Weizenbaum Discussion Paper

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Auflistung Weizenbaum Discussion Paper nach Forschungsbereichen "Organisation von Wissen"

Gerade angezeigt 1 - 9 von 9
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    COVID-19 and Platform Work in Germany: Lessons for the New Normal
    (Weizenbaum Institute, 2024) Herzog, Lorena; Cooiman, Franziska; Gerber, Christine; Wandjo, David
    During the COVID-19 pandemic, when public life was largely brought to a standstill by lockdowns and curfews, the vast presence of last-mile-delivery workers rushing to deliver parcels, grocery shopping or take- away-meals on the streets of German cities came to the fore. Platform-based service provision has become widespread in recent years. The platform economy more than quadrupled in recent years, reaching a size of 14bn EUR in 2020, compared to just 3bn EUR in 2016 (European Council 2023). COVID-19 has created an exceptional situation, both for platforms and platform workers: Platform companies faced unstable economic conditions and government restrictions. Meanwhile, many platform workers, especially in the delivery and mobility sector, were exposed to significant health risks as they ensured the upholding of social reproduction throughout the pandemic. However, public attention for the perils of platform workers has quickly died down again. Today, the platform economy continues to provide sought-after services and constitutes a source of income for a growing number of workers struggling with precarious employment conditions. It is crucial to take stock of the effects of COVID-19 on the platform economy and its workers – both to gain an understanding of the new normal of platform work in the post-pandemic economy and to determine the political changes necessary to shape this new normal in favor of fair and decent working conditions and a resilient economy.
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    Data and Digital Platforms in Industry: Implication for enterprises strategies and governance
    (Weizenbaum Institute, 2021) Butollo, Florian; Schneidemesser, Lea
    This article explores the position of industrial internet platforms (IIP) in manufacturing value chains. We develop an understanding of the role of data in global value chains (GVCs), referring to literature on intangible assets and theories on platform business models. We use data from a qualitative empirical study based on 45 interviews on platforms active on the German market to answer (1) whether there are tendencies of oligopolization that lead to an accumulation of power on the side of the platforms, and (2) whether it is the platforms that capture most of the gains derived from higher productivity or lower transaction costs. The analysis shows that platforms mainly act as service providers and/or intermediaries that support manufacturing companies in reaping benefits from data. While the relationship between platforms and manufacturers currently corresponds to a symbiosis, a stronger power imbalance could evolve in the future since processes of oligopolization are likely.
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    Deglobalization, Reconfiguration, or Business as Usual? COVID-19 and the limits of reshoring of globalized production
    (Weizenbaum Institute, 2022) Butollo, Florian; Staritz, Cornelia
    The COVID-19 pandemic has seemingly reinforced the need for geographic restructuring and a rehoring of production, as it has demonstrated the vulnerability of globalized production. This article provides an assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the geographies of production, looking particularly at developments in the automotive, electronics, and clothing industries. Criticizing overly simplified prospects for deglobalization, we argue that the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be interpreted as a trigger for a general retreat from global manufacturing but rather as an event that is reinforcing long-standing shifts toward more multipolar production and consumption. While the issue of global production network resilience has attracted great attention in corporate strategies and industrial policies, re- or nearshoring of production networks is only one of several strategies and it has hardly been implemented so far. Ongoing disruptions and, above all, geoeconomically/-politically and environmentally motivated policies could well lead to a shift in investment and sourcing patterns. Political efforts in this direction are, however, limited by pre-existing global economic development paths and the balance of power associated with them.
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    Die Symbiose von generativer KI und Arbeit
    (Weizenbaum Institute, 2024) Butollo, Florian; Gerber, Christine; Görnemann, Esther; Greminger, Lea; Katzinski, Ann; Kulla, Marlene; Sirman-Winkler, Mareike; Spott, Justus
    Die Verbreitung von generativen KI-Anwendungen (GKI) in der Arbeitswelt führt zu weitläufigen Spekulationen über die Zukunft der Arbeit. In diesem Policy Brief formulieren wir auf Grundlage theoretischer Überlegungen und erster empirischer Eindrücke Thesen über das Verhältnis von GKI und Arbeit, die zugleich als Hypothesen des Forschungsprojekts GENKIA dienen, in denen wir die Veränderungen von Arbeit in Programmierung, Journalismus, Marketing, Personalmanagement und öffentlicher Verwaltung empirisch untersuchen. Die Thesen lauten: (1) Trotz technischer Durchbrüche stellt GKI kein Äquivalent zu menschlicher Intelligenz dar; (2) GKI wird durch menschliche Arbeit nutzbar; (3) GKI stellt eine neue Qualität der Interaktion zwischen Mensch und Maschine dar; (4) Die Einführung von GKI macht Arbeit; (5) Generative KI erfordert neue Antworten im Sinne guter Arbeit.
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    Digitalisierung und die Pandemie – aus der Krise lernen
    (Weizenbaum Institute, 2024-04) Gerber, Christine; Cooiman, Franziska; Butollo, Florian; Krzywdzinski, Martin; Wandjo, David; Danyeli, Matthias; Delicat, Nina; Herzog, Lorena
    Die vorliegende Studie skizziert, welche Technologien und Anwendungen im Zuge der Pandemie in Unternehmen an Bedeutung gewonnen haben und welche Ressourcen ihnen bei der Digitalisierung zugutekamen. Die Befunde basieren auf 34 qualitativen Fallstudien in sechs Sektoren (Maschinenbau, Logistik, Automobil, Chemie, Finanzen, Gesundheit) sowie einer quantitativen Befragung von 540 Betrieben. Die Pandemie hat v.a. die Virtualisierung von Kommunikation und Interaktion in Betrieben vorangetrieben. Auf Automatisierungsprozesse hatte die Pandemie wenig unmittelbaren Einfluss. Zugleich zeigen die Befunde, dass Digitalisierungsprozesse in komplexen und sozialen Kontexten verortet sind und vielfältige Ressourcen (technisch, organisatorisch, finanziell) und Bedingungen (Unternehmenskultur, regulatorische Rahmenbedingungen) benötigen. Vielmehr als einen allgemeinen Digitalisierungsschub verstärkte sich die Kluft zwischen Digitalisierungsvorreiter\*innen und -nachzügler\*innen. Abschließend formuliert die Studie Handlungsempfehlungen an Politik und Sozialpartner\*innen.
