Project info
Work package
- Work
Sustainability threat
- Feedback Cycles
Challenge
- Reconciling stakeholder interests
Study info
Related studies according to other researchers
Member participation in the decision-making of platform cooperatives
Description of Study
As enterprises that are owned and governed by workers themselves for their mutual benefit, worker cooperatives are currently re-emerging as a promising antidote against precarity and economic dependence in the gig economy. Considering the social and geographic fragmentation of gig workers, it remains unclear whether cooperatives can count on the member commitment necessary to survive. In this study we investigate whether preference deviation and social disembeddedness stifle the commitment of gig workers to such a cooperative. A cross-sectional survey was used to gather data from members of four interconnected cooperatives in Italy that consist of gig workers in the cultural, ICT and education sectors (n = 425). The results show that members with more deviating preferences and less social embeddedness among fellow members have a lower commitment towards their cooperative. These findings demonstrate the conditions for gig workers’ commitment to cooperatives, being a key factor in cooperative longevity.
Study research question
To what extent do preference deviation and social disembeddedness negatively affect gig workers’ commitment as members of a cooperative?
Collection provenance
- Collected during project
Collection methods
- Questionaire
Personal data
Yes
External Source
Source description
File formats
- Stata files
Data types
- Structured
Languages
- English
Coverage start
Coverage end
Spatial coverage
Italy
Collection period start
01/01/2021
Collection period end
31/03/2021
Variables
Unit
Unit description
Sample size
Sampling method
Individuals
Worker cooperative members
425
Organization-based sample (four cooperatives)
Hypothesis
Theory
The more members’ preferences deviate from organisational priorities, the lower their commitment will be towards the cooperative of gig workers.
Collective choice problem of labour-managed firms, transaction cost theory, cooperative lifecycle theory
The more members are socially embedded, the higher their commitment will be towards the cooperative of gig workers.
Research on dual nature of cooperatives, social embeddedness
Social embeddedness decreases the negative relationship between preference deviation and member commitment.
Social embeddedness, social preferences
Variable type
Variable name
Variable description
Independent variable
Preference deviation
Discrepancy scores between individual preferences and organisational priorities concerning work conditions
Independent variable
Social embeddedness
Social capital resource generator instrument
Discipline-specific operationalizations
Conflict of interest
Data packages
Member survey of platform cooperatives
Data package DOI
https://doi.org/10.25397/eur.22717270.v1
Description
Behaviour and attitudes of gig workers as cooperative members
Accessibility
Open Access
Repository
EUR data repository
User license
CC-BY 4.0
Retention period
10
Publications
Commitment issues? Analysing the effect of preference deviation and social embeddedness on member commitment to worker cooperatives in the gig economy
Documents
Filename
Description
Date
Ethics
Ethical assessment
Yes
Ethical committee
RSM IRB-NE