Research Interest

I am interested in the sociology of work, organisations and markets. I have conducted research on the changing nature of work and its social relationships, on the causes and consequences of contingent work for organisations and actors and on the different ways people derive meaning from their work. Lately I became particularly interested in Performance Management Systems and how they are implemented and utilized in different sectors and with different consequences for work and its social relations. Theoretically, I have worked on a moral economy theory for the study of work, employment and organisations, utized the economic sociology approach of relational work to organisational studies and have combined the labour process theory approach with a normative moral economy lens.

In 2019 I joined the editorial board of the journal work, employment and society.

I am an experienced supervisor. I have supervised 2 PhD students, one as first supervisor, the other as second supervisor. Furthermore, I have supervised over 50 undergraduate and postgraduate students.

The article "Work, employment and society through the lens of moral economy" is listed as one of the most read articles of the journal Work, employment and society in 2017.

The article "If you are having a go..." was shortlisted for the SAGE prize of Innovation in 2017 for the journal Work, employment and society.

2024

“Moral Economy at the Crossroads” (with Perchard, A et al.). In: Economic and Industrial Democracy, Special Issue. Forthcoming in August 2024.

2023

“The Politics of Working Life and Meaningful Waged Work” (with Karlsson, J.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

"(Re-)Politisierung der subjektorientierten Arbeitssoziologie: Suchbewegungen aus der aktuellen Forschung" (with Jacobson, H.). Soziologische Revue, Vol. 46 (Issue 4), pp. 365-380.

2022

“Meaningful Work and Sociology: An Introduction”. In: Work, employment and society, 36(5), 791–797.

“The relational work of compassion and toxicity at a pupil referral unit”.Bolton, S. and Laaser, K. (2022) In: Organization.

2021

" Towards a sociology of meaningful work" (with Karlson, J.). In: Work, employment and society.

 “How meaningful work is created and sustained in low-skilled work” (with Bolton, S.C.). In: International Journal of Management Reviews.

 “Technological determinism: Revitalising labour process analyses of technology, capital and labour” (with Thompson, P.). In: Work in the Global Economy.

“The relational work of compassion and toxicity at a pupil referral unit” (with Bolton, S.C.). In: Organization.

2020

“Breaking away or holding on to the past? Exploring HRM systems of export-oriented SME in a highly uncertain context: insights from a transition economy in the periphery." (With Dilshod Makhmadshoev). In: The International Journal of Human Resource Management.

“Moral Economy of Decent Work” (with Bolton, S.C.). In: Leal Filho W., Azul A., Brandli L., Lange Salvia A., Wall T. (eds): Decent Work and Economic Growth. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, pp. 1-11.

“The Moral Economy of Solidarity: A Longitudinal Study of Special Needs Teachers”. Bolton, S. and Laaser, K. (2020) In: Work, Employment and Society, 34:55-72.

 “’You have to pick’. Forced labour in Uzbekistan”.McGuire, D and Laaser, K. (2020) In: Economic and Industrial Democracy, Online first, pp. 1-21.

2019

 “The moral economy of social relations between bank workers and customers under digital performance management systems in UK retail banks”. In: Industrial Relations Journal

“The Moral Economy of Solidarity” (With Sharon C. Bolton). In: Work, Employment and Society.

2018

"‘You have to pick’: Cotton and state-organized forced labour in Uzbekistan". In: Economic and Industrial Democracy. Forthcoming.

"A neglected pool of labour? Frontline service work and hotel recruitment in Glasgow". In: European Management Review. Forthcoming. 

2017

"Ethics of care under marketization: Co-worker relationships in UK banks" (mit Bolton, S.C.). In: New Technology, work and employment. Volume 32, Issue 3, Pages 213–227.

Forthcoming: "Moral economy of flexible employment and layers of disconnection", (with Bolton, S.C.). In: Gregor Gall (Herausgeber): Handbook on the Politics of Labour, Work and Employment, Edward Elgar, 1-17.

