University of Twente Student Theses
out of place out of sight? : A Quantitative Study on Social Connectedness in the Platform Economy and its Effect on the Willingness to Participate in Collective Action
Fellmoser, Maike (2018) out of place out of sight? : A Quantitative Study on Social Connectedness in the Platform Economy and its Effect on the Willingness to Participate in Collective Action.
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| Abstract: | In the constantly growing platform economy work is no longer a place to go but, merely a task to perform, which leads to a great dispersal of the workforce. This presumably has an effect on the social connectedness amongst workers- a key element for collective action. In this context, the question arises to what extent, if any, social connectedness has an effect on platform workers’ willingness to engage in collective action. To analyze this, this study distinguishes the great range of platforms according to their visibility: While in offline crowdsourcing platforms, such as Foodora and Deliveroo, an element of co-presence, and thus an element of a traditional work place remains, work in online crowdsourcing platforms, such as Jovoto, is restricted to the online world, which results in a greater isolation of the worker. The research question is answered based on quantitative data that was collected in an online survey (N=91). The results show that the type of platform not only has a significant effect on the level where interaction takes place, but also on the willingness to organize collectively. Not only does interaction occur significantly more often in offline platforms, this group of workers is also significantly more willing to engage in any type of collective action than workers of online crowdsourcing platforms. The latter group shows a higher degree of willingness for collective action that requires no element of co-presence, i.e. that takes place in the online world, than for collective action that requires a step into the offline world. Linear regression finds this distinction between the visibility of the workers significant to explain willingness to organize collectively. For interaction, only a significant effect of online interaction is found on workers’ willingness to engage in online collective action. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 71 sociology |
| Programme: | Management Society and Technology BSc (56654) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/75858 |
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