Technology adoption and worker engagement in remote working: Insights on inclusion

South African Journal of Business Management

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Technology adoption and worker engagement in remote working: Insights on inclusion
 
Creator Winkler-Titus, Natasha Feirreira-Marcelino, Neusa Kidd, Martin
 
Subject Management remote work; technology adoption; employee engagement; inclusion; job satisfaction; shipping
Description Purpose: Flexibility in work location has become a demand in the shifting world of work, but the experience remains precarious across gender lines. Technology is a significant enabler in remote working, and therefore adoption of new technology plays a role in facilitating more engagement. This article considers technology adoption and the influence of inclusion on workers’ level of engagement.Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional empirical survey was conducted in a shipping company based in South Africa, and data were analysed using the partial least squares structural equation modelling approach. In addition to gender, the authors also considered the effect of worker location.Findings/results: Different experiences for men and women, and those on-site as opposed to those working in a hybrid way, were observed. The study validated the relationship between technology adoption and workers’ engagement and confirmed the experience of inclusion as a moderating trend. It furthermore contributes insights into gender differences in experience as well as differences in remote and on-site work arrangements.Practical implications: In a male-dominated industry like the maritime industry and shipping, attention needs to be given to gender differences and how to create more inclusive and enabling work environments.Originality/value: Crucially, the research highlights gender-specific dynamics, finding that job satisfaction fully mediates the technology-engagement relationship for women, while resources like autonomy and support provide a stronger moderating boost to their engagement compared to men.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2026-02-06
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajbm.v57i1.5455
 
Source South African Journal of Business Management; Vol 57, No 1 (2026); 12 pages 2078-5976 2078-5585
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajbm.org/index.php/sajbm/article/view/5455/3612 https://sajbm.org/index.php/sajbm/article/view/5455/3613 https://sajbm.org/index.php/sajbm/article/view/5455/3614 https://sajbm.org/index.php/sajbm/article/view/5455/3615
 
Coverage — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2026 Natasha Winkler-Titus, Neusa Feirreira-Marcelino, Martin Kidd https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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