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Reflections on Sociotechnical Change: New Directions for and Continuities in Research on New Technology, Work, and Employment
Open accessAbstract
This reflective article identifies three interconnected themes for advancing scholarship on new technology, work and employment. First, it calls for stronger theorisation of technology and deeper engagement with the political economy of Big Tech and AI. Attending to the material and political dimensions of technological systems is vital for challenging dominant narratives that present technologically driven change as inevitable. Second, the article argues for widening the empirical scope of research beyond the “new, new technologies,” while overlooking less visible sectors and the differing experiences of adopters and non‐adopters within the same industries. Broadening the empirical field and methodological repertoire would illuminate the uneven and variegated nature of digitalisation. Third, the article emphasises the importance of historical contextualisation. Situating contemporary developments within longer trajectories of workplace transformation is essential for understanding ongoing challenges and informing research on work futures.
Overview
CoChat Summary
TL;DR
This reflective article proposes three interconnected directions for research on new technology, work, and employment: stronger theorisation of technology and political economy of Big Tech/AI, a wider empirical and methodological lens beyond “new, new technologies,” and deeper historical contextualisation. It argues that sociotechnical change should be understood as politically contested, uneven, and historically situated rather than inevitable.
Key findings
- The article calls for renewed theorisation of technology and political economy, arguing that AI is often black-boxed or presented as an autonomous, magical force, which obscures the social, economic, political, and organisational processes behind its production and implementation.
- It highlights the material dominance of Big Tech: the Magnificent 7 companies constitute around 35 per cent of the value of the US stock market, and NVIDIA alone makes up 8 per cent of the entire S&P 500, which the authors describe as a gigantic bubble financed by fictitious capital.
- It argues that research should expand beyond highly visible cases to under-explored sectors such as education, retail, hospitality, manufacturing, and construction, and to adopters versus non-adopters within the same industries, including logistics SMEs alongside Amazon warehouses.
- It emphasises historical contextualisation, warning that snapshot studies and fixation on the “new technologies du jour” obscure continuities such as Taylorism, metrics, surveillance, and earlier ICT-mediated control systems.
Methods
- This is a brief, reflective article rather than an empirical study; it identifies three interrelated directions for advancing scholarship in the field.
- No datasets were generated or analysed, as stated in the data availability note.
- The argument is developed through conceptual discussion and engagement with existing literature, including examples from the journal’s back catalogue and contemporary debates on AI, platforms, and Big Tech.
Limitations
- The paper does not state formal limitations.
- Evident from the text: as a reflective piece, it offers no new empirical data, systematic review, or tested hypotheses, so its claims are conceptual and agenda-setting rather than empirically demonstrated.
- Evident from the text: its examples and assertions about Big Tech, AI, and digitalisation rely on selected literature and illustrative cases rather than a comprehensive or representative dataset.
Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.
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Claims the paper makes
0 Valid · 9 Not valid · 24 Not checked · 18 Own results and interpretations
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“These issues are compounded by the ways in which new technologies can facilitate blurred spatio-temporal boundaries.”
§ Reflections on Sociotechnical Change: New Directions for and Continuities in Research on New Technology, Work, and Employment > 1.2 | Expanding the Empirical Lens and Extending the Methodological Range
plainstates a possible cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: unclear — It is unclear why the paper says it holds.
In the paper
“These corporations, with considerable infrastructural power, shape global supply chains, labour markets, and workplace practices through their applications, platforms, and ecosystems (Klinge et al. 2022).”
§ Reflections on Sociotechnical Change: New Directions for and Continuities in Research on New Technology, Work, and Employment > 1.1 | Beyond the Black Box: Renewing Theorisation of New Technology and Work
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Klinge et al. 2022 source
plainstates a cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Accordingly, the generalised legacy in terms of tightened managerial control, cost cutting, intensification of work, Taylorist continuities, metrics and target obsession (Taylor 2019) is an inherited workplace eco-system, in which subsequent, 'new, new technologies' (Holtgrewe 2014) have been and are being implemented.”
§ Reflections on Sociotechnical Change: New Directions for and Continuities in Research on New Technology, Work, and Employment > 1.3 | Historical Challenges in Studying New Technology and Work
What the sources say
plainstates a cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A statement the paper makes itself — it cites no source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Developments in workplace technology are frequently treated as either one-off ruptures or piecemeal shifts, rather than part of a longer trajectory of challenges to the workforce, management and regulatory actors in terms of working conditions and their environment.”
§ Reflections on Sociotechnical Change: New Directions for and Continuities in Research on New Technology, Work, and Employment > 1.3 | Historical Challenges in Studying New Technology and Work
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: unclear — It is unclear whether it could be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: unclear — It is unclear why the paper says it holds.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“The importance of situating organisational practices, such as management control and surveillance, within their historical context is underscored by the enduring influence of scientific management (see Bain et al. 2002;Conti and Warner 1993;Carter et al. 2011).”
§ Reflections on Sociotechnical Change: New Directions for and Continuities in Research on New Technology, Work, and Employment > 1.3 | Historical Challenges in Studying New Technology and Work
What the sources say
plainstates a cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
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Citations
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Cited by
Hodder, A., Valizade, D., Hardy, K., MacKenzie, R., & Smith, A. (2026) · New Technology, Work and Employment · doi:10.1111/ntwe.70054
Metadata
- Authors
- Howcroft, D., Lucio, M. M., & Taylor, P.
- Affiliations
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Alliance Manchester Business School University of Manchester Manchester UK
- University of Strathclyde (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Howcroft, Debra
- Venue
- New Technology, Work and Employment
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2026-10-15
- Volume
- 41
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 319-325
- ISSN
- 0268-1072 (ISSN-L)
- 1468-005X
- OpenAlex
- W7222006374
- Semantic Scholar
- 6232c03896627ccfa2cdef7a60ff5800e6df56a9
- Cited by
- 1
- References
- 62
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1
- FWCI
- 5.50
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (vor)
- doi.wiley.com/10.1002/tdm_license_1.1 (tdm)
- Locations
- New Technology Work and Employment (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Strathprints: The University of Strathclyde institutional repository (University of Strathclyde) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Economy and Work Transformation
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Industrial relations › Legal and Labor Studies
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Industrial relations › Employment, Labor, and Gender Studies
- Keywords
- socio-technical change, new technologies, work and employment, Big Tech, artificial intelligence, political economy of technology, digitalization, technology adoption, changing nature of work, theory of technology
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