Old wine in new bottles? Revisiting employee participation in Industry 4.0

Abstract

AbstractThis paper aims to critically examine employee participation in Industry 4.0, with a systematic literature review. A total of 58 studies were reviewed, resulting in a categorisation of the literature into three perspectives. The ‘techno‐optimist’ and the ‘socio‐technical’ perspective dominate in the reviewed papers. They both confirm a trend that frames employee participation in a unitarist tradition, which emphasises synergies between managerial efficiency and (mostly individual) participation, leading to high innovation potential. The third perspective is rooted in critical studies. Authors writing on the latter subject predict more standardisation and centralisation, and the continued demise of collective and representative forms of participation. To better understand the role of employees in Industry 4.0, we suggest confronting the current discourse with robust empirical research. On that basis, we reject both technological and social determinism, and we acknowledge the structural ambiguities and multidimensionality of employee participation in technological transformations.