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Recruitment in the gig economy: attraction and selection on digital platforms
The International Journal of Human Resource Management
Abstract
Digital platform work is undertaken as short term, temporary ‘gigs’ mediated by platform businesses that connect self-employed workers to clients via an app. Platforms manage and profit from labour-capital relations yet are not employers. This study explores the extent to which, and how, digital platforms implement human resource practices to attract and select self-employed platform workers. A qualitative, comparative analysis of the website content, and terms and conditions documents of 17 digital platforms offering virtual work in graphic design, and in-person care work in Australia was undertaken. The findings reveal how platforms combine traditional recruitment practices with new forms of algorithmic shortlisting that result in industry-specific risks for platform workers. More broadly, the study provides insights into the recruitment practices used by digital platform businesses and contributes to knowledge of how the roles and responsibilities of human resource management are reconfigured in digital platform work.
... Gig work has come under fire for not providing its workers with insufficient income or opportunities (Berger, et al., 2021;Conn and Campbell, 2021), despite its oversized impact on company profits (Carter, 2020). Gig work often presents itself as a viable, high-paying alternative but often doesn't meet worker demands (Williams, et al., 2021). However, the associated pay does not offset associated costs with working for a gig provider, including items like fuel, insurance, car maintenance, commuting costs (Dong, 2021). ...
... Much research has focused on the ability of companies to use digital platforms to recruit gig workers. Williams, et al. (2021) used a qualitative approach to analyze gig worker recruitment. They found that digital platforms focused on flexibility, freedom, and community as themes in their recruitment efforts. ...
... In this case, their workplace is referred to as an ecosystem because their work is mediated by the digital platform through which they receive their work assignments. While prior research has established some elements of the ASA model through qualitative analysis of gig workers (Williams, et al., 2021), this research will use a qualitative approach to assess the AS(O)A model (Schmidt, et al., 2023) among gig workers following a similar path to Cameron (2020). We will address the following research questions: ...
The Attraction-Selection-Attrition (ASA) model, a major current model for organizational culture, has not been examined empirically for fit against the currently flourishing gig economy, an organizational style used by growing companies such as Uber and Lyft, which rely on app technology to pair consumers with organizational contractors to provide a service. Recent theoretical research suggests that an additional stage, organizing, is present within the ASA model for gig economy workers, thereby resulting in the AS(O)A model. Organizing is where contractors attempt to organize amongst themselves to improve working conditions to be able to stay in gig work rather than have attrition occur. A gap exists in the literature in examining empirically the nature of this step and how it plays out in gig work. In the present study, qualitative data were collected from six major online social media sites including Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Tiktok to examine how gig workers discuss their work. A criterion sample of128 posts were collected, of which 60 were relevant to the AS(O)A model. The data were coded for themes. The data suggests support for the organizing step in the ASA model for gig work as being meaningful in how gig workers discuss their work, especially through Instagram and Twitter. Results and implications for developing the ASA model into the AS(O)A model suggest that organizations need to understand that gig workers are organizing with each other and that such actions may lead to worker collective action or attrition from a particular gig site.
... Apart from these overall characteristics, working conditions vary according to the industry in which the platforms operate and the specific tasks and services they facilitate . These context-specific variations are reflected in the dissertation's four articles, highlighting differences between platform companies and workers within parameters such as management, access to work and autonomy (Immonen, 2023;Williams et al., 2021;Wood et al., 2019). Further, these relate to the longitudinal focus of this dissertation, as daily and weekly demands and the length of tasks vary between industries, which differentiates the intensity of working activity (Cui et al., 2022;Cullen & Farronato, 2021). ...
... In the case of food delivery platforms, demands have daily and seasonal fluctuations, as orders are, for instance, high in the evening and during bad weather but low in the morning and during the summer season (Cui et al., 2022;Cullen & Farronato, 2021). Therefore, certain parts of the literature focus on the ways platforms seek to adapt the courier supply and their number of working hours to handle market volatility and retention Williams et al., 2021). For example, some platforms utilise algorithmic management systems to sanction couriers that reject a certain number of orders or offer bonuses for couriers working at peak hours or delivering orders over longer distances . ...
... For example, some platforms utilise algorithmic management systems to sanction couriers that reject a certain number of orders or offer bonuses for couriers working at peak hours or delivering orders over longer distances . Other studies point to how shifts and task allocation systems regulate the number of active couriers by making them compete for the pool of available orders Williams et al., 2021). Empirical studies on the couriers' background char- Piasna & Drahokoupil, 2021). ...
The main objective of this dissertation is to study working conditions – the quality of work – over time at digital labour platforms such as Wolt or Hilfr with the Danish labour market as an empirical case. These platforms have recently gained much attention for providing easy access to tasks and earnings through a digitally mediated infrastructure. However, they have also faced criticism for contributing to labour market inequalities due to their digitalised and unregulated working conditions, which have led to uncertainties in the quality of work in the form of fluctuating working hours and earnings. Limited access to platform data further complicates studying these contexts, as many platforms are reluctant to share their data with researchers.
This dissertation bridges this gap by utilising a working time data series from a total population of food delivery couriers provided by the prominent food delivery platform Wolt. By applying a longitudinal perspective on these data, the dissertation offers novel empirical insights relevant to ongoing discussions on regulating the platform economy and the implications of digitalisation on organisational structures and contemporary working lives.
The dissertation's main contribution is revealing three previously unidentified segments of platform workers with stable and distinct working time patterns, indicating that labour market inequalities are evolving within the platform. Further, the dissertation examines the platform and the worker levels, providing complementary perspectives of structural conditions that cause inequalities to emerge within the platform. Overall, the dissertation consists of four separate research articles that quantitatively and qualitatively analyse the abovementioned aspects.
... LinkedIn, for instance, has reported a substantial increase in the number of flexible job postings on its platform, reflecting a shift in recruitment policies across numerous industries. The flexibility and project orientation embedded in the new regulations compel companies to review and adapt their recruitment strategies to be more dynamic and responsive to the rapidly changing workforce needs (Doorn et al., 2010;Williams et al., 2021). A concrete example of this adjustment can be seen in companies like Deloitte, which has integrated flexible workers and independent contractors into its business model, allowing the company to swiftly adjust its workforce in response to market demands. ...
... In this way, companies not only retain skilled workers but also build loyalty among flexible workers, who are often overlooked in traditional retention strategies (Gerards et al., 2018;Salmah et al., 2024).These examples illustrate how different companies respond to the challenges and opportunities presented by regulatory changes, adjusting their recruitment and retention strategies to remain competitive and effective in a continuously evolving business environment. Therefore, a profound understanding of how regulatory changes affect HRM practices is crucial, not only to capture current labor market trends but also to prepare for the dynamic and rapidly changing future of work (Chan, 2022;Doorn et al., 2010;Williams et al., 2021). ...
... It is important to consider the broader implications and potential challenges that may arise in this context. Adapting to regulatory changes requires a balanced approach, ensuring that changes in flexibility and productivity not only meet the company's needs but also serve the interests and well-being of employees (van Doorn et al., 2023;Williams et al., 2021;Malik et al., 2021). Therefore, this research suggests the need for holistic and sustainable strategies to integrate the principles of regulatory changes into human resource management at Company ABC. ...
The regulatory changes introduced by the Omnibus Law (Undang-Undang Cipta Kerja) have significantly impacted Human Resource Management (HRM) practices in Indonesia, particularly in terms of work flexibility and employee productivity. This study examines the influence of these regulatory changes on work flexibility and employee productivity at ABC Company, a firm based in North Sumatra. Utilizing a quantitative approach, this research applies regression analysis within two distinct structural models. The sample comprises employees and managers of ABC Company, totaling 200 respondents. Data were collected through questionnaires and analyzed using statistical software. The results indicate a positive and significant impact of regulatory changes on work flexibility and employee productivity. These findings suggest that the Omnibus Law has initiated strategic shifts in HRM at ABC Company. Specifically, the results highlight the need for more adaptive and innovative HRM strategies to address the challenges of flexibility and productivity in a dynamic work environment. Moreover, this study provides empirical evidence of the significant impact of regulatory changes on HRM practices, particularly regarding work flexibility and employee productivity. The findings underscore the importance of adapting HRM strategies in response to regulatory changes, offering valuable insights for other companies undergoing similar transitions in workforce management. This study contributes to the broader understanding of how legislative changes can influence HRM practices and provides a foundation for future research on adaptive HRM strategies in evolving regulatory landscapes.
... However, it is worth noting that talent identification, despite its critical importance, lacks sufficient resources to attain perfection as a science [9] (pp. [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42], necessitating ongoing efforts to address existing challenges. ...
... The use of digital tools in the attraction and sourcing process can help to save companies up to 30% and the costs of applying can also be significantly reduced for applicants, but more importantly, the process can be made more efficient [39] (pp. [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49]. These findings show that large organisations are more likely to use online tools more than smaller ones. ...
... The stages with higher levels of digitalization include the attracting, selecting, and rewarding phases. The study carried out by Williams et al. [40] (pp. 4136-4162) supports the idea that the use of digital resources in recruitment phases has increased and improves the reconfiguration of the roles and responsibilities of employees. ...
Citation: Martínez-Morán, P.C.; Díez, F.; Solabarrieta, J.; Fernández-Rico, J.M.; Igoa-Iraola, E. Talent Management Digitalization and Company Size as a Catalyst. Systems 2024, 12, 168. Abstract: As companies increasingly undergo digital transformation, the role of talent management processes becomes pivotal in enhancing overall organizational performance. The objective of this research is to assess the extent to which greater digitalization in the talent management process is linked to company size. The research has addressed four research questions in order to explore the significance of talent management in corporate digital transformation, examining whether variations in the digitalization of these processes can be attributed to company size. A qualitative approach was employed, utilizing a questionnaire, and collecting responses from 202 organizations across diverse sectors. The findings reveal disparities in digitalization throughout the talent management process, with pronounced presence in the attracting, selecting, and rewarding phases, but diminishing in deployment and development, and further declining in planning. A positive correlation between company size and the adoption of specific digital platforms was observed. Larger enterprises exhibit greater utilization of digital platforms in talent deployment and development. Moreover, corporate communication tools are consistently utilized in the rewarding phase, irrespective of company size. These findings offer practical insights for organizations aiming to optimize their digitalization strategies based on their scale, thereby contributing to more effective and tailored digitalization endeavours. The uniqueness of this research lies in its exploration of the influence of company size on the digitalization of talent management processes and its potential to explain variations across different stages of these processes.
... Based on their talents, preferences, and availability, gig platforms utilize algorithms to match freelance laborers with suitable tasks or projects. This automated approach replaces conventional HR activities such as job postings and hiring, effectively incorporating HRM into the platform's core (Williams et al., 2021). Similarly, rather than formal performance appraisals, gig workers' performance is evaluated through customer reviews and ratings (Barley et al., 2017;Wood et al., 2018). ...
