Producing speed on demand: Reconfiguration of space and time in food delivery platform work. (25th January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zheng, Yingqin; Wu, Philip Fei
• Is Part Of: Information systems journal. Volume 32:Number 5(2022)
• Page Start: 973
• Page End: 1004
• Publication Date: 2022-01-25
• Subjects: algorithmic management -- performativity -- platform work -- spatiotemporality -- speed; Information technology -- Periodicals; Management information systems -- Periodicals; 303.4833
• DOI: 10.1111/isj.12377
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1350-1917

Abstract

Abstract: Existing IS research on platform work has narrowly focused on the managerial operations of algorithmic management or its business implications. Limited research has paid attention to the scalar effects and societal implications of platform work. In this study, we address the phenomenon of 'speed' in the on‐demand economy through a qualitative study of Chinese food delivery workers. We construct a performative view of spatiotemporality to illustrate the reconfiguration of multiple spatiotemporal orders. The paper thus broadens the theorisation of time and space in IS research and provides a more nuanced and critical understanding of platform work against the backdrop of structural inequality in platform capitalism.