For many years, research on user acceptance of different technologies has been one of the most important topics within the field of information systems. In markets with the sheer size and uniqueness of the Chinese mobile economy fostered rapid development of sharing economy firms. Transportation Network Companies (TNC) can be regarded as a context of the sharing economy that focuses on personal transportation. Intrigued by the immense success of TNC and notorious competition between TNC companies Uber and DiDi in China, we study why users are susceptible to TNC. In this study, user acceptance is defined as intention to use TNC and the actual use of TNC. This study aims to examine what factors affect user acceptance of TNC in China and to what extent. By this, the thesis aims to provide TNC with adequate recommendations for success. The state of the art user acceptance model UTAUT2 has been used in this research with an explanatory purpose and a deductive approach. The UTAUT2 model consists of factors related to user acceptance, such as Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, Facilitating Conditions, Hedonic Motivation, Price Value and Habit. These factors were individually tested with Simple Linear Regression to determine their influence on user acceptance. These calculations were executed upon quantitative data from an electronically distributed survey. Upon analysis of the findings, research and practical implications are provided such as managerial recommendations for how TNC can raise user acceptance and increase market share.

This Master´s Thesis focuses on the sharing economy and more importantly, on one of the main pioneers of this phenomenon, which is Uber. Uber is presented as a typical example when describing possibilities and problems connected with the sharing economy. The thesis is divided into two main parts - the theoretical part and the practical part. The theoretical part deals with theoretical terms that are essential for a better understanding of the second, practical, part. It involves a complex description of the term sharing economy and its main driving force - Millennials (Generation Y). Furthermore, there are described terms such as marketing environmental analysis and marketing mix analysis, which are put into practice and presented on Uber in the latter part of this thesis. This thesis focuses on marketing activities of Uber in the Czech Republic and that also includes a questionnaire survey. The main goal of this thesis is to describe current marketing activities of Uber in the Czech Republic, to present findings about brand awareness of Uber in the Czech Republic and its customer satisfaction and consequently, to make recommendations on possible marketing activities, that could help Uber in the Czech Republic to meet its objectives and/or unfold its potential. The partial objective of this thesis is to put together a complex set of characteristics of the sharing economy.

The rise of on-demand platform work typified by Uber has intensified a decades-long trend away from standard work relationships and toward contingent work structures, characterized by the unbounding of work in space and time. Yet many workers have always toiled outside of a traditional workplace and “standard” schedule. My dissertation examines how contingent workers in four different industries navigate unstable work schedules across unsettled work geographies, drawing on 120 interviews with agricultural and oil and gas workers in Texas and on-demand delivery workers and university adjuncts in New York City. Across these “old” and “new” cases of contingent work performed across rural and urban landscapes, work processes restructure space and time in such a way that workers do not know when, for how long, or where they will have work. I call this temporal and spatial instability positional uncertainty – repurposing an oilfield term for the inability to pinpoint precisely where one is at any given moment in the drilling process. The experience of positional uncertainty forces workers to subordinate the rhythms and geographies of their own lives to the temporal and spatial imperatives of their respective labor processes, leading to time struggle (unpaid periods of waiting or “zombie time” and overwork) and challenges in space (related to the bifurcation or unbounding, respectively, of the spaces of work and home). Workers respond, first, by doing boundary work, and second, by telling both critical and anchoring stories in attempts to bring coherence and meaning to the day-to-day and the long-term. The dissertation highlights the integral role of time and space in structuring social life, the active maneuvers by which workers struggle to re-configure time and space to produce coherence and make a life for themselves, and the short- and long-term costs of the transfer of risk onto workers through positional uncertainty. The strategic comparison reveals parallel strategies across disparate cases in response to the warping of time and space and illuminates how positional uncertainty exacerbates deep-set structural inequalities.

