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Platform-Capital’s ‘App-etite’ for Control: A Labour Process Analysis of Food-Delivery Work in Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Alex Veen

    (The University of Sydney, Australia)

  • Tom Barratt

    (Edith Cowan University, Australia)

  • Caleb Goods

    (University of Western Australia, Australia)

Abstract

This qualitative case study adopts a labour process analysis to unpack the distinctive features of capital’s control regimes in the food-delivery segment of the Australian platform-economy and assesses labour agency in response to these. Drawing upon worker experiences with the Deliveroo and UberEATS platforms, it is shown how the labour process controls are multi-facetted and more than algorithmic management, with three distinct features standing out: the panoptic disposition of the technological infrastructure, the use of information asymmetries to constrain worker choice, and the obfuscated nature of their performance management systems. Combined with the workers’ precarious labour market positions and the Australian political-economic context, only limited, mainly individual, expressions of agency were found.

Suggested Citation

  • Alex Veen & Tom Barratt & Caleb Goods, 2020. "Platform-Capital’s ‘App-etite’ for Control: A Labour Process Analysis of Food-Delivery Work in Australia," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(3), pages 388-406, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:34:y:2020:i:3:p:388-406
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017019836911
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Zhu, Guowei & Huang, Jing & Lu, Jinfeng & Luo, Yingyu & Zhu, Tingyu, 2024. "Gig to the left, algorithms to the right: A case study of the dark sides in the gig economy," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    2. Fuchs Martina & Dannenberg Peter & López Tatiana & Wiedemann Cathrin & Riedler Tim, 2023. "Location-specific labour control strategies in online retail," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 67(4), pages 189-201, December.
    3. Caleb Goods & Alex Veen & Tom Barratt & Brett Smith, 2024. "Power resources for disempowered workers? Re‐conceptualizing the power and potential of consumers in app‐based food delivery," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(2), pages 107-131, April.
    4. Bo-Yi Lee, 2024. "Neither Employee nor Contractor: A Case Study of Employment Relations between Riders and Platform-Based Food-Delivery Firms in Taiwan," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(1), pages 122-139, February.
    5. McDaid, Emma & Andon, Paul & Free, Clinton, 2023. "Algorithmic management and the politics of demand: Control and resistance at Uber," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    6. Maria Hameed Khan & Jannine Williams & Penny Williams & Robyn Mayes, 2024. "Caring in the Gig Economy: A Relational Perspective of Decent Work," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(4), pages 1107-1127, August.

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