Technology and Professional Associations

Masashi Goto
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Masashi Goto: Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration, Kobe University, JAPAN

No DP2025-06, Discussion Paper Series from Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University

Abstract: The rapid spread of artificial intelligence (AI) is disrupting various professions. Although professional associations (PAs) play pivotal roles in professionals' dealing with changes, studies on PAs are still scarce. How can PAs respond to the rise of AI, and why can those initiatives vary by profession? This study examines auditors and attorneys in Japan from 2015 to 2023, revealing significant differences in AI adoption processes and PA roles by profession. In auditing, the national PA theorised change, claimed leadership and connected stakeholders, leading to prompt AI integration. In contrast, attorneys' engagement with their national PA was delayed, only after individuals' bottom-up efforts. These disparities arouse from structural differences, including professional governance, field configuration and perceived task-technology fit, linked with the professionals' sense of crisis. The study demonstrates PA's roles in coping with AI and their antecedents, thus lays the foundation for theorising the diversity of responses to AI across professions.

Keywords: Professions; Technological change; Associations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K4 M42 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 52 pages
Date: 2025-03
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