Always on across time zones: Invisible schedules in the online gig economy

This study investigates work schedules in online labour markets, operating in 24/7 mode across spatial borders and time zones. Focusing on largely hidden and invisible work of freelancers such as searching for jobs and communicating with clients, the study documents how platforms put pressures and constraints on freelancers’ time through the mechanism of task allocation. We use data on 241,582 timestamped messages posted by 29,759 unique users in 4082 contests on a leading Russian‐language freelance platform to reveal how freelancers’ efforts to get a job make them work nonstandard hours, including evenings, nights and weekends. Freelancers have to be responsive and adapt their schedules to clients’ needs. Freelancers who live in time zones which differ from their clients are particularly disadvantaged, working a greater proportion of nonstandard hours. The findings emerging from the study contribute to current debates on the gig economy and a new time‐work discipline.     

Flexibility in the gig economy: managing time on three online piecework platforms

Gig economy platforms seem to provide extreme temporal flexibility to workers, giving them full control over how to spend each hour and minute of the day. What constraints do workers face when attempting to exercise this flexibility? We use 30 worker interviews and other data to compare three online piecework platforms with different histories and worker demographics: Mechanical Turk, MobileWorks, and CloudFactory. We find that structural constraints (availability of work and degree of worker dependence on the work) as well as cultural‐cognitive constraints (procrastination and presenteeism) limit worker control over scheduling in practice. The severity of these constraints varies significantly between platforms, the formally freest platform presenting the greatest structural and cultural‐cognitive constraints. We also find that workers have developed informal practices, tools, and communities to address these constraints. We conclude that focusing on outcomes rather than on worker control is a more fruitful way to assess flexible working arrangements.     

Autonomy at work in the gig economy: analysing work status,work content and working conditions of independent professionals

This paper offers a critical perspective on the debate surrounding autonomy at work for a specific category of non‐standard workers: independent professionals. The increasing numbers now working this way as well as their spread into all sectors, industries and occupations, mean that their work arrangements can no longer be dismissed as non‐standard or atypical. Defining them by what they are not is quite simply no longer an option. Our paper examines the various components intertwined behind the taken‐for‐granted concept of autonomy. Drawing on debates from the legal through to the sociological and HR literatures, we identify three underlying dimensions to autonomy. When combined, they provide the basis for an analytical matrix that may assist policy makers, practitioners and individual workers to understand the challenges and opportunities linked to new ways of working.     

Managerial perceptions of technology licensing as an alternative to internal R&D in new product development: an empirical investigation

Increasingly, companies are using the licensing approach to acquire external technology as an alternative to internal new product development. However, the licensing literature presents lists of benefits and costs without identifying either their relative importance or the underlying dimensions. This article presents the results of a survey of Australian licensee firms designed to fill this gap in the literature. The results show that the major reason for licensing relates more to the immediate need to gain competitive advantage than the relative low cost advantage of technology licensing or having access to future technology. The major impediments to licensing are the entry and exit costs and the loss of decision-making autonomy resulting from licensor-imposed restrictions. Further, only two factors, perceived search costs and low cost market entry advantage of licensing appear to vary among the industries studied. Future research and managerial implications of the results are discussed.     

Organised industrial relations in the information economy: the German automotive sector as a test case

This paper explores changes in industrial relations in the German automotive sector. Historically, this sector has generated important insights about national ‘models’ and the political economy of work. It is argued that vertical disintegration has created new market‐mediated boundaries that have undermined existing patterns of organised industrial relations.     

Informalization in gig food delivery in the UK: The case of hyper-flexible and precarious work

This article examines the process of informalization of work in platform food delivery work in the UK. Drawing on qualitative data, this article provides new analytical insight into what drives individual formal couriers to both supply and demand informalized sub-contracted gig work to undocumented migrants, and how a platform company enables informal work practices through permissive HR practices and technology. In doing so, this article shows how platform companies are enablers of informal labor markets and contribute to the expansion of hyper-precarious working conditions.     

