‘With Great Power Comes Virtual Freedom’. A Review of the First Italian Case Holding That (Food-Delivery) Platform Workers Are Not Employees

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Aloisi
Keyword(s):  
Food Delivery ◽  
Great Power ◽  
Italian Case ◽  
Delivery Platform

scholarly journals Illusory freedom of physical platform workers: Insights from Uber Eats in Japan

2021 ◽  
pp. 103530462199246
Author(s):  
Hamza Umer
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Food Delivery ◽  
Jel Codes ◽  
Delivery Platform ◽  
Pros And Cons

Platform work is often advocated as offering freedom of work to labour. Contesting this claim, this article undertakes a comparative analysis of the pros and cons of food delivery platform work prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and argues that the freedom of food delivery platform workers is essentially an ‘illusory freedom’. In reality, platform work has only changed mechanisms through which companies can exercise control over labour and evade their employer obligations. As a case, the article examines the illusory freedom of food delivery platform workers associated to Uber Eats in Japan. The collective bargaining efforts of food delivery workers against the excessive control of Uber Eats and the extent of success of these efforts are also examined. The article concludes by discussing the possible factors that have undermined the effectiveness of the collective bargaining efforts of the labour union. JEL Codes: J52; J81

scholarly journals Consumer Attitudes and Purchase Intentions toward Food Delivery Platform Services

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 10177
Author(s):  
Han-Shen Chen ◽  
Chia-Hsing Liang ◽  
Shu-Yi Liao ◽  
Hung-Yu Kuo
Keyword(s):  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Behavioral Control ◽  
Food Delivery ◽  
Subjective Norms ◽  
Purchase Intentions ◽  
Perceived Behavioral Control ◽  
Hedonic Value ◽  
Utilitarian Value ◽  
Delivery Platform ◽  
Positive Effect

With the advent of the Online to Offline (O2O) era, the rise of various food delivery platforms not only provides consumers with more choices, but also allows restaurant operators to reach more potential consumers and increase their additional revenue. This study is based on theory of planned behavior (TPB), and includes the ‘utilitarian value’ and ‘hedonic value’ as research variables. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to verify the research hypotheses, and to analyze consumers’ purchase intentions toward online food delivery platforms. An online survey was also conducted, and a total of 1300 questionnaires were distributed. After excluding invalid questionnaires with incomplete answers, a total of 1082 questionnaires were deemed valid, and the effective recovery rate was 83.23%. The research results were as follows: (1) the attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control of consumers will have a significant positive effect on utilitarian value and hedonic value; (2) the utilitarian and hedonic values have a significant positive effect on purchase intention; and (3) the utilitarian and hedonic values have a mediating effect on attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and purchase intention. Based on the above results, food delivery platform operators can identify the key factors that drive consumers to use their services in order to formulate effective management strategies and create greater business opportunities for their organizations.

From Flexible Labour to ‘Sticky Labour’: A Tracking Study of Workers in the Food-Delivery Platform Economy of China

2021 ◽  
pp. 095001702110215
Author(s):  
Ping Sun ◽  
Julie Yujie Chen ◽  
Uma Rani
Keyword(s):  
Social Impact ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Food Delivery ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Delivery Platform ◽  
Platform Economy ◽  
Labour Management

Despite considerable scholarly attention to the proliferation of gig work on digital platforms, research tracing the broad trends of labour relations is scant. Analysing interview and survey data on food-delivery workers in China between 2018 and 2019, this article demonstrates a trend of de-flexibilisation for workers, which contradicts the purported flexibility of platform-mediated work. It is argued that de-flexibilisation is achieved through intertwined labour management tactics, technological engineering, and the cultural normalisation of platform-dependent precarious jobs. Platform companies and third-party staffing agencies have jointly deployed algorithmic systems and communicative techniques to cultivate what we refer to as ‘sticky labour’. The study contributes to the current debate on working in platform capitalism by weighing the compound effects of labour management strategies, social impact of technological engineering of the work process, and the cultural normalisation of platform work.

scholarly journals Digital food environment during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Brazil: an analysis of food advertising in an online food delivery platform

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Paula Martins Horta ◽  
Juliana de Paula Matos ◽  
Larissa Loures Mendes
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Ice Cream ◽  
Food Delivery ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Food Advertising ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Unhealthy Eating ◽  
Delivery Platform ◽  
Access To Food

Abstract Online food delivery (OFD) platforms guarantee access to food during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic when commercial food establishments are closed and access to food retail is controlled. The present study aimed to describe the advertisements published in an OFD platform in Brazilian capitals, during the 13th and 14th weeks of the pandemic. Data collection occurred on 1 d of the week and 1 d of the weekend and during lunch and dinner time. A random sample of 25 % of the advertisements (n 1754) published in this period was classified in accordance with the presence of food groups and to the use of marketing strategies. Sandwiches, ultra-processed beverages, traditional meals or pasta were the most common food groups shown in the advertisements. Free delivery prevailed in advertisements of ice cream, candies or salty packages snacks and pizza (P < 0·01). Combos were more frequently shown in the advertising of natural juices or smoothies, ultra-processed beverages, sandwiches and pizzas (P < 0·01). Messages about healthiness were more seen among natural juices or smoothies, vegetables and traditional meals and pasta advertisements (P < 0·01) and less seen in sandwiches (P = 0·02) and pizza advertisements (P < 0·01). Economy messages were rare in advertisements of traditional meals or pasta (P < 0·01) and more common in ultra-processed beverages (P = 0·03) and ice cream, candies or salty packages snacks (P < 0·01) advertisements. The OFD platform promoted unhealthy eating during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil due to the expressive presence of unhealthy foods advertising.

scholarly journals Being a Deliveroo Rider: Practices of Platform Labor in Nijmegen and Berlin

2021 ◽  
pp. 089124162199467
Author(s):  
Peter Timko ◽  
Rianne van Melik
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Food Delivery ◽  
Uneven Distribution ◽  
Independent Contractors ◽  
Urban Economies ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Delivery Platform ◽  
Management Techniques

On-demand delivery platforms have become a common feature of urban economies across the globe. Noted for their hyper-outsourced, “lean” business models and reliance on independent contractors, these companies evade traditional employer obligations while still controlling workers through complex algorithmic management techniques. Using food delivery platform Deliveroo as a case-study, this paper investigates the diverse array of practices that on-demand workers carry out in order to enact this new platform labor arrangement in different spatial contexts. One of us conducted an auto-ethnographic project, working as a Deliveroo Rider in Nijmegen and Berlin for a period of nine months. Additionally, we interviewed 13 fellow platform workers. The findings reveal the motley, contingent, and conditional ways in which on-demand labor comes together on the ground. The paper concludes with discussing the uneven distribution of these practices across locations and social groups, and the sometimes contradictory impacts they have on the structure of platform labor.

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