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My job is a game, and I am the owner: How gamification facilitates self-leadership for gig workers

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  • Mao, Mengyu
  • Zhang, Lanxia
  • Li, Jiamin
  • Rivkin, Wladislaw

Abstract

Previous research has explored antecedents of employee self-leadership in traditional organizational contexts. However, considering the recent emergence of the gig economy, one important question that remains unanswered is: How can self-leadership be facilitated among gig workers who lack traditional organizational structures to promote it? This study aims to examine gameful experience as a malleable antecedent of self-leadership among gig workers. To further expand our understanding of how and when gameful experiences facilitate self-leadership, we draw on the extended self-theory to explore the mediating role of job-based psychological ownership and the moderating role of perceptions of algorithmic transparency. Results from a time-lagged field study with N = 404 gig drivers in China suggest that gameful experiences have an indirect positive relationship with gig workers’ self-leadership through job-based psychological ownership. This relationship is stronger when gig workers have high perceptions of algorithmic transparency. Subsequently, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Mao, Mengyu & Zhang, Lanxia & Li, Jiamin & Rivkin, Wladislaw, 2024. "My job is a game, and I am the owner: How gamification facilitates self-leadership for gig workers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:183:y:2024:i:c:s0148296324003813
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114877
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