The sharing economy and the transformation of work: evidence from Foodora

Abstract

Purpose

This article explores the various stakeholders' perceptions of the ways digital work is organised within the sharing economy and the social implications of the transformation of work.

Design/methodology/approach

Applying social media analytics (SMA) concerning the sharing economy platform Foodora, a total of 3,251 user-generated content was collected and organised throughout the social media landscape in Sweden over 12 months, and 18 stakeholder groups were identified, discussing digital work within seven thematic categories.

Findings

The results show that the stakeholder groups in the Swedish context primarily expressed negative views of Foodora's way of organising digital work. The social media posts outlined the distributive and procedural justice related to the working conditions, boycott and protests and critical incidents, as well as the collective bargaining of Foodora.

Originality/value

By utilising a novel SMA method, this study contributes to the extant literature on the sharing economy by providing a systematic assessment concerning the impact of the sharing economy platform on the transformation of work and the associated social consequences.

Citation

Geissinger, A., Laurell, C., Öberg, C., Sandström, C. and Suseno, Y. (2022), "The sharing economy and the transformation of work: evidence from Foodora", Personnel Review, Vol. 51 No. 2, pp. 584-602. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-08-2019-0450