... For instance, AI is reshaping HRM in gig work through its applications in recruitment, task allocation, performance management, and engagement (Keegan and Meijerink, 2023;Malik et al., 2021). Algorithms are automating initial candidate screening, matching gig workers with suitable tasks based on skills (Duggan et al., 2022) and predicting performance outcomes (Williams et al., 2021). AI-driven platforms analyze historical data to provide timely feedback and identify improvement areas, while virtual assistants handle routine queries, enhancing worker engagement (Meyers et al., 2019). ...
... For instance, social badges and social networking serve as means of motivation (Jabagi et al., 2019), client feedback informs performance evaluation (Connelly et al., 2021), and online knowledge sharing facilitates training and development (Waldkirch et al., 2021). The usage of algorithms for matching and recommendation further exemplifies implicit HRM practices (Williams et al., 2021). Future research should delve into the underlying mechanisms and psychological processes that govern these practices, examining how they contribute to gig workers' sense of belonging, identity, and loyalty. ...
The paradigm shift brought about by gig work, marked by its flexible and non-traditional employment structures, necessitates a comprehensive understanding of its intricate interaction with Human Resource Management (HRM). Through a systematic literature review, this study endeavors to synthesize the existing body of knowledge, illuminating the evolving role of HRM within the dynamic landscape of contemporary gig work. Drawing from an extensive array of scholarly articles, this study reveals that HRM is undeniably pertinent in gig work. However, its application necessitates an innovative and tailored approach that diverges from traditional employment paradigms. The literature encompassing the interface of “HRM” and “Gig work” is distilled into three overarching themes: emanant relevance, refurbished relevance, and obsolete relevance. These thematic classifications reflect the dynamism and evolution of HRM practices as they intersect with gig work. In its culmination, this review accentuates the far-reaching implications of its findings for both academic discourse and practical implementation. The synthesized insights contribute substantively to advancing scholarly comprehension of gig work’s intertwined relationship with HRM, thus serving as a guidepost for future research endeavors
... The context of home-based disability and aged care is a second illustration of the attempted negation of absence with technology. The sector has seen a rise in data-driven decision making and an increasing embrace of digital technology in organizing and managing homecare (Macdonald, 2021;Williams et al., 2021). This has accompanied an increase in platform organizations utilizing algorithmic systems to automate aspects of care work such as client matching, and work opportunities (Williams et al., 2021). ...
... The sector has seen a rise in data-driven decision making and an increasing embrace of digital technology in organizing and managing homecare (Macdonald, 2021;Williams et al., 2021). This has accompanied an increase in platform organizations utilizing algorithmic systems to automate aspects of care work such as client matching, and work opportunities (Williams et al., 2021). Introducing these technological interventions and digital platforms to home-based care has prompted debate around the benefits and challenges involving the enhanced labor market flexibility, and efficiencies associated with a growing marketisation and commodification of care (Macdonald, 2021). ...
... Broadly, platform algorithms organize workers, schedules, tasks and records through the use of data (Parent-Rocheleau & Parker, 2021). Similar algorithmic functions are emerging in homecare platforms (Williams et al., 2021). Quantitative practices underlying algorithmic systems necessitate a decontextualization, where emphasis is granted to the quantified object, representing something in the world (Islam, 2022). ...
In the absence of light, we find means to push back the darkness; when data is sparse, we find surrogates measures or extrapolate from existing data. Absences play a role in how we respond to the world. Here, we seek to better understand engagement with absences relationally initiating a productive research pathway for engaging with absences in Information Systems (IS) research. We argue the existence of absences can be considered, their implications can be examined, and their unique importance within different contexts can be demonstrated through careful articulation in reflexive research. Through an exploration of absence in selected literature we outline a variety of ways absences are interpreted and shape the world. Further, using examples of the intersection of IS and "care" we demonstrate the impact of absences in context. Doing so we build a path forward for IS scholars to imaginatively engage with absences in the future.
... Well-crafted review articles generate unhidden and undiscovered information; these knowledge, judgement and experiences are widely used by academician and establish theory to test new frontiers of research activities and bolster knowledge in uncharted areas of knowledge management and human capital domains that are impossible to think before. Internalization of firms leads to new areas of theory development to train and uplift gig employees' productivity at workplace (Williams et al., 2021). ...
... Human resource practices are executed by platform workers in conjunction with gig employees. It streamlined industry specific risks for platform employees connecting to individuals and businesses in numerous work areas (Williams et al., 2021). Strong growth of digital platform activities will be enhanced as the system is highly productive, minimizing errors and prompt actions can be taken instantly. ...
... Management and control are embedded within platform and there exists maintenance of quality standard work. Platform websites and apps are used that play pivotal role in skill and quality development of gig employees (Williams et al., 2021). ...
Growing number of people are working independently which are not incorporated under organizational behavior theory; theories available and pertinent to management do not fit well in times of changes happening quickly. At present times, potential candidates are working in gig economy; one of prerequisite requires upgradation of mental inertia to comprehend latest knowledge happening in their area of expertise. Gig economy creates freelance workers that is totally unprecedented and allows candidates to sell directly to market (customers and clients) without disruption. Gig employees must accept and deal with challenging work situations. Structural shifts of work make gig employees less dependent on one another over period of time; gig employees need to understand how other employees around them obtain reward and evaluate their performance and productivity at workplace (Ashford et al., 2018). Gig employees sell directly to market instead of relying upon middleman to generate demand for their services. They experience both vitality and learning to handle complex and ad hoc tasks with cognitive capabilities. It is imperative for gig employees to maintain community, stability and predictability of sophisticated work performance both from home and office. Financial instability and job insecurity creates viable challenges for workers in gig economy.(Ashford et al., 2018)Gig workers experience high level of autonomy and independence; they often operate without boss and with no manual pertaining to organizational culture.
... This hiring behavior is a result of online employers' efforts to use stereotypical cues to infer subtle interpersonal traits, such as trustworthiness. Unfortunately, until now, there has been a lack of studies investigating sexual orientation discrimination in online environments (Williams et al., 2020). ...
... Our constructed applicant profiles allow us to satisfactorily substitute a real hiring process in both online and offline working environments and find behavioral evidence that does not suffer from photo (Rich, 2018;McFadden, 2020) or beauty bias (Hamermesh & Biddle, 1994). Hence, our findings on mood effects can be used for the redesign and upgrading of more efficient and personalized recruitment practices, especially in online labor markets (Williams et al., 2020). ...
... For example, an MTurk worker's ID mainly exists as a customer ID on Amazon, which is a public page that links worker ID to name and preferences (Leung, 2018). Crowd workers' personal data are under investigation, and for that reason, many online labor platforms have begun profiling their workers as a monitoring mechanism and to build up the trust in and reputation of the hiring procedure (Kassi & Lehdonvirta, 2018;Kokkodis & Ipeirotis, 2016;Kokkodis et al., 2015;Williams et al., 2020). ...
We explore whether there is a link between mood and hiring decisions. This research examines how positive mood affects the discrimination faced by homosexual and female job candidates compared to heterosexual and male ones. We randomly assign respondents to one of two mood-inducing videos (positive and neutral), and we allow subjects to make a series of hiring choices prior and immediately after watching the mood-inducing video. Our experiment being conducted in the online labor platform Amazon Mechanical Turk, allows us to track the complete hiring process and monitor employers' behavior within and without our treatment context. Constructing pairs of curriculum vitae, distinguished only by the sexual orientation or the gender of the applicants in each case, leads to the observation that women and gay men faced a significantly lower chance of getting hired. We also find that female employers proposed higher levels of discrimination only in the case of female applicants. Our positive mood manipulation leads to a decrease of discrimination levels. Thus, there is substantial experimental evidence to suggest that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender also exists in online labor markets. An additional experiment with negative mood manipulation, also, gives evidence for the opposite direction of the effects, contributing to a broader picture of the relationship between mood and discrimination behavior. Contributions to the literature on hiring discrimination, mood research and the online economy are discussed.
... In this section we will delve into reflections of an under-appreciated area of concern, and ask what is taking place for precarious workers when seeking work in the contemporary age. This is a theme which is especially important at a time when recruitment practices have become increasingly digitised, and the widespread use of platform interfaces, mobile applications, and websites, has granted a reconfiguration of the ways in which workers are now expected to search and apply for work (see Williams et al., 2021 andSpilda et al., 2022). However, it is not intended that we intensely grapple or wrestle empirically with current theoretical framing of digitisation and automation; or the multiple ramifications for the future of working practices (as discussed in chapter 2). ...
... This reconfiguration of structures sits alongside important contentions that the contemporary neoliberal era, has simultaneously rendered 'genuine self-care' and considerations for wellbeing 'virtually impossible', for many at both micro and macro levels (Casalini, 2019). It has also argued how this is a theme which is especially important at a time when recruitment practices have become increasingly digitised, and the widespread use of platform interfaces, mobile applications, and websites, have granted a reconfiguration of the ways in which workers are expected to search, apply for, and undertake assignments (Williams et al., 2021;Spilda et al., 2022). ...
This thesis draws from the lived experience of precarious work, to present and explore the journey of precarity and all its nuances. Contextually, this study comes at a significant period in the UK, a time of extreme economic uncertainty (for most), where many of the issues associated with precarious work, have been intensified and perhaps highlighted more than ever before, certainly more so than previous decades. During the lifespan of this research, the world has been in the grips of an ongoing pandemic, with notable impacts on health and wellbeing. In the UK, the economic aftershock of COVID-19 has combined with the self-inflicted fiscal destabilisation and 'bonfire of rights' accompanying the chaos of Brexit (Walker, 2022). This comes at a time when many have already struggled to make ends meet, following over a decade of ideology driven cuts to living and working standards (Meadway, 2022). From, stagnant wages, rising living costs, and relentless attacks on education, health and welfare, the UK is now in a position in which there is 'nothing left to cut' (Davies, 2022). Yet the solution proposed by the regime of the day, has been to the meet the many crises from decades of Thatcherite neoliberalism, with more of the same. We are left with an environment of fear, uncertainty, disbelief, and a potential powder keg of mass strike action and civil unrest (Yorke et al., 2022). Among those most exposed and most vulnerable to the impacts of such an environment, are precarious workers.
Drawing from autoethnographic research - seeking, applying for, and carrying out assignments as a temp (temporary agency worker) in the East midlands, UK; which is combined with 15 in-depth interviews with precarious workers of multiple backgrounds, across different regions of the UK. One of the key contributions to the literature which this thesis has provided, is in capturing and shedding much needed light on the nuances of the precarious worker experience. It presents a living tapestry of precarity, with the aim of making visible what is currently occluded by divisions within current theory. Furthermore, it provides new insights into the 'ambitions, desires, and strategies of precarious workers' (Arnold & Bongiovi, 2012, p304), along with considerations for the highly neglected area of the work of getting work. It is hoped that, by doing so, it can help answer longstanding calls to better understand "the nature of the new employment relations that are being created and their implications for individual and societal well-being" (Kalleberg & Vallas, 2018, p.22). More specifically, it shall shed light on the 'individual sense-making, motivations, expectations and relationship-building' of precarious workers, as an increasingly broad demographic (Manolchev et al., 2018).
