Consumers in the gig economy: Resisting or reinforcing precarious work?

Abstract

There is a growing recognition of the importance of consumers in shaping the labour process and work. To date, attention has largely focused on frontline service workers and employment in traditional settings. The rise of the gig economy, however, has introduced new business models that alter the power relations between organisations, workers and consumers in ways that are yet to be thoroughly examined and theorised. In this chapter, we advance understanding of the multiple roles that consumers play in the gig economy: as market participants, managerial agents, and quasi-regulators of working conditions. We argue that the precarious circumstances of gig workers, who are not employed by but ‘..