Christian Fieseler

Maltseva Reiby, Kateryna; Buhmann, Alexander & Fieseler, Christian (2022)

On track to biopower? Toward a conceptual framework for user compliance in digital self-tracking

The Information Society, 83(1) Doi: 10.1080/01972243.2021.2014610

Digital self-tracking technologies, such as mobile applications and wearables have become commonplace, mediating users’ fitness and health management efforts by providing performance recommendations. While digital self-tracking technologies have been welcomed by some as useful tools in users’ pursuit of healthier and happier lives, they have also drawn criticisms, especially regarding body surveillance and control stemming from their embedded performance standards. In this article, we present our study of the experiences of users who regularly but casually engage with digital self-tracking technologies in order to identify factors that affect compliance with performance standards. Based on these data we propose a conceptual framework that brings together domain involvement, domain expertise, data literacy, and the tendency to anthropomorphize technology with performance standards and discuss possible relationships between these factors.

Hoffmann, Christian Pieter & Fieseler, Christian (2021)

Shareholder Activism als Herausforderung für die Investor Relations und Finanzkommunikation

Hoffmann, Christian Pieter; Schiereck, Dirk & Zerfass, Ansgar (red.). Handbuch Investor Relations und Finanzkommunikation

Buhmann, Alexander & Fieseler, Christian (2021)

Tackling the Grand Challenge of Algorithmic Opacity Through Principled Robust Action

Morals + Machines, 1(1), s. 74- 85. Doi: 10.5771/2747-5174-2021-1-74 - Full text in research archive

Organizations increasingly delegate agency to artificial intelligence. However, such systems can yield unintended negative effects as they may produce biases against users or reinforce social injustices. What pronounces them as a unique grand challenge, however, are not their potentially problematic outcomes but their fluid design. Machine learning algorithms are continuously evolving; as a result, their functioning frequently remains opaque to humans. In this article, we apply recent work ontackling grand challenges though robust action to assess the potential and obstacles of managing the challenge of algorithmic opacity. We stress that although this approach is fruitful, it can begainfully complemented by a discussion regarding the accountability and legitimacy of solutions. In our discussion, we extend the robust action approach by linking it to a set of principles that can serve to evaluate organisational approaches of tackling grand challenges with respect to their ability to foster accountable outcomes under the intricate conditions of algorithmic opacity.

Wong, Sut I; Bunjak, Aldijana, Černe, Matej & Fieseler, Christian (2021)

Fostering Creative Performance of Platform Crowdworkers: The Digital Feedback Dilemma

International Journal of Electronic Commerce, s. 1- 23. Doi: 10.1080/10864415.2021.1942674 - Full text in research archive

With crowdsourcing increasingly contributing to organizations’ innovative performance, it becomes more and more important for them to cultivate the creativity of their crowdsourcing communities. While digital feedback is the main, if not the only, two-way channel of communication between the platforms and the crowdworkers, little is yet known about how to use digital feedback to manage and foster the creative performance of crowdworkers. This study examines how the provision and nature of feedback, provided virtually through online interfaces, influence creative performance. We argue that the alleged positive relationship between the creative self-efficacy of crowdworkers and creative performance is conditional upon the joint effect of digital feedback valence and the degree to which crowdworkers focus on learning as achievement outcomes. We conducted a two-stage experimental study with 298 participants in a crowdsourcing setting. The results show that feedback provided in virtual settings, irrespective of whether the feedback is positive or negative, can be perceived as surveillance and thus hurt the creative performance of crowdworkers with high creative self-efficacy but low mastery goal orientation. However, the results also show that when receiving negative feedback, community members who have high creative self-efficacy and mastery goal orientation try harder in subsequent creative tasks. Accordingly, we advocate for nurturing platform cultures that emphasize both confidence in the contributor’s own competence and the abilities to learn and develop.

Buhmann, Alexander; Maltseva, Kateryna, Fieseler, Christian & Fleck, Matthes (2021)

Muzzling social media: The adverse effects of moderating stakeholder conversations online

Technology in society, 64, s. 1- 11. Doi: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101490 - Full text in research archive

Many organizations struggle to meaningfully engage with their stakeholders on political, societal and environmental topics via social media. Often such discourses unravel into splintered and negative conversations, raising the question whether organizations can and should exercise some level of control and ‘steering’ in these conversations and, if so, how stakeholders would react to such ‘top down’ moderation. Existing studies lack empirical insights into the impacts of different levels of moderation in social media conversations on stakeholder attitudes. Two experimental studies were developed to test the effect of different levels of organizational moderation on stakeholder attitudes towards organizations. We show that increased levels of moderation negatively affect attitudes towards an organization, satisfaction with an organization's performance, and trust in the organization. Increased moderation also significantly undermines beliefs in the commitment of the organization to its stakeholders and control mutuality. This paper extends recent qualitative attempts to build new theory around stakeholder dialogues on social media by testing the effects of varying levels of moderation in such dialogues.

