There are four million voluntary attritions a month in the US. Many of these people choses to become freelance consultants (gig workers) working through digital gig platforms for better work-life balance. At the same time organizations requires a more flexible access to skills and competences to cope with an ever more dynamic business environment. This trend is also apparent in Europe. As people with the necessary skills and abilities is increasingly found on digital gig platforms, organizations must turn to these platforms to find needed competence. The act of hiring these digital gig workers through digital gig platforms are called crowdsourcing. The risks of crowdsourcing have mostly been studied from the perspective of gig workers and platform operator and there is a lack of understanding regarding the risk with crowdsourcing from the perspective of hiring organizations.       Our aim is to understand what risks organizations perceive with digital gig platforms and digital gig workers, and how organizations could mitigate the perceived risks by using a risk management framework. We conducted a qualitative case study around crowdsourcing as a process. Seven semi-structured interviews with mangers in organizations of various seize and industries were made. These interviews were supplemented with a document study of digital gig platform policies as these policies can reflect common concerns expressed by hiring organizations. Findings shows that there are several perceived organizational risks in crowdsourcing digital gig workers from digital gig platforms. The perceived risks can be categorized as HR, financial, market, operational, technological and supply chain types of risk. These types of risks can be either internal, external, or voluntary risks. The discussion revolves around where the different perceived organizational risks would fit within a risk management framework. The risks can be connected to all components of existing risk management frameworks. Our risk management model of crowdsourcing can be used as a heuristic tool for practitioners and contributes to theory by creating understanding of the risks with crowdsourcing from the perspective of organizations.

Transportation-network companies such as Uber and Lyft have permeated cities around the world. While they have been lauded for introducing a new mobility option, questions of equity have been raised, including in relation to people with disabilities. Numerous lawsuits have been filed against Uber and Lyft for lack of disabled accessibility of transportation service they facilitate, with some of the lawsuit focusing on wheelchair accessibility. These have been reported in the media while work on the topic is lacking in the academic literature. This doctoral research explores wheelchair accessibility in transportation hailed through Uber and Lyft in the U.S., with a partial focus on the phenomenon in Washington, DC. The study sought to gain insight into wheelchair-accessibility matters with respect to four main stakeholders - riders, companies, drivers, and regulators and other government agencies. The purpose was a) to deepen understanding on the topic based on a holistic approach to core issues and produce evidence-based knowledge and b) to provide policy recommendations where needed. A mixed-methods approach was used to investigate the research problem. The quantitative strand surveyed 341 wheelchair users in the U.S., while the qualitative strand consisted of three sets of 16 qualitative interviews with drivers on the Uber and Lyft apps, Uber and Lyft company representatives, and representatives of relevant government agencies in Washington, DC. The study finds the following: 1) The service might be filling a transportation gap for some wheelchair users even though it is a two-tiered system that disadvantages motorized-wheelchair users. 2) The challenges surrounding wheelchair accessibility are perceived differently by the stakeholders and as a result there are differing views of how to solve them. 3) Overcoming inaccessibility challenge needs to involve changes on both Uber and Lyft and government agencies. Uber and Lyft and government agencies will find this study of interest to help them appreciate other stakeholders' perspective and use the findings to support policy decisions. / Doctor of Philosophy / Transportation-network companies connect drivers who are interested in providing a ride to riders who are looking for transportation through smartphone apps. Uber and Lyft are the most common of these companies. Both companies operate in many cities around the world. They are praised for creating a transportation alternative, but there is a concern that they may not serve everyone equally. For example, people with disabilities, especially wheelchair users have complained that they are not receiving the same service as those who do not use wheelchair. In the US, there are numerous lawsuits have been filed against Uber and Lyft for lack of disabled accessibility. Some of the lawsuit focus on wheelchair accessibility. These issues are reported in the media mostly. This doctoral research looks at wheelchair accessibility in transportation hailed through Uber and Lyft in the U.S., with a partial focus on the phenomenon in Washington, DC. The study sought to gain insight into wheelchair-accessibility matters with respect to four main stakeholders - riders, companies, drivers, and regulators and other government agencies. The purpose was a) to deepen understanding on the topic based on a holistic approach to core issues and produce evidence-based knowledge and b) to provide policy recommendations where needed. A survey and a set of interviews were used to investigate the research problem. The study finds the following: 1) The service might be filling a transportation gap for some wheelchair users even though it is a two-tiered system that disadvantages motorized-wheelchair users. 2) The challenges surrounding wheelchair accessibility are perceived differently by the stakeholders and as a result there are differing views of how to solve them. 3) Overcoming inaccessibility challenge needs to involve changes on both Uber and Lyft and government agencies. Uber and Lyft and government agencies will find this study of interest to help them appreciate other stakeholders' perspective and use the findings to support policy decisions.

