Technology in Work and Organisation

New technology creates great opportunities, but the benefits do not come by themselves. Technology must be adapted to people, work processes and the organisation, while the organisation, work processes and expertise must be adapted to the technology. This mutual adaptation is crucial for creating good results. Our group researches how businesses and society can use technology in an efficient, responsible and sustainable way. We combine technology understanding with expertise in organisation, working life and innovation.

Our expertise

We have solid social science expertise and a deep understanding of technology on a number of technologies. With this as a starting point, we help businesses, authorities and organizations to:

• Understand how new technology affects work and organization.
• Identify competence needs for knowledge of digital transformation processes.
• Develop work processes and organization that support technological change.
• Evaluate benefits and effects, and identify barriers in the introduction of new solutions and investments.
• Develop responsible and ethical use of AI.
• Strengthen cooperation, participation and leadership in change processes.
• Raise the competence in their own organization.
• Ensure that the transformation is carried out in line with the ideas from the social partners in Norway and the Norwegian work-life systems.

How we work

We work closely with businesses, governments, employers' organisations and trade unions who want to adopt new technology or understand its consequences. Our strength is that we combine a deep understanding of working life and organisation with close knowledge of technology. We focus on technology in a work and business context: how does it affect roles, competence and organisation in practice? Thus, we provide a realistic look at what actually creates value.

At the enterprise level, we investigate how technology affects work processes, organisation and value creation. In recent years, we have worked with artificial intelligence, 3D printing, drones, carbon capture and storage (CCS), quantum sensors, AR/VR, information systems and wind-assisted propulsion of ships, among other things.

At the strategic and societal level, we analyse the potential, consequences and reception of technologies in society. Among other things, we study:

• Innovation and business opportunities.
• Ethical issues related to digitalisation and artificial intelligence.
• Attitudes towards new technology.
• Technological transformation in industries and sectors.
• Future competence needs.

We use established methods from the social sciences, industrial economics and strategy subjects, in addition to methods for futures studies, and participation and involvement in technology assessments.

What sets us apart?

Our strength is that we see the whole picture. Technology is not just about systems and solutions. When new technology is introduced, work processes, roles, skills needs and the way people collaborate change. The goal is always the same: to create lasting value through the interaction between technology, people and the organization.

We are action research oriented and do not conduct research on working life, we conduct research together with working life. The workplace is our laboratory. We build on long traditions in Norwegian working life research and the Norwegian cooperation model. This gives us a solid basis for developing solutions that strengthen productivity, innovation and the working environment. The group participates in, and leads, a number of international research projects, particularly within Horizon Europe. We collaborate closely with other research groups in SINTEF, NTNU and European R&D institutions. Through these projects, we contribute to knowledge about the future of work, industry and public services, while at the same time building strong international networks. We also work closely with a number of consulting companies to disseminate our research results in practice.

We are also concerned with developing research and research methods. We conduct research on, among other things, action research, citizen science and futures studies, with results published in scientific articles, books and reports.

Some highlights

Within working life and organisation, we have conducted research on participation, leadership and digital transformation. Among other things, we have developed models for participatory leadership and tools for measuring participation. We have worked with many technologies, but in recent years artificial intelligence has been central. In artificial intelligence (AI), we have:

• mapped the use and opportunities of AI in academic professions
• studied the use of AI in school
• developed models for responsible use of AI
• contributed to the development of AI solutions in the business sector
• the work of emerging language technology and interpreting technology
• leads an EU project on capabilities in general purpose AI (AI) models.

What we can help you with

We can contribute with research-based knowledge and analyses in:

• the importance of technology for work and organisation
• the potential and consequences of new technology
• responsible and ethical use of technology
• digital transformation and transformation
• cooperation, participation, leadership and team development
• evaluation of digital solutions
• competence development and learning
• value creation through technology.

Want to work with us?

Do you want to understand the opportunities a new technology offers? Do you need a knowledge base to carry out a digital transformation or ensure that technology investments actually yield results? We collaborate with companies through research and innovation projects, strategic advice, piloting, evaluation and knowledge development.

Together, we develop knowledge that works in practice, and that creates value for both businesses and society.