An uncertain elite: Professional differences and similarities between engineers and tech workers in times of digital transformation

Martin Krzywdzinski, Sabine Pfeiffer, Martin Kuhlmann, Mario Ottaiano, Michael Heinlein, Tobias Ritter, Judith Neumer and Norbert Huchler

EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, 2025, vol. 19, issue 1, 84-104

Abstract: The digital transformation of industries has given rise to new categories of tech workers, such as software engineers and UX/UI designers, who now work alongside traditional engineers. This study explores the evolving relationship between these groups, focusing on work processes, status perceptions and professional interactions. The research questions addressed include: how has digitalisation affected these two groups’ work processes? what strategies do they use to maintain or improve their career paths? and how do their roles converge or diverge? Using qualitative data from interviews and workshops in a German automotive company undergoing a digital and electric mobility transformation, the study finds both competition and cooperation between engineers and IT professionals, with the former adopting some IT work methods and the latter adjusting to the highly structured processes of the industrial sector. Despite growing overlaps, distinct professional identities nevertheless remain.

Keywords: digitalisation; sociology of professions; automotive industry; engineers; data science (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/315548/1/F ... -uncertain-elite.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:espost:315548

DOI: 10.13169/workorgalaboglob.19.1.0084

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters from ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics ().