Fifty Years of Management and Labour Studies: From the Shop Floor to New Epistemic Frontiers

Vicki Little, Agnis Stibe, Anushka Siriwardana, Daisy Kanagasapapathy, Phuong Phung, Said Zahedani, Santiago Velasquez and Xiaoxia (Spice) Wang

Management and Labour Studies, 2026, vol. 51, issue 1, 11-24

Abstract: Management and Labour Studies marks its 50th anniversary at a moment of profound technological upheaval. Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping not only organizational work but also the epistemic labour of scholarship and the knowledge products it generates. This article examines how AI entanglement is transforming authorship, expertise and the legitimacy of knowledge through a bricolaged, Delphi-inspired dialogue, triangulated with industry and public debates. We map a spectrum of practices: from instrumental uses such as grammar correction and assessment support, to deeper engagement where AI becomes an epistemic co-agent. These findings highlight AI’s double-edged nature. While it can accelerate and augment scholarship, it also risks dependency, superficiality and erosion of scholarly craft. We propose collaborative, collective, epistemic reflexivity (CCER) as both a conceptual frame and a practical approach to knowledge-making under uncertainty. Conceptually, we reframe AI as a transformation of epistemic labour rather than an enhancing tool. Methodologically, we advance a transparent, Delphi-bricolage method for reflexive inquiry. Empirically, we integrate scholarly debates with industry and public framings. Management scholars must now treat epistemic labour itself as a critical site of analysis in the era of AI.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence (AI); epistemic labour; reflexivity; collaborative scholarship; Delphi (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:manlab:v:51:y:2026:i:1:p:11-24

DOI: 10.1177/0258042X251410513

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