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Digitalisation, between disruption and evolution

Author

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  • Gérard Valenduc

    (Chaire Travail-Université (UCL), Belgium
    Universities of Louvain-la-Neuve (UCL) and Namur (UNamur), Belgium
    European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), Belgium)

  • Patricia Vendramin

    (Open Faculty for Economic and Social Policy at the University of Louvain-la-Neuve (UCL), Belgium
    Chaire Travail-Université (UCL), Belgium)

Abstract

This article questions the disruptive nature of the current process of digitalisation from a retrospective point of view. Four aspects of this process are considered: digitised information as a strategic economic resource; the nature and pace of industrial revolutions; the contested nature of the link between technology and employment; and the shift from flexible work practices towards virtual work. The article reviews some salient research findings from the past three decades and confronts them with recent publications concerning the future of work in the digital economy. It argues that the current wave of digitalisation combines, on the one hand, continuing trends in the analysis of the information society or knowledge-based society, and, on the other hand, significant breakthroughs the scope and impacts of which must be carefully assessed, avoiding any return to technological determinism.

Suggested Citation

  • Gérard Valenduc & Patricia Vendramin, 2017. "Digitalisation, between disruption and evolution," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 23(2), pages 121-134, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:treure:v:23:y:2017:i:2:p:121-134
    DOI: 10.1177/1024258917701379
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Carlota Perez, 2010. "Technological revolutions and techno-economic paradigms," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 34(1), pages 185-202, January.
    2. Perez, Carlota, 2015. "From Long Waves to Great Surges," European Journal of Economic and Social Systems, Lavoisier, vol. 27(1-2), pages 70-80.
    3. Gérard Valenduc & Patricia Vendramin, 2001. "Telework: from distance working to new forms of flexible work organisation," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 7(2), pages 244-257, May.
    4. David H. Autor, 2015. "Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace Automation," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(3), pages 3-30, Summer.
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    Cited by:

    1. Agnieszka Piasna & Jan Drahokoupil, 2017. "Gender inequalities in the new world of work," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 23(3), pages 313-332, August.
    2. Deborah Giustini, 2021. "The Impact Of Labour Market Trends On The Employment Of R&D Personnel: A Literature Review," HSE Working papers WP BRP 117/STI/2021, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    3. Julien Charles & Isabelle Ferreras & Auriane Lamine, 2020. "A freelancers’ cooperative as a case of democratic institutional experimentation for better work: a case study of SMart-Belgium," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 26(2), pages 157-174, May.

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