RIEB Discussion Paper Series No.2025-06

Title

Technology and Professional Associations

Abstract

The rapid spread of artificial intelligence (AI) is disrupting various professions. Although professional associations (PAs) play pivotal roles in professionals' dealing with changes, studies on PAs are still scarce. How can PAs respond to the rise of AI, and why can those initiatives vary by profession? This study examines auditors and attorneys in Japan from 2015 to 2023, revealing significant differences in AI adoption processes and PA roles by profession. In auditing, the national PA theorised change, claimed leadership and connected stakeholders, leading to prompt AI integration. In contrast, attorneys' engagement with their national PA was delayed, only after individuals' bottom-up efforts. These disparities arouse from structural differences, including professional governance, field configuration and perceived task-technology fit, linked with the professionals' sense of crisis. The study demonstrates PA's roles in coping with AI and their antecedents, thus lays the foundation for theorising the diversity of responses to AI across professions.

Keywords

Professions; Technological change; Associations

JEL Classification

K4, M42, O33

Inquiries

Masashi GOTO
Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration
Kobe University
Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe
657-8501 Japan
Phone: +81-78-803-7036
FAX: +81-78-803-7059