Research for Real

Mohsin Malik
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Welcome to Research for Real: Translating Research into Actionable Impact for Sustainable Development where we bridge the gap between cutting-edge academic research and everyday life. Join us as we unpack insights on the organizational dynamics to create innovative outcomes in the digital age, sustainable supply chains and circular economy. Our discussions explore how these ideas align with global challenges, driving impact toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: SDG-12 (Responsible Consumption & Production), SDG-9 (Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure), and SDG-3 (Good Health & Well-Being). Tune in to discover actionable takeaways that empower individuals and businesses to create a more sustainable and innovative future.

  1. User Experience Dictates Global Supply Chains

    JAN 21

    User Experience Dictates Global Supply Chains

    This podcast synthesizes findings from a study on the relationship between organizations' perceptions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the nature of Supply Chain Learning (SCL). Based on an online survey of 206 top and middle managers from various industry sectors in Brazil, the research reveals that perceptions of AI's usefulness and its ease of use are critical determinants of how knowledge is created, shared, and driven across a supply chain. The central conclusion is that different combinations of Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) of AI correlate directly with four distinct types of SCL. • When both PU and PEOU are low, a Captive SCL emerges, where a dominant focal company controls learning within a closed network. • When PU is high but PEOU is low, a Selective SCL occurs, with a focal company leading learning across an open network of chosen partners. • When PU is low but PEOU is high, a Consortium SCL prevails, driven by non-focal companies within a closed network. • When both PU and PEOU are high, a Distributed SCL is fostered, characterized by democratized learning efforts led by diverse players across multiple supply chains. These findings provide a strategic framework for managers, demonstrating that by prioritizing digitalization efforts and shaping perceptions of AI, they can actively influence the learning dynamics within their supply chains to enhance decision-making, problem-solving, and overall competitive advantage. Source: Tortorella, G. L., Powell, D., Malik, M., Alfalla-Luque, R., Portioli-Staudacher, A., & Nascimento, D. (2025). Perceptions of AI adoption and their impact on supply chain learning. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13675567.2025.2547202

    14 min
  2. Temporary Organizing Theory: A Spectrum for Cross-Fertilization

    12/03/2025

    Temporary Organizing Theory: A Spectrum for Cross-Fertilization

    This podcast synthesizes the core arguments from the essay "Theorizing Temporary Organizing to Foster True Cross Fertilization," authored by Maude Brunet, Catriona Burke, Mohsin Malik, and Jörg Sydow. The central thesis is a call for stronger, more creative theorizing within project studies to achieve a "true cross-fertilization" with related disciplines, particularly organization studies. Currently, the exchange is predominantly a one-way flow, with organization theory enriching project studies. The authors propose that advancing theory occurs on a spectrum, ranging from top-down approaches that leverage established reference theories to bottom-up approaches that develop "home-grown" theories from empirical phenomena. To illustrate this spectrum, the essay presents two distinct examples: 1. Top-Down Approach: The application of Practice-Driven Institutionalism (PDI) from organization theory to understand how macro-level institutional pressures are enacted through micro-level, everyday practices within temporary organizing contexts. 2. Bottom-Up Approach: A phenomenon-driven examination of crisis response, specifically how temporary organizations emerged, evolved, and stabilized during the COVID-19 pandemic, generating novel insights into emergent organizing. By focusing on "temporary organizing" as a processual and practice-based phenomenon, rather than just a structural form, a common ground is established for a more robust, two-way dialogue between disciplines. This approach not only strengthens project studies as an academic field but also promises to generate insights with theoretical and practical implications for broader management and organization scholarship. Source: Brunet, Maude, et al. "Theorizing temporary organizing to foster true cross fertilization: Focus on projects, processes and practices." International Journal of Project Management (2025): 102753. Complimentary copy on https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026378632500078X

    16 min
  3. How do digital capabilities lead to sustainable performance?

    11/30/2025

    How do digital capabilities lead to sustainable performance?

    This podcast synthesizes findings from a research study on the impact of Digital Leadership Capability (DLC) on the environmental performance of organizations. Drawing on Resource Orchestration Theory (ROT), the study investigates the mediating roles of Digital Technology Alignment (DTA) and Digital Innovation. Based on survey data from 183 Australian healthcare organizations, the research empirically demonstrates that DLC positively influences environmental performance through both direct and indirect pathways. The core findings indicate that DTA and digital innovation are critical enhancing mechanisms. DTA, the fit between new and existing technologies, and digital innovation, the creation of new digital solutions, both independently and serially mediate the relationship between DLC and environmental performance. This establishes a clear sequence: effective digital leadership fosters technological alignment, which in turn enables digital innovation, ultimately leading to improved environmental outcomes. The study challenges the view that technology alone drives sustainability, highlighting instead that orchestrated leadership, alignment, and innovation are essential for translating digital potential into tangible environmental benefits. Source: Chavez, Roberto, Mohsin Malik, and Amir Andargoli. "Digital Leadership Capability and Environmental Performance: The Role of Digital Technology Alignment and Digital Innovation." Business Strategy and the Environment (2025). Complementary download avauilable at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author/9AUMSW5APBSDSQF9NZDB?target=10.1002/bse.70353

