IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/woemps/v38y2024i3p723-743.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Labour Market Engineers: Reconceptualising Labour Market Intermediaries with the Rise of the Gig Economy in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Ashley Baber

Abstract

Gig work – accessing job opportunities through an app – has brought renewed attention to precarious non-standard labour arrangements. Scholars have begun to consider the intermediary role that platforms such as Uber, Lyft and Doordash play in exploiting and controlling workers. Yet, literature on labour market intermediaries has muddied conceptions of their role, impact and outcomes for workers by lumping a variety of institutions under the same umbrella term. Drawing from previous theoretical and empirical works throughout the temporary help and gig industries, this article proposes a reconceptualisation of labour market intermediaries as labour market engineers highlighting four mutually reinforcing features. This sociological reconceptualisation updates the understanding of for-profit labour market intermediaries by demonstrating the market making behaviours of firms of on-demand labour in the US context. Likewise, this reconceptualisation notes how gig firms have adapted and expanded these features in ways that increase precarity for workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Ashley Baber, 2024. "Labour Market Engineers: Reconceptualising Labour Market Intermediaries with the Rise of the Gig Economy in the United States," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(3), pages 723-743, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:38:y:2024:i:3:p:723-743
    DOI: 10.1177/09500170221150087
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09500170221150087
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/09500170221150087?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Susan N. Houseman, 2001. "Why Employers Use Flexible Staffing Arrangements: Evidence from an Establishment Survey," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 55(1), pages 149-170, October.
    2. Lord, Michael D., 2000. "Constituency-based Lobbying as Corporate Political Strategy: Testing an Agency Theory Perspective," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(3), pages 289-308, November.
    3. Sutirtha Bagchi, 2018. "A Tale of Two Cities: An Examination of Medallion Prices in New York and Chicago," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 53(2), pages 295-319, September.
    4. Jamie Peck & Nik Theodore, 2001. "Contingent Chicago: Restructuring the Spaces of Temporary Labor," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 471-496, September.
    5. Andrea Pollio, 2019. "Forefronts of the Sharing Economy: Uber in Cape Town," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(4), pages 760-775, July.
    6. George Gonos, 2001. "Free-Splitting Revisited: Concealing Surplus Value in the Temporary Employment Relationship," Politics & Society, , vol. 29(4), pages 589-611, December.
    7. Janine Berg & Hannah Johnston, 2019. "Too Good to Be True? A Comment on Hall and Krueger’s Analysis of the Labor Market for Uber’s Driver-Partners," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 72(1), pages 39-68, January.
    8. Ruth Milkman, 2013. "Back to the Future? US Labour in the New Gilded Age," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 51(4), pages 645-665, December.
    9. Lehdonvirta, Vili, 2018. "Flexibility in the Gig Economy: Managing Time on Three Online Piecework Platforms," SocArXiv k3hy4, Center for Open Science.
    10. Jamie Peck & Nik Theodore, 2007. "Flexible recession: the temporary staffing industry and mediated work in the United States," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 31(2), pages 171-192, March.
    11. Tomaso Duso, 2005. "Lobbying and regulation in a political economy: Evidence from the U.S. cellular industry," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 122(3), pages 251-276, March.
    12. Nik Theodore & Jamie Peck, 2002. "The Temporary Staffing Industry: Growth Imperatives and Limits to Contingency," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 78(4), pages 463-493, October.
    13. Chris Benner, 2003. "Labour Flexibility and Regional Development: The Role of Labour Market Intermediaries," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(6-7), pages 621-633.
    14. Daphne G. Taras, 2002. "Alternative Forms of Employee Representation and Labour Policy," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 28(1), pages 105-116, March.
    15. Lord Michael D., 2000. "Constituency-based Lobbying as Corporate Political Strategy: Testing an Agency Theory Perspective," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 2(3), pages 1-21, December.
    16. Karen Chapple, 2006. "Networks to Nerdistan: The Role of Labor Market Intermediaries in the Entry‐level IT Labor Market," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 548-563, September.
