ABSTRACT
Debate on smart working in the public sector is rich, yet poorly systematized. The article fills this gap through a domain-based literature review. A bibliometric investigation enabled us to cluster 72 relevant papers in 5 research streams based on bibliographic coupling. An interpretive approach was undertaken to analyse key themes addressed within and across the clusters. A blurred account of smart working emerged. Despite the triggers fostering the transition towards smart working, its contents are ambiguous. Smart work arrangements fall short in augmenting the individual control over job and impair interpersonal relationships at work, paving the way for dumb work.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Supplemental data
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2022.2152479.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Rocco Palumbo
Rocco Palumbo PhD is Associate Professor of Organization Studies at the University ”Tor Vergata” of Rome. His main research topics include, but are not limited to: organizational change, human resource management practices in the public sector, and workplace discrimination.
Mohammad Fakhar Manesh
Mohammad Fakhar Manesh, PhD. is Lecturer in Business Strategy at the Department of Management, Lincoln International Business School, University of Lincoln, UK. His main research interests include, but are not limited to, innovation management, organizational change, and strategic management.
Damiano Petrolo
Damiano Petrolo PhD is Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Eastern Piedmont. His main research interests include, but are not limited to, professionalization and managerialization in family firms, team dynamics, and servitization in the automotive sector.