Ce mémoire s’intéresse à l’expérience de travail des livreur·euse·s de plateformes de la gig-économie, au prisme de la question de l’autonomie. Il apparaît hautement paradoxal que les plateformes numériques, tout en célébrant cette valeur émancipatrice qu’est l’autonomie, sapent simultanément toutes ses chances de réalisation effective par les travailleur·euse·s, en multipliant les sources, directes ou indirectes, de contrôle. Devant ce paradoxe, nous interrogeons la réception par les travailleur·euse·s du discours sur l’autonomie tenu par les plateformes numériques et tentons de déceler leur interprétation personnelle de l’autonomie, afin de comprendre les conditions sous lesquelles une autonomie au travail peut être exercée. En adoptant une conception large de l’autonomie, il s’agit également d’intégrer les niveaux individuel et collectif afin de tisser des fils entre rapport au travail et action collective dans le cadre d’une réflexion sur les ressorts de la mobilisation. À partir d’un corpus de 16 entretiens menés avec des livreurs de plateforme à Montréal, nous développons une analyse qui tente de faire la part entre les aspirations et les pratiques concrètes d’autonomie, tant à l’échelle individuelle qu’à l’échelle collective, en mettant l’accent sur les obstacles à leur réalisation. Au terme de cette analyse, nous mettons en évidence le fait que l’autonomie apparaît comme un enjeu des rapports sociaux de production, qui se trouve dans une tension constante avec son opposé dialectique, à savoir le contrôle. Ce qui se dessine alors apparaît bel et bien comme une « zone grise d’autonomie ». / This dissertation focuses on the work experience of platform-based delivery workers through the lens of autonomy. It appears highly paradoxical that digital platforms, while celebrating the emancipatory value of autonomy, simultaneously undermine all its chances of effective realization by workers, by multiplying direct or indirect sources of control. To address this paradox, we question workers’ reception of the discourse on autonomy held by digital platforms and attempt to identify their personal interpretation of autonomy, in order to understand the conditions under which autonomy at work can be exercised. By adopting a broad conception of autonomy, we integrate the individual and collective scales in order to weave threads between the relationship to work and collective action as part of a reflection on the dynamics of mobilization. Based on a corpus of 16 interviews conducted with platform delivery workers in Montreal, we are developing an analysis that attempts to distinguish between aspirations and concrete practices of autonomy, both at the individual and collective levels, by focusing on the obstacles to their realization. At the end of this analysis, we highlight the fact that autonomy appears to be an issue in the social relations of production, which is in constant tension with its dialectical opposite, namely, control. What then emerges appears to be a "grey zone of autonomy".

