Work under Platform Capitalism

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This project addresses questions confronting modern society due to the rise of platform capitalism. Platform capitalism, a business model in which people work for themselves as coordinated algorithmically by a company, spans a wide range of service, transportation, and manufacturing industries and is changing the organization and experiences of work, consumption, and everyday life. For platform enterprises, this study investigates the meaning of work, workplace, and worker; how social, gender, and family relations are different; and power relations, such as labor politics and state regulatory power. Findings will advance scientific knowledge in the field of sociology of work and organizations. Findings also will increase public and policymakers' knowledge concerning the nature and effects of platform capitalism, thereby informing decision-making and contributing to the national welfare.This study focuses on the world's largest platform economy in terms of revenues and number of participants. Using ethnographic observations and interviews with management, workers, and government officials, this research compares work and management relations among three platform corporations in three sectors: transportation, with majority male drivers; domestic labor, with majority female domestic workers; and e-commerce, with majority young shopkeepers respectively. Comparison across the three cases will help differentiate and theorize the variety of work regimes and labor politics mediated by gender, generation, and the uneven economic and political interest of the state. Empirical data on this platform economy will be useful for sociological analysis, and will provide comparative perspectives for the public, policy makers, unions and businesses in other expanding platform economies.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.