Algorithmic management in food‐delivery platform economy in China

Abstract

AbstractThis article investigates the organisation of work under algorithmic control in the platform economy. Based on a 1‐year ethnographic study conducted at top food‐delivery platforms in China, this study finds two main mechanisms for organising labour under algorithmic management: the virtual organisation of labour and algorithm‐driven labour process control. First, platform drivers are reorganised in an outsourced labour force, placed in application‐based virtual‐networked production under sophisticated technological infrastructure. Second, to habituate drivers to the virtual mode of production, food‐delivery platforms utilise four algorithm‐driven control techniques, which are identified as: smart machinery control, information monopoly, management by multi‐stakeholders, and ‘carrots and sticks’. The findings highlight the process of algorithmic design in configuring a digital managerial ecosystem for platform governance and contribute to emerging debates on algorithmic management.