    15 min
  4. Project Governance Untangled: Steering Ambitious Projects to Strategic Success

    08/24/2025

    Project Governance Untangled: Steering Ambitious Projects to Strategic Success

    This podcast discusses the evolving concept of project governance, highlighting its ambiguity and varied definitions across the literature. Both sources examine distinct research streams: one viewing project governance as external to a specific project and another as internal. They reveal that while project governance literature draws significantly from established project research, it also extensively incorporates transaction cost economics. The texts underscore the fragmented nature of project governance discourse, emphasising a lack of a universally accepted definition and a tendency to conflate it with project management. Ultimately, they advocate for bridging the gap between academic and professional literature to foster a more coherent understanding and advance the field of project governance. Source: Musawir, A., Abd-Karim, S., Mohd-Danuri, M. (2020) Project governance and its role in enabling organizational strategy implementation: A systematic literature review, International Journal of Project Management 38 (2020)1–16 & Ahola, T, Ruuska, I, Artto, K & Kujala, J 2014, 'What is project governance and what are its origins?', International Journal of Project Management, vol. 32, no. 8, pp. 1321-1332,

    25 min
  5. Beyond the Buzz: What Truly Works for Anxiety in Autistic Kids (2025 Review Deep Dive)

    08/23/2025

    Beyond the Buzz: What Truly Works for Anxiety in Autistic Kids (2025 Review Deep Dive)

    This systematic review by Khaleeq et al. (2025) evaluates various treatments for anxiety in children under 18 with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), aiming to bridge a significant research gap compared to typically developing children. The authors analysed 33 studies published between 2014 and 2023, adhering to PRISMA guidelines to assess treatment effectiveness and potential adverse effects. Their findings indicate that Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), particularly adapted CBT, is the most evidence-based psychological intervention for managing anxiety in autistic children. In contrast, the review highlights a notable scarcity and inconclusive results for pharmacological treatments, with some reporting adverse effects. Alternative treatments yielded mixed results and often lacked robust methodologies. Ultimately, the review underscores the urgent need for further research, including the development of tailored anxiety measurement scales for children with ASD and studies with more diverse populations and longer follow-up periods. Source: A systematic review of the treatments of anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorder Australasian Psychiatry Volume 33, Issue 4, August 2025, Pages 742-755 © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2025, Article Reuse Guidelines https://doi.org/10.1177/10398562251346614

    18 min
  6. Agile Practices and Empowered Teams: Pathways to Innovation

    08/16/2025

    Agile Practices and Empowered Teams: Pathways to Innovation

    This academic paper explores the relationship between agile project management practices and project performance, specifically focusing on innovative outcomes. It introduces psychological empowerment as a crucial mediating mechanism, explaining how aspects like team autonomy and agile communication foster a sense of empowerment within teams, which in turn drives innovative behaviour. The study’s empirical findings suggest that psychological empowerment is essential for these agile practices to translate into innovative actions and ultimately enhance overall project success, challenging traditional project management's prescriptive focus. It also highlights the importance of social systems in innovation processes. Source: Malik, Mohsin, Shagufta Sarwar, and Stuart Orr. "Agile practices and performance: Examining the role of psychological empowerment." International journal of project management 39.1 (2021): 10-20.

