Micro-entrepreneurs, Dependent Contractors, and Instaserfs: Understanding Online Labor Platform Workforces
Abstract
The rapidly growing number of people who find work via online labor platforms are not employees, nor do they necessarily fit traditional conceptualizations of independent contractors, freelancers, or the self-employed. The ambiguous nature of their employment status and its implications for worker well-being have attracted substantial controversy, but to date most empirical research in this area has focused on the market efficiency of a single platform rather than on workers themselves and related human resource management issues. Research progress will require understanding how online labor platform work differs from other types of nonstandard employment arrangements, as well as critical differences across labor platform firms in how work and workers are managed. This paper proposes a conceptual classification framework to facilitate research on the attitudes, experiences, and outcomes of workers who use these platforms. We explore how labor platform firms’ operational choices shape how control is allocated across workers, clients, and the firm, and how they influence workers’ autonomy, incentives, and degree of economic dependence on the firm. Implications for theory development, research, and managing worker–firm relations are discussed.
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Algorithms, human agency and social processes in OLPs are likely to differ due to their business model and how they interact with (platform) workers.
“algorithms, human agency and social processes in OLPs are likely to differ due to their business model and how they interact with (platform) workers (Gegenhuber et al., 2020;Kuhn & Maleki, 2017;Meijerink & Keegan, 2019;Wood et al., 2019).”
From Algorithmic human resource management: Synthesizing developments and cross-disciplinary insights on digital HRM (2021) · cites this paper as Kuhn & Maleki, 2017
OLPs create online marketplaces where supply and demand for contingent labor meet electronically.
“As labor market intermediaries, OLPs create online marketplaces where supply and demand for contingent labor meet electronically (Duggan et al., 2020;Kuhn & Maleki, 2017;Meijerink et al., 2021).”
From Algorithmic human resource management: Synthesizing developments and cross-disciplinary insights on digital HRM (2021) · cites this paper as Kuhn & Maleki, 2017
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“For instance, research has noted that digital platforms decrease worker freedom through algorithmic management (Duggan et al., 2020; Kuhn & Maleki, 2017), yet also provide flexible and autonomous jobs (Wood et al., 2019).”
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- Authors
- Kuhn, K. M., & Maleki, A.
- Affiliations
- Washington State University (US)
- ORCID
- Kuhn, Kristine M.
- Venue
- Academy of Management Perspectives
- Publisher
- Academy of Management
- Published
- 2017-08
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 183-200
- ISSN
- 1558-9080 (ISSN-L)
- 1943-4529
- OpenAlex
- W2606751716
- Cited by
- 430
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 60 · 2025: 79 · 2024: 73 · 2023: 55 · 2022: 47 · 2021: 48 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 9 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 42.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Academy of Management Perspectives (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Economy and Work Transformation
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Industrial relations › Legal and Labor Studies
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Employment, Labor, and Gender Studies
- Keywords
- online labour platforms, platform work, microentrepreneurs, non-standard employment, employee autonomy, classification framework, employee well-being, human resource management, gig economy
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