The Online Platform Economy as an Entrepreneurship-Based Strategy for Value Creation

2020 ◽  
pp. 182-200
Author(s):  
José Manuel Saiz-Alvarez
Keyword(s):  
Value Creation ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Independent Contractors ◽  
Online Platform ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Platform Economy

The Online Platform Economy (OPE) is a part of the Gig Economy defined by the hiring of temporary and highly-flexible workers (freelancers and independent contractors) instead of full-time employees to perform tasks (“gigs”), as well as by using 4G and 5G ICTs-based technologies for crowdwork, crowdvoting, and crowdsolving. These online platform businesses provide businesses and consumers access to low-cost, on-demand labor. But gig workers' experiences are more complex, as they have access to very flexible, potentially autonomous work. They also deal with challenges caused by the nature of the work, its precariousness, and their relationships with online platforms. This chapter studies OPEs and the Gig Economy. The author defines the concept of the Gig Economy and its importance, and analyzes it through a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. Then, the OPE, as a digital value creator, is studied. The chapter includes perspectives and conclusions.

scholarly journals Managing Supply in the On-Demand Economy: Flexible Workers, Full-Time Employees, or Both?

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 1238-1264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Dong ◽  
Rouba Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Business Strategy ◽  
Operating Costs ◽  
Time Variability ◽  
Supply Side ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Independent Contractors ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Staffing Strategy

The rise of the blended workforce, which is identified as one of the top current workplace trends, is prompting firms to reevaluate their staffing strategies. A blended workforce melds as a deliberate business strategy flexible workers (for example, independent contractors or freelancers) with full-time employees. Because flexible workers are free to determine their own work schedules, the supply (total number of workers) is uncertain. In “Managing Supply in the On-Demand Economy: Flexible Workers, Full-Time Employees, or Both?,” Dong and Ibrahim examine the optimal staffing strategy for flexible workers and full-time employees to effectively balance operating costs, time variability in customer demands, and supply-side uncertainty while not compromising on the quality of service offered to customers. This work gleans insights on the appropriateness of alternative workforce models, which are especially relevant for the gig economy.

Motivations for Value Co-creation in Higher Education Institutions Using Online Platforms: Case of Idea Bank

2015 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabil Hasan ◽  
Azizah Abdul Rahman ◽  
Faisal Saeed
Keyword(s):  
Value Creation ◽  
Stakeholder Engagement ◽  
Global Market ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Market Positioning ◽  
Online Platform ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Initial Results

The involvement of stakeholders in value creation is one of the successful marketing techniques. It helps to introduce a very clear view of understanding the stakeholder’s needs, thought and suggestions. Stakeholder engagement in value creation will highlight the fact that new ideas for developing services or products will help to meet customer’s needs and expectations. Ideation is one of the most important strategies that lead to development of such services, enhancing service quality and innovation. Motivation for generating ideas from stakeholders in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) through online interaction platforms is one of the challenges that needs further exploration, because of  human differences in the nature of motivation and mindset. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) idea bank online platform is adopted as a case study in this research paper. The main aim of this study is to identify the factors that encourage stakeholders in HEIs to be continuously involved in value co-creation through available online platforms. Interviews with sample of active stakeholders have been conducted using open end questions. In addition, observation on idea bank website and analyzing the archive and website history is considered. The initial results identify three areas of motivations for value co-creation in HEIs: organizational motives, online platform characteristics, individual motives. Results and implications for this case study will help HEIs such as universities achieve better global market positioning, to differentiate themselves among others, and to develop stakeholder’s competencies.  

scholarly journals The Big, Gig Picture: We Can't Assume the Same Constructs Matter

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 687-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice M. Brawley
Keyword(s):  
Assembly Line ◽  
Internet Access ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Complete Work ◽  
The Us ◽  
Total Elimination ◽  
As If

