arbiter
JournalsPricingAccount

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

Vicki Little et al.

Management and Labour Studies2026https://doi.org/10.1177/0258042x251410513article
AJG 1ABDC C
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

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.

Open paper page →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/0258042x251410513

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{vicki2026,
  title        = {{Fifty Years of <i>Management and Labour Studies:</i> From the Shop Floor to New Epistemic Frontiers}},
  author       = {Vicki Little et al.},
  journal      = {Management and Labour Studies},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/0258042x251410513},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

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

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.