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Haipeter, Thomas
Merchants as employees and service sector workers - a sociological investigation
A study of commercial and business management occupations undertaken from an industrial sociology perspective
The type of occupation we now term "commercial employee" began to emerge as a mass phenomenon approximately 100 years ago. It underwent differentiation as services and the various status groups continued to develop. Notwithstanding this, today's commercial employees still face similar requirements. These are associated with the keywords of informationalisation, customer orientation, market-centred management, the breaking down of barriers and the flexibilisation of work and internationalisation.
The present study collates industrial sociology findings regarding commercial employees and provides a helpful contribution towards an investigation of the commonalities and differences between commercial and business management occupations within the scope of a BIBB research project.
Academic Research Discussion Paper issue 126 (in German)
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