... To understand the digital recruitment area some [28] scholars consider algorithmic HR, digital HR and suggest future directions in the HRM field [29][30][31]. Anyhow, this conceptual paper aims to focus on smart recruitment insights, challenges, and future developments in the specific area defining its connection to inclusion and workers with disability. ...
... Anyhow, this conceptual paper aims to focus on smart recruitment insights, challenges, and future developments in the specific area defining its connection to inclusion and workers with disability. According to previous studies [21,28,32], we conduct a bibliometric analysis to primarily investigate the phenomenon of smart recruitment providing an overview regarding publication trends in the field of smart recruitment and disability and social/work inclusion over the past eighteen years (2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019)(2020)(2021)(2022) in terms of publication growth, author's contribution, most impactful authors and papers, key themes, field's intellectual and social structures. ...
This paper aims to investigate the role and function of digital and smart technologies, including AI applications, within organizations in making them much more inclusive for people with disability (PWD) at the workplace starting from the recruitment process. Specifically, this conceptual study provides an indepth analysis of smart recruitment process for creating work environments much more inclusive and sustainable for PWD. In the last three decades, also because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the digital transformation, largely adopting digital and smart technologies, has significantly, both positively and negatively, affected any field and industry in the private and professional life. Indeed, our ways of working and quality of life have been improved by digital and smart technologies which are able to overcome geographical, physical, and social barriers. Likewise, some negative effects are related to this phenomenon, such as digital divide especially for some categories of people, like those with disabilities or special needs. This conceptual paper provides a systematic literature review; indeed, the phenomenon of smart recruitment is investigated providing an overview regarding its insights, challenges, and future developments. A bibliometric analysis is conducted using WoS and Scopus databases with manual selection through the VOSviewer software.
... There are certain established concepts in the human resource management literature, such as flexible work arrangements (Berkery et al., 2017), gig work (Boons et al., 2015;McDonnell et al., 2021;Williams et al., 2021), virtual teams (Adamovic, 2018), and digital nomads (Hannonen, 2020), all of which present new ways of working outside the boundaries of organizations and have been related to the larger phenomenon of remote work. Externalization of employee work has been mostly seen as a negative trend from an employment perspective, as work relationships become more fluid and short time (Hollister, 2011) and somehow less under traditional control. ...
... Furthermore, the increase in gig work means that an increasing amount of human intellect working for a firm may come from outside of the realm of its fully employed human resources (McDonnell et al., 2021;Williams et al., 2021). Thus, the inclusion of freelancers in human capital is important. ...
The need to understand the criticality of knowledge and related resources has led to scholarly discussions, and the intellectual capital (IC)-based view of firms has gained increasing importance in the contemporary management literature. Manifold impacts of IC on organizational performance have been widely evidenced, and management mechanisms for various IC dimensions can be found in most established organizations. As research is a strongly path-dependent activity, IC research naturally leans on classical frameworks and conceptualizations constructed a decade or even several years ago. However, large-scale changes in companies’ operating environments, such as digitalization, the sustainability crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic, and related forced move to remote work demand new knowledge resources. In this paper, we strongly argue that normative approaches for conceptualizing IC and its performance relevance would benefit from updating. Furthermore, the new post-pandemic world of work requires novel understandings of IC. To spur new thinking and offer ways forward, we develop a theoretical model that indicates selected ideas for a revised understanding of IC and its role in organizational viability. We suggest important new issues to be examined in terms of various IC elements, organizational performance dimensions, and moderators of relationships among these dimensions. The paper contributes to IC research by constructing a revised model of IC that can be used to generate topical research models to be further developed and tested in theoretical and empirical studies.
... The management practices of HR on digital platforms, which focus on managing both the management of the business and the people who will do the work, are carried out through the website or applications (Williams et al, 2021). HRM faces significant challenges in which digital platform companies apply HRM practices to attract or manage their own-account employees, and little empirical research has been done on this topic (Williams et al, 2021:4137). ...
... Recruitment studies available in the literature focus on website features such as usability and aesthetics. It is aimed to implement HRM practices for digital platform companies to attract self-employed employees or to manage their quality, and combined traditional recruitment practices with new forms of recruitment resulting in industryspecific risks for platform employees (Williams et al., 2021). ...
... Our final paper by Williams et al. (2021) centres on exploring how different platform organisations attract and select independent gig workers. The data consists of an analysis of multiple websites and terms and conditions documents of online platform organisations in Australia. ...
... The five papers published in this Special Issue illuminate a future research agenda on which to build upon and critique. For example, Williams et al. (2021) provides a model, developed through documentary and website analysis, that could serve as a starting point to further research and understanding on gig worker attraction, selection and turnover. offer a useful framework that can serve to further unpack the inter-relationships among HRM activities for gig workers and the competing logics and response strategies underpinning the inherent complexity involved in this form of work. ...
... In appwork, the platform algorithm assigns a gig to an available worker who then provides a service (like food or grocery delivery) to the requesting customer. Crowdworkers are selected by the customer/ requester (based on skillsets or work quality) and tasks are performed digitally (Williams et al., 2021). Even with such variations, there appear to be overlapping similarities between these two types like the gig employer setting the parameters for who is selected to perform the gig and minimum performance and service quality standards. ...
... conscientious language attracts conscientious applicants). The content, descriptions, and terms and conditions provided on a gig platform's website play a key role in attracting the types of individuals who see themselves as being a good fit for that form of gig work (Williams et al., 2021). Even words like "crowdsourcing" and "sharing economy" that are used to describe gig work are attractive because they signal low time investment, which workers see as time available to engage in seeking conventional jobs. ...
Purpose
As conventional practices of working continue to be modified in the gig economy, more theoretical work examining the experiences of gig workers is needed. Relying on person-based fit and levels of analysis literature, this paper proposes an adaptation to the traditional Attraction-Selection-Attrition (ASA) framework to the gig economy.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the ASA framework, this conceptual paper explores how gig workers join, leave and could be retained by gig employers.
Findings
The authors recognize an intermediary “organizing” phase within the ASA framework for gig workers. Using examples of appwork and crowdwork, the authors show that workers tend to self-organize through third-party websites to help gig work become economically sustainable, avoid being exploited and enhance gig workers' sense of community and identity.
Practical implications
The practical implications of this research lie in gig employers understanding how workers experience gig employment and in helping employers be successful in attracting, selecting and retaining quality workers and thereby lowering permanent attrition.
Originality/value
The authors propose a novel adaptation to the conventional ASA framework to include organizing as a phase in gig worker employment. This research defines gig attraction and attrition at the individual-level, selection at the individual- and task-levels based in person-job (PJ)-fit and the various aspects of gig organizing as encompassing fit with one's job, organization, and environmental (i.e., PJ-, PO-, PE-fit) at the individual-, task-, and network-levels.
... These technologies are imagined as benefiting nursing home workers by enhancing their efficiency and optimizing care processes, including alleviating the burden of administrative tasks and increasing the time they can spend on care and social interaction (Oude Weernink et al., 2018). Much of the research on the impact of these types of technologies on workers has focused on the introduction of digital hailing and platform labor applications for services provided in private homes (Glaser, 2021;McDonald et al., 2021;Williams et al., 2021), including Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) for Medicaid home-based personal assistance services and home health care programs in the U.S. (Gallopyn and Iezzoni, 2020;Mateescu, 2021). Extensively critiqued by disabled activists who formed the Stop EVV campaign in 2017, this surveillance technology involves oversight of care workers (e.g., real-time tracking of arrival and departure times, locations, and activities), and by extension, low-income disabled beneficiaries living in the community. ...
... This is an example of how surveillance technologies create vulnerabilities that are not remedied by creating less biased algorithms. Moreover, given the racial dynamics of this workforce (Sloane et al., 2021), such technologies may reinforce racist labor inequalities by extending the power of employers to control low-wage BIPOC workers by undermining their labor rights and protections (van Doorn, 2017;Glaser, 2021;Mateescu, 2021;Williams et al., 2021). ...
Ageism has not been centered in scholarship on AI or algorithmic harms despite the ways in which older adults are both digitally marginalized and positioned as targets for surveillance technology and risk mitigation. In this translation paper, we put gerontology into conversation with scholarship on information and data technologies within critical disability, race, and feminist studies and explore algorithmic harms of surveillance technologies on older adults and care workers within nursing homes in the United States and Canada. We start by identifying the limitations of emerging scholarship and public discourse on “digital ageism” that is occupied with the inclusion and representation of older adults in AI or machine learning at the expense of more pressing questions. Focusing on the investment in these technologies in the context of COVID-19 in nursing homes, we draw from critical scholarship on information and data technologies to deeply understand how ageism is implicated in the systemic harms experienced by residents and workers when surveillance technologies are positioned as solutions. We then suggest generative pathways and point to various possible research agendas that could illuminate emergent algorithmic harms and their animating force within nursing homes. In the tradition of critical gerontology, ours is a project of bringing insights from gerontology and age studies to bear on broader work on automation and algorithmic decision-making systems for marginalized groups, and to bring that work to bear on gerontology. This paper illustrates specific ways in which important insights from critical race, disability and feminist studies helps us draw out the power of ageism as a rhetorical and analytical tool. We demonstrate why such engagement is necessary to realize gerontology's capacity to contribute to timely discourse on algorithmic harms and to elevate the issue of ageism for serious engagement across fields concerned with social and economic justice. We begin with nursing homes because they are an understudied, yet socially significant and timely setting in which to understand algorithmic harms. We hope this will contribute to broader efforts to understand and redress harms across sectors and marginalized collectives.
... 78 It also explores the intersection of gig work and self-leadership, 79 and digital platforms on recruitment. 80 Table 2 lists the journal name, number of publications, publisher, publishing year, quartile, and methodology. ...
Digital platforms play a vital role in shaping today’s labour market, enabling temporary hires and freelance employment in the gig economy. This on-demand, digital economy spans various professions and remote work opportunities. Technological advancements have significantly evolved gig work since the industrial age, improving work-life balance and psychological well-being. Using the Scopus database, a literature analysis on the gig economy was conducted with 1624 documents narrowed to 549 documents based on subject area, document type, publication stage, keywords, and language and examining social, economic and technological factors. This study highlights the evolving nature of non-traditional, online-platform- driven employment through which author’s explored the gig economy, its challenges, ethical issues, and career development and workers experiences. The analysis used R Studio Software to visualize keyword themes using a strategic thematic map, which signifies the structure and development of themes within the gig economy. This study used Origin Pro for author analysis which found GRAHAM as the top author. VOS Viewer for bibliographic coupling which identified USA and UK as top collaborating countries and also highlight the eight clusters of keyword analysis. For sustainable growth, further research should explore the platform economy, gig employment, and worker well-being, assessing technological innovations to create adaptable job opportunities. This will help the gig economy to accommodate market dynamics and ensure diverse and stable employment across various sectors.
