IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/teinso/v64y2021ics0160791x19305251.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding the drivers and implications of remote work from the local perspective: An exploratory study into the dis/reembedding dynamics

Author

Listed:
  • Soroui, Sarah T.

Abstract

Transformations in the institutional environment and advances in technological infrastructures have led to a rise in remote work with implications for local environments. While there is significant literature on the social and spatial effects of telecommuting, the growth of remote work warrants a holistic analysis of its specific implications for local economic and community life. Drawing on interviews with representatives of 22 firms in one state, this exploratory study examines how locational factors drive firms' remote work utilization. Together with an analysis of interviews with 12 remote employees, it also examines how remote work arrangements are modifying firms' and employees’ connections to the local environment. The firm interviews indicate that remote work is increasingly utilized as a strategy to overcome regional talent acquisition challenges. The analysis reveals that remote work utilization can rework or attenuate the local economic and social linkages of remote-utilizing firms and remote employees. These findings suggest that the dynamics of remote work in local environments entail processes of disembedding and reeembedding, moderated by organizational and contextual factors. By situating questions and findings in relation to local contexts, this study details how firm dynamics and work-life patterns associated with remote work introduce opportunities and challenges for community and economic development efforts.

Suggested Citation

  • Soroui, Sarah T., 2021. "Understanding the drivers and implications of remote work from the local perspective: An exploratory study into the dis/reembedding dynamics," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:64:y:2021:i:c:s0160791x19305251
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101328
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X19305251
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101328?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nicholas Bloom & James Liang & John Roberts & Zhichun Jenny Ying, 2015. "Does Working from Home Work? Evidence from a Chinese Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(1), pages 165-218.
    2. Leistritz, F. Larry, 1994. "Economic and Fiscal Impact Assessment," Staff Papers 121073, North Dakota State University, Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics.
    3. Ash Amin, 1999. "An Institutionalist Perspective on Regional Economic Development," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(2), pages 365-378, June.
    4. Marina van Geenhuizen & Peter Nijkamp, 2011. "Knowledge Virtualization and Local Connectedness among Smart High-tech Companies," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 11-119/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    5. Ettema, Dick, 2010. "The impact of telecommuting on residential relocation and residential preferences: A latent class modelling approach," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 3(1), pages 7-24.
    6. Colin Mason & Ross Brown & Mark Hart & Michael Anyadike-Danes, 2015. "High growth firms, jobs and peripheral regions: the case of Scotland," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 8(2), pages 343-358.
    7. Kevin Daniels & David Lamond & Peter Standen, 2001. "Teleworking: Frameworks for Organizational Research," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(8), pages 1151-1185, December.
    8. Leistritz, F. Larry, 1994. "Economic and Fiscal Impact Assessment," Staff Papers 121073, North Dakota State University, Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics.
    9. Ann Markusen, 1996. "Sticky Places in Slippery Space: A Typology of Industrial Districts," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 72(3), pages 293-313, July.
    10. Jannika Mattes, 2013. "The Regional Embeddedness of Multinational Companies: A Critical Perspective," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(4), pages 433-451, April.
    11. Tooran Alizadeh, 2012. "Teleworkers' Characteristics in Live/Work Communities: Lessons from the United States and Australia," Journal of Urban Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 63-84.
    12. Richard De Martino & David Mc Hardy Reid & Stelios C. Zygliodopoulos, 2006. "Balancing localization and globalization:exploring the impact of firm internationalization on a regional cluster," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 1-24, January.
    13. Raymond F. Zammuto & Terri L. Griffith & Ann Majchrzak & Deborah J. Dougherty & Samer Faraj, 2007. "Information Technology and the Changing Fabric of Organization," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(5), pages 749-762, October.
    14. Blount, Yvette, 2015. "Pondering the Fault Lines of Anywhere Working (Telework, Telecommuting): A Literature Review," Foundations and Trends(R) in Information Systems, now publishers, vol. 1(3), pages 163-276, December.
    15. N. A. Phelps & Danny Mackinnon & Ian Stone & Paul Braidford, 2003. "Embedding the Multinationals? Institutions and the Development of Overseas Manufacturing Affiliates in Wales and North East England," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(1), pages 27-40.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Alam, Gazi Mahabubul, 2021. "Does online technology provide sustainable HE or aggravate diploma disease? Evidence from Bangladesh—a comparison of conditions before and during COVID-19," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    2. Bürgel, Tobias R. & Hiebl, Martin R.W. & Pielsticker, David I., 2023. "Digitalization and entrepreneurial firms' resilience to pandemic crises: Evidence from COVID-19 and the German Mittelstand," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 186(PA).
    3. Elizelle Juanee Cilliers & Shankar Sankaran & Gillian Armstrong & Sandeep Mathur & Mano Nugapitiya, 2021. "From Urban-Scape to Human-Scape: COVID-19 Trends That will Shape Future City Centres," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-12, October.
    4. Hanna Wlodarkiewicz-Klimek, 2021. "New Models of Work Organization in an Industry 4.0 Enterprise - Evolution of the Form of Work," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3), pages 1095-1105.
