Lindsey D. Cameron, Assistant Professor at Wharton and a Berkman Klein Center faculty affiliate, sheds light on algorithmic management and platform economies. She reveals how platforms often mask exploitation through declining wages and safety issues. Lindsey explores the sharing economy's narrative twist and discusses the control mechanisms of labor platforms. She emphasizes the necessity for transparency and accountability in platform work, especially concerning its implications in the Global South, fostering a more equitable future for gig workers.
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Mother's Gig Work
Lindsey Cameron's mother lost her job during the Great Recession and turned to gig work.
This personal experience sparked Cameron's interest in social mobility and labor platforms.
insights INSIGHT
Platform Exploitation
Labor platforms embed exploitation into their design, visible through declining wages and safety issues.
Digital platforms exert subtler influence, making exploitation harder to detect but equally impactful.
insights INSIGHT
Co-opting Sharing Economy
Early labor platforms co-opted the "sharing economy" narrative to gain popularity.
This masked the exploitative nature of their model, exemplified by the shift from "ride-sharing" to "ride-hailing."
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Bio
Lindsey D. Cameron is an Assistant Professor of Management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business and a faculty affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. Her research focuses on algorithmic management, artificial intelligence, and platform work. Lindsey became interested in platforms after observing her mother's experiences in the gig economy after a job loss, which sparked her interest in social mobility and labor platforms.
Summary
In this episode of Talking About Platforms, Lindsey D. Cameron discusses her research on labor platforms, platform power, and the evolving nature of platform economies. She emphasizes that platforms are not neutral entities but are embedded with values that can lead to exploitation. She explores how this exploitation is visible on labor platforms through declining wages and safety violations but is often subtler on digital platforms.
Lindsey also addresses the co-option of the sharing economy narrative by early labor platforms and the role of algorithmic management in controlling workers. She distinguishes between open and closed labor markets, highlighting the varying degrees of control exerted by platforms. The discussion further covers the need for platform accountability, the importance of transparent rules, and the potential for on-demand platform work in formalizing economies, especially in the Global South. We touch on the increasing entanglement of platform work within society, shaping decisions, and capital flows.
Publications & Projects Mentioned
Rahman, H. A., Karunakaran, A., & Cameron, L. D. (2024). Taming platform power: Taking accountability into account in the management of platforms. Academy of Management Annals, 18(1), 251-294
Cameron, L. D. (2024). The Making of the "Good Bad" Job: How Algorithmic Management Manufactures Consent Through Constant and Confined Choices. Administrative Science Quarterly, 69(2), 458-514.
Cameron, L. D. (2022). "Making out" while driving: Relational and efficiency games in the gig economy. Organization Science, 33(1), 231-252.
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