Sustaining superior performance in an emerging economy: an empirical test in the Indian context

We demonstrate a negative relationship between pro‐market reforms and the sustainability of superior profits in an emerging economy. The decline in sustainability of superior profits shows that pro‐market reforms bring significant threats in addition to the various opportunities such as greater availability of production factors and greater freedom to enter and operate businesses highlighted in the extant literature. Our study thus contributes to a more complete conceptual understanding of the performance consequences of pro‐market reforms in emerging economies. We also show that investment in research and development and greater investments in marketing and advertising are firm‐level resources that provide a measure of protection against the erosion in sustainability of superior profits associated with pro‐market reforms. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Horizontal alliances as an alternative to autonomous production: product expansion mode choice in the worldwide aircraft industry 1945–2000

This study investigates why firms choose to undertake product expansion through alliances with competitors rather than on their own. We highlight product heterogeneity as a determinant of this make or ally choice. We propose that firms turn to horizontal alliances in order to implement product expansion projects that require greater resources than those available to them. More precisely, we hypothesize that a firm is more likely to launch a new product through a horizontal alliance rather than autonomously when the resource requirements of the project are greater, the resources available to the firm are more limited, there is a mismatch between resource endowment and requirement, and the firm's collaborative competence allows it to better cope with the interorganizational concerns that collaboration with competitors raises. We find support for our arguments on a sample of 310 new aircraft developments launched between 1945 and 2000, either by a single prime contractor or as a horizontal alliance in which prime contractorship is shared with another industry incumbent. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

From coal mining to a high technology economy? the case of an innovation centre in South Yorkshire

The deep coal mining industry was in rapid decline in Britain in the 1980s and 1990s. In many localities formerly associated with the industry, there was a need to encourage diversification and innovation as a means of economic regeneration. The activities of one project which aimed at this are examined here.     

高油价是世界经济失衡的必然产物

经济全球化在为全世界创造越来越多的财富和提高经济效率的同时,其巨大的“负”外部性导致了越来越严重的世界经济失衡。各主权国家为保证国家经济的稳定性,不断强化和调整货币政策和产业政策,全球借贷需求的旺盛和满足这一需求的金融创新能力的不断提高,导致了全球流动性过剩的后果。金融创新活动的加速,为一部分人提供了必不可少的控制风险工具,但同时为另一部分人放大了世界经济失衡所造成的各种风险。当前棘手的高油价现象只不过是反映全球经济失衡状态下风险积累的一个“前兆”。靠中国和其他（出口导向的）新兴市场国家单方面取消油价补贴不能解决高油价形成的本质问题,不能从根本上扭转世界经济失衡的状况,不能够明显减少全球流动性过剩的程度,不会遏制高风险环境下追求高收益的投资者进行金融创新的强大意欲。除非所有相关国家互相积极沟通信息,采取“对称”的综合干预措施和共同的监管模式,否则飞风险分担的“公平性”就无法达到。     

Architectural theory in the undergraduate curriculum: a pedagogical alternative

The study of architectural theory remains absent from many undergraduate design programs, or, if present, the structure of many curricula place “theory” as an autonomous, peripheral course. Theory, however, as it is in other disciplines, is the foundation of the discipline of architecture. To regain the importance and vitality of architectural theory amidst an evolving and highly crowded set of courses, creative pedagogies are much needed. This article, therefore, discusses the development of a pedagogical alternative to traditional architectural theory courses. The course is conceived according to the concept of the dialectic and is a required part of the Bachelor of Architecture curriculum at a public university in the United States.     

Skill changes in maintenance work in British Telecom: an alternative view

Here the author presents an alternative view of recent changes in skilled work in British Telecom to that provided by Roger Penn in a recent article in NTWE. In particular, he argues for a detailed analysis of changing work tasks, a clear definition of skill, and a greater focus on the changing distribution of tasks and skills between different occupational groups.     

