Conceptualizing human resource management in the gig economy

By J. Meijerink, A. Keegan. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 2019

229 citations recorded by the source corpus.

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.

Subfields: Marketing, Sociology and Political Science, Strategy and Management

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/5ec2c97c51cb3fe69e1bab439c900f973111945f

How researchers see this paper

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In Marketing

1. A. Veen
2. T. Barratt
3. Caleb Goods
4. B. Caza
5. Steve Granger
6. Susan J. Ashford
7. Erin Reid
8. J. Slageren

In Sociology and Political Science

1. Susan J. Ashford
2. Erin Reid
3. Steve Granger
4. A. Veen
5. T. Barratt
6. Caleb Goods
7. B. Caza
8. J. Slageren

In Strategy and Management

1. A. Veen
2. B. Caza
3. Steve Granger
4. Koen Frenken
5. Susan J. Ashford
6. Erin Reid
7. T. Barratt
8. A. Herrmann

Citations in the corpus

• Working on my own: Measuring the challenges of gig work (2021, methodology): “Following other recent research (e.g. Brawley, 2017; Campion, 2019; Kuhn, 2016; Meijerink and Keegan, 2019; Petriglieri et al., 2019), we adopt the inclusive terms “gig work” and “gig workers”.”
• Conceptualizing the Gig Economy and Its Regulatory Problems (2020, background): “…emphasize that the supply of labor in the gig economy concerns “ individuals, ” “ taskers, ” “ freelancers, ” “ self ‐ employed, ” “ independent workers, ” or “ independent contractors ” rather than employees (Friedman, 2014; Kuhn & Maleki, 2017; Meijerink & Keegan, 2019; Prassl & Risak, 2015).”
• Algorithmic management in a work context (2021, background): “Much of what we know about algorithmic management comes from nascent research in this domain (e.g. Meijerink and Keegan, 2019; Sutherland and Jarrahi, 2018), where a particular focus has been placed on how algorithmic management both substitutes and complements traditional managerial over-sight…”
• ‘I’m my own boss…’: Active intermediation and ‘entrepreneurial’ worker agency in the Australian gig-economy (2020, background): “Platforms proclaim that independent contracting relationships are fundamental to their business models (e.g. Deliveroo, 2018; Uber, 2018) and reflect the nature of labourcapital relationship – the latter is, however, disputed in legal proceedings around the world (Meijerink and Keegan, 2019).”