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    The COVID-19 Crisis, Digitalization, and Organizational Change
    (Weizenbaum Institute, 2025-01) Krzywdzinski, Martin; Butollo, Florian
    The study explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the digitalization and organizational changes in companies across different sectors in Germany. The research addresses the extent to which the pandemic accelerated digitalization, the variations in digitalization focus among companies, and the interplay between technological and organizational changes. Data were collected through surveys conducted in two waves in 2021 and 2022, encompassing 540 and 605 companies, respectively. The research employed ordered logistic regression to analyze the factors influencing digitalization investments. Key findings indicate that the pandemic acted as a catalyst for digitalization, with management awareness and employee acceptance being significant drivers. Notably, there were disparities in digitalization efforts, influenced by the economic impact of the pandemic, sectoral differences, and prior levels of digitalization. While companies with existing digital infrastructure initially led the way, less digitalized companies began to catch up over time. Organizational changes, such as new leadership concepts, cross-functional cooperation, and flexible working hours, were also linked to increased digitalization efforts. The study concludes that the pandemic has not only accelerated technological changes but also necessitated parallel organizational transformations to support these developments.
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    The Rebound Effects of Automation
    (Weizenbaum Institute, 2024-04) Butollo, Florian
    This contribution argues for a shift in the paradigms by which we assess the impact of automation on work. The suggested theoretical lens provides an explanation for the paradox of rising employment figures despite continuous automation. Capitalist development entails tendencies of rising complexity and acceleration of economic relationships, tendencies that are taken to extremes in digital capitalism. Therefore, we need to acknowledge countertendencies to a substitution of work, framed as three rebound effects of automation: rising complexity of production and the division of labour, work related to the introduction of automation and work needed to mitigate the societal consequences of capitalist development. Using short case studies on work in logistics, industry and care, the implementation of digital technology is shown to be partly motivated by the labour market situation – automation technologies are introduced to mitigate labour shortages. However, the case studies also illustrate the exuberant expectations about the effects of digitalisation in this respect. While the narratives behind the introduction of digital technologies are heavily shaped by the motivation to combat labour shortages, the actual technologies are barely equipped to do so. Conflicts about the (relief from) an excessive burden at work begin to take on centre stage in industrial relations.
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    The Symbiosis of Generative AI and Work
    (Weizenbaum Institute, 2024-11) Butollo, Florian; Gerber, Christine; Görnemann, Esther; Greminger, Lea; Katzinski, Ann; Kulla, Marlene; Sirman-Winkler, Mareike; Spott, Justus
    The proliferation of generative AI (GenAI) applications in the workplace has led to widespread speculation about the future of work. In this discussion paper, we formulate five theses on the relationship between GenAI and work, based on theoretical considerations and initial empirical impressions. They also serve as hypotheses for the GENKIA research project, in which we empirically examine changes in work across programming, journalism, marketing, HR management and public administration. The hypotheses are as follows: (1) Despite technical breakthroughs, GenAI is not an equivalent to human intelligence; (2) GenAI becomes usable through human labor; (3) GenAI represents a new quality of interaction between humans and machines; (4) The introduction of GenAI creates work; (5) Generative AI requires new answers to ensure good working conditions.
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    Zwei Welten der KI in der Arbeitswelt: Wie Management und Betriebsräte die Einführung und Nutzung von KI-Anwendungen gestalten
    (Weizenbaum Institute, 2024) Krzywdzinski, Martin; Wotschack, Philip; Butollo, Florian; Ottaiano, Mario; Schneidemesser, Lea; Schneiß, Daniel
    Die vorliegende Befragung von 385 Managern und 224 Betriebsräten in besonders KI-affinen Branchen und Betrieben zeigt, dass der Einsatz von KI-Anwendungen dort immer mehr an Dynamik gewinnt. Etwa die Hälfte der befragten Betriebe nutzen mindestens eine KI-Anwendung im Regelbetrieb. Wenn Pilotprojekte berücksichtigt werden, steigt der Anteil der Betriebe mit KI-Anwendungen auf etwa zwei Drittel. Besonders verbreitet ist der Einsatz von KI-Anwendungen in den Funktionsbereichen IT, Verwaltung sowie Vertrieb und Marketing. Die zentralen Ziele der Einführung von KI sind die Automatisierung von Arbeitsschritten und Stärkung der Effizienz der Prozesse. Fast zwei Drittel der befragten Betriebe experimentieren allerdings auch und führen KI-Anwendungen zur Erprobung des Potentials der Technik ein. Die zentralen Herausforderungen für die Unternehmen beziehen sich auf die Rekrutierung qualifizierten Personals und Fragen der Datenbereitstellung, wie die Absicherung gegen Datenschutzrisiken oder Sicherung der Datenqualität. Es wird zudem ein dringender Handlungsbedarf bei den Ausbildungsinstitutionen gesehen, um der rasant steigenden Nachfrage nach KI-Fachkräften zu entsprechen.