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Neither Employee nor Contractor: A Case Study of Employment Relations between Riders and Platform-Based Food-Delivery Firms in Taiwan

Author

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  • Bo-Yi Lee

    (National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan)

Abstract

There have been numerous legal battles in Western countries concerning employment relations between platform-based food delivery firms and their riders; however, no such legal battles have occurred in Taiwan. This qualitative case study applies the theory of institutional logics to examine the reason such legal action is absent in Taiwan, focusing on how different stakeholders apply different logics to employment relations in Taiwan’s platform-based food-delivery sector. Through this investigation, this article shows that most stakeholders in this sector quickly came to a consensus that the ‘quasi-employee’ hybrid logic should be applied to riders, and that this was due to a convergence of worker and capitalist theories of profit, motivation to maintain the profitability of these platform firms (who are regulatory entrepreneurs performing symbolic compliance) and the techno-developmentalism of the Taiwanese government.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:38:y:2024:i:1:p:122-139
    DOI: 10.1177/09500170221103147
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Karen Gregory, 2021. "‘My Life Is More Valuable Than This’: Understanding Risk among On-Demand Food Couriers in Edinburgh," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 35(2), pages 316-331, April.
    2. Brian Fabo & Jovana Karanovic & Katerina Dukova, 2017. "In search of an adequate European policy response to the platform economy," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 23(2), pages 163-175, May.
    3. 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.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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