Power, Structure and Technology (PST)
Main funder
Funder's project number: 295914 / S20
Funds granted by main funder (€)
- 83 776,00
Funding program
Project timetable
Project start date: 01/08/2019
Project end date: 31/12/2022
Summary
The Norwegian as well Finnish working life has generally been characterised by small wage differences, strong unions, permanent employer contracts, and a spatially well-defined relationship between the employer and the employee. Technological changes, e.g. within the fields of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and robotics, and public policies alters the choice set of employers, and influence their decision on how, where, when and what to produce. In many countries, such decisions are made in interplay with worker organisations.
Our project, entitled “Power, structure and technology – opportunities and challenges for the labour market”, focuses on how technology changes the meaning of the firm and the workplace. Drawing on insights from economics, political science, sociology and industrial relations, the PST research projects provides a detailed empirical assessment on how and to what extent digitalisation impacts on the shifting boundaries and structure of the firm and on the shifts in the balance of power between employers and workers.
First, we address how technological change such as digitalisation may affect firms and their structure, and areas within the workplace, depending not only on the type of the firm, but also on the type of union presence within the sector or firm, a key institution in the Norwegian labour market. Second, we address boundary shifts and changes in structure within the nation state, influencing inequality in the workplace and in the labour market with important implications for ethnic and gendered class based divisions. Third, we address boundary shifts and structure change outside the nation state affect workplace inequality within the nation state.
To address these research questions we have put together an interdisciplinary research team that has first rate research skills from studies of these questions. The project includes distinguished scholars from abroad, has a comparative cross-national dimension, and applies the state of the art empirical techniques to answer research questions. The ultimate relationship between technological progress and shifts in firm boundaries and the affect on different population groups is an empirical question of which we lack an understanding of because, to date, there is a lack of firm-level data on the underlying mechanisms and choices that lead to re-defining firm boundaries. Thus we conduct a firm survey targeting digitalisation, robotics, and changes in structure by outsourcing and new employment contracts, and the collective environment.
An important component of the project is comparative parts that contrast Norway, Finland, Germany and the UK. All these countries have experienced a strong increase in technological advancements (robotics usage, AI, communication speed) but at differential pace, they provide variation in institutional relationships such as employment protection, bargaining regimes, and they provide differences in industry/firm composition.
Our project, entitled “Power, structure and technology – opportunities and challenges for the labour market”, focuses on how technology changes the meaning of the firm and the workplace. Drawing on insights from economics, political science, sociology and industrial relations, the PST research projects provides a detailed empirical assessment on how and to what extent digitalisation impacts on the shifting boundaries and structure of the firm and on the shifts in the balance of power between employers and workers.
First, we address how technological change such as digitalisation may affect firms and their structure, and areas within the workplace, depending not only on the type of the firm, but also on the type of union presence within the sector or firm, a key institution in the Norwegian labour market. Second, we address boundary shifts and changes in structure within the nation state, influencing inequality in the workplace and in the labour market with important implications for ethnic and gendered class based divisions. Third, we address boundary shifts and structure change outside the nation state affect workplace inequality within the nation state.
To address these research questions we have put together an interdisciplinary research team that has first rate research skills from studies of these questions. The project includes distinguished scholars from abroad, has a comparative cross-national dimension, and applies the state of the art empirical techniques to answer research questions. The ultimate relationship between technological progress and shifts in firm boundaries and the affect on different population groups is an empirical question of which we lack an understanding of because, to date, there is a lack of firm-level data on the underlying mechanisms and choices that lead to re-defining firm boundaries. Thus we conduct a firm survey targeting digitalisation, robotics, and changes in structure by outsourcing and new employment contracts, and the collective environment.
An important component of the project is comparative parts that contrast Norway, Finland, Germany and the UK. All these countries have experienced a strong increase in technological advancements (robotics usage, AI, communication speed) but at differential pace, they provide variation in institutional relationships such as employment protection, bargaining regimes, and they provide differences in industry/firm composition.