Market appeal in an emerging economy: Supermarkets and poor consumers in Vietnam

With the arrival and development of supermarkets, Vietnam is currently experiencing significant changes to its food system and more particularly the distribution system. The objective of this paper is to analyse the risks and benefits of this development to poor urban consumers in Vietnam. The analysis is based on surveys of food purchasing practices conducted in Hanoi from 2004 to 2006. It shows that poor consumers depend on a diversified network of formal and informal outlets to ensure food accessibility, credit opportunities and low prices. Poor consumers purchase very little from supermarkets due to material constraints (price, transport, etc.), although they have a high opinion of supermarkets and in particular the quality of the products sold. In order to be favourable to poor consumers, food distribution policies should aim to maintain the balance of the different forms of outlets and enforce public quality standards to guarantee the right of all to safe food.     

Engineering economy as a vibrant and relevant course in the engineering programs of today and tomorrow

Abstract

Engineering economy has been studied by the majority of engineering students for many years, yet its place in engineering education is often misunderstood. Logic suggests that the engineering economy course would be highly valued since it is the only course many engineering students will take related to financial matters, but instead there is evidence that the subject is being marginalized. While pressures to reduce program credit hours and changes to the Fundamentals of Engineering exam may play a role in this, perhaps engineering economy has not sufficiently evolved to meet the needs of students or the realities of the contemporary workplace. What can be done to ensure that engineering economy fulfills its potential as an important part of engineering education? There may be few clear-cut answers, but we believe that engineering economy should shift toward a future characterized by rigorous coursework grounded in engineering design principles and applications of risk and uncertainty. This has been our goal in teaching engineering economy at Western Michigan University for many years. The purpose of this paper is to communicate the essential elements of a strategy that has helped to make the course a vibrant component of several engineering programs.     

绿色:循环经济题中之义

循环经济是一个“资源→产品→废弃物→再生资源”的循环过程。循环经济与传统的单向流程的线性经济不同。前者是：从始端向末端流动过程中，有意识地使其形成有效能或有价值的链接关系。而后者则是：在流动的某个节点上，各自产生着无由的浪费和废弃物的滞积。而且存在着大量生产、大量消费、大量浪费的弊端。     

包装:循环经济的"排头兵"

我国是一个人口众多、人均资源相对贫乏的国家。从资源拥有量来看,虽然资源总量不少,但人均资源相对贫乏,毫无疑问,资源紧缺状况势必长期存在。建国以来,我们走的是一条“高消耗资源、粗放式经营”的经济发展之路,凸显出“高投入、低产出和浪费严重”的致命弱点。过去的20年,中     

COVID-19, economic crises and digitalisation: How algorithmic management became an alternative to automation

The COVID-19 crisis witnessed a major rise in investment in software for the digital organisation and rationalisation of work, while investment in robotics is continuously lagging behind expectations. This article argues that we can understand this development as the continuation of the rise of algorithmic management as a technological fix for profitability crises. Thus, in the face of falling wage rates and a structural overaccumulation of capital since the 1970s, algorithmic management has become an alternative to automation. The article reconstructs the history of algorithmic management in connection to economic crises. This allows for periodisation of the rise of algorithmic management from 'computer-integrated manufacturing' to remote work in four waves. In times of crisis, algorithmic management functions as a substitute for investment in 'tangible capital' such as robots. Structural economic forces thus interact with labour conflicts at the company level, shaping the rise of algorithmic management.     

Home-country institutions and corporate social responsibility of emerging economy multinational enterprises: The belt and road initiative as an example

This paper examines the impact of home country institutions on corporate social responsibility (CSR) of multinational enterprises from emerging markets (EM-MNEs). Taking the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as an example and using a sample with 2052 firm-year observations from China over the period 2008–2018, we find that the BRI exerts a positive and significant effect on overall CSR of Chinese MNEs involved in the BRI and the positive effect is stronger for Chinese state-owned MNEs. In addition, only two dimensions of CSR (Employee Relations and Products) are improved significantly under the pressure of BRI. Finally, we examine the interactive effect of home- and host- country institutions on Chinese MNEs’ CSR and find the positive impact of the BRI on MNEs’ CSR performance is stronger in host countries with a higher level of CSR related institutional pressure. These results provide practical suggestions for the Chinese government and MNEs to further improve CSR under the BRI, and enrich our understanding of the interactive effect between home- and host-country institutions on enhancing Chinese MNEs’ reputation and promoting regional cooperation with countries along the BRI.