... Digital platforms connect self-employed workers with employers through apps, thereby benefiting from the relationship between labour and capital (P. Williams et al., 2021). Digital platforms connect consumers and workers to perform tasks on demand, changing the nature of economic and labour relations (Lata et al., 2023). ...
The study focuses on the challenges that the gig-economy brings to the labour market. Digitalisation is transforming the nature of labour relations, and the ratio of the employed to the self-employed is changing. By expanding the scope of digital technology and the use of digital platforms, changes are affecting all areas, including the tourism industry. The article assesses the relationship between tourism development, digitalisation, and self-employment indicators. The study covers 112 countries for 2021. The paper uses the Travel & Tourism Development Index, Network Readiness Index and the World Bank’s self-employment indicator. The analysis showed that the features of the relationship between tourism development, digitalisation and self-employment vary across the three groups of countries identified as a result of cluster analysis. The study found that there is a positive relationship between the level of tourism sector development and the level of the country’s digitalisation. The relationship between the level of self-employment and tourism development is variable across groups. The relationship between self-employment and digitalisation was confirmed only for the sample as a whole.
... When it comes to recruitment practices, platforms use traditional recruitment practices along with new forms of algorithmic shortlisting (Williams et al., 2023). Algorithms are used by platforms to provide more work to people with higher ratings and reduced opportunities to the ones with unsatisfactory ratings (Popescu et al., 2018). ...
Purpose
With the increasing global popularity of the gig economy encompassing freelancers, online platform workers, self-employed, on-call workers and other temporary contractual workers, this study aims to review research focusing on the gig economy to explore the nuances of working in various alternative work arrangements. We aim to enhance the understanding of existing literature and highlight underexplored areas for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review of 258 studies based on gig economy and gig work was conducted. It follows systematic search criteria and SPAR-4-SLR protocols. The analysis uses different gig worker profiles given by Watson et al. (2021) to categorize studies, followed by thematic analysis to identify patterns in the literature.
Findings
Our analysis of studies on gig economy shows that the majority of existing literature is based on gig service providers. Within this literature subset, major areas of study are work conditions, financial conditions, emergence and role of collectives, the impact of algorithmic management and the impact of rise of the gig economy on entrepreneurship. There is little research focusing on gig goods providers, gig data providers, agency gig workers and traditional gig worker profiles. More focus is also needed on emerging markets and markets transitioning to the gig economy.
Originality/value
Differing from reviews that have attempted to define gig work and workers, we focus on literature on the lived experiences of gig workers. By reviewing studies on different gig worker profiles, we are able to highlight future research directions for pointed sample sets and comparative underexplored areas.
... The gig economy and flexible recruitment policies are closely related, as the adoption of the gig economy drives companies to implement more flexible recruitment strategies (Katsnelson & Oberholzer-Gee, 2021;Williams et al., 2021). These two variables mutually support each other in creating a more dynamic and adaptive work environment. ...
Purpose: This study aims to develop a framework for understanding the impact of gig economy adoption and flexible recruitment policies on the performance of contractual government employees (PPPK) in the regional government of North Sumatra, with work engagement as a mediating variable. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 320 PPPK employees through questionnaires. Statistical analyses, including classical assumption tests and path analysis, were conducted using SPSS to examine the direct and indirect effects of gig economy adoption and flexible recruitment policies on employee performance, mediated by work engagement. Findings: The results indicate that both gig economy adoption and flexible recruitment policies significantly and positively impact employee performance. Furthermore, work engagement serves as a significant mediating variable, enhancing the relationship between these independent variables and employee performance. This suggests that creating a balance between flexibility and stability in employment can improve PPPK performance. Research limitations/implications: The study focuses on PPPK employees in the North Sumatra regional government, including teachers, healthcare workers, and technical staff. Future research could expand the scope to include other types of employees and regions, as well as consider additional mediating variables such as job satisfaction and organizational support. Originality/value: Unlike previous studies that often address either gig economy or recruitment policies in isolation, this research integrates both elements and examines their combined effects on employee performance within a governmental context. The study provides a comprehensive framework for policymakers to enhance employee performance by balancing flexibility and stability in the workforce.
... The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) remained a driving force that fueled the surge in the so-called gig economy, which eventually escalated the demand for gig work given its built-in flexibility and the skyrocketing need for jobs performed remotely and independently (Alanezi & Alanzi, 2020). Alongside the companies reorganizing themselves to resist the shutdowns and the economic depressions, the demand for gig workers was booming, forcing businesses to use gig workers instead of full-time staff (Williams et al., 2021). It became clear that this transition was especially marked in sectors such as delivery services, remote tutoring, and essential business functions, where gig work could be easily integrated to suit the changing demand trend (Huang et al., 2020). ...
The entrance of the gig economy into the employment field requires many innovative business strategies from both players as well as from the government. This study appraises the management of the freelance workforce from the theory of resource-based view (RBV) and transaction cost economics (TCE), which are helpful theoretical tools. RBV considers freelancer calls, and TCE does benefit and cost analysis when hiring freelancers or home staff. Given the qualitative nature of the research, a combination of interviews and focus groups with the stakeholders operating in the gig economy platform, as well as an analysis of documents of a strategic and legal nature, will be taken to investigate the inner articulations of gig employment. The preliminary results show that having organizational flexibility, personalizing personnel management, and the strategic inclusion of gig workers are the main factors that can ensure business success in a rapidly changing market environment. Nevertheless, without the gender pay gap and legal safeguarding, it becomes evident that there is a further need to work on these. The focus of the study is to bring up topics to be implemented in gig employment, such as the creation of HR policies and legal standards which would promote the sustainability of gig work and, at the same time, protect worker rights, which can contribute to a balanced and fair gig economy
... The stages with higher levels of digitalization include attracting, selecting, and rewarding phases. The study carried out by Williams et al., [46] (p. 4136-4162) supports the idea of that the use of digital resources on recruitment phases has increase and improves the reconfiguration of the roles and responsibilities of employees. ...
As companies increasingly undergo digital transformation, the role of talent management pro-cesses becomes pivotal in enhancing overall organizational performance. The research addresses the significance of talent management in corporate digital transformation, examining whether variations in the digitalization of these processes can be attributed to company size. A qualitative approach was employed, utilizing a questionnaire, collecting responses from 202 organizations across diverse sectors. Findings reveal disparities in digitalization throughout the talent man-agement process, with pronounced presence in the attracting, selecting, and rewarding phases, but diminishing in deployment and development, further declining in planning. A positive cor-relation between company size and adoption of specific digital platforms was observed. Larger enterprises exhibit greater utilization of digital platforms in talent deployment and development. Moreover, corporate communication tools are consistently utilized in the rewarding phase, irre-spective of company size. These findings offer practical insights for organizations to optimize their digitalization strategies based on their scale, thereby contributing to more effective and tailored digitalization endeavors. The uniqueness of this research lies in its exploration of the in-fluence of company size on the digitalization of talent management processes and its potential to explain variations across different stages of these processes.
... Future research is therefore encouraged to explore how crowdworkers' actual realities (e.g., chances to find other employment, overall income situation, etc.) have changed through MTCS platform work. Moreover, previous research indicates that the practices by MTCS platforms may also discriminate or disadvantage workers with specific personal circumstances (Renan Barzilay, 2019;Tan et al., 2021;Williams et al., 2021). For example, platforms often apply algorithmic management practices to allocate tasks to workers, based on their previous performance history (Duggan et al., 2020). ...
Micro‐task crowdsourcing (MTCS) platforms offer alternative work settings outside traditional work boundaries and thus increasingly attract crowdworkers who face exclusion from access to other work. However, we know little about these crowdworkers' perspective on MTCS and its implications for their personal life. Building on insights from three qualitative surveys with responses from 538 crowdworkers and 576 forum posts in total, we show that despite the often challenging work conditions, MTCS platforms provide these crowdworkers with a work environment in which they can participate in paid work activities without feeling excluded due to their personal circumstances. As a result, MTCS platform work provides these crowdworkers with a set of positive experiences that were not possible before. These afforded experiences go beyond work‐related experiences but relate directly to crowdworkers' personal situation and life. Our research yields implications for the literature on MTCS and also for policy makers and stakeholders concerned with the creation of more inclusive work settings.
... In other types of platforms, the program may bring customers and workers together, with the customer making the decision. For example, Williams et al. (2021) conducted a qualitative study of platforms for graphic design work in Australia. In these platforms, workers did not have influence over which jobs they could see and bid for. ...
... Workers who feel engaged usually care more about their reputation and understand that good quality work can have a positive impact on their chances of getting more interesting projects in the future. Therefore, employee engagement not only increases productivity but also contributes to improving the quality of work produced (Pichault, 2022) (Williams, 2021). ...
This research conducted a systematic literature review to investigate Employee Engagement in the context of the Gig Economy. Key factors, such as work flexibility, organizational support, and work-life balance, were identified as important determinants in influencing employee engagement levels. The research results show that employee engagement contributes to increasing work efficiency, work quality, job satisfaction, and stress management in gig workers. In addition, involvement in employee communities and increasing professional networks are crucial aspects in expanding impact and career opportunities. These findings have significant implications for human resource management policies and practices in supporting the well-being and success of gig workers in the ever-growing gig economy.
... This aligns with findings by Nelson et al. [93] and, notably, Mousa et al. [94] from Egypt, a nation with socio-cultural similarities to Saudi Arabia, underscoring the global relevance of HR practices. However, our focus on the direct correlation between perceived organizational support and work satisfaction diverges from the findings of Williams et al. [23], who highlighted the importance of autonomy and flexibility within the UK gig economy. Our research suggests that in Saudi Arabia, the impact of HR practices on job satisfaction may be more similar to the findings of Wu and Zhou [24] in China. ...
In the dynamic context of the global gig economy and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, this study offers a novel examination of the impact of HR practices on gig workers’ job satisfaction and career sustainability in Saudi Arabia. Setting itself apart from prior research, it explores the uncharted interplay between HR practices and career longevity in the Saudi gig economy. Utilizing data from 344 gig workers, the study uncovers the intermediary role of job satisfaction in connecting HR practices to career sustainability, a dimension scarcely investigated before. It further assesses the often-assumed significant effects of demographic factors such as age and gender, revealing an unexpected, non-significant moderating impact. This research finds a strong positive correlation between effective HR practices, job satisfaction, and career endurance, highlighting the transformative power of HR strategies in the Saudi gig sector. These findings are vital for policymakers and practitioners focusing on Vision 2030 goals, underscoring the need for sophisticated HR strategies tailored to the unique Saudi gig environment. By bridging a critical knowledge gap and offering actionable insights, this study contributes significantly to the academic discourse on HR dynamics in gig economies and provides a foundation for future HR policy developments.