2016

" ‘If you are having a go at me, I am going to have a go at you’: The changing nature of social relationships of bank work under Performance Management". In: Work, Employment and Society*, Vol 30( 6): 1000–1016

2015

"Quality Work and the Moral Economy of European Employment Policy", (mit Bolton, S.C. and McGuire, D.) In: Journal of Common Market Studies*, Vol 54 (3):583-598.

2013

"Work, employment and society through the lens of moral economy", (mit Bolton, S.C.) in: Work, Employment and Society*, Vol 27(3): 508-525.

"The moral economy of work and employment in banks". PhD. Online access through EThOS.

"Exploring the management of third sector service diversification in Glasgow, Govan". Bericht für Scottish Funding Council, 45 S. (mit McGuire, D)

"An Elephant in the room; a push towards Contributive Justice", in: Compass Special Issue.

2012

"Contingent Work and Its Contradictions: Towards a Moral Economy Framework", (mit Bolton, S.C., M. Houlihan) in: Journal of Business Ethics*, Vol. 111(1): 121-132.

2010

"Zum unterschiedlichen Umgang mit Unsicherheit: IT-Spezialisten und Ingenieure als Solo-Selbstständige". In: Sozialwissenschaften und Berufspraxis, Vol. 33 (2): 242-258.

Working papers

"Toxic emotions? Relational sociology and the relational work of teachers in a Pupil Referral Unit", (with S.C. Bolton). Submitted to: Organization (Invitation to Revise and Resubmit).

"Towards a sociology of the meaning of work", (with S.C. Bolton). Under review in Management Review.

Knut Laaser forscht im Rahmen seines Habilitationsprojekts zu den Spielarten von sinnstiftender Erwerbsarbeit. Basierend auf einer umfassenden Literaturanalyse konzipierte er eine Theorie der sinnstiftenden Arbeit für niedrigqualifizierte Arbeit in der Fachzeitschrift IJMR- International Journal of Management Reviews (Laaser und Bolton, 2022). Diesen Ansatz weitete er in der Fachzeitschrift Work, Employment and Society (2022) auf Erwerbsarbeit im Allgemeinen aus und entwarf unterschiedliche theoretische Szenarien von sinnstiftender Erwerbsarbeit. In einer Monographie, die Anfang 2024 in der Cambridge University Press erscheint, diskutiert er die Genese sinnstiftender Erbwersarbeit und verortet Erwerbsarbeit in einem Kontinuum zwischen sinnstiftender und entfremdeter Arbeit. In der Monographie werden empirische Fallstudien aus Skandinavien, Deutschland, Großbritannien und Indien herangezogen, um die Vorzüge der Theorie für Wissenschaft und Praxis zu illustrieren. Der Fachartikel in der IJMR wurde von den Herausgebern als einer der innovativsten konzeptionellen Beiträge der letzten 5 Jahre der Zeitschrift gekürt und der Fachartikel in Work, Employment and Society ist auf der Shortlist für den Fachartikel des Jahres 2022. Knut Laaser präsentierte die Forschungsergebnisse auf internationalen Konferenzen und Workshops.

Bisherige Veröffentlichungen zu dem Thema:

Laaser, K. & Bolton, S. (2022) Absolute autonomy, respectful recognition and derived dignity: Towards a typology of meaningful work. International Journal of Management Reviews, 24, 373– 393.

Laaser, K., & Karlsson, J. C. (2022). Towards a Sociology of Meaningful Work. Work, Employment and Society, 36(5), 798–815.

Laaser, K. (2022). Meaningful Work and Sociology: An Introduction to This Themed Issue. Work, Employment and Society, 36(5), 791–797.

Ausgewählte Vorträge:

International Labour Process Conference 2022 (Padua): Stigmatized and meaningful? The work of security guards in India

Northumbria University (2022): Meaningful work Research Seminar

Work, Employment and Society 2021 (Cardiff): Towards a sociology of meaningful work

Work, employment and Society 2019 (Belfast): Low-skilled work and meaningful work