El sector del transporte y la movilidad está experimentando profundas transformaciones debidas principalmente a la concienciación medioambiental, al aumento de la población de las grandes áreas urbanas y al tamaño de las ciudades, al envejecimiento de la población y la aparición de relevantes innovaciones tecnológicas que han cambiado los hábitos de consumo, como el comercio electrónico o la economía colaborativa. Así, el auge de aplicaciones móviles como Uber y Cabify están transformando la movilidad urbana y metropolitana que debe adaptarse a este nuevo escenario y al propio concepto de movilidad. Estas aplicaciones ofrecen una alternativa a las prestaciones que tradicionalmente ha brindado el sector del taxi y el alquiler de vehículos con conductor (VTC), y se han desarrollado en un contexto de regulación de los mercados del taxi y VTC que contienen importantes restricciones no justificadas a la entrada y ejercicio de la actividad en el mercado, entre las que destaca el numerus clausus de licencias, el limitado ámbito geográfico de la licencia y, para el caso del taxi, los precios regulados en forma de tarifas públicas no flexibles. En este estudio, y aprovechando los últimos cambios legislativos que afectan sobre todo a la prestación de servicios de estas plataformas en España, se ha analizado cómo ha impactado su implantación en la seguridad vial de Madrid en dos periodos temporales diferenciados (2014-2018 y 2013-2019). En primer lugar, se ha analizado cómo ha afectado la entrada de estos servicios en la frecuencia de los accidentes -con al menos un herido grave o muerto-, diferenciando entre accidentes con presencia de alcohol o drogas y accidentes producidos en fin de semana y festivo. En segundo lugar, y teniendo en cuenta que por cada muerte en las carreteras europeas se producen unas cuatro lesiones que incapacitan de forma permanente, como daños en el cerebro o la médula espinal, ocho lesiones graves y cincuenta lesiones leves, se ha analizado el impacto de estos servicios en la gravedad del accidente, considerando el número de víctimas totales, heridos graves y muertos y heridos leves. Por último, y considerando que este tipo de servicios puede contribuir a una transferencia desde el vehículo particular a otros modos de transporte, fomentando la intermodalidad y cubriendo la "última milla" de los servicios de transporte más rígidos, dotando de mayor capilaridad y alcance a las redes troncales de transporte colectivo, se ha analizado si estos servicios complementan o sustituyen al transporte público para reducir la accidentalidad. Para ello, se ha realizado un análisis de regresión utilizando un modelo binomial negativa de efectos aleatorios (RENB). Se ha escogido el municipio de Madrid por razones relacionadas con la oferta de servicios y disponibilidad de datos suficientes para formular el modelo matemático. Los resultados muestran que desde la llegada de Uber y Cabify al municipio de Madrid los accidentes -con al menos un herido grave o muerto- y con presencia de alcohol o drogas se han reducido en torno al 98%. Del mismo modo, también se observa un descenso, de aproximadamente un 18%, en el número de accidentes -con al menos un herido grave o muerto- producidos en fin de semana y festivo. Respecto a la gravedad del accidente, los resultados obtenidos muestran una reducción en el número de heridos graves y muertos de entorno al 25%. Sin embargo, el número de víctimas totales y el número de heridos leves ha aumentado un 3% y un 5% respectivamente. Finalmente, se ha observado que el número de heridos graves y muertos ha disminuido tanto en la "Almendra Central" (30.5%) como en la periferia (54.9%) del municipio, siendo mayor el impacto de estas plataformas en los distritos periféricos -con menor presencia de transporte público-. Además, el número de accidentes (con al menos un herido grave o un muerto) en fin de semana y festivo ha disminuido en ambas zonas, siendo de nuevo el impacto más notable en las zonas periféricas con un 54.9% frente a un 49.7%. El número de heridos leves también han disminuido en los distritos periféricos de la ciudad un 24,6%. Sin embargo, el número de heridos leves ha aumentado un 5.7% en la "Almendra Central" donde el 73% de los desplazamientos se realizan en transporte público. En general, los resultados encontrados en este estudio apoyarían la hipótesis de que estos servicios sustituyen al transporte público, en especial a los autobuses urbanos. Sin embargo, estos servicios mejoran la oferta a los usuarios con mayores dificultades para acceder a los taxis o al transporte público, constituyendo un modo de transporte alternativo para los conductores de alto riesgo. Por lo tanto, estos hallazgos pueden ser muy útiles para que los responsables políticos definan mejor las políticas reguladoras de estos servicios.

Memoria (licenciado en ciencias jurídicas y sociales) / La plataforma Uber bloqueó la base de datos del metabuscador, UrbanHail, argumentando que el uso de la segunda infringía las reglas del funcionamiento de la primera. Dicha conducta será analizada bajo el marco de la normativa nacional de libre competencia vislumbrando si dicha conducta, de producirse en Chile, se podría enmarcar como un abuso de posición de dominio exclusorio sancionado en el artículo 3º del Decreto Ley 211. Asimismo, el ensayo permitirá observar una serie de problemas intrínsecos que tiene la aplicación del ordenamiento jurídico de libre competencia al estudio de casos aplicados a las nuevas tecnologías.