... As gig workers have no traditional employment relationships with organisations, they have typically been left out of IC accounts. However, an increasing amount of the human intellect working for a firm may come from outside of the realm of its fully employed human resources (McDonnell et al., 2021;Williams et al., 2021). Therefore, we argue that no matter their formal employment status, workers that create value for a company should be counted as its human capital. ...
Intellectual capital theory (IC) theory, which asserts that organisational value is for the most part created with intangible, knowledge-based resources, has become a prevalent way to approach the notion of business viability. Most IC research leans on the classical tripod of IC components, laid down by the first-generation researchers in the field. This tripod divides the value-generating knowledge assets into human capital, structural capital and relational capital; or, more simply put the value vested in an organisation’s personnel, internal structures and processes, and relationships. Even though this conceptualization has been challenged by some, it still remains the cornerstone of the IC-based view of the firm, and it is astutely followed by most researchers in this field. However, various large-scale technological, socio-political, and institutional changes have fundamentally changed the business environment and worklife in recent years. In this paper we argue that these changes call for a critical examination of the relevance of the classical conceptualizations of IC. It may be necessary to update the understanding concerning not only the most essential knowledge resources, but also the structure of IC and the way in which IC is related with new relevant organisational capabilities and aspects of organisational performance. The aim of this theoretical paper is to provide an overview of some of the most essential recent worklife trends that are likely to impact how IC should be understood: digitalization, remote work, gig work, open innovation, crowdsourcing, strive towards sustainability and resilience. Based on these, the paper puts forth a set of propositions concerning the needed novel perspectives for IC. In addition to constructing a novel theoretical framework and propositions for IC research, the paper functions as an introduction to the mini track on Futurizing the Intellectual Capital Theory and provides a common framework on which mini track participants can base their dialogue.
... Care seekers are not required to provide similar personal details to the platform. Consequently, care workers have less ability to scrutinise potential clients than care seekers have to scrutinise workers (Ticona and Mateescu 2018;Williams, McDonald, and Mayes 2020). In this regard, the platform's verification process enacts power by pressuring users (workers) to produce or engage with content to maintain individual online reputations (Hearn 2017) and benefits by obtaining valuable data which can be used by advertisers or third-party providers (Flanagan 2019). ...
... This article proposes and unpacks the concept of algorithmic HRM control through the lived experiences of app-workers (Duggan et al., 2020;Kaine & Josserand, 2019). In so doing, we contribute to and extend the burgeoning literature on the HRM-related features of gig work (e.g., Duggan et al., 2021;Keegan & Meijerink, 2022;McDonnell et al., 2021;Parent-Rocheleau & Parker, 2022;Waldkirch et al., 2021;Williams et al., 2021). Specifically, by focusing on the various processes inherent to algorithmic HRM, we elucidate how this creates and implements a comprehensive system of worker control. ...
Work in the gig economy is championed by platform organizations as affording individuals the flexibility to decide when, where, and how much they wish to work. The reality is more complex. In app-based gig work, we propose the concept of “algorithmic HRM control,” which acts as an omnipresent and distinctive control system that differs from traditional forms of control in two significant ways: first, the reliance upon, and pervasiveness of, algorithmic technologies in its enactment; and second, the substantial direct and indirect influence of non-organizational parties in controlling workers.
Through a qualitative research design, this article delineates the scope of algorithmic HRM control in allocating and coordinating tasks, managing performance and rewards, and aligning the actions of workers with organizational objectives. Our analysis also unpacks the rigidity and complexities of the control system, as experienced by workers, and the influential role of non-organizational parties in exerting unique, distinct forms of control. In so doing, we build upon emerging research on the duality of algorithmic HRM by revealing the inherent flaws or challenges from the perspective of the most central party—the gig worker. While output-oriented control is pervasive, process and normative control elements are also found to exist in some scenarios, creating significant concerns for workers.
... Do ponto de vista das empresas proprietárias das plataformas, as novas formas de gerenciamento do trabalho respondem à transformações experimentadas no ambiente de negócios global em décadas recentes. Contrastando com as normas e princípios de organização convencionais ("fordistas") do emprego, o modelo de negócios das plataformas permitiu às empresas proprietárias diminuírem significativamente seus custos de operação (LEMMON et al., 2016;WILLIAMS et al., 2021). Com isso, configuraram um sistema de trabalho caracterizado pela hiper flexibilidade, onde os trabalhadores tornam-se periféricos à gestão das organizações, ao mesmo tempo em que assumem parte crescente dos riscos das operações (HARRIS, 2017). ...
The proliferation of digital labour platforms ranges from ride-hailing and delivery services to care work. Eldercare platforms emerged as a prominent focus of critique regarding platformization, commodification, and the nature of care itself. However, empirical studies thus far have largely focused on domestic work and childcare, leaving a significant gap in the examination of eldercare platforms. This paper addresses this underexplored area by presenting empirical findings derived from a mixed-methods analysis involving 2144 eldercare workers’ profiles and 14 in-depth interviews. Through cluster analysis, the research identifies the distinct groups that comprise the workforce on on-demand eldercare platforms. In doing so, the study challenges prevailing narratives around platform labour, emphasizing that they are not universally applicable. The findings reveal that platforms tailored for cleaning, domestic care and eldercare each engage uniquely composed workforces, highlighting the significant stratification within care work and its implications for platformization. Ultimately, the research presents three key insights: first, that care platforms function as niche markets; second, that workers in these on-demand platforms possess substantial practical experience and qualifications in caregiving; and third, that, contrary to trends in other sectors of platformized care, migrant workers are not disproportionately represented on eldercare platforms in Germany.
Este estudio analiza la relación entre percepciones laborales y las preferencias político-electorales de los trabajadores de plataformas digitales de reparto en la Ciudad de México. Se problematizan tres ideas ampliamente discutidas en la literatura sobre el trabajo controlado por plataformas. Primero, se examina en qué medida estas ocupaciones exacerban identidades individualistas y proto-emprendedoras entre los trabajadores. Luego, se analiza cómo las circunstancias laborales pueden favorecer una prefiguración ideológica libertaria en consonancia con las tesis del "neoliberalismo desde abajo" (Gago, 2015) y el populismo autoritario de las clases trabajadoras precarizadas (Pinheiro-Machado, 2023). Finalmente, se explora si las inclinaciones ideológicas de estos trabajadores reflejan preferencias electorales de derecha ligadas a este tipo de ocupación.
This paper explores the interplay between identity, collective action, and digital marketplaces among Latino house-cleaners in Toronto. Domestic work, such as house-cleaning, has traditionally been devalued, gendered, and delegated to marginalised immigrant populations. The informal nature of house-cleaning work, also introduces precarity, vulnerabilities and potential avenues of exploitation. Drawing on 19 interviews with Latino house-cleaners, the paper underscores how identity shapes experiences and strategies in the labour markets. We find that Latino house-cleaners prefer to use asynchronous digital marketplaces, such as social media commerce groups and online classified advertisement websites, as the platforms provides flexibility and control over their labour outcomes. The paper further delves into how group identities online - such as being Latino and women - foster collective action and solidarity. The paper provides insights on how we can support the needs support the challenges and needs of immigrant domestic workers in technology-mediated labour markets.
This article presents a methodological reflection on the challenges of researching domestic and care work mediated by digital labour platforms. While knowledge production on gig work in the logistics sector has soared, research on care platforms is slow to catch up, especially in very relational forms of home-based work, such as eldercare. We take this uneven development in the literature as a starting point to unpack the empirical conundrums in this field. Drawing on our own experience with trying to recruit care platform workers in Germany between 2019 and 2024, we shed light on the ethical dilemmas we encountered and offer some lessons learnt. The article calls for long-term commitments, multi-sited ethnographies, longitudinal perspectives and mixed-methods designs to study care platforms in the future. Finally, we advocate for researching platform labour beyond the gig.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to completely transform the way the gig economy is managed. The study explores the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to reshape the management of gig economy workers with special reference to human resource management and the challenges faced by such workers. The study has employed an extensive literature review approach. The findings of the study reveal that AI and ML in the hiring and recruiting supports HR by expanding access to opportunities, enhancing personalisation, and mitigating bias and discrimination. AI brings changes in gig workers' performance management by monitoring performance indicators, examination of client input, skill gap identification, performance benchmarking. Furthermore, training platforms driven by AI can assist gig workers in determining the skills they need to acquire and in creating individualized learning plans. The novelty of the study stems from exploring the role of AI training and performance management, which is yet unexplored.
This scientific endeavour addresses the problem of employee resourcing strategies in a tight labour market. Taking into account that employee resourcing is a complex activity, this study aims to analyse recruitment as its core element. Although the literature on this topic is rich, the analysis of options that organisations have at their disposal for attracting a workforce in a tight labour market has not been sufficiently explored. In this context, we have analysed several recruitment methods, traditional and via the Internet, used by organisations to attract different categories of workforce when there is a labour shortage in the labour market. The study focused on six traditional and three e-recruitment methods. Starting from this, the following research question was formulated: What are the recruitment methods most frequently used by organisations in attracting the workforce in a tight labour market? To answer the research question, a questionnaire was created which was applied to 350 organisations. Managers were used as respondents in case of small-sized organisations and human resource managers as the respondents of medium-sized and large-sized organisations. The research results show that organisations tend to use as many recruitment methods as possible to ensure the success of attracting the needed quantity and quality of the workforce.
Recently, a growing number of digital platforms have emerged that intermediate or facilitate connections between care workers and people requiring care. Platforms position themselves as a viable response to the ‘care crisis’, yet have been decried for driving down wages and exposing workers to greater risk and precarity. Unlike more transactional types of intermediated work such as ride‐hailing or food delivery, the income of care workers depends not on pricing algorithms but on how much they work and the potential for individual agency in negotiating pay rates with clients. Drawing on three sources of data from a global digital platform business, this study asks how self‐employed care workers enact agency in relation to income generation. The findings revealed evidence of three types of agentic action: establishing professional worth; assessing costs and maximizing income; and negotiating with clients. Agency was constrained, however, by the platform's architecture and client‐related dynamics. The study provides insights into the nuanced dynamics of individual worker agency in relation to income, in a growing, feminized and largely devalued new market. The findings also demonstrate how platform businesses, despite not managing work or workers directly, play a significant role in the organization and distribution of work.