    13 min
  7. Unlocking Lean's Hidden Power: Sociotechnical Synergy

    05/31/2025

    Unlocking Lean's Hidden Power: Sociotechnical Synergy

    This research argues that Lean management is a complex sociotechnical phenomenon, but existing research has largely examined its social ("soft") and technical ("hard") subsystems in isolation. The authors address this gap by employing a sociotechnical system (STS) theoretical lens and process theorising to examine the dynamic interaction between these subsystems at individual, group, and organisational levels. The core argument is that a balanced interplay between the social and technical subsystems is crucial for effectively managing inherent tensions within Lean and achieving sustained performance gains. Main Themes: The Underexplored Interaction between Social and Technical Subsystems: Existing literature has primarily focused on the technical aspects of Lean, neglecting the dynamic and mutually constitutive relationship between the social and technical subsystems.The Importance of a Balanced STS: The authors highlight that for Lean to maximise performance, neither the social nor the technical subsystem should dominate. Achieving a "balanced sociotechnical system" is essential.Paradoxical and Dialectical Tensions: The paper identifies inherent tensions within Lean systems, particularly arising from the technical subsystem. These include paradoxical tensions (opposing yet complementary features) and dialectical tensions (inherent contradictions).The Role of the Social Subsystem in Managing Tensions: The social subsystem, encompassing aspects like employee empowerment, training, work design, cross-functional collaboration, and management involvement, is presented as crucial for addressing and mitigating the paradoxical and dialectical tensions created by the technical subsystem.Synergistic Outcomes of Balanced Interaction: A key finding is that the symbiotic relationship between balanced social and technical subsystems fosters synergies that enhance operational performance, bolster dynamic capabilities, and drive process innovation.Lean, as a symbiotic STS, fosters synergies: The balanced and interacting subsystems lead to outcomes that are greater than the sum of their individual parts. This "symbiotic relationship... fosters synergies that enhance operational performance, bolster dynamic capabilities, and drive process innovation." (Proposition 3)Multilevel Performance: The impact of Lean's sociotechnical interaction is analysed at the individual, group, and organisational levels. Examples of positive outcomes include increased job satisfaction (individual), enhanced psychological safety in teams (group), and customer-centric innovation (organisational).Managerial Role: Managers play a "critical strategic role in shaping the adoption of social subsystems" and tailoring them to the specific context of their organisations. This includes fostering training, leadership engagement, and collaboration.Source: Gamage, Isuru, Mohsin Malik, Amir Andargoli, and Roberto Chavez Clavijo. "Theorizing Lean as a Socio-Technical System: Examining the Reciprocal Interactions between Lean Social and Technical Subsystems." IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management (2025). Available at https://figshare.swinburne.edu.au/articles/journal_contribution/Theorizing_Lean_as_a_Socio-Technical_System_Examining_the_Reciprocal_Interactions_between_Lean_Social_and_Technical_Subsystems/29115758

    15 min

  8. 05/09/2025

    Employee Agency in Digital Transformation

    This research addresses a gap in the existing understanding of digital transformation by focusing on the impact of the human-technology dynamic on human agency, specifically employee cognitions and behaviours. Utilising socio-cognitive and role theories, the study investigates how employee cognitive trust and innovative behaviour influence digital transformation outcomes and how role conflict, arising from the evolving human-technology dynamic, moderates these relationships. Based on survey data from 256 participants involved in digital transformations in Australia, the study confirms that employee cognitive trust directly and indirectly (through innovative behaviour) contributes to successful digital transformation. Crucially, the research demonstrates that role conflict significantly weakens the positive relationships between cognitive trust and both innovative behaviour and digital transformation. These findings provide important theoretical insights into the social construction of digital transformation and offer practical guidance for managers seeking to foster trust and minimise conflicting demands on employees during digital initiatives. Main Themes and Most Important Ideas/Facts: Focus on Human Agency in Digital Transformation: The study highlights a gap in current theorising of digital transformation, which has often overlooked the "micro-level explanations" that focus on "employees’ behaviours and actions" and human agency. The authors define human agency as "the capacity to exert control over the progression of events and functions via actions."Integration of Socio-Cognitive and Role Theories: To address the theoretical gap, the research integrates perspectives from socio-cognitive theory and role theory. Socio-cognitive theory provides a framework for understanding how employees' cognitions and behaviours influence digital transformations, while role theory helps to contextualise the social environment and potential conflicts arising from the human-technology dynamic.Cognitive Trust as a Driving Mechanism: Employee cognitive trust is identified as a pivotal cognition influencing both employee innovative behaviour and organisational digital transformation. Cognitive trust is defined as "a psychological state characterised by several components, the most important of which is some sort of positive expectation regarding others’ behaviour."Innovative Behaviour as a Mediator: Innovative behaviour, described as a "unique blend of ideating, experimenting, problem solving and searching skills," is proposed and found to mediate the relationship between cognitive trust and digital transformation. This means that cognitive trust influences digital transformation partly by fostering innovative behaviour among employees.Role Conflict as a Moderator: Role conflict, arising from "competing or contradictory expectations and demands related to their role or position in an organisation or group," is identified as a crucial factor influencing the human-technology dynamic and the effectiveness of cognitive trust and innovative behaviour. This conflict is particularly relevant in digital transformation due to "role conflation, where individuals’ roles and responsibilities become blurred or overlapping because of the shifting human technology dynamic."Excerpts from "Towards explaining the effects of the human-technology dynamic on human agency in digital transformations" by Mohsin Malik et al in International Journal of Information Management, Vol. 84, 2025 available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268401225000477?via%3Dihub

    16 min
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About

Welcome to Research for Real: Translating Research into Actionable Impact for Sustainable Development where we bridge the gap between cutting-edge academic research and everyday life. Join us as we unpack insights on the organizational dynamics to create innovative outcomes in the digital age, sustainable supply chains and circular economy. Our discussions explore how these ideas align with global challenges, driving impact toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: SDG-12 (Responsible Consumption & Production), SDG-9 (Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure), and SDG-3 (Good Health & Well-Being). Tune in to discover actionable takeaways that empower individuals and businesses to create a more sustainable and innovative future.

Information

  • Creator
    Mohsin Malik
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Please cite the original source https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-05-2023-0185
  • Show Website
    Research for Real