Digitalization, Institutions and the Future of Sustainable Work

Abstract

Current trends in the digital transformation of business are reshaping the nature of work in unprecedented ways. The chapter reviews the discourse around the on-going impact of digitalization on work and contemplates the future of sustainable work. It argues that the digital transformation hype is driven by the management consultancies, which seek to overplay the benefits of the new digital business models and the construction of new digital markets. By contrast, policy-making reports and academic literature remain cautious and warn against the potential negative effects of digitalization. The chapter suggests that a comparative institutional perspective is needed, and proposes an agenda for research that shall examine more closely the effects of digital transformations across countries and sectors.