Algorithmic management and app‐work in the gig economy: A research agenda for employment relations and HRM

Abstract

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.

Conceptualizing the Gig Economy and Its Regulatory Problems

“…First, scholars who see online platforms as a defining feature of the gig economy tend to argue that the role of rating systems and algorithmic management fundamentally differentiates online platform intermediation from older forms of offline intermediation (temp agencies, telephone operators, offline bulletin boards, etc.) (De Stefano, 2015; Duggan et al, 2019; Shapiro, 2018; Wood et al, 2019). Second, they see online platforms changing not only the technology used to mediate supply and demand but also the legal nature of relationships, replacing bilateral with trilateral relationships involving a worker, a requester, and the platform (Aloisi, 2015; De Stefano, 2015; Duggan et al, 2019).…”

“…(De Stefano, 2015; Duggan et al, 2019; Shapiro, 2018; Wood et al, 2019). Second, they see online platforms changing not only the technology used to mediate supply and demand but also the legal nature of relationships, replacing bilateral with trilateral relationships involving a worker, a requester, and the platform (Aloisi, 2015; De Stefano, 2015; Duggan et al, 2019).…”

“…The final conceptual issue concerns the question of whether the gig economy only includes individuals performing gigs by selling their own labor, or whether it should also include individuals who rent out their assets. Most authors agree that the gig economy should be restricted to labor transactions so as to differentiate labor platforms from capital platforms—where labor platforms refer to intermediation of ex ante specified tasks in the gig economy, and capital platforms refer to individuals who rent out their own consumer goods in what is known as the sharing economy (Duggan et al, 2019; Farrell & Greig, 2016; Frenken & Schor, 2017).…”

Are we ‘sharing’ or ‘gig‐ing’? A classification system for online platforms

“…The second conceptual shortcoming revolves around the dividing line between ‘capital’ and ‘labour’ platforms. For frameworks that make this distinction (Duggan et al ., 2019; Farrell and Greig, 2016; Gerwe and Silva, 2018; Smith, 2016; Vallas and Schor, 2020), they assume that there is a clear line between the two. Conceptually, however, very few platforms are truly either ‘labour’ or ‘capital’ exchanges.…”

‘If He Just Knew Who We Were’: Microworkers’ Emerging Bonds of Attachment in a Fragmented Employment Relationship

“…Finally, research on microworkers' experiences has focused on specific aspects of working life; for example, experience of the work itself (Deng and Joshi, 2016;Kost et al, 2018); perceptions of requesters (Irani and Silberman, 2013); fair treatment (Fieseler et al, 2019), and the microworker community as a source of support and voice (Lehdonvirta, 2016(Lehdonvirta, , 2018. Work attachment is an integrative concept for understanding employment relationship dynamics and informs debate about the value of cultivating strong bonds in gig work (Duggan et al, 2019).…”