Consent and dissent among platform-based workers: How symbolism steers Uber drivers’ motivation

Corentin Curchod, Stéphanie Giamporcaro, George Kuk

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract / Description of output

Online platforms have opened up new opportunities for workers who strive to become ‘their own boss’, while creating new constraints and difficult working environments that fall outside traditional, more secure employment relationships. This article investigates the mechanisms through which workers on online platforms consent to their working conditions, and the mechanisms that motivate their dissent. Interviews with 58 actors linked to the expansion of Uber in Cape Town, South Africa, revealed that platforms are loaded with meaningful symbols, and that symbolism plays a great role in the motivation of platform workers. Our findings contribute new theoretical insights about how platforms, by enacting several interactions simultaneously, convey meanings and emotions that either coalesce into workers’ positive perception of their working conditions, or collapse into negative behavior and demotivation.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAOM Proceedings 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2021
EventAcademy of Management Conference - Online
Duration: 29 Jul 20214 Aug 2021
https://aom.org/events/annual-meeting/registering-and-attending

Publication series

NameAcademy of Management Proceedings
ISSN (Print)0065-0668
ISSN (Electronic)2151-6561

Conference

ConferenceAcademy of Management Conference
Period29/07/214/08/21
Internet address

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • online platforms
  • symbolism
  • symbolic interactions
  • meaning of work

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