Online Labour Markets in the Area of Conflict Between Platform and Community: A Systematic Literature Review on Platform-Based Work

Abstract

We investigate online labour markets within the framework of a systematic literature review and a qualitative content analysis. Against the background of a diverse body of studies on the topic, we aim to analyse and systematise the characteristics of platform work. To this end, we examined 235 thematically relevant publications published between 2010 and 2020 with regard to the following four questions: (1) What disciplines deal with platform-based work, and which research methods are being used? (2) Which dimensions of work do those studies address? (3) Which actors and institutions are found to shape different aspects of work? (4) What are influential factors or mechanisms? We analyse the state of research on platform-based work and identify research desiderata. Further, we offer a heuristic that systematises the diverse and still fragmented research findings. The results show that platforms (as technical and organisational systems), customers, and the community of workers as novel entities are found to significantly influence different dimensions of work on online labour markets.