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Working for an algorithm : power asymmetries and agency in online work settings
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Curchod, Corentin, Patriotta, Gerardo, Cohen, Laurie and Neysen, Nicolas (2019) Working for an algorithm : power asymmetries and agency in online work settings. Administrative Science Quarterly . doi:10.1177/0001839219867024 (In Press)
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839219867024
Abstract
Drawing on interviews with 77 high-performing eBay business sellers, this article investigates the power asymmetries generated by customer evaluations in online work settings. Sellers’ accounts revealed a high degree of sensitivity to negative reviews, which, while infrequent, triggered feelings of anxiety and vulnerability. These accounts exposed power asymmetries at two levels: the transactional level between sellers and customers, and the governance level between sellers and eBay. Our findings highlight three main mechanisms underlying power asymmetries in this context. First, online customer evaluations have created a new form of employee monitoring in which power is exercised through the construction of visibility gaps between buyers and sellers, and through an implicit coalition between buyers and the platform owner, who join together in the evaluation procedures. Second, by mediating and objectifying relations, algorithms reproduce power asymmetries among the different categories of actor, thereby constraining human agency. Third, online customer evaluations prompt sellers to exploit their practical knowledge of the algorithm to increase their agency. Through the lived experience of working for an algorithm, our findings contribute new understandings of power and agency in online work settings.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||
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| Subjects: | Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA76 Electronic computers. Computer science. Computer software | ||||||
| Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School | ||||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Computer algorithms, Online information services -- Evaluation, Power (Social sciences), Organizational sociology -- Research | ||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Administrative Science Quarterly | ||||||
| Publisher: | Sage Publications Ltd. | ||||||
| ISSN: | 1930-3815 | ||||||
| Official Date: | 25 July 2019 | ||||||
| Dates: |
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| Date of first compliant deposit: | 26 July 2019 | ||||||
| DOI: | 10.1177/0001839219867024 | ||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
| Publication Status: | In Press | ||||||
| Publisher Statement: | Posted ahead of print.Curchod, Corentin, Patriotta, Gerardo, Cohen, Laurie and Neysen, Nicolas (2019) Working for an algorithm : power asymmetries and agency in online work settings. Administrative Science Quarterly . (In Press) Copyright © 2019 the Authors. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications. https://journals.sagepub.com/home/asq | ||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||
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