What are we Educating Towards? Sales Assistants' Work in Digitalised Brick and Mortar Stores

• The increasing availability and use of the Internet, digital mobile technologies and software platforms are transforming social life and work. Within different industries, smartphones, handheld devices and cloud-based information management systems (IMS) are increasingly used as working tools for producing and mediating information; and to organise and streamline work. In this paper, I explore in what ways a vocation within the service sector changes in a connected workplace. The specific case is sales assistants working in brick-and-mortar (physical) stores transitioning to omnichannel commerce. Aiming at a holistic view, I take a practice-theoretical approach using the Theory of Practice Architectures as a theoretical lens and analysis tool. The study was conducted between 2015-2019 through a combination of ethnographical and qualitative online research methods. The theory of practice architectures has contributed to describe and visualise sales assistants’ work in connected checkout and customer meeting practices. Also, how brick-and-mortar stores’ transition to omnichannel commerce challenges and changes established practices and the work and competencies of sales assistants.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Media and Communications (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Data- och informationsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Computer and Information Sciences (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

connected workplace

mobile technologies

mPOS

retail

personal meeting

sales assistant

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