TY - BOOK

T1 - Digital Capitalism Without Firms?

T2 - Consequences for the Organization and Regulation of Work from an Employment Systems Perspective

AU - Maric, Sara

AU - Thäter, Laura

AU - Schüßler, Elke

PY - 2024/3/8

Y1 - 2024/3/8

N2 - In this paper we argue that a depiction of platform work as market-based is too simplistic, because platform-mediated work also involves highly skilled tasks that require some coordination and even cooperation, e.g. in the case of design or software development. Platform workers in these sectors offer professional services, have a high level of technical skills, and can secure a stable income by building and maintaining long-term business relationships with their clients (Vallas & Schor, 2020). Platforms, thus, do not just organize markets, but organize labour markets in which workers build their careers and develop psychological contracts. Given recent regulatory contestations around the classification of platform-mediated work, we hence believe that the underlying employment-like system of platforms as a particular form of organization that is neither hierarchy, nor market, nor network (Grabher & König, 2020; Schüßler et al., 2021; Watkins & Stark, 2018) deserves further consideration, which promises broader insights about “platformisation” as a mode of organizing more generally.

AB - In this paper we argue that a depiction of platform work as market-based is too simplistic, because platform-mediated work also involves highly skilled tasks that require some coordination and even cooperation, e.g. in the case of design or software development. Platform workers in these sectors offer professional services, have a high level of technical skills, and can secure a stable income by building and maintaining long-term business relationships with their clients (Vallas & Schor, 2020). Platforms, thus, do not just organize markets, but organize labour markets in which workers build their careers and develop psychological contracts. Given recent regulatory contestations around the classification of platform-mediated work, we hence believe that the underlying employment-like system of platforms as a particular form of organization that is neither hierarchy, nor market, nor network (Grabher & König, 2020; Schüßler et al., 2021; Watkins & Stark, 2018) deserves further consideration, which promises broader insights about “platformisation” as a mode of organizing more generally.

KW - Betriebswirtschaftslehre

M3 - Monografien

BT - Digital Capitalism Without Firms?

ER -