    5. Ng, Peggy M.L. & Lit, Kam Kong & Cheung, Cherry T.Y., 2022. "Remote work as a new normal? The technology-organization-environment (TOE) context," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    6. Sarah Taghvai Soroui, 2023. "Encountering weak signals: Economic development practitioners’ perceptions of remote work arrangements," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 38(1), pages 3-21, February.
    7. Dominik Owczarek & Maciej Pańków, 2023. "Smart working and the organisation of labour: smart working and internal labour markets," Working Papers 20230612, University of Ferrara, Department of Economics.
    8. Anna Adamik & Dorota Sikora-Fernandez, 2021. "Smart Organizations as a Source of Competitiveness and Sustainable Development in the Age of Industry 4.0: Integration of Micro and Macro Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-27, March.
    9. Soga, Lebene Richmond & Bolade-Ogunfodun, Yemisi & Mariani, Marcello & Nasr, Rita & Laker, Benjamin, 2022. "Unmasking the other face of flexible working practices: A systematic literature review," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 648-662.
    10. Rubina Canesi & Giuliano Marella, 2022. "Towards European Transitions: Indicators for the Development of Marginal Urban Regions," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-20, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christian Maier & Sven Laumer & Tim Weitzel, 2022. "A Dark Side of Telework: A Social Comparison-Based Study from the Perspective of Office Workers," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 64(6), pages 793-811, December.
    2. Coon, Randal C. & Bangsund, Dean A. & Hodur, Nancy M., 2013. "The Economic Base of North Dakota in 2011," Staff Papers 146009, North Dakota State University, Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics.
    3. Peter Mayerhofer & Oliver Fritz & Dieter Pennerstorfer, 2010. "Dritter Bericht zur internationalen Wettbewerbsfähigkeit Wiens," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 42430, April.
    4. Fatih YEGUL & Atif ACIKGOZ & Zaur KAZIMOV, 2022. "Impact Of Working From Home On Productivity & Performance, Evidence From North American Logistics Industry During Covid-19 Pandemic," Annals of Faculty of Economics, University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics, vol. 2(2), pages 289-303, December.
    5. Coon, Randal C. & Bangsund, Dean A. & Hodur, Nancy M., 2012. "The Economic Base of North Dakota," Staff Papers 121763, North Dakota State University, Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics.
    6. Monteiro, Natália P. & Straume, Odd Rune & Valente, Marieta, 2021. "When does remote electronic access (not) boost productivity? Longitudinal evidence from Portugal," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    7. Bangsund, Dean A. & Hodur, Nancy M., 2012. "Modeling Direct and Secondary Employment in the Petroleum Sector in North Dakota," Agribusiness & Applied Economics Report 139322, North Dakota State University, Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics.
    8. Bangsund, Dean A. & Hodur, Nancy M. & Rathge, Richard W. & Olson, Karen, 2012. "Modeling Employment, Housing, and Population in Western North Dakota: The Case of Dickinson," Agribusiness & Applied Economics Report 133390, North Dakota State University, Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics.
    9. Natália P. Monteiro & Odd Rune Straume & Marieta Valente, 2019. "Does Remote Work Improve or Impair Firm Labour Productivity? Longitudinal Evidence from Portugal," CESifo Working Paper Series 7991, CESifo.
    10. Battisti, Enrico & Alfiero, Simona & Leonidou, Erasmia, 2022. "Remote working and digital transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic: Economic–financial impacts and psychological drivers for employees," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 38-50.
    11. Lixia Jin & Changjian Wang & Hongou Zhang & Yuyao Ye & Zhiwei Du & Yuling Zhang, 2019. "Evolution and Mechanism of the “Core–Periphery” Relationship: Micro-Evidence from Cross-Regional Industrial Production Organization in a Fast-Developing Region in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-19, December.
    12. Jorge Bateira, 2005. "Innovation Systems - Do they exist? Exploring Luhmanns thinking," ERSA conference papers ersa05p374, European Regional Science Association.
    13. Bangsund, Dean A. & Saxowsky, David M. & Ripplinger, David, 2014. "Regional Economic Effects of Irrigation Along the McClusky Canal in North Dakota," Agribusiness & Applied Economics Report 196708, North Dakota State University, Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics.
    14. Kogus, Ayelet & Brůhová Foltýnová, Hana & Gal-Tzur, Ayelet & Shiftan, Yuval & Vejchodská, Eliška & Shiftan, Yoram, 2022. "Will COVID-19 accelerate telecommuting? A cross-country evaluation for Israel and Czechia," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 291-309.
    15. Robert Hassink, 2001. "Towards Regionally Embedded Innovation Support Systems in South Korea? Case Studies from Kyongbuk-Taegu and Kyonggi," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 38(8), pages 1373-1395, July.
    16. Ross Brown & Colin Mason, 2017. "Looking inside the spiky bits: a critical review and conceptualisation of entrepreneurial ecosystems," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 49(1), pages 11-30, June.
    17. Maryann P. Feldman & Iryna Lendel, 2010. "Under the Lens: The Geography of Optical Science as an Emerging Industry," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 86(2), pages 147-171, April.
    18. Leistritz, F. Larry, 1995. "Potential Local Socioeconomic Impacts of the Proposed ProGold Processing Plant," Agricultural Economics Reports 23190, North Dakota State University, Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics.
    19. Natália P. Monteiro & Odd Rune Straume & Marieta Valente, 2019. "Does remote work improve or impair firm labour productivity? Longitudinal evidence from," NIPE Working Papers 14/2019, NIPE - Universidade do Minho.
    20. Sara Cruz & Aurora Teixeira, 2010. "The Evolution of the Cluster Literature: Shedding Light on the Regional Studies-Regional Science Debate," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(9), pages 1263-1288.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:64:y:2021:i:c:s0160791x19305251. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/technology-in-society .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.