{"title":"Shifting gears: how platform companies maintain power in app-based food delivery in Norway","authors":"Kristin Jesnes","doi":"10.1177/10242589241228199","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"App-based food delivery relies on business models centred on the use of self-employed persons, combined with algorithmic management. In Norway, however, delivery platforms initially adapted the more traditional model: couriers were given employment contracts, joined an established trade union and negotiated a collective agreement. Nevertheless, the market entry of companies reliant on the self-employed, which expanded during the pandemic, prompted strategic changes that reduced worker power. This article explores agency in app-based food delivery in Norway. The research questions are: How do different actors’ (platform companies, workers and unions) strategies affect working conditions and pay? How do these actors use power and power resources strategically? This article makes a dual contribution. First, it provides empirical insights by examining a notable case of collective organising and negotiation involving a traditional union in Norway. Second, it contributes to our theoretical understanding of how workers and companies change their strategies to navigate the power dynamics in this emerging field.","PeriodicalId":23253,"journal":{"name":"Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10242589241228199","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS & LABOR","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
App-based food delivery relies on business models centred on the use of self-employed persons, combined with algorithmic management. In Norway, however, delivery platforms initially adapted the more traditional model: couriers were given employment contracts, joined an established trade union and negotiated a collective agreement. Nevertheless, the market entry of companies reliant on the self-employed, which expanded during the pandemic, prompted strategic changes that reduced worker power. This article explores agency in app-based food delivery in Norway. The research questions are: How do different actors’ (platform companies, workers and unions) strategies affect working conditions and pay? How do these actors use power and power resources strategically? This article makes a dual contribution. First, it provides empirical insights by examining a notable case of collective organising and negotiation involving a traditional union in Norway. Second, it contributes to our theoretical understanding of how workers and companies change their strategies to navigate the power dynamics in this emerging field.