed interactions and communication in the workplace due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to the massive changes in society and the workplace, it is important to look into this aspect of the pandemic’s consequences. The research question “What impact does the expedited digitalisation of communication, caused by the global pandemic of 2020, have on the experienced interactions in organisational contexts?” allows for easy access into different aspects of the topic by conducting the study relatively broadly. In order to answer the research question, semi-structured interviews with employees, who were working during the pandemic, were held and all necessary data was extracted from these interviews. This data was then interpreted in light of the four principal theoretical topics: Communication, Social Interaction, Work Life and Leadership Relations. Certain similarities, but also paradoxes were discovered in the findings, and therefore discussed through paradoxical lenses. The basic findings concerning the research question are that many changes happened in opposing directions, for example having at the same time more, but also less communication. This double shift applies to almost all findings. To put these findings into practical use, organisations and companies should consider their team’s needs and optimise the working structures between hybrid and on-site in order to get the best possible working results.

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to investigate how the challenges of Internet of Things that manufacturers can influence can be overcome. Theoretical foundation - This study conducted an extensive literature review to identify and understand the challenges to Internet of Things and actions to overcome them. 11 technical challenges, 13 organisational and 6 resource availability challenges were identified. 4 actions were identified. Method - To fulfil the purpose, an embedded multiple case study at a global Aerospace manufacturer was conducted. 7 unstructured interviews, 12 semi-structured interviews and a survey were conducted. Respondents were picked due to their experience in Internet of Things projects and relevant technologies. The survey was conducted to evaluate the challenges’ relevance to high-technology manufacturers, on a 7-point Likert scale. The semi-structured interviews aimed to find actions to overcoming the challenges relevant to high-technology manufacturers. Findings - The evaluation of the challenges relevance to high-technology manufacturers resulted in 10 common, 9 occasional and 2 uncommon challenges. 12 actions to overcoming the challenges and their tasks were identified. Theoretical contribution - The study provides a comprehensive list of potential challenges to Internet of Things. It evaluated the challenges’ impact on high-technology manufacturers, thus challenging and validating Internet of Things challenges presented in literature. It provides a set of actions and a framework which aids in overcoming challenges that impact high-technology manufacturers’ Internet of Things initiatives, thus contributing to digital change management. Finally, it aids in the progress towards concretising Industry 4.0 and its trends toward connectivity, intelligence, and flexible automation. Practical contribution - The study provides an increased understanding of potential challenges of Internet of Things, and recommendations to how high-technology manufacturer can overcome the challenges. A framework is provided which gives an overview of which actions, and subsequent tasks, to take to overcome a specific challenge.

I den här uppsatsen försöker jag med hjälp av diskursanalytiska verktyg belysa vilka bakomliggande krafter det är som driver Sveriges digitalisering av kulturarvet. Genom att analysera svenska kulturpolitiska offentliga dokument, transkriptioner av en föreläsning och ett panelsamtal, samt två debattinlägg, letade jag efter det i litteraraturen beskrivna ”policyimperativet”, som har identifierats i den norska kulturpolitiska digitaliseringskontexten. Policyimperativets uttryck identifierades, och det visar sig i huvudsak förekomma inom bibliotekssektorns diskurs, som i sin tur inspirerat arkivssektorns diskurs. Museisektorn använder sig av policyimperativet i tal och i debattsammanhang, men det förekom inte nämnvärt i sektorns offentliga dokument som ingick i analysen.  Trots att policyimperativet delvis uttrycks gemensamt av ABM-institutionerna, så möts inte arkiv, bibliotek och museum i den talade diskursen, det indikerar att de tre institutionerna inte konvergerar i den svenska digitala kontexten. / In this study I use the tools of discourse analysis to shed light on the underlying forces that drive the digitalisation of Sweden’s cultural heritage. By analysing Swedish public domain culture-political documents, transcriptions of a lecture and panel session, and two newspaper opinion articles, I search for the so-called “policy imperative” which has been identified in the context of cultural politics about Norway’s digitalisation process.  Expressions of this policy imperative were indeed found, and appeared primarily within the discourse of the library sector which in turn inspired that of the archival sector. The museum sector makes use of the policy imperative in the spoken word and in the context of debates, but it was not noticeably present in those public documents from the museum sector which were analysed here. Despite the fact that the policy imperative sees a degree of common expression by LAM-institutions they do not meet in the spoken discourse, indicating that the three disciplines are not converging in the Swedish digital context.

Ein neues Geschäftsfeld Mit attraktiven Arbeitsplätzen, kompetenten Ansprechpartnern und möglichst vielen neuen Büchern haben die Bibliotheken auch im 21. Jahrhundert unverändert die Aufgabe, ihren zahlreichen Benutzerinnen und Benutzern klassische, qualitativ hochwertige Serviceangebote zu erhalten. Zugleich werden die vertrauten Bibliotheksgebäude dynamisch um virtuelle Räume erweitert. Digitale Texte und Objekte sind die zentralen Entwicklungstreiber für die internationale Wissenschaft. Sie bieten begeisternde Möglichkeiten des zeit- und ortsunabhängigen Zugriffs, schaffen neue Bezüge zwischen verwandten Materialien und erlauben durch maschinelles Durchsuchen selbst sehr großer Datenmengen die Bearbeitung bisher kaum lösbarer Forschungsaufgaben. Als zweite Säule neben ihren bisherigen Dienstleistungen bauen die wissenschaftlichen Bibliotheken gegenwärtig umfangreiche elektronische Sammlungen auf – teils durch die planmäßige Archivierung aktueller elektronischer Veröffentlichungen (born digital), teils durch die Digitalisierung...