A critical but often overlooked road safety concern is gender differences in road safety issues. The limited investigations have reported gender differences in road safety issues such as traffic accident rates and crash injuries. An emerging road safety issue is the safety of gig workers. Despite the exponential growth of the gig economy, little is known about road safety issues faced by gig workers, including gender‐specific road safety issues. The present study aimed to investigate whether there are gender differences in gig workers' involvement in road safety incidents and the likelihood of reporting incidents when gig working. Gig workers who provide, or have provided, ride‐hailing, courier, and food delivery services via digital platforms in Australia were invited to participate in an online survey on their involvement in road safety incidents and the likelihood that they would report road and personal safety incidents when gig working. Data from 71 gig workers (35 female gig workers; 36 male gig workers) were reported in the study. No gender differences were found in their involvement in road safety incidents and the likelihood of reporting road and personal safety incidents when gig working. Despite the lack of gender differences observed, findings from the study contributed to the research field and to closing the gender data gap. A research agenda is proposed for further data collection in gig work using a systems thinking approach to better our understanding of factors influencing the gendered participation in the gig workforce, and the health, safety, and wellbeing of gig workers.
The rapidly expanding gig economy has been criticized for creating precarious and indecent working conditions. These critiques draw on decent work debates centred on employment classification, regulation and platform fairness, with less focus on the interactions between workers, platforms and clients, which are central to the experience of platform-mediated work. This article adopts a worker-centric relational perspective to explore decent work in the gig economy. Drawing on the experiences of workers in platform-mediated domestic care work, the insights from this study highlight the importance of social interactions and relationships, using an ethics of care lens, to elucidate how relational aspects shape workers’ experiences. The findings reveal platform workers centre mutuality of interests, responsiveness and reciprocity, attentiveness and solidarity to maintain a balance of care (care-for-self and care-for-others) when negotiating platform-mediated care work. This article contributes relationality as a key dimension of decent work currently overlooked in studies exploring gig work arrangements.
When facing mental health concerns, men seek help less, confront greater stigma in accessing treatment, and experience more severe consequences. Interventions targeted at men are often grounded in activity and situated in appealing contexts, such as sporting or gaming spaces. In this paper, we question how pinball---a social tangible and digital leisure activity---can support men's mental health and wellbeing, through thematic analysis of in-depth semi-structured interviews (n=15) with male pinball enthusiasts. Our contribution is threefold: first, we evidence pinball as a context that provides incidental benefits to mental health directly, and indirectly through social connectedness; second, that enthusiasts actively enhance their social lives and resulting wellbeing via pinball; and third, that pinball contexts are suited for designing interventions that provide mental health supports within subcultures that appeal to men. We situate our findings in theories of wellbeing, activity-based communication, shoulder-to shoulder self-disclosure, and the importance of third-spaces for social wellness.
Current understanding of what constitutes work in the growing gig economy is heavily conflated, ranging from conceptualisations of independent contracting to other forms of contingent labour. This article calls for a move away from problematic aggregations by proposing a classification of gig work into three variants, all based strongly upon key technological features: app‐work, crowdwork, and capital platform work. Focusing specifically on the app‐work variant, this article's more delineated focus on the textured dimensions of this work proposes new lines of enquiry into employment relationships and human resource management. Examining the crucial role of algorithmic management, we critically discuss the impact of this novel mediation tool used by gig organisations for the nature of employment relations within app‐work, work assignment processes, and performance management. In so doing, we propose a series of research questions that can serve as a guide for future research in this increasingly important field.
The fit between the values of an individual and the work environment (person–organisation fit) is related to organisational citizenship behaviours and counterproductive work behaviours. Research has found that job satisfaction is a predictor of organisational citizenship behaviours and counterproductive work behaviours. Meanwhile, person–organisation fit is highly predictive of job satisfaction; thus, it is unclear if person–organisation fit relates to the use of organisational citizenship behaviours and counterproductive work behaviours beyond its shared relationship with job satisfaction. This study aimed to determine the extent to which person–organisation fit relates to the use of these behaviours outside of relations with job satisfaction. Results from an online sample of 392 employed adults found worker person–organisation fit was related directly to engaging in organisational citizenship behaviours and indirectly through increased job satisfaction. However, engagement in fewer counterproductive work behaviours occurred only as a function of being dissatisfied with one’s job. Implications about the importance of fit are discussed.
Purpose
High-quality employee motivation can contribute to an organization’s long-term success by supporting employees’ well-being and performance. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of research concerning how organizations motivate workers in non-traditional work contexts. In the algocratic context of the gig-economy, the purpose of this paper is to understand the role that technology can play in motivating workers.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the self-determination theory, job-characteristic theory and enterprise social media research, this conceptual paper explores how the architecture of the digital labor platforms underlying the gig-economy (and the characteristics of jobs mediated through these IT artifacts) can impact key antecedents of self-motivation.
Findings
Combining theory and empirical evidence, this paper develops a mid-range theory demonstrating how organizations can support the self-motivation of gig-workers through the thoughtful design of their digital labor platforms and the integration of two social media tools (namely, social networking and social badging).
Research limitations/implications
This paper answers calls for psychologically-based research exploring the consequences of gig-work as well as research studying the impacts of advanced technologies in interaction with work contexts on motivation. In theorizing around a large set of social-contextual variables operating at different levels of analysis, this paper demonstrates that individual-level motivation can be influenced by both task-based and organizational-level factors, in addition to individual-level factors.
Originality/value
The proposed theory provides novel insight into how gig-organizations can leverage widely accessible social media technology to motivate platform workers in the absence of human supervision and support. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Purpose
Although it is transforming the meaning of employment for many people, little is known about the implications of the gig economy for human resource management (HRM) theory and practice. The purpose of this paper is to conceptually explore the notion of HRM in the gig economy, where intermediary platform firms design and implement HRM activities while simultaneously trying to avoid the establishment of employment relationships with gig workers.
Design/methodology/approach
To conceptualize HRM in the gig economy, the authors offer a novel ecosystem perspective to develop propositions on the role and implementation of HRM activities in the gig economy.
Findings
The authors show that HRM activities in the gig economy are designed to govern platform ecosystems by aligning the multilateral exchanges of three key gig economy actors: gig workers, requesters and intermediary platform firms, for ensuring value co-creation. The authors argue that the implementation of HRM activities in the gig economy is contingent on the involvement and activities of these gig economy actors. This means that they are not mere recipients of HRM but also actively engaged in, and needed for, the execution of HRM activities.
Originality/value
The study contributes to research by proposing a theoretical framework for studying the design of HRM activities, and their implementation, in the gig economy. From this framework, the authors derive directions for future research on HRM in the gig economy.
Internet-led labour market has become so competitive it is forcing many organisations from different sectors to embrace e-recruitment. However, realising the value of the e-recruitment from a Requirements Engineering (RE) analysis perspective is challenging. This research was motivated by the results of a failed e-recruitment project conducted in military domain which was used as a case study. After reviewing the various challenges faced in that project through a number of related research domains, this research focused on two major problems: (1) the difficulty of scoping, representing, and systematically transforming recruitment problem knowledge towards e-recruitment solution specification; and (2) the difficulty of documenting e-recruitment best practices for reuse purposes in an enterprise recruitment environment. In this paper, a Problem-Oriented Conceptual Model (POCM) with a complementary Ontology for Recruitment Problem Definition (Onto-RPD) is proposed to contextualise the various recruitment problem viewpoints from an enterprise perspective, and to elaborate those problem viewpoints towards a comprehensive recruitment problem definition. POCM and Onto-RPD are developed incrementally using action-research conducted on three real case studies: (1) Secureland Army Enlistment; (2) British Army Regular Enlistment; and (3) UK Undergraduate Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). They are later evaluated in a focus group study against a set of criteria. The study shows that POCM and Onto-RPD provide a strong foundation for representing and understanding the e-recruitment problems from different perspectives.
As technology platforms and online communities evolve, the nature of the relationship between workers and firms is changing. Crowdsourcing is an emerging phenomenon that exemplifies the changing relationship between workers and firms. Although significant research has been conducted on worker motivation within the traditional firm‐worker relationship, relatively little work has examined motivation in crowdsourcing engagements. This study utilizes the revealed causal mapping methodology to conduct an exploratory analysis of the motivations and career outcomes of technology workers based in the United States who participate in compensation‐based technology crowdsourcing platforms such as oDesk or Rent‐a‐coder. The findings reveal ways in which the career anchors of technology workers participating in crowdsourcing are evolving in the face of the emerging dynamics in the information technology (IT) employment marketplace
This article evaluates the job quality of work in the remote gig economy. Such work consists of the remote provision of a wide variety of digital services mediated by online labour platforms. Focusing on workers in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, the article draws on semi-structured interviews in six countries (N = 107) and a cross-regional survey (N = 679) to detail the manner in which remote gig work is shaped by platform-based algorithmic control. Despite varying country contexts and types of work, we show that algorithmic control is central to the operation of online labour platforms. Algorithmic management techniques tend to offer workers high levels of flexibility, autonomy, task variety and complexity. However, these mechanisms of control can also result in low pay, social isolation, working unsocial and irregular hours, overwork, sleep deprivation and exhaustion.
This article questions whether the dominant policy discourse, in which a normative model of standard employment is counterposed to ‘non‐standard’ or ‘atypical’ employment, enables us to capture the diversity of fluid labour markets in which work is dynamically reshaped in an interaction between different kinds of employment status and work organisation. Drawing on surveys in the UK, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands that investigate work managed via online platforms (‘crowdwork’) and associated practices, it demonstrates that crowdwork represents part of a continuum. Not only do most crowd workers combine work for online platforms with other forms of work or income generation, but also many of the ICT‐related practices associated with crowdwork are widespread across the rest of the labour market where a growing number of workers are ‘logged’. Future research should not just focus on crowdworkers as a special case but on new patterns of work organisation in the regular workforce.
Despite growing interest in the gig economy among academics, policy makers and media commentators, the area is replete with different terminology, definitional constructs and contested claims about the ensuing transformation of work organisation. The aim of this positional piece is to provide a timely review and classification of crowdwork. A typology is developed to map the complexity of this emerging terrain, illuminating range and scope by critically synthesising empirical findings and issues from multidisciplinary literatures. Rather than side-tracking into debates as to what exactly constitutes crowdwork, the purpose of the typology is to highlight commonalities rather than distinctions, enabling connections across areas. The framework serves as a heuristic device for considering the broader implications for work and employment in terms of control and coordination, regulation and classification, and collective agency and representation.
