Strategic Management and the Politics of Production in the Development of Work: A Case Study in a Danish Electronic Manufacturing Plant

After presenting different conceptions of work politics in industrial sociology and sociology of organization, the authors argue that changes in work and technology, and hence the politics of work, may be better comprehended through a concept of the social constitution of the company. Subsequently, this concept is used as a theoretical and methodological basis for an in-depth case study of the processes of social change connected with the introduction of semi-autonomous working groups in a Danish electronic manufacturing plant. It is shown that the historically developed norms and culture of the organization - referred to here as the social constitution of the company - contribute to the creation of profound, ambivalent attitudes among management as well as workers towards more fundamental changes of work content and organization. Finally, the implications for strategic management for the development of work at the company level are discussed.