The Perspectives on Digitalisation in Work Environments : A Systematic Literature Review and Thematic Synthesis in the Field of Business Administration

Background: While the positive sides of digitalisation in work environments have been highlighted in academic research in the field of business administration, there seems to be a lack of representation regarding the negative sides. By systematically identifying, evaluating, and summarising peer-reviewed articles in the field of digitalisation in work environments, this systematic literature review and thematic synthesis, aims to provide a nuanced and applicable overview of the scope in which the potential effects of digitalisation within work-related office contexts are researched in the field of business administration. Methods: Ontology - Relativism; Epistemology - constructionism, inductive approach; Methodology - Qualitative research design, systematic literature review; Data collection - systematic 12-step guideline; Data analysis - thematic synthesis Findings: The findings uncover several patterns in the relevant literature through a summary of the content of the analysed batch in descriptive themes and synthesising patterns through the creation of analytical themes, in which perspectives of organisational as well as employed actors were analysed. The results illustrate the motivations for digital transformations for organisational actors and employees as well as their respective drawbacks. Discussion: The study suggests that digitalisation in work environments is typically portrayed positively in research within the field of business administration. There is an implicit unanimous perception among academics in business administration that depict digitalisation in work environments as desirable and portray a view where digitalisation is not questioned. As a consequence, the papers show an absence in terms of alternatives beyond the digitalisation scope through the retrieved literature batch. Conclusion: As there are clear patterns of the favourable depiction of digital technologies visible in this study, implications of a one-sided representation of digital technology are valid in the context of the analysed data. Other: The papers were subject to no external funding, meaning that the two authors covered all costs derived throughout the writing process