Die im Zeitalter des ‚unorganisierten Kapitalismus‘ auftretenden Entgrenzungen und Flexibilisierungen von Arbeit bringen atypische Beschäftigungsformen mit sich, sei es Leiharbeit, Solo-Selbständigkeit oder Graubereiche wie die stetig wachsende ‚Gig Economy‘. Nicht wenige, der in diesen Sektoren tätigen Menschen, sehen sich prekären Bedingungen ausgesetzt – teils mit den entsprechenden gesundheitlichen Folgen wie Depressionen oder Erschöpfungszustände. Überdies sind viele Tätigkeitsfelder marginalisiert und zwar in mehrfacher Hinsicht: So sind einige Gebiete des Entrepreneurship in der Forschung nur wenig bis kaum beachtet, etwa Klein(st)-UnternehmerInnen bestimmter Professionen (z.B. Sexarbeit) oder beispielsweise in migrantischen Kontexten. Andererseits zeigt sich Randständigkeit auch im Forschungsfeld selbst – etwa im Falle von LeiharbeiterInnen, die sich Ausgrenzung und Stigmatisierung gegenübersehen. Die vorliegende kumulative Dissertation bündelt drei wissenschaftliche Artikel, die sich jeweils im Spannungsfeld eben jener Marginalisierung bewegen. Dabei handelt es sich konkret um eine Mehrfachfallstudie zu Selbständigen vor und während der COVID-19-Pandemie, eine Untersuchung zu Stigmatisierung in der Leiharbeit und schließlich ein konzeptionelles Papier, das eine Klassifizierung prekärer und marginalisierter Formen des Entrepreneurship vornimmt. Neben dem Fokus auf Strategien des Umgangs mit prekären Arbeitskontexten ziehen sich durch alle drei Artikel Fragen professioneller und sozialer Identitäten. Dabei ist es insbesondere das konfliktäre Aufeinandertreffen – etwa von Stigmatisierung, professioneller Identität und sozialer Normung – das sich herausarbeiten ließ. Auch widersprüchliche Logiken, wie im Falle der untersuchten UnternehmerInnen, konnten beleuchtet werden. Der organisationale Kontext und entsprechende Rückschlüsse auf Managementprozesse treten vor allem in der Studie zu LeiharbeiterInnen hervor, einige Anschlüsse ergeben sich aber auch in Kategorien des marginalisierten und prekären Entrepreneurship. Methodisch sind die in dieser Dissertation zusammengefassten Beiträge im Bereich der qualitativen Forschung angesiedelt. Trotz des vergleichsweise geringen Anteils entsprechender Arbeiten innerhalb der Wirtschaftswissenschaften, wird deren Bedeutung für die Theoriearbeit, Hypothesengenerierung und damit auch als Basis für quantitative Forschung häufig betont. In der vorliegenden Arbeit ermöglicht der gewählte Ansatz zudem einen Zugang zu den Wirkungen prekärer Arbeit auf individueller Ebene, aber auch einen Blick auf intraorganisationale Prozesse, dies vor allem im Falle der Leiharbeit. / In the age of disorganised capitalism, increasing flexibility of work and deregulation entails atypical forms of employment, such as temporary work, self-employment or grey areas like the steadily growing 'gig economy'. People working in these sectors are often exposed to precarious conditions, sometimes leading to health problems such as depression or fatigue. In addition, many occupational fields are marginalised in more than one way: For example, some areas of entrepreneurship have received only little or hardly any attention in research, such as micro entrepreneurs in certain professions (e.g., sex work) or within contexts of migration. On the other hand, marginalisation is also evident in the actual fields of research. This can be seen in the case of temporary workers, who face organisational segregation and stigmatisation. This series of papers presents three articles, each of which is framed by marginalisation and precarious contexts. Namely, this involves a multiple case study of four self-employed before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, an examination of stigmatisation in the field of temporary work as well as a conceptual paper that proposes a classification of precarious and marginalised forms of entrepreneurship. While focusing on strategies of coping with contexts of precarious work, questions of professional and social identities emerge in all three papers. In particular, conflicting elements – such as stigma, professional identity and social norms – were identified. Similarly, it was possible to shed light on conflicting logics, as in the case of self-employed entrepreneurs. The organisational context and conclusions about management processes were most prominent in the study on temporary workers, whereas some correlations also emerged in categories of marginalised and precarious entrepreneurship. From a methodological point of view, the studies gathered in this dissertation are all positioned in the field of qualitative research. Despite the rather moderate proportion of such work within economics, its importance for theoretical work, the generation of hypotheses and thereby as a basis for quantitative research is often emphasised. In the studies at hand, the chosen approach provides an insight into the effects of precarious work at an individual level, but also into intra-organisational processes, especially in the case of temporary agency work.

