Abstract
As enterprises that are owned and governed by workers themselves for their mutual benefit, worker cooperatives are currently re-emerging as a promising antidote against precarity and economic dependence in the gig economy. Considering the social and geographic fragmentation of gig workers, it remains unclear whether cooperatives can count on the member commitment necessary to survive. This study investigates whether preference deviation and social disembeddedness stifle the commitment of gig workers to such cooperatives. A cross-sectional survey was used to gather data from members of four interconnected cooperatives in Italy that consist of gig workers in the cultural, ICT and education sectors (n = 425). The results show that members with more deviating preferences and less social embeddedness among fellow members have a lower commitment towards their cooperative. These findings demonstrate the conditions for gig workers’ commitment to cooperatives, being a key factor in cooperative longevity.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1007-1026 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Economic and Industrial Democracy |
Volume | 44 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 11 Jun 2022 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Nov 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This study is part of the research programme ‘Sustainable Cooperation – Roadmaps to Resilient Societies’ (SCOOP). The authors are grateful to the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) for generously funding this research in the context of its 2017 Gravitation Programme (grant number 024.003.025).
Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022.
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Commitment issues? Analysing the effect of preference deviation and social embeddedness on member commitment to worker cooperatives in the gig economy
Jonathan Bunders, D. (Creator), Akkerman, A. (Creator) & Jonathan Bunders, D. (Creator), 2022
DOI: 10.25384/sage.c.6041822.v1, https://sage.figshare.com/collections/Commitment_issues_Analysing_the_effect_of_preference_deviation_and_social_embeddedness_on_member_commitment_to_worker_cooperatives_in_the_gig_economy/6041822/1
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