The New Sociopolitical and Economic Dynamics of Digitalisation and Automation in Romania’s Automotive Industry
The Fourth Industrial Revolution, characterised by the convergence of digital, biological, and physical innovations, is fundamentally transforming industries, economies, and the very fabric of society. This study focusses on the Romanian automotive industry - a sector at the forefront of technolo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Editura ASE
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Amfiteatru Economic |
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| Online Access: | https://www.amfiteatrueconomic.ro/temp/Article_3385.pdf |
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| author | Irina Alina Popescu Irina Elena Ion Klára Čermáková Radu Cristian Mușetescu Ramona Iulia Dieaconescu Ana-Maria Marinoiu |
| author_facet | Irina Alina Popescu Irina Elena Ion Klára Čermáková Radu Cristian Mușetescu Ramona Iulia Dieaconescu Ana-Maria Marinoiu |
| author_sort | Irina Alina Popescu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Fourth Industrial Revolution, characterised by the convergence of digital, biological,
and physical innovations, is fundamentally transforming industries, economies, and the
very fabric of society. This study focusses on the Romanian automotive industry - a sector
at the forefront of technological disruption, examining the impact of digitalisation and
automation (D&A) on the labour market and the broader societal implications. First, this
research examines the perceptions and experiences of employees and trade union
representatives within this industry, addressing critical issues such as changes in working
conditions, job security, workload, and workplace safety. Second, this study discusses how
these firm-level changes in D&A inform the emerging political economy of digitalisation in
Romania, with a special emphasis on the ongoing debate between liberalism and statism.
The research is based on the analysis of secondary sources, as well as the analysis and
interpretation of valuable primary data collected through the semi-structured interview
method, explored in depth with the help of latent content analysis. The findings of this
study indicate a predominantly positive perception of D&A implementation, but are
accompanied by several challenges, especially changes in working conditions and the nature of managerial work. Findings offer insights into the intersection of technological
progress and sociopolitical dynamics and highlight the need for innovative, well-targeted
public policies to manage these transformations, such as industrial, labour market, and
continuing education policies, also inviting us to imagine a new social economy of
advanced technological progress in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
|
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-948ac35c3e1b4136814f3e98e4fd8aea |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1582-9146 2247-9104 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Editura ASE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Amfiteatru Economic |
| spelling | doaj-art-948ac35c3e1b4136814f3e98e4fd8aea2025-08-20T03:33:49ZengEditura ASEAmfiteatru Economic1582-91462247-91042025-02-012768557510.24818/EA/2025/68/55The New Sociopolitical and Economic Dynamics of Digitalisation and Automation in Romania’s Automotive IndustryIrina Alina Popescu0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1303-5264 Irina Elena Ion1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3839-5701 Klára Čermáková2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4392-1611Radu Cristian Mușetescu3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1964-9048Ramona Iulia Dieaconescu 4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2895-9830Ana-Maria Marinoiu5https://orcid.org/0009-0009-9657-3615The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, RomaniaBucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, RomaniaPrague University of Economics, Czech RepublicBucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, RomaniaBucharest University of Economic Studies, RomaniaThe Fourth Industrial Revolution, characterised by the convergence of digital, biological, and physical innovations, is fundamentally transforming industries, economies, and the very fabric of society. This study focusses on the Romanian automotive industry - a sector at the forefront of technological disruption, examining the impact of digitalisation and automation (D&A) on the labour market and the broader societal implications. First, this research examines the perceptions and experiences of employees and trade union representatives within this industry, addressing critical issues such as changes in working conditions, job security, workload, and workplace safety. Second, this study discusses how these firm-level changes in D&A inform the emerging political economy of digitalisation in Romania, with a special emphasis on the ongoing debate between liberalism and statism. The research is based on the analysis of secondary sources, as well as the analysis and interpretation of valuable primary data collected through the semi-structured interview method, explored in depth with the help of latent content analysis. The findings of this study indicate a predominantly positive perception of D&A implementation, but are accompanied by several challenges, especially changes in working conditions and the nature of managerial work. Findings offer insights into the intersection of technological progress and sociopolitical dynamics and highlight the need for innovative, well-targeted public policies to manage these transformations, such as industrial, labour market, and continuing education policies, also inviting us to imagine a new social economy of advanced technological progress in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. https://www.amfiteatrueconomic.ro/temp/Article_3385.pdfdigitalisationautomationlabour markettechnologysociopolitical economic systemsautomotive industry |
| spellingShingle | Irina Alina Popescu Irina Elena Ion Klára Čermáková Radu Cristian Mușetescu Ramona Iulia Dieaconescu Ana-Maria Marinoiu The New Sociopolitical and Economic Dynamics of Digitalisation and Automation in Romania’s Automotive Industry Amfiteatru Economic digitalisation automation labour market technology sociopolitical economic systems automotive industry |
| title | The New Sociopolitical and Economic Dynamics of Digitalisation and Automation in Romania’s Automotive Industry |
| title_full | The New Sociopolitical and Economic Dynamics of Digitalisation and Automation in Romania’s Automotive Industry |
| title_fullStr | The New Sociopolitical and Economic Dynamics of Digitalisation and Automation in Romania’s Automotive Industry |
| title_full_unstemmed | The New Sociopolitical and Economic Dynamics of Digitalisation and Automation in Romania’s Automotive Industry |
| title_short | The New Sociopolitical and Economic Dynamics of Digitalisation and Automation in Romania’s Automotive Industry |
| title_sort | new sociopolitical and economic dynamics of digitalisation and automation in romania s automotive industry |
| topic | digitalisation automation labour market technology sociopolitical economic systems automotive industry |
| url | https://www.amfiteatrueconomic.ro/temp/Article_3385.pdf |
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