Digital cooperatives as channels for digital work in the context of the collaborative economy

Abstract

At present different bodies, associations, platforms etc. vary greatly in their definitions of the collaborative economy. This is because there are many differences between models and platforms within the term ‘collaborative economy’. Taking this diversity into account, this study will focus on the platforms dedicated to the provision of services. The first major issue will be the need to delimit and establish links between a multitude of concepts that emerge within the so-called collaborative economy, such as the Gig economy and the On-demand economy. The ultimate purpose is to limit the concept of collaborative economy for the purposes of the research carried out here. It was not for nothing that the European Commission recommended that legislators and courts should review professional regimes in the context of the new economy, while expressing its clear support for collaborative economy platforms in its report ‘A European agenda for the collaborative economy’ (2016). There is therefore a need to address the modality of platform-based work (also called digital work), with the aim of ensuring that standards are upheld regarding the working conditions and social protection of people who provide their services under this modality. This study, then, analyses the challenges, and positive and negative aspects of this new situation. The main conclusion is that cooperatives are the best means to channel the collaborative economy, under the modalities of platform-based or digital work. This will require studying and analysing the new models of cooperatives, and advocating digital cooperatives, outside the so-called cooperatives of self-employed workers, the true cooperative character of which is often doubtful. The conceptual delimitation of digital cooperatives and their differentiation from ‘classic’ cooperatives will also be discussed, which will involve providing some insights into the characteristic features of digital cooperatives. This research uses the descriptive, comparative and propositional legal methods. The descriptive method is used to define the concept of collaborative economy and the sub-concepts that it includes in terms of the provision of services; and to identify new forms of platform-based or digital work, and delimit the field of action of digital cooperatives, as the most appropriate means to channel these new forms of work. The comparative method will be useful to analyse the various existing professional regimes that can accommodate the new forms of work available within the collaborative economy. Finally, the propositional method will argue that digital cooperatives are the best solution to shape work within the collaborative economy.Received: 27 November 2018Accepted: 07 March 2019Published online: 22 July 2019