For the past three Octobers I have published a post offering an overview of my academic publications in the intervening 12 months. I suppose that when you do something in a particular way, at a specific time of the year, several years in a row, it is kind of a tradition. Thus, to keep with tradition, I have put together a blog post casting a light on what I have published, in the last year. The list includes a (very) long running project looking at digitalisation in small and medium businesses, one short but very intense project looking at crisis management during the Covid-19 pandemic, and two papers looking at business applications of artificial intelligence.
- Canhoto, A. I. (2021). Leveraging machine learning in the global fight against money laundering and terrorism financing: an affordances perspective. Journal of Business Research. 131, 441-452. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.10.012
Abstract: Financial services organisations facilitate the movement of money worldwide, and keep records of their clients’ identity and financial behaviour. As such, they have been enlisted by governments worldwide to assist with the detection and prevention of money laundering, which is a key tool in the fight to reduce crime and create sustainable economic development, corresponding to Goal 16 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In this paper, we investigate how the technical and contextual affordances of machine learning algorithms may enable these organisations to accomplish that task. We find that, due to the unavailability of high-quality, large training datasets regarding money laundering methods, there is limited scope for using supervised machine learning. Conversely, it is possible to use reinforced machine learning and, to an extent, unsupervised learning, although only to model unusual financial behaviour, not actual money laundering.
Keywords: Big data, Artificial intelligence, Machine learning, Algorithm, Customer profiling, Financial services, Anti-money laundering, United Nations, Sustainable development goals
You can find the paper, here; and a related blog post, here.
- Braganza, A., Chen, W., Canhoto, A. I. & Sap, S. (2021). Gigification, Job Engagement and Satisfaction: the moderating role of AI enabled system automation in operations management. Production Planning & Control. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2021.1882692
Abstract: Innovative and highly efficient Artificial Intelligence System Automation (AI-SA) is reshaping jobs and the nature of work throughout supply chain and operations management. It can have one of three effects on existing jobs: no effect, eliminate whole jobs, or eliminate those parts of a job that are automated. This paper focuses on the jobs that remain after the effects of AI-SA, albeit with alterations. We use the term Gigification to describe these jobs, as we posit that the jobs that remain share characteristics of gig work. Our study examines the relationship between Gigification, job engagement and job satisfaction. We develop a theoretical framework to examine the impact of system automation on job satisfaction and job engagement, which we test via 232 survey responses. Our findings show that, while Gigification increases job satisfaction and engagement, AI-SA weakens the positive impact of Gigification on these important worker outcomes. We posit that, over time, the effects of AI-SA on workers is that full-time, permanent jobs will give way to gigified jobs. For future research, we suggest further theory development and testing of the Gigification of operations and supply chain work.
Keywords: Artificial intelligence, job satisfaction, job engagement, gigification, operations management, system automation, supply chain management
You can find the paper, here; and a related blog post, here.
- Canhoto, A. I. & Wei, L. (2021). Stakeholders of the World, Unite!: Hospitality in the time of COVID-19. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 95, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2021.102922
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic created a global, complex crisis, without a clear end in sight, presenting an existential threat to many hospitality businesses. Drawing on stakeholder theory, we develop a framework for recovery strategy development for COVID-19, which engages salient stakeholders in the process of recognizing challenges, rationalizing changes needed and refashioning ways of working. The framework is used to analyze the process of development of a recovery strategy for a boutique hotel in England, UK, via a case study methodology. The analysis brings to the fore the interdependencies between the hotel owners and its employees, customers, governments, suppliers and communities, at local, national and international levels. Moreover, the analysis shows how collaborating with these stakeholders leads to the identification of revenue streams for the hotel, operational modifications and even the development of new commercial partnerships.
Keywords: Hospitality; COVID-19; Strategy; Crisis and disaster management; Stakeholders; Globalization
You can find the paper, here; and a related blog post, here.
- Canhoto, A. I., Quinton, S., Pera, R., Molinillo, S. & Simkin, L. (2021). The practice of digital strategy aligning in SMEs: a dynamic capabilities perspective. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 30(3), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2021.101682
Abstract: Digital strategy alignment is a dominant concern for today’s managers and information systems researchers. Yet research in this area remains fragmented, particularly on the digital strategy alignment of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which is concerning owing to their value to European economies. Employing dynamic capabilities as an analytical lens, we investigate how 43 British, Irish, Italian, and Spanish SMEs, across five industry sectors, enact digital aligning. We identify a model of digital alignment comprising five phases, which we term “passive acceptance,” “connection,” “immersion,” “fusion,” and “transformation,” as well as the specific combinations of sensing, seizing, and reorganizing capabilities associated with each phase. Our model provides a holistic, practice-based perspective and highlights the role of micro-behaviors and leadership in SMEs implementing digital strategy.
Keywords: Digital strategy aligning, SMEs, Europe, Dynamic capabilities, Five-phase model
You can find the paper, here; and a related blog post, here.
There were also some conference papers (such as this one), and participation in a meeting of the Adult & Social Care committee at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
As usual, please feel free to reach out if you want to learn more about these articles, if you want to discuss how my research can help your organisation, or of you simply want to explore opportunities to work together.
Ana Canhoto 