Technological Mediation and Digital Capital: A Study of Communicative Adaptation and Network Readiness among Organizational Actors at the Port Enterprise of Skikda.

Abstract

This field study aimed to explore the manifestations of technological mediation and digital capital, and to examine the impact of network readiness on communicative adaptation and integration challenges among organizational actors within a port enterprise. The study adopted the descriptive-analytical method, with data collected through a questionnaire administered to a purposive sample of 69 employees and workers at the enterprise.

The field results relating to the first hypothesis revealed a clear descending hierarchy in communicative practice and reliance on administrative media: the computer ranked first, present in 95.7% of respondents' offices, with its uses distributed among producing administrative reports and correspondence (21.67%), file transfer (20.77%), and statistical operations (17.60%). The Internet ranked second, with a connection rate of 59.4%, its use concentrated in data exchange (40.6%) and facilitating communication with clients (20.59%). By contrast, reliance on the intranet as a channel for internal communication declined to 15.30% in favor of traditional channels such as meetings and telephone (18.03%), while the extranet was found to be entirely absent from the institution's extended organizational practice.

The results of the second hypothesis confirmed that the requirements for network readiness and communicative adaptation for intranet implementation were met: 68.11% reported having network access available in their offices, and 52.17% reported regular use. Temporal analysis confirmed the entrenchment of digital culture within the enterprise, with 59.43% of respondents connected to the internal network for an extended period of nineteen years (18 years) [as reported], while 95.65% agreed on the utmost necessity of its use. Regarding skill development, 55.07% reported having received qualified training in the use of computers and databases.

The study recommends moving from “closed computerization” toward the comprehensive activation of the extended network infrastructure (extranet), and moving beyond direct classical communication by integrating digital videoconferencing — which the results showed to be organizationally absent, with a non-occurrence rate of 84.05%.