Beyond algorithmic control: flexibility, intermediaries, and paradox in the on-demand economy

ABSTRACT

The existing literature on labor control of on-demand platforms primarily concentrates on algorithmic management. Based on the case study of Didi Chuxing, China’s ride-hailing giant, this article introduces some additional complexities into the dominant storyline by bringing two managerial elements to the fore, namely, labor intermediaries and communication technologies. Although both have long been integral to the control of flexible labor forces in the post-Fordist era, they remain underexplored in the context of the on-demand economy. I argue that labor intermediaries emerge as quick solutions to the indeterminacy of labor mobility power, a critical problem inherent in the just-in-time labor strategies that challenge on-demand platform companies. Communication technologies are crucial for the functioning of this mediated relationship, formulating a virtual space where daily managerial practices take place. Ultimately, I stress that, while the labor process of on-demand platforms represents a shift towards fluid workspace, it does not mean the elimination of the organization-based control that usually occurs in a physical and formal workspace. This case study urges scholars to understand labor control of on-demand platforms as a regime of hybridity that features both continuity and renewal of the various forms of managerial strategies common to flexible production.

KEYWORDS:

• Flexibility
• on-demand economy
• labor intermediaries
• Didi Chuxing
• China
• labor control

Acknowledgements

I gratefully thank Amanda Ciafone for her insightful and constructive comments on different versions of my manuscript. I thank Clifford Christians and Jeffery Martin for their valuable feedback. I sincerely thank the editor and two anonymous reviewers for the incisive suggestions and encouragement, which helped me see the potential of the project. Many thanks go to my informants and interviewees who made my research possible.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange [Grant Number DD039-A-18].

Notes on contributors

Angela Ke Li

Angela Ke Li is an assistant professor at the Department of Communications and New Media, National University of Singapore. She gained her Ph.D. from the Institute of Communication Research, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her research and teaching are at the nexus of various fields, including political economy of communication and culture, science and technology studies, and anthropology to contemporary China. Previous work appears in journals including International Journal of Communication, Journalism, Journalism Studies, China Perspectives, and Chinese Journal of Communication.