Technouation, 4 (1986) 143-151 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam -Printed in The Netherlands 143 zyxwvutsrqp WORKER INVOLVEMENT IN IMPLEMENTING NEW TECHNOLOGY Thomas J. Hyclak and Michael G. Kolchin College of Busmess and Economics, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015 (U.S.A.) ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to explore the importance of worker involve- ment in the implementation of new technology. While academicians have long called for greater worker involvement in the change process, in practice it seems that organizations resist such involvement to any great degree. The review of the literature presented here suggests that worker involvement is even more critical in implementing new technology as such involvement not only results in less resistance to technological change but, more impor- tantly, greater support and commitment from workers for technological change. This commitment from workers is necessary if new technology is to be successfully implemented. INTRODUCTION The widespread implications of microelectronics for the factory of the future have rekindled an interest in the literature on the unplanned human consequences of rapid technological change. Examples of such literature include Hunt and Hunt [l] , Katzman [2], Bamber [3], Skinner and Chak- raborty [4], and Rothwell and Davidson [ 51 which all discuss various aspects of the human impact of new technology. In many ways the literature echoes that of the early 196Os, which was also a period of rapid technical change accompanied by slow macroeconomic growth. One particular commonality between the current and earlier discussions of the socioeconomic consequences of change is a repeated emphasis on the need for greater worker participation in the decision-making process concerning the implementation of new technology [6--g]. While calls for greater worker involvement are common in academic studies and part and parcel of union strategies, there is not much evidence that firms go much beyond early notification of change and communication about the need for change in involving labor in decisions about change [ 10, 111. zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcba 016649’72/86/$03.50 0 1986 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.