Debora Jeske
Going global in small steps: e-internships in SMEs
Jeske, Debora; Axtell, Carolyn M.
Authors
Carolyn M. Axtell
Abstract
Technological developments over the last thirty years increasingly shaped the means by which we recruit, select and appraise employees. Today, technology supports more flexible and geographically dispersed working modes: From teleworkers, to virtual workers, to e-interns (also known as virtual interns). The current article describes how developments in e-HRM and changes in employment forms contribute to the development and increasing popularity of e-internships (better known as virtual internships) amongst small and medium-sized enterprises. In this paper, we reflect on the rise of e-internships across different countries and relate this to e-HRM and technological advances. We explore the opportunities and challenges. These include developing effective global talent and knowledge management practices, managing diversity as well as intellectual and social capital. We furthermore link the employment of e-internship practices to strategic organizational goals and learning. In the final section, we also critically reflect on the high investment required for e-internships to succeed. The discussion on e-internships is set in the literature on e-HRM, virtual teams and knowledge management, which is furthermore supported by interviews conducted with e-interns or internship managers.
Keywords: e-internships, virtual internships, computer-mediated communication
Citation
Jeske, D., & Axtell, C. M. (2016). Going global in small steps: e-internships in SMEs. Organizational Dynamics, 45(1), 55-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2015.12.007
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Feb 5, 2015 |
Online Publication Date | Feb 9, 2016 |
Publication Date | 2016-01 |
Deposit Date | Oct 7, 2015 |
Publicly Available Date | Feb 1, 2018 |
Journal | Organizational Dynamics |
Print ISSN | 0090-2616 |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 45 |
Issue | 1 |
Pages | 55-63 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2015.12.007 |
Keywords | Employee recruitment; SMEs; e-internships; virtual internships; e-HRM; |
Public URL | http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/9152 |
Publisher URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2015.12.007 |
Files
Going global in small steps: e-internships in SMEs.
(<nobr>232 Kb</nobr>)
PDF
You might also like
Exploring the relationship between impulsivity and decision-making on mobile devices
(2016)
Journal Article
Understanding what drives informal learning at work: A resource-based view
(2016)
Journal Article
How to run successful e-internships: a case for organizational learning
(2016)
Journal Article
Impression management via content-dependent “liking” on social media.
(2016)
Journal Article