Identity and technology: Organizational control of knowledge-intensive work

Guowei Jian

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Much has been written about the functioning of managerial ideologies in identity-based organizational control. However, less attention has been given to the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and identity defined by a technological discourse in regulating knowledge-intensive work. The purpose of this research is to examine the roles of identity and ICTs in the control of knowledge-intensive work. A case study of a technology service organization reveals that the construction and consumption of a technologist identity operate as organizational control, and that ICTs enable the functioning of a dialectic of technological control. This study also demonstrates the paradoxical nature of work knowledge that both empowers and controls knowledge-workers.

    Original languageAmerican English
    JournalQualitative Research Reports in Communication
    Volume9
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Oct 16 2008

    Keywords

    • control
    • ICTs
    • identity construction
    • knowledge workers
    • organizational knowledge

    Disciplines

    • Communication
    • Interpersonal and Small Group Communication
    • Organizational Communication

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