    17. Woodcock, Jamie & Johnson, Mark R., 2018. "Gamification: what it is, and how to fight it," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 86373, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Linda McDowell & Adina Batnitzky & Sarah Dyer, 2008. "Internationalization and the Spaces of Temporary Labour: The Global Assembly of a Local Workforce," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 46(4), pages 750-770, December.
    2. Peter Cappelli & J. R. Keller, 2012. "A Study of the Extent and Potential Causes of Alternative Employment Arrangements," NBER Working Papers 18376, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Peter H. Cappelli & JR Keller, 2013. "A Study of the Extent and Potential Causes of Alternative Employment Arrangements," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(4), pages 874-901, July.
    4. Marc Doussard & Jamie Peck & Nik Theodore, 2009. "After Deindustrialization: Uneven Growth and Economic Inequality in “Postindustrial” Chicago," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 85(2), pages 183-207, April.
    5. Virginie Xhauflair & Benjamin Huybrechts & François Pichault, 2018. "How Can New Players Establish Themselves in Highly Institutionalized Labour Markets? A Belgian Case Study in the Area of Project†Based Work," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(2), pages 370-394, June.
    6. Norma M Rantisi & Deborah Leslie, 2021. "In and against the neoliberal state? The precarious siting of work integration social enterprises (WISEs) as counter-movement in Montreal, Quebec," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(2), pages 349-370, March.
    7. Nichola J. Lowe, 2007. "Job Creation and the Knowledge Economy: Lessons From North Carolina's Life Science Manufacturing Initiative," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 21(4), pages 339-353, November.
    8. Lakshmi Parvathy & Rajalaxmi Kamath, 2024. "Labour Contractors (Thekedaars) to Human Resource Companies: Labour Market Intermediaries in India," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 67(1), pages 197-219, March.
    9. Nadja Doerflinger & Valeria Pulignano, 2015. "Temporary Agency Work and Trade Unions in Comparative Perspective," SAGE Open, , vol. 5(2), pages 21582440155, April.
    10. den Reijer, Ard H.J., 2011. "Regional and sectoral dynamics of the Dutch staffing labor cycle," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 1826-1837, July.
    11. Heiland, Heiner, 2020. "Workers' Voice in platform labour: An Overview," WSI Studies 21, The Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), Hans Böckler Foundation.
    12. Nichola Lowe & Harvey Goldstein & Mary Donegan, 2011. "Patchwork Intermediation: Challenges and Opportunities for Regionally Coordinated Workforce Development," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 25(2), pages 158-171, May.
    13. David Biggs, 2006. "The Decline of the Temporary Worker: A Regional Perspective," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 21(3), pages 249-263, August.
    14. Gastón de los Reyes & Markus Scholz, 2023. "Assessing the Legitimacy of Corporate Political Activity: Uber and the Quest for Responsible Innovation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 184(1), pages 51-69, April.
    15. Feng, Yunting & Lai, Kee-hung & Zhu, Qinghua, 2020. "Legitimacy in operations: How sustainability certification announcements by Chinese listed enterprises influence their market value?," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    16. Matthew Dey & Susan Houseman & Anne Polivka, 2010. "What Do We Know About Contracting Out in the United States? Evidence from Household and Establishment Surveys," NBER Chapters, in: Labor in the New Economy, pages 267-304, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Johnson, Clark D. & Bauer, Brittney C. & Carlson, Brad D., 2022. "Constituency building: Determining consumers’ willingness to participate in corporate political activities," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 42-57.
    18. Jennifer Ferreira, 2016. "The German temporary staffing industry: growth, development, scandal and resistance," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(2), pages 117-143, March.
    19. Angelo A. Alonzo & Arthur B. Simon, 2008. "Have stethoscope, will travel: contingent employment among physician health care providers in the United States," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 22(4), pages 635-654, December.
    20. Stephan J. Goetz & Sundar S. Shrestha, 2009. "Explaining Self‐Employment Success and Failure: Wal‐Mart Versus Starbucks, or Schumpeter Versus Putnam," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 90(1), pages 22-38, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:38:y:2024:i:3:p:723-743. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.britsoc.co.uk/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.