—− Platforms may have a transformative and potentially severe impact on the employment relationship in the future, but so far this impact has been varied and very limited
—− Many platforms are embedded in specific locations and hence within reach of existing regulatory tools, while others contribute to the offshoring of work
—− The European Commission’s Communication on the ‘collaborative economy’ includes a useful clarification regarding the definition of ‘worker’ in EU law, specifying that it may also apply to platform workers
—− The regulatory response should go beyond this and address specific risks related to platform-mediated work
As ever more policy-makers, governments and organisations turn to the gig economy and digital labour as an economic development strategy to bring jobs to places that need them, it becomes important to understand better how this might influence the livelihoods of workers. Drawing on a multi-year study with digital workers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South-east Asia, this article highlights four key concerns for workers: bargaining power, economic inclusion, intermediated value chains, and upgrading. The article shows that although there are important and tangible benefits for a range of workers, there are also a range of risks and costs that unduly affect the livelihoods of digital workers. Building on those concerns, it then concludes with a reflection on four broad strategies – certification schemes, organising digital workers, regulatory strategies and democratic control of online labour platforms – that could be employed to improve conditions and livelihoods for digital workers.
Content analyses sway policy by describing the prevalence of mass media messages and implying effects. However, content-based research focusing ondynamic new media products such as websites, mobile applications, and video games presents methodological challenges. Our team recently conducted a large-scale content analysis exploring food marketing to children across media platforms, in which we captured and analyzed a variety of media-rich content. We consulted multiple sources to form our sampling frame, employed a complex sampling technique to allow for generalization of findings, used screen-capture software to record our exploration of media products, analyzed data using video coding software, and created a custom scale to determine the target audience of certain media products. We believe the steps we have taken may provide valuable insights into aspiring content analysts interested in studying media-rich content and address challenges that have been plaguing content analysts for the past two decades.
This working paper gives an overview of the new possibilities opened up by the 4th industrial revolution and tackles some specific questions in relation to its effects on the labour market, including on the status of employees, on working conditions and on training. It examines the role that trade unions can play in the digital economy and the main initiatives already proposed at European trade union level in this context.
Software algorithms are changing how people work in an ever-growing number of fields, managing distributed human workers at a large scale. In these work settings, human jobs are assigned, optimized, and evaluated through algorithms and tracked data. We explored the impact of this algorithmic, data-driven management on human workers and work practices in the context of Uber and Lyft, new ridesharing services. Our findings from a qualitative study describe how drivers responded when algorithms assigned work, provided informational support, and evaluated their performance, and how drivers used online forums to socially make sense of the algorithm features. Implications and future work are discussed.
Alternatives to the archetypal model of full-time regular employment are now both prevalent and wide-ranging. Over a fifth of U.S. workers, and even more globally, now perform economic work under arrangements that differ from full-time regular employment. Yet most of our management and social science notions about economic work are based on the full-time employment model. We know relatively little about the operation and consequences of alternative arrangements in part because while these arrangements vary considerably, they are commonly grouped together for research purposes using existing classification systems. We outline an inclusive classification system that distinguishes clearly between employment and its alternatives. It also distinguishes among the alternatives themselves by grouping work arrangements into categories that share common properties and that are distinct from each other in ways that matter for practice and for research. The classification system is based on distinctions about the sources and extent of control over the work process, the contractual nature of the work relationship, and the parties involved in the work relationship. Our classification system is both informed by and reflects the legal distinctions among these categories. We explore implications of our system for research and theory development.
For all its richness and potential for discovery, qualitative research has been critiqued as too often lacking in scholarly rigor. The authors summarize a systematic approach to new concept development and grounded theory articulation that is designed to bring “qualitative rigor” to the conduct and presentation of inductive research.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue volume that examines a range of concerns, challenges and responses relating to temporary workers and human resource management (HRM).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper highlights eight key research questions and describes the structure of the issue. The various articles investigate six main areas: the rationale for using temporary workers rather than permanent workers; factors determining types of temporary work arrangements; the rationale for temp workers entering into temporary employment; the nature and extent of the relationship between TWAs and user firms; the relationship between employment regulations and an organisation's labour use patterns of temporary workers and the HR challenges associated with ongoing and extensive use of temporary workers.
Findings
Findings varied according to the main focus of each paper. It is evident, however, that no one perspective, public policy or organisational strategy is likely to fit all situations in relation to temporary work and HRM. Many differences exist in the skill levels of temp workers, their demographic characteristics and reasons for undertaking temp work. Likewise, as pointed out by many of the authors included in this volume, there are also differences within user firms with regard to their reasons for employing temps.
Originality/value
There is a paucity of literature examining temporary work and HRM and this issue endeavours to fill that gap and may prompt further research.
Thematic analysis is a poorly demarcated, rarely acknowledged, yet widely used qualitative analytic method within psychology. In this paper, we argue that it offers an accessible and theoretically flexible approach to analysing qualitative data. We outline what thematic analysis is, locating it in relation to other qualitative analytic methods that search for themes or patterns, and in relation to different epistemological and ontological positions. We then provide clear guidelines to those wanting to start thematic analysis, or conduct it in a more deliberate and rigorous way, and consider potential pitfalls in conducting thematic analysis. Finally, we outline the disadvantages and advantages of thematic analysis. We conclude by advocating thematic analysis as a useful and flexible method for qualitative research in and beyond psychology.
A framework for understanding the etiology of organizational behavior is presented. The framework is based on theory and research from interactional psychology, vocational psychology, I/O psychology, and organizational theory. The framework proposes that organizations are functions of the kinds of people they contain and, further, that the people there are functions of an attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) cycle. The ASA cycle is proposed as an alternative model for understanding organizations and the causes of the structures, processes, and technology of organizations. First, the ASA framework is developed through a series of propositions. Then some implications of the model are outlined, including (1) the difficulty of bringing about change in organizations, (2) the utility of personality and interest measures for understanding organizational behavior, (3) the genesis of organizational climate and culture, (4) the importance of recruitment, and (5) the need for person-based theories of leadership and job attitudes. It is concluded that contemporary I/O psychology is overly dominated by situationist theories of the behavior of organizations and the people in them.
In 1987, B. Schneider proposed a person-oriented model of organizational behavior based on the proposition that it is the collective characteristics of people who define an organization. He further proposed that, over time, organizations become defined by the persons in them as a natural outcome of an attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) cycle. We provide a brief overview of the ASA cycle and review literature relevant to two facets of the theory. The literature reviewed provides some indirect support for the proposal that founders and the members of top management have long-term effects on organizations through the ASA cycle. The literature reviewed provides both indirect and direct evidence supporting a central proposition of ASA theory–that organizations over time become relatively homogeneous with regard to the kinds of people in them. Suggestions for future research on ASA are presented.
The growth of the “gig” economy generates worker flexibility that, some have speculated, will favor women. We explore this by examining labor supply choices and earnings among more than a million rideshare drivers on Uber in the United States. We document a roughly 7% gender earnings gap amongst drivers. We show that this gap can be entirely attributed to three factors: experience on the platform (learning-by-doing), preferences and constraints over where to work (driven largely by where drivers live and, to a lesser extent, safety), and preferences for driving speed. We do not find that men and women are differentially affected by a taste for specific hours, a return to within-week work intensity, or customer discrimination. Our results suggest that, in a “gig” economy setting with no gender discrimination and highly flexible labor markets, women’s relatively high opportunity cost of non-paid-work time and gender-based differences in preferences and constraints can sustain a gender pay gap.
While there is emerging research on the motivations of workers who engage with specific digital platforms, scant attention has been afforded to the contours of the digital economy as they affect workers in occupational or professional contexts. Drawing on interviews with 51 Australian photographers, the authors examined the extent to which, and why, photographers engage with or resist digital platform work. The photographic profession is an ideal context in which to examine such questions due to the fragmentation of the workforce and the recent proliferation of platforms. The findings revealed that the level of worker engagement is explained by platform control over price, service and product quality, and relationship management. The experiences of self-employed, freelance workers complicate our understanding of work afforded by digital platforms. Engaging with the political economy surrounding freelance creative labour, the study enables a richer theorisation of the experiences of platform-generated work in this context.
The continuing war for talent requires business leaders to stay focused on the quality and mix of their applicant pool(s) at different levels of their organizations. As psychological needs, relational responsibilities, and key motivators differ across career stages, differentiated employee value proposition is critical, in order to attract the right talent to the organization. However, studies exploring predictors of job pursuit intention have typically investigated this topic with populations of on-campus students or early career-stage applicants. The present study was designed to better understand factors that influence job pursuit intentions of individuals at different career stages. In this multi-phase study, we supplemented the first phase of the study (a sample of 1127 professionals in the IT/ITeS industry at various stages of their careers) with interviews with 32 IT professionals and 15 HR leaders in Phase II. We find that the predictors of job pursuit intention differ for applicants at different career stages. We discuss theoretical contributions, practical implications and offer suggestions for future research.
We explore data from a field test of how an algorithm delivered ads promoting job opportunities in the science, technology, engineering and math fields. This ad was explicitly intended to be gender neutral in its delivery. Empirically, however, fewer women saw the ad than men. This happened because younger women are a prized demographic and are more expensive to show ads to. An algorithm that simply optimizes cost-effectiveness in ad delivery will deliver ads that were intended to be gender neutral in an apparently discriminatory way, because of crowding out. We show that this empirical regularity extends to other major digital platforms.
This paper was accepted by Joshua Gans, business strategy.
This qualitative case study adopts a labour process analysis to unpack the distinctive features of capital’s control regimes in the food-delivery segment of the Australian platform-economy and assess labour agency in response to these. Drawing upon worker experiences with the Deliveroo and UberEATS platforms, it is shown how the labour process controls are multi-facetted and more than algorithmic management, with three distinct features standing out: the panoptic disposition of the technological infrastructure, the use of information asymmetries to constrain worker choice and the obfuscated nature of their performance management systems. Combined with the workers’ precarious labour market positions and the Australian political-economic context, only limited, mainly individual, expressions of agency were found.
The new ways of organising work and offering services on the market through the so-called digital platforms seem to have put the traditional legal standards for classifying employment relationships into question. The mechanism of functioning of digital platforms, in fact, seems to put together a series of ‘old’ problems in a new combination. On the one hand, platforms present themselves on the market as subjects with an apparently rarefied organisational structure, moving along the threads of algorithms; on the other hand, those who collaborate with them seem to do so in a spontaneous, voluntary, random and flexible way. The radical fragmentation, or reduction to the minimum, of the productive organisation, is accompanied by the fragmentation of the work activity itself, made by an anonymous multitude of people (‘crowd’), who move together in the light of invisible dynamics, dictated by unknown algorithms.
Academic scholarship - and in some countries also case law - has already offered many and different answers to the problem of the legal classification of the relationship of those who work for/with the platforms. They vary according to the methodological approaches and the systems used as a reference.
The present paper argues that it is not possible to provide for a general answer to such question, valid for every concrete case. In fact, the specific features of each relationship between the platform and the workers might largely vary from case to case.
