The governance of gig platform organizations in developing countries

Abstract

A fundamental endeavor for a gig platform organization is the governance of its user network, on which value creation and capture critically depend. Despite the global emergence of gig platform organizations, there is little understanding of the local context in which governance decisions are made. To address this, we explore the role of institutional voids in on-demand platform governance in developing countries. By studying ride-hailing platform organizations in sub-Saharan Africa, we conceptualize enabling and coercive governance modes and uncover distinct patterns within to address institutional voids. We discuss the theoretical implications for platform governance research in developing countries.