This study undertakes a hermeneutic analysis of the growing literature on algorithmic management. Algorithmic management is a subset of algorithmic decision-making, also referred to as algorithmic work. To date, the underlying norms, and assumptions of researchers, and how assumptions shape understandings of algorithmic management, have been under investigated. Using a hermeneutic methodology, we uncover four different onto-epistemological positions in the literature based on two overarching worldviews. The first is techno-human dualism, rooted in dualist ontological assumptions foregrounding entities. The second is techno-human entanglement, grounded in relational perspectives that view the social and material as inseparable. The worldviews are comprised of four meta-understandings that form our framework: (1) the ‘techno-centric’ view gives primacy to the technology, with humans seen as a secondary feature; (2) the ‘techno-mediated control’ view focuses on managerial power with technology a tool for control and the organization of labor; (3) the ‘techno-human enactment’ view focuses on the performative aspects of algorithmic management; and (4) the ‘techno-human being’ view explores how algorithmic management affects identity (re)formation and meaning-making. We demonstrate how onto-epistemological assumptions configure interpretations of algorithmic management. We focus on algorithms (as a foundational and integral characteristic), organizational control (a core function), and human-in-the-loop configurations (as a possible safeguard). By surfacing the plurality of assumptions in algorithmic management research, we seek to foster more engaged scholarship and encourage the virtue of choosing a research position rather than inheriting it.

中文翻译：

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进一步开展算法管理研究：通过解释性文献分析揭示基础立场


本研究对不断增长的算法管理文献进行了解释学分析。算法管理是算法决策的一个子集，也称为算法工作。迄今为止，研究人员的基本规范和假设，以及假设如何塑造对算法管理的理解，已经得到了调查。使用解释学方法，我们基于两种总体世界观揭示了文献中四种不同的本体认识论立场。第一个是技术与人类二元论，植根于突出实体的二元本体论假设。第二个是技术与人类的纠葛，其基础是认为社会和物质密不可分的关系视角。世界观由构成我们框架的四种元理解组成：（1）“以技术为中心”的观点将技术置于首位，而人类被视为次要特征； (2)“技术介导的控制”观点侧重于管理权力，技术是控制和组织劳动的工具； (3)“技术-人类制定”观点侧重于算法管理的执行方面； (4)“技术人类”观点探讨了算法管理如何影响身份（重新）形成和意义建构。我们演示本体认识论假设如何配置算法管理的解释。我们专注于算法（作为基础和整体特征）、组织控制（核心功能）和人机交互配置（作为可能的保障措施）。通过在算法管理研究中提出多元化假设，我们寻求培养更多参与性的学术成果，并鼓励选择研究职位而不是继承它的美德。