Submitted by Caroline Xavier (caroline.xavier@pucrs.br) on 2017-06-30T13:59:55Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DIS_GICELDA_JULIA_DAL_BO_COMPLETO.pdf: 3328714 bytes, checksum: c1dae6f11752d09fdfaddc8e2f46a7ce (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-30T13:59:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DIS_GICELDA_JULIA_DAL_BO_COMPLETO.pdf: 3328714 bytes, checksum: c1dae6f11752d09fdfaddc8e2f46a7ce (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-09 / This dissertation explores structures of power from the point of view of empowerment and resistance in a shared economy model, having Uber (since its arrival in the country) as object of study. To this end, it relies on a qualitative method of interpretativist approach through a single case study. By identifying the agents' discourses of the urban mobility socio-technical system, in the voice of media vehicles and specialized websites, this research proposes to analyze how power structures are organized. The study lists three perspectives, an ?economic model?, a ?business model? and ?sustainable development?, built to group the ?two sides of the same coin?, empowerment and resistance, proposing a ?conversation? between them. It presents a view of the relationship with the collectivity through two mechanisms, also of opposing forces: ?quest for legitimacy? and ?reinforcement to the status quo?. In a complementary way, it proposes a discussion section about uberism and its variations. Among the aspects listed in this section, issues of regulation and characteristics of the so-called Uber economy stand out. It brings, as theoretical basis, concepts of the Transition Theory for Sustainable Development, the Multiple Level Perspective (MLP) and an applied study that links sharing economy to the notion of socio-technical systems. With this, it seeks to demonstrate the ?game? of forces between empowerment and resistance in the Brazilian context of the socio-technical system of urban mobility. A combination of technological trajectories that have been destabilizing and pressuring the existing socio-technical structures pointed out for the existence of transitions to sustainable development. / Esta disserta??o explora estruturas de poder sob o ponto de vista de empoderamento e de resist?ncia em um modelo de economia compartilhada, tendo a Uber (desde sua chegada ao pa?s) como objeto de estudo. Para tal, apoia-se em um m?todo qualitativo de abordagem interpretativista por meio de um estudo de caso ?nico. Prop?e-se a analisar como est?o organizadas as estruturas de poder identificando os discursos de agentes do sistema sociotecnico de mobilidade urbana na voz dos ve?culos de m?dia e de sites especializados. O estudo elenca tr?s perspectivas, modelo econ?mico, modelo de neg?cio e desenvolvimento sustent?vel, constru?das de forma a agrupar os ?dois lados da mesma moeda?, empoderamento e resist?ncia, propondo uma ?conversa? entre eles. Apresenta um olhar da rela??o com a coletividade atrav?s de dois mecanismos, tamb?m de for?as contr?rias: ?busca por legitimidade? e ?refor?o ao status quo?. De forma complementar, prop?e uma se??o de discuss?o acerca de uberismo e suas varia??es. Dentre os aspectos elencados nesta se??o, destacam-se quest?es de regula??o e caracter?sticas da chamada Uber economia. Como suporte te?rico apresenta conceitos da Teoria das Transi??es para o Desenvolvimento Sustent?vel, da Perspectiva de M?ltiplos N?veis (MLP) e de um estudo aplicado que vincula economia compartilhada ? no??o de sistema sociot?cnico. Com isso, busca demonstrar o ?jogo? de for?as entre empoderamento e resist?ncia no contexto brasileiro do sistema sociot?cnico de mobilidade urbana. Os resultados apontaram em dire??o a exist?ncia de transi??es para o desenvolvimento sustent?vel, permeadas por uma combina??o de trajet?rias que tem desestabilizado e pressionado as estruturas sociot?cnicas vigentes.

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The thesis focuses on professional and didactical points of view on digitalization in high school social science education. The aim of the thesis is to create a series of lessons for high schools (grammar schools) based on research on digitalization, which is supposed to aid students in better orientation at the labour market. At the same time, the didactical part is designed to be used and adapted by teachers interested in the topic. The theoretical part presents the professional background of the prepared lessons including key words, corresponding arguments and the general work basis of the author. Professional topics are transformed into a form didactically appropriate at the chosen level of secondary education (grammar schools). The practical part consists of a series of lessons focusing on changes in the labour market related to digitalization and technology development. Individual lessons are dedicated to online sharing economy platforms such as Uber and Airbnb, which change the concept of work in today's society and determine new working conditions of employees. The professional background of the prepared series of lessons defines the key terms and points to the historical context of work development in individual chapters; furthermore, it focuses on the following topics: the meaning of work...

PERFORMANCE OF DEPENDENT WORK THROUGH DIGITAL PLATFORMS ABSTRACT This thesis discusses the issue of work performance through digital platforms, especially regarding whether it is possible to classify such activity as "dependent work", particularly with regard to the laws of the Czech Republic. The thesis responds to the current legal "vacuum" surrounding the performance of work through digital platforms and the legal status of persons who perform such activity (referred to in the thesis as workers). The mentioned legal "vacuum" stems primarily from the absence of sufficient legal regulation in the given area and the "unconventionality" of such a way of performing work. Digital platforms describe their workers as independent entrepreneurs, and this practice is quietly tolerated by the Czech Republic (e. g. administrative authorities). However, there can be more than reasonable doubts about the veracity of such proclamation. Therefore, the thesis firstly analyzes the characteristics and conditions of dependent work according to the laws of the Czech Republic, which are then applied to the reality of the performance of work through digital platforms. Due to the number of their types, as well as the various systems that the platforms implement, three representatives were chosen for the purposes of this thesis,...

The purpose of this study was to investigate how online food delivery companies changed the language in their advertising and took advantage of lockdown restrictions when the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Using advertising technique theory and Norman Fairclough’s three dimensional framework for analyzing advertising discourse, this study scrutinized the Twitter advertising of four major online food delivery companies in the United States and the United Kingdom (Uber Eats, DoorDash, Deliveroo, and Just Eat) from 1 February 2020 to 30 April 2020 for the purposes of understanding how these companies advertised on Twitter just before the pandemic began and how they pivoted to new advertising techniques and discourses at the beginning of the pandemic. The results show that before the pandemic began, the online food delivery companies’ Twitter advertising generally depended on self-indulgence and giving audiences an excuse to use their service. When the pandemic began, however, the results of this study show the online food delivery companies' conscious efforts to leverage the economic struggle of the food industry caused by the pandemic to their benefit by shifting their advertising techniques and discourses in various ways.