I am concerned about industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology's relevance to the gig economy, defined here as the broad trends toward technology-based platform work. This sort of work happens on apps like Uber (where the app connects drivers and riders) and sites like MTurk (where human intelligence tasks, or HITs, are advertised to workers on behalf of requesters). We carry on with I-O research and practice as if technology comprises only things (e.g., phones, websites, platforms) that we use to assess applicants and complete work. However, technology has much more radically restructured work as we know it, to happen in a much more piecemeal, on-demand fashion, reviving debates about worker classification and changing the reality of work for many workers (Sundararajan, 2016). Instead of studying technology as a thing we use, it's critical that we “zoom out” to see and adapt our field to this bigger picture of trends towards a gig economy. Rather than a phone being used to check work email or complete pre-hire assessments, technology and work are inseparable. For example, working on MTurk requires constant Internet access (Brawley, Pury, Switzer, & Saylors, 2017; Ma, Khansa, & Hou, 2016). Alarmingly, some researchers describe these workers as precarious (Spretizer, Cameron, & Garrett, 2017), dependent on an extremely flexible (a label that is perhaps euphemistic for unreliable) source of work. Although it's unlikely that all workers consider their “gig” a full time job or otherwise necessary income, at least some workers do: An estimated 10–40% of MTurk workers consider themselves serious gig workers (Brawley & Pury, 2016). Total numbers for the broader gig economy are only growing, with recent tax-based estimates including 34% of the US workforce now and up to 43% within 3 years (Gillespie, 2017). It appears we're seeing some trends in work reverse and return to piece work (e.g., a ride on Uber, a HIT on MTurk) as if we've simply digitized the assembly line (Davis, 2016). Over time, these trends could accelerate, and we could potentially see total elimination of work (Morrison, 2017).

scholarly journals The Evolution of the Online Platform Economy: Evidence from Five Years of Banking Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 109 ◽  
pp. 362-366
Author(s):  
Diana Farrell ◽  
Fiona Greig ◽  
Amar Hamoudi
Keyword(s):  
Supply Side ◽  
Hours Worked ◽  
Online Platform ◽  
Important Policy ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Transportation Sector ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Platform Economy

Measuring the gig economy has been challenging. Drawing on anonymized administrative banking data, we measure supply-side participation in the online platform economy between 2013 and 2018. We find 2.3 million account holders who received payments from 128 transportation, non-transport work, selling, and leasing platforms. Participation grew rapidly, particularly in the transportation sector. Average monthly revenues declined among drivers and increased among lessors even within metro areas. At least a third--and likely more--of the decline in transportation revenues is driven by decreases in hours worked. These findings raise important policy questions and motivate promising directions for future work.

scholarly journals The zero-hour contract in platform work. Should we ban it or embrace it?

2019 ◽  
pp. 29-43
Author(s):  
Anna Ginès i Fabrellas
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Working Time ◽  
Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Independent Contractors ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Provision Of Services ◽  
Time Regime

The aim of the paper is to analyze the zero-hour contract in the context of platform work; specifically, the risks and opportunities of this type of provision of services. In the context of the sharing economy and gig-economy, there have emerged multiple App-based companies that have significantly altered the way in which services are provided. Companies like Uber, Lift, Taskrabbit, Deriveroo, Glovo or Amazon Mechanical Turk have introduced new forms of work that have altered the boundaries of Labor Law. The model of these companies is the division of their production into microtasks, the externalization of their entire production to a wide number of independent contractors through an App or webpage and the hiring of each service on-demand. As a result, new technologies have allowed these companies to avoid hiring workers and to provide their services entirely through self-employed workers. This hiring on-demand implies the use, de facto, of the zero-hour contract, as platform workers are not subject to a specific working time regime, having absolute liberty to determine, not only their schedule, but also their working time and, even, their willingness to work. In this context, the aim of the paper is to analyze the zero-hour scheme in the context of platform work. The final objective of the paper is to determine, from a lege ferenda perspective, if jurisdictions should introduce this type of contract to promote the business model used by digital platforms or, on the contrary, if they should ban it.

scholarly journals A Gig mHealth Economy Framework: Scoping Review of Internet Publications

10.2196/14213 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. e14213
Author(s):  
Fahad Alanezi ◽  
Turki Alanzi
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Cloud Services ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Gig Economy

