The role of political economy in the strategic choice for automation: a case study in a German logistics firm

Abstract

The current automation debate neglects the social conditions underpinning technological change. Following recent labour process analysis (LPA) concepts and the Regulation School theory of the firm, I apply a firm-level strategic choice approach to trace the political-economic and organisational conditions associated with automation in logistics. To this end, I reconstruct the strategic choice of industrial automation in a German parcel logistics firm. Moreover, I compare two types of distribution centres on the level of task automation in the company and discuss the failed implementation of the automation project. I employ qualitative data about the company and four of its facilities to trace the process. The case selection fits the current debate as logistics has a high share of routine jobs, and therefore – according to labour economists – the industry faces a high risk of automation-induced job displacement. The analysis yields that actors drew on six essential conditions for the automation project at the firm and the political-economic level. The case study demonstrates the working of an ambivalent causal mechanism and stresses the relevance of organisational affordances and material-technical requirements for successful automation projects. The results synthesise the political-economic and organisational conditions that need to be considered in technological change in logistics. Thereby the article adds to a political economy of automation. Ultimately, the findings also emphasise the need for labour strategies centring on technological change in logistics.