IT
Call for Papers – SINAPPSI n. 2/2024 – deadline 15th January
Technological development, digitisation, job quality, and industrial relations
Guest editors: Tiziana Canal, Giorgio Gosetti, Matteo Luppi
Context
Technological development and digital innovation, the transformation of organisational models, remote working, the evolution of productivity and labour costs, restructuring and production relocations, are just a few examples of the contingent and future challenges that the de-standardised, hybrid, heterogeneous, polarised society of works (Accornero 1997) is currently facing. In this context, analyses regarding the transformative potential of the technological and digital revolution over the past decade have primarily proposed a quantitative reading in an attempt to anticipate and/or monitor changes in employment levels and characteristics (Adams 2018; Goos 2018). The potential risk of job losses or corporate and sectoral crises has significantly permeated both national and international policy debates.
The ongoing processes of technological change, however, are recentring the focus on work organization and, as a result, on the organizational principles capable of generating varying levels of job quality (Gallino 1983; La Rosa and Cecere 1983) and working life quality (Gosetti 2022). State-of-the-art technologies can be differentiated, thus influencing organizational models in different directions, leading to the redesign of the division of labour, operational mechanisms, job content and the workers’ skill profiles. The society of works is now also the society of hybrid occupations, where jobs transcend their traditional sectoral and classification boundaries.
Recent developments, particularly with the proliferation of digital work platforms and the extensive experimentation with remote work, have broadened and articulated the discussion, encompassing both old and new issues related to the digitization process, including working conditions, regulatory frameworks, health and safety concerns, governance, and industrial relations, among others. In this context, new margins of action are opening up for industrial relations concerning the modalities and content of representation. Notably, the introduction of digital technologies provides new spaces for organisational design, and consequently, for intervening in the design of job quality. These spaces can also be occupied by negotiations between the involved parties within the realm of industrial relations (Carrieri and Feltrin 2016). At the same time, actors within industrial relations are compelled to undergo organizational changes and identify strategies and modes of action to effectively navigate this new landscape (Diamond and Freeman 2002). From this perspective, it is increasingly essential for scholars and practitioners in the field to discern the nature of change trajectories and their character, whether contingent or structural.
Themes for contributions
The thematic issue 2/2024 intends to host contributions that reflect upon the relationship between technological and digital developments in the field of labour and emerging forms of social representation and protection. For employees and employers across various geographical locations and sectors, digital technology offers greater opportunities, but it also presents greater challenges and risks concerning job quality. Consideration must be given to the aforementioned health and safety aspects, the issue of worker monitoring and surveillance (Ball 2021), and the role of collective bargaining, particularly at the secondary level. Fuelled by a strongly interdisciplinary approach to the issues raised above, this call welcomes contributions from authors representing different fields, with a focus on job quality, addressing the following themes:
- Digitisation, collective bargaining; outsourcing and industrial relations;
- digitisation, outsourcing and industrial relations;
- technological and digital transformation, collective representation and direct participation;
- technological innovation and the evolution of trade union rights;
- developments in AI, innovative workforce managementmodels and job quality;
- new technologies, the cognitive performance content, autonomy, and the role of outcome;
- ICT and digitisation, productivity, new work organisation, hourly flexibility, and reduced working hours.
Within these subjects, we encourage the submission of original papers (not submitted to other journals) of length between 5,000 and 8,000 words for publication in the 2/2024 issue. The papers must reach the editorial staff of Sinappsi ([email protected]) by January 15, 2024, to be sent to the referees (through a double-blind peer review) following acceptance by the scientific/editorial committee of the journal.
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