Convergence of service and technical skills: the case of ERP implementation in Israel

This empirical study points to the rise of the techno-service sector of the economy, andquestions the analytical distinction between technical and social skills, a distinction whichunderpins governments’ and economic institutions’ attempts to measure and quantify typesof skills and the complexity of different lines of work. By focusing on Enterprise ResourcePlanning (ERP) implementers, this study points to the growing interdependency and to theconvergence of service and technical skills in the techno-service sector. The paper alsoprovides empirical indication of the growing penetration of professional work into the heartof the industrial enterprise.