Paper Number
1298
Paper Type
Completed
Description
Algorithms increasingly take on tasks traditionally performed by humans. They not only serve as co-workers to their human counterparts but increasingly take over management tasks by supervising and coordinating human workers – a phenomenon referred to as Algorithmic Management (AM). There is a growing research interest in this topic, but currently, the field lacks an overview and thorough understanding of what types of managerial work algorithms already perform. We address this with a structured literature review. We find that the automation of management work and workers’ responses to it (so-called algoactivism) have received the most attention. However, the configuration of AM systems has so far received little systematic attention. We further analyze which management functions algorithms perform. We find that while algorithms primarily supervise and investigate workers, coordinating interdependent workers and tasks has not been addressed. We propose several avenues for future research.
Recommended Citation
Becker, Luc; Wurm, Bastian; and Hess, Thomas, "Will Algorithms Replace Managers? A Systematic Literature Review on Algorithmic Management" (2023). ICIS 2023 Proceedings. 17.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2023/techandfow/techandfow/17
Will Algorithms Replace Managers? A Systematic Literature Review on Algorithmic Management
Algorithms increasingly take on tasks traditionally performed by humans. They not only serve as co-workers to their human counterparts but increasingly take over management tasks by supervising and coordinating human workers – a phenomenon referred to as Algorithmic Management (AM). There is a growing research interest in this topic, but currently, the field lacks an overview and thorough understanding of what types of managerial work algorithms already perform. We address this with a structured literature review. We find that the automation of management work and workers’ responses to it (so-called algoactivism) have received the most attention. However, the configuration of AM systems has so far received little systematic attention. We further analyze which management functions algorithms perform. We find that while algorithms primarily supervise and investigate workers, coordinating interdependent workers and tasks has not been addressed. We propose several avenues for future research.
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