Social Contexts of ICT Reception in 1990—2000s: The Case of Russian PR Industry

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2023.1.2297

Keywords:

ICT, technologies, PR industry, sociology of professions, labor process

Abstract

Information and communication technologies significantly influence the habitat of contemporary professionals: labor process, competencies, and public image. To date, plenty of studies describe how digitalization and ICT affect professional practices. However, there needs to be more research that features the beginning of these technological transformations. Russian-languaged sociological studies of the 1990s almost do not address the everyday routines of the new Russian socio-professional groups like entrepreneurs or PR industry professionals, especially in the context of technological innovations (pagers, computers, Internet, e-mail, and other means of communication). This article suggests the historical and sociological description of the technologies’ role in the professionalization of the PR industry in Russia during the first years of the post-Soviet period. For this purpose, interview materials with influential professionals in this field and the scientific descriptions of the technologies’ invasion of Russians’ professional and non-professional life are used. Findings demonstrate that during the 1990s Russian PR industry was rapidly absorbing new ICT technologies and fastly adapted these tools for their professional tasks. We conclude that technological innovations in the professionals` day-to-day life helped to increase the professional prestige among clients and ordinary people in the country, fastened communication speed, and facilitated the formation of social relationships with foreign partners and clients.

 

Acknowledgments. The study was carried out within the framework of the Fundamental Research Program of HSE University.

Author Biographies

Roman N. Abramov, HSE University; Institute of Sociology of the FCTAS RAS

  • HSE University, Moscow, Russia
    • Dr. Sci. (Soc.), Professor at the School of Sociology of the Faculty of Social Sciences
    • Leading Research Fellow at the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research
  • Institute of Sociology of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
    • Leading Research Fellow at the Department of Theory and History of Sociology

Oxana R. Mikhaylova, HSE University

  • HSE University, Moscow, Russia
    • Cand. Sci. (Soc.), Senior Lecturer at the Department for Social Institutions Analysis of the School of Sociology
    • Junior Research Fellow at the Centre for Modern Childhood Research of the Institute of Education

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Published

2023-03-07

How to Cite

Abramov Р. Н., & Mikhaylova О. Р. (2023). Social Contexts of ICT Reception in 1990—2000s: The Case of Russian PR Industry. Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes, (1). https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2023.1.2297

Issue

Section

SOCIOLOGY OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

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