Background The gig economy (characterized by short-term contracts rather than being a full-time employee in an organization) is one of the most recent and important tendencies that have expanded through the global economic market thanks to advances in internet and communication technologies. Similarly, mobile health (mHealth) technologies have also evolved rapidly with the development of the internet and mobile apps, attracting attention globally for their health care benefits. Objective This study aimed to propose an integration of mHealth within the framework of the gig economy that leads to a new dimension of health care services and the proposal of a new term: gig mHealth. Methods A review and systematic search of articles, books, and opinions that allowed for answering the research questions were executed through the internet. In this sense, the concept of the gig economy and examples, advantages and disadvantages, were reviewed. Similarly, the general characteristics of mHealth technologies were revised. In addition, the role of technology in supporting the development of the gig economy and mHealth technologies and the interactions between them were investigated. Results The findings suggested that the gig economy is characterized by its flexibility in working hours, on-demand work, free agents, freelancing, freedom in the choice of work, and independent contracts. In addition, an analysis of an mHealth system indicated that it was composed of patients, specialists, nurses, and database administrators. In this system, patients and specialists or nurses are connected to cloud services for the transmission of data and medical information through a mobile app. Here, the administrators update the database and app features, among other technical tasks. Conversely, a general structure of an integrated gig mHealth system was developed. In this structure, the mHealth care services and the mHealth care activities were incorporated into a gig economy model. In addition, a practical example of an integrated view of a gig economy app in mHealth that illustrates the interaction between the patients (consumers) and providers (partners) of mHealth care services, mHealth care activities, health care professionals, and individual contractors was presented. The consumers and providers were interconnected with the health care company, brand, or firm through digital means using a mobile app or Windows platforms. Conclusions The analysis carried out in this study suggested the possibility of integrating mHealth within the framework of the gig economy enhancing health care service delivery and the management of health care activities. The following 4 major areas of apps proposed in the mHealth framework that can catalyze the operations using the features of the gig economy were sharing/renting medical and diagnostic equipment and resources, on-demand appointments/self-health management, on-demand health care services, and assigning health care activities/gigs to individual contractors. This integration leads to a new dimension for health care services and the proposal of a new term: gig mHealth.

scholarly journals Conceptualizing the Gig Economy and its Regulatory Problems

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikos Koutsimpogiorgos ◽  
Jaap van Slageren ◽  
Andrea Herrmann ◽  
Koen Frenken
Keyword(s):  
Independent Contractors ◽  
Regulatory Issues ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Personal Services ◽  
Political Choices ◽  
Narrow Definition ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Regulatory Problems

We conceptualize the gig economy along four dimensions: online intermediation, independent contractors, paid tasks, and personal services. From our framework, one can derive both a narrow definition of the gig economy as ex ante specified, paid tasks carried out by independent contractors mediated by online platforms, and broader definitions that include offline next to online intermediation, employees next to independent contractors, unpaid tasks next to paid tasks, and asset sharing next to performing gigs. The four dimensions also span four key regulatory questions: how should online platforms be classified and regulated, how should gig workers be classified and regulated, what should count as paid and unpaid work, and should we treat earnings from performing gigs different from earnings from sharing assets. We conclude that the positions taken on these regulatory issues are essentially contingent upon political choices, which will determine how the gig economy will evolve in the future.

Humans as a Service

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremias Prassl
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Disruptive Innovation ◽  
Level Playing Field ◽  
Employment Relationships ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Digital Work ◽  
Stable Employment

The rise of the gig economy is disrupting business models across the globe. Platforms’ digital work intermediation has had a profound impact on traditional conceptions of the employment relationship. The completion of ‘tasks’, ‘gigs’, or ‘rides’ in the (digital) crowd fundamentally challenges our understanding of work in modern labour markets: gone are the stable employment relationships between firms and workers, replaced by a world in which everybody can be ‘their own boss’ and enjoy the rewards—and face the risks—of independent businesses. Is this the future of work? What are the benefits and challenges of crowdsourced work? How can we protect consumers and workers without stifling innovation? Humans as a Service provides a detailed account of the growth and operation of gig-economy platforms, and develops a blueprint for solutions to the problems facing on-demand workers, platforms, and their customers. Following a brief introduction to the growth and operation of on-demand platforms across the world, the book scrutinizes competing narratives about ‘gig’ work. Drawing on a wide range of case studies, it explores how claims of ‘disruptive innovation’ and ‘micro-entrepreneurship’ often obscure the realities of precarious work under strict algorithmic surveillance, and the return to a business model that has existed for centuries. Humans as a Service shows how employment law can address many of these problems: gigs, tasks, and rides are work—and should be regulated as such. A concluding chapter demonstrates the broader benefits of a level playing field for consumers, taxpayers, and innovative entrepreneurs.

scholarly journals The covid-19 Infodemic and Online Platforms as Intermediary Fiduciaries under International Law

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-347
Author(s):  
Barrie Sander ◽  
Nicholas Tsagourias
Keyword(s):  
Public Good ◽  
International Law ◽  
Online Platform ◽  
Platform Governance ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
Fiduciary Relationships ◽  
The Relationship

Reflecting on the covid-19 infodemic, this paper identifies different dimensions of information disorder associated with the pandemic, examines how online platform governance has been evolving in response, and reflects on what the crisis reveals about the relationship between online platforms, international law, and the prospect of regulation. The paper argues that online platforms are intermediary fiduciaries of the international public good, and for this reason regulation should be informed by relevant standards that apply to fiduciary relationships.

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