Convergence, Divergence, or Fragmentation: How are Digitalization, Service Competition, and Corporate Consolidation Reshaping Employment Systems in US Telecommunications?

Abstract

This paper considers three rival employment system hypotheses, each suggesting a different level of institutional cohesion and operation: the competitive convergence hypothesis, the institutional divergence hypothesis and the fragmentation hypothesis. The four major telecommunications local networks and network services, fixed wire line, wireless, cable television, and the Internet are undergoing significant transformations propelled by network digitalization, service competition, and corporate consolidations. This research examines how these forces are reshaping technician employment systems across these formerly specialized telecommunications networks and services. The principal finding is that even with rising inter-network competition and common digital technologies, each network employment system persists, consistent with the institutional divergence hypothesis. The three facilities-based networks: wireless, cable television distribution, and wire line, maintain distinctive employment systems rooted in their respective institutional histories, while the Internet Service Providers exhibit fragmentation reflected in their meteoric rise and current business difficulties.