PhD Defence: Sébastien Brossard

In order to obtain the PhD degree, Sébastien Brossard has submitted his thesis entitled:

Exploring agency and power dynamics at work in algorithmic management systems
An activity-centered and relational inquiry

Based on 16-month observations in several workplaces, this dissertation examines employees’ ambivalent response to algorithmic management systems (AMS) through three interrelated papers, using relational ethnography and an activity-centered approach informed by Simondon’s perspective on human-technology relations.

The research challenges the prevailing view in organizational studies of employees’ confrontational resistance to AMS, proposing instead the concept of ‘resistive participation’ to capture their ambiguous engagement with technology. Through this lens, it highlights subsequently employees’ dual agency in AMS use, arguing the emergence of a ‘techno-subject’ characterized by its potential to appropriate technology for its own benefit. This is further supported by findings on organizations’ reliance on employees’ autonomy and ‘non-formal’ labor for AMS to function, thereby upending established roles in technology use.

Ultimately, the dissertation deepens understanding in organizational research of how AMS reshape employees' agency and autonomy at work, and the implications for power dynamics in the digital workplace.

The thesis will be available from research.cbs.dk

Primary Supervisor:

Professor Mikkel Flyverbom
Department of Management, Society and Communication
Copenhagen Business School 

Secondary Supervisors: 

Professor Brit Ross Winthereik
Department of Technology, Management and Economics
Technical University of Denmark 

Assessment Committee:

Professor Dennis Schoeneborn (Chair)
Department of Management, Society and Communication
Copenhagen Business School 

Professor Marleen Huysmann
School of Business and Economics, Knowledge, Information and Innovation
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam 

Professor Torben Elgaard Jensen
Department of Culture and Learning
Aalborg University 

Date: 20 October 2025
Time: 13:00-15:00
Online: TEAMS

*Please note that the microphone and camera of all spectators must be turned off.

Location: Dalgas Have
Room: DH.Ø.0.89
Reception: Faculty Club (ground floor next to canteen)

*The CBS PhD School will host a reception, which will take place immediately after the defence.