As the gig economy is growing at a rapid pace and digitalization has spread throughout the management consulting industry, a notable disruption of this traditional industry has occurred. Digitalization in the management consulting industry has affected both how the management consultant does his/her job as well as how the connection between consultant and client and the relationship between colleagues constitutes. Digitalization also facilitates remote working, which has after the Covid-19 pandemic become a high priority. This in turn has enabled the growth of the gig economy and the increasing number of gig worker. Digital gig platforms acting as a meetingplace have increased in both numbers and popularity as well as digital service platforms providing digital tools with the help of SaaS or AI to deliver a more complex solution to the customer. The disruption of the management consulting industry has only begun and therefor it is a need to analyze the way this industry works today and discuss how the industry has adapted to digitalization. Therefor the purpose of this master thesis is to increase the knowledge of how the progress of digital business models affect the management consulting industry by answering the two research questions: “How has the management consulting industry within the area of organizational development been disrupted by the increasing amount of independent workers using gig platforms?” and “How has digitized Service platforms in the area of organizational development changed the traditional management consulting business model?”. This master thesis is conducted through a literature review and semi structured interviews. What can be concluded is that the management consulting industry has been disrupted by the digital platforms in a way that has put pressure on the larger traditional management consulting companies, more digital platforms are created and an increasing number of gig workers have resulted in collaborations between freelancers and traditional management consulting companies. It is also seen that traditional management consulting companies are adopting other business model alternatives that includes solutions based on AI or cloud solutions. / I och med att gigekonomin växer i en snabb takt och digitaliseringen har spridit sig genom hela managementkonsultindustrin har en tydlig påverkan skett på denna traditionella industri. Digitaliseringen i managementkonsultindustrin har påverkat både hur managementkonsulter utför sitt jobb och kopplingen mellan konsulten och klienten samt vad relationen mellan kollegor har för funktion. Digitalisering gynnar även distansarbete, som efter Covid-19 pandemin har fått en allt högre prioritet på arbetsplatser. Detta har i sin tur medfört en växande gigekonomi med ett ökat antal gigarbetare. Digitala gigplattformar som fungerar som mötesplatser har ökat både i antal och popularitet, likaså digitala serviceplattformar som tillhandahåller digitala verktyg som till exempel SaaS- och AI-lösningar för att kunna tillhandahålla en mer komplex lösning till kunden. Den påverkan som gigekonomi har haft på  managementkonsultindustrin är i början av utvecklingen, vilket skapar ett behov av att industrin och hur denna fungerar idag analyseras, samt diskutera hur industrin har anpassat sig till digitaliseringen. Därför är syftet med detta examensarbete att öka kunskapen kring hur utvecklingen av digitala affärsmodeller påverkat managementkonsultindustrin genom att svara på de två forskningsfrågorna: ”Hur har managementkonsultindustrin inom området organisationsutveckling blivit förändrad av det ökade antalet gigarbetare som använder sig av digitala plattformar” och ”Hur har digitala serviceplattformar inom området organisationsutveckling ändrat de traditionella managementkonsulternas affärsmodeller”. Detta examensarbete utfördes med hjälp av en litteraturstudie samt genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Slutsatsen som kan dras från detta examensarbete är att managementkonsultindustrin har blivit påverkad av digitala plattformar och därmed har satt press på de större traditionella managementkonsultföretagen, fler digitala plattformar skapas och ett ökat antal av gigarbetare har resulterat i en ökning av samarbeten mellan frilansare och traditionella konsultföretag. Resultatet visar vidare att fler traditionella managementkonsultföretag anpassar sig till andra affärsmodellsalternativ som innefattar lösningar baserade på AI eller molntjänster.

This thesis explores precarization of work and subject formation in seven post-referendum Brexit novels through theories of cognitive capitalism and biopolitical production. The analysis is anchored in Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri’s reconceptualization of Michel Foucault’s notion of biopolitics. Hardt and Negri combine the concept of biopolitics with contemporary theories of cognitive capitalism and immaterial labour, to illuminate how subjects are subsumed into a system of biopower in which capitalistic production has become biopolitical production. I argue that the Brexit novels examined in this thesis demonstrate how the intrinsic bond between production and life shapes the characters’ relationship to the referendum. As the characters are caught between individual goals and communal values, in a system that demands that they take sole responsibility for their own success while also being responsible democratic citizens, the referendum produces conflicted subjects that experience deep internal and external conflicts in relation to Brexit.

The digital age has unleashed limitless opportunities and transformed how we work, play and live. As a result, more people embrace the digital nomad lifestyle to fulfill both personal and professional goals. This research assesses the advantages and disadvantages that are associated with this lifestyle. In addition, I examine the digital nomad characteristics in Bali and how the digital nomad community in Bali supports professional development. Data were collected during a two-month field study in Bali, which is one of the world’s most popular digital nomad hubs. The findings suggest that digital nomads are predominantly millennials from advanced economies who have different academic backgrounds. Freedom is the primary advantage, while overall job satisfaction and productivity dramatically differ. Overall, members of Bali’s digital nomad community feel supported in their professional development. “Spend your days on a nine to five You waste your time on a central line What do you love? Work two jobs tryin' stay alive You spend your money on a Friday night Tell me, what do you love?” – Jacob Banks / Digitaliseringen har skapat oändligt många möjligheter och förändrat hur vi arbetar, umgås och lever i dagens samhälle. Det har resulterat i att allt fler provar på en livsstil som digital nomad för att uppnå både personliga och professionella mål. Den här uppsatsen analyserar fördelar och nackdelar som är förknippade med en livsstil som digital nomad. Dessutom undersöker jag vad som karaktäriserar digitala nomader på Bali och hur gemenskapen bland digitala nomader på Bali kan gynna professionell utveckling. Insamling av data skedde under en två månaders fältstudie på Bali, vilket är en av världens mest populära digital nomad hubbar. Resultatet visar att digitala nomader är främst millenials från i-länder med olika akademisk bakgrund. Frihet är den främsta fördelen, medan generell arbetstillfredsställelse och produktivitet varierar dramatiskt. Medlemmar av Balis digitala nomadgemenskap känner att de utvecklas professionellt. “Spend your days on a nine to five You waste your time on a central line What do you love? Work two jobs tryin' stay alive You spend your money on a Friday night Tell me, what do you love?” – Jacob Banks

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