Arbeitshandeln und der digitale Wandel von kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen: Die Rolle des Menschen und die Grenzen der Formalisierung 4.0

The thesis underlying this paper is that the technology-driven guiding principles of digital change, as they are represented in the context of the Industry 4.0 vision, do not (resp. not sufficiently) take into account the specific potentials of human work action. Granted that in current discourses, in contrast to earlier technization strategies aiming at a “factory without people,” normative markers concerning the status of human workers are being set–but these normative markers lack functional and empirical underpinnings, they do not substantially consider the contributions of human work action to work results and economic success. Using the example of an empirical study in small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, this paper undertakes to reveal functional achievements of human workforce that cannot be replaced but only either disturbed or promoted by digital technology. Two conclusions are drawn from the empirical results: models of digitization that do not systematically perceive and consider the functional performances of human work action are dysfunctional, and particularly so in small and medium-sized enterprises. And: it is not digitization as such that endangers the options for human agency, rather digital technology is even capable of enhancing them; however, it has to be consciously designed to this end, and this is possible. Currently, suitable concepts and solutions for a successful interplay between humans, technology and organization in the context of dogital work are still missing.