However, some elements that are functional to the solution of the classification issue are still disputable and shall be clarified: (a) in most of the cases, the platform does not act as a mere intermediary between the supply and demand for a certain service; instead, it represents the direct supplier of that service, which is provided through the activities of the workers; therefore, the workers are fully integrated into the platforms’ organisation; (b) in the light of the rating mechanism and the adoption of certain contractual clauses on withdrawal – that will be described –, often the worker is made illegitimately liable for the unfulfilment of the obligations to the customer; (c) when the conditions a) and b) occur, a substantial overlap between the business carried out by digital platforms and the workers’ activities can be detected and this shall be taken into consideration in the investigation on the legal status of the workers, especially in order to prevent any attempt to circumvent the application of the employment law protections.
To monitor trends in alternative work arrangements, the authors conducted a version of the Contingent Worker Survey as part of the RAND American Life Panel in late 2015. Their findings point to a rise in the incidence of alternative work arrangements in the US economy from 1995 to 2015. The percentage of workers engaged in alternative work arrangements—defined as temporary help agency workers, on-call workers, contract workers, and independent contractors or freelancers—rose from 10.7% in February 2005 to possibly as high as 15.8% in late 2015. Workers who provide services through online intermediaries, such as Uber or TaskRabbit, accounted for 0.5% of all workers in 2015. Of the workers selling goods or services directly to customers, approximately twice as many reported finding customers through off-line intermediaries than through online intermediaries.
Online labour markets are virtual platforms that solve information problems to enable gains from trade in remote labour services. They make employers and workers aware of each other, and allow them to communicate, contract, and produce remotely. Recent research suggests, however, that organizing production to include remote work remains challenging because employers and workers in these markets continue to lack information that is less easily communicated. Employers appear unable to accurately anticipate the full costs and benefits to them of using the market prior to entry, and continue to have difficulty evaluating worker applications even when experienced in these markets. Information is particularly incomplete when wage arbitrage opportunity is greatest.
Labour markets are thought to be in the midst of a dramatic transformation, where standard employment is increasingly supplemented or substituted by temporary work mediated by online platforms. Yet the scale and scope of these changes is hard to assess, because conventional labour market statistics and economic indicators are ill-suited to measuring this “online gig work”. We present the Online Labour Index (OLI), an experimental economic indicator that approximates the conventional labour market statistic of new open vacancies. It measures the utilization of online labour across countries and occupations by tracking the number of projects and tasks posted on major online gig platforms in near-real time. The purpose of this article is to introduce the OLI and describe the methodology behind it. We also demonstrate how it can be used to address previously unanswered questions about the online gig economy. To benefit policymakers, labour market researchers and the general public, our results are published in an interactive online visualisation which is updated daily.
On-demand labor platforms offer many in-person services, from ride-hailing to childcare. However, scholars have focused on ride-hailing, leading to a model of “Uberization” that entails the informalization of work. We argue that online carework platforms that match nannies and babysitters to families show the limits of this narrative. Based on a discourse analysis of carework platforms and interviews with workers using them, we illustrate that these platforms seek to formalize employment relationships through technologies that increase visibility. We argue that carework platforms are “cultural entrepreneurs” that create and maintain cultural distinctions between populations of workers, and institutionalize those distinctions into platform features. Ultimately, the visibility created by platforms does not realize the formalization of employment relationships, but does serve the interests of platform companies and clients and exacerbate existing inequalities for workers. As one of the first analyses of carework platforms, this study also points to gendered bias in the scholarly literature about the on-demand economy.
In this paper, we take a Human Resource Management (HRM) perspective on crowdwork. Given HRM's changeful history, we argue that a holistic HRM perspective should consider both a performance and an employee welfare perspective. While the performance perspective emphasizes the sourcing of crowdworkers' work potential and transforming this potential into actual performance according to organizational goals, a welfare perspective highlights the consequences of crowdwork on individuals and the repercussions of crowdwork-related HRM practices on societal level. For each perspective, we suggest various HR-related dimensions through which we explore different forms of online crowdwork. On the side of the performance-view, these include work design, planning and coordination; recruitment and selection; performance management; training and development; and compensation. On the side of the employee welfare-view, we look at the dimensions quality of work, compensation, employment opportunities, and power issues in crowdwork. By integrating performance and welfare perspectives, we uncover a variety of complex and partly interrelated opportunities and challenges of crowdwork for HRM.
We examine how the entry of gig-economy platforms influences local entrepreneurial activity. On the one hand, such platforms may reduce entrepreneurial activity by offering stable employment for the unemployed and underemployed. On the other hand, such platforms may enable entrepreneurial activity by offering work flexibility that allows the entrepreneur to redeploy resources strategically in order to pursue the nascent venture. To resolve this tension, we examine the entry of the ridesharing platform Uber X into local areas. We use two measures of entrepreneurial activity: crowdfunding campaign launches at Kickstarter, the world’s largest reward-based crowdfunding platform, and levels of self-employment from the Current Population Survey. Results indicate a negative and significant relationship between platform entry and both measures of entrepreneurial activity. Importantly, the effect manifests primarily amongst unsuccessful Kickstarter campaigns and unincorporated entrepreneurial ventures, suggesting that gig-economy platforms predominantly reduce lower quality entrepreneurial activity, seemingly by offering viable employment for the unemployed and underemployed. These relationships are corroborated with a first-hand survey conducted with gig-economy service providers.
This paper was accepted by Anandhi Bharadwaj, information systems.
This study describes an attempt to develop an integrative model of job search and employee recruitment. Inevitably multi-level in nature, the model demonstrates the interplay between organizational-level factors and individual-level factors in influencing the outcomes of employee recruitment and job search activities. According to the model, influenced by job seeker and organizational characteristics, job search and recruitment activities jointly create job awareness, which is the first step in organizational attraction. Next, depending on the job seeker's current job situation, this attraction leads to job pursuit intention and behavior. The model also emphasizes the longitudinal nature of the process by which individuals gain employment. Finally, since each organization's applicant pool consists of job seekers with some common characteristics attracted to the same position, the model proposes that recruitment and job search can be examined by utilizing a multilevel framework.
The rapidly growing number of people who find work via online labor platforms are not employees, nor do they necessarily fit traditional conceptualizations of independent contractors, freelancers, or the self-employed. The ambiguous nature of their employment status and its implications for worker well-being have attracted substantial controversy, but to date most empirical research in this area has focused on the market efficiency of a single platform rather than on workers themselves and related human resource management issues. Research progress will require understanding how online labor platform work differs from other types of nonstandard employment arrangements, as well as critical differences across different labor platform firms in how work and workers are managed. This paper proposes a conceptual classification framework to facilitate research on the attitudes, experiences, and outcomes of workers who use these platforms. We explore how labor platform firms' operational choices shape how control is allocated across workers, clients, and the firm, and how they influence workers' autonomy, incentives, and degree of economic dependence on the firm. Implications for theory development, research, and managing worker-firm relations are discussed.
Online labor marketplaces facilitate the efficient matching of employers and workers across geographical boundaries. The exponential growth of this nascent online phenomenon holds important social and economic implications, as the hiring decisions made on these online platforms implicate the incomes of millions of workers worldwide. Despite this importance, limited effort has been devoted to understanding whether potential hiring biases exist in online labor platforms and how they may affect hiring outcomes. Using a novel proprietary data set from a leading online labor platform, we investigate the impact of gender-based stereotypes on hiring outcomes. After accounting for endogeneity via a holistic set of job and worker controls, a matched sample approach, and a quasi-experimental technique, we find evidence of a positive hiring bias in favor of female workers. An experiment was used to uncover the underlying gender-specific traits that could influence hiring outcomes. We find that the observed hiring bias diminishes as employers gain more hiring experience on the platform. In addition, the female hiring bias appears to stem solely from the consideration of applicants from developing countries, and not those from developed countries. Subanalyses show that women are preferred in feminine-typed occupations while men do not enjoy higher hiring likelihoods in masculine-typed occupations. We also find that female employers are more susceptible to the female hiring bias compared to male employers. Our findings provide key insights for several groups of stakeholders including policy makers, platform owners, hiring managers, and workers. Managerial and practical implications are discussed.
The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2756 .
This paper was accepted by Chris Forman, information systems.
Digital platforms have the potential to create benefits for their suppliers or workers as well as their customers, yet there is a heated debate about the character of this work and whether the platforms should be more heavily regulated. Beyond the high-profile global platforms, the technology is contributing to changing patterns of work. Yet the existing framework of employment legislation and public policy more broadly – from minimum wages to benefits and pensions – is structured around the concept of ‘the firm’ as the agent of policy delivery. To reshape policies in order to protect the interests of people as workers as well as consumers, it is important to understand why digital innovators make the choices they do, and therefore how labour market policies can improve working conditions without constraining the productivity and consumer benefits enabled by digital business models.
When evaluating an applicant online, individuals are often concurrently exposed to a diverse cross-section of self- and other-generated information with varying relevance to the candidate’s actual job skills. Moreover, these various data may not always be internally consistent. Utilizing profiles on the microtask site Fiverr, a fully-crossed 2 × 2 × 2 experiment (N= 92) tested main and interaction effects of exposure positively- and negatively-valenced (1) self-generated task-relevant, (2) self-generated task-irrlevant photographic, and (3) other-generated task-relevant information, all within the same stimulus. Contrast analyses results support significant interactions among cues on perceptions of an applicants’ employability and person-job fit. The significant two- and three-way interactions are discussed with respect to warranting theory and the halo effect, and practical implications for applicants and employers are presented.
Purpose
To date, most research has assumed an additive relationship between work-related predictors and engagement. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the refinement of engagement theory by exploring the extent to which two predictors – person-organization fit and organizational trust – interact to influence employees’ engagement, which in turn, positively influences their task performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A test of moderated mediation was conducted using survey data collected from 335 employees and matched performance records from the Human Resource department in a support services organization in the UK.
Findings
Engagement was best predicted by the interactive model, rather than the additive model, as employees who felt a close fit with their organization and who trusted their organization were most engaged with their work. Further, engagement mediated the relationship between the interaction and task performance.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to a refinement of engagement theory by presenting and testing a model that explains the synergistic effect of work-related factors on engagement.
Bergman and Jean (2016) include freelancers as one of the categories of workers who are understudied in the industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology literature. This neglect is particularly striking given the attention paid by the popular media and by politicians to the rise of the “gig economy,” comprising primarily short-term independent freelance workers (e.g., Cook, 2015; Kessler, 2014; Scheiber, 2014; Warner, 2015). This may be due in part to challenges involved in accessing and researching this population, as discussed by Bergman and Jean, but it may also arise from complexities in defining and conceptualizing freelance work, as well as from misunderstandings about the nature of the work now performed by many people who are considered freelancers. Major topics of interest to I-O psychologists such as organizational attraction, job satisfaction, and turnover may seem at first glance to lack relevance to the study of workers who are officially classified as self-employed. But there is substantial opportunity for I-O psychologists and other behaviorally oriented organizational researchers to contribute to our understanding of the growing number of people who earn all or some of their income by freelancing.