Buhmann, Alexander & Fieseler, Christian (2021)

Towards a deliberative framework for responsible innovation in artificial intelligence

Technology in society, 64 Doi: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101475

The rapid innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) is raising concerns regarding human autonomy, agency, fairness, and justice. While responsible stewardship of innovation calls for public engagement, inclusiveness, and informed discourse, AI seemingly challenges such informed discourse by way of its opacity (poor transparency, explainability, and accountability). We apply a deliberative approach to propose a framework for responsible innovation in AI. This framework foregrounds discourse principles geared to help offset these opacity challenges. To support better public governance, we consider the mutual roles and dependencies of organizations that develop and apply AI, as well as civil society actors, and investigative media in exploring pathways for responsible AI innovation.

Wong, Sut I; Kost, Dominique & Fieseler, Christian (2021)

From crafting what you do to building resilience for career commitment in the gig economy

Human Resource Management Journal, s. 1- 18. Doi: 10.1111/1748-8583.12342 - Full text in research archive

The present study investigates how individual and collaborative job crafting may help digital labourers to build resilience and career commitment in the gig economy. Results based on a time-lagged survey from 334 digital labourers indicate that those who engaged in higher individual job crafting reported subsequently higher resilience at the outset. Moreover, high collaborative job crafting compensated for low individual crafting efforts in reaching higher resilience and subsequently higher career commitment in the gig economy. Theoretical and practical implications for sustainable careers in the gig economy are discussed.

Ana, Alacovska; Fieseler, Christian & Wong, Sut I (2020)

‘Thriving instead of surviving’: A capability approach to geographical career transitions in the creative industries

Human Relations Doi: 10.1177/0018726720956689 - Full text in research archive

This article examines career transitions in creative industries that involve geographical relocation from large metropolitan creative cities to small, remote and marginal urbanities. Drawing on 31 in-depth interviews with freelancers who have relocated to peripheral Southern European locales, the article explores the ways in which creative workers make sense of and justify their career transitions away from the metropolis, while reassessing reflexively over their lifespan the shifting meaning of their career success. We propose the adoption of Nussbaum’s capability approach in the study of such career transitions as a means of strengthening current theorizing about the role played by urban contexts in individual conceptualizations of career success and meaningful professional identities. Applying this analytical lens, we tease out the ways in which our informants perceived the influence exerted by different urban contexts on their capacity to enact a set of capabilities for the attainment of well-being and quality of life at different stages in their careers while striving to preserve a stable professional identity as creative workers. We argue that a good life evaluation, which includes a reflexive and comprehensive reassessment of the capabilities to live life well while pursuing a creative career, underlies creative workers’ shifting interpretations of geographical career transition that contravene conventional measures of career upward mobility, development and growth.

Newlands, Gemma Elisabeth Marjorie & Fieseler, Christian (2020)

#dreamjob: navigating pathways to success as an aspiring Instagram influencer

Goanta, Catalina & Ranchordás, Sofia (red.). The Regulation of Social Media Influencers

Influencer marketing is a hybrid phenomenon, merging the advertising logics of traditional celebrity endorsements with social media’s preoccupation with ‘authentic’ and self-generated consumer content. In this chapter we deconstruct the notion of influencer marketing as an achievable career goal. We highlight how the unpaid labour of aspirational influencers can be exploited to fulfil the platform-goals of data capture, as well as to fulfil the personal ambitions of more successful influencers. In addition, we explore how aspiring influencers can face barriers to participation and success, including systemic inequalities of gender, race and class, infrastructural inequalities in terms of access to influencer agencies, and algorithmic inequalities whereby social media is visibility determined by opaque and homogenizing systems. While influencer marketing is increasingly prevalent across all major social media platforms, such as YouTube, TikTok, Weibo and WeChat, this chapter will focus on influencers who predominantly use the photo- and video-sharing platform Instagram.

Bucher, Eliane; Fieseler, Christian, Lutz, Christoph & Newlands, Gemma Elisabeth Marjorie (2020)

Shaping Emotional Labor Practices in the Sharing Economy

Maurer, Indre; Mair, Johanna & Oberg, Achim (red.). Theorizing the Sharing Economy: Variety and Trajectories of New Forms of Organizing

Independent actors operating through peer-to-peer sharing economy platforms co-create service experiences, such as shared car-rides or homestays. Emotional labor among both parties, manifested in the mutual enactment of socially desirable behavior, is essential in ensuring that these experiences are successful. However, little is known about emotional labor practices and about how sharing economy platforms enforce emotional labor practices among independent actors, such as guests, hosts, drivers, or passengers. To address this research gap, we follow a mixed methods approach. We combine survey research among Airbnb and Uber users with content analysis of seven leading sharing economy platforms. The findings show that (1) users perform emotional labor despite not seeing is as necessarily desirable and (2) platforms actively encourage the performance of emotional labor practices even in the absence of direct formal control. Emotional labor practices are encouraged through (hard) design features such as mutual ratings, reward systems, and gamification, as well as through more subtle (soft) normative framing of desirable practices via platform and app guidelines, tips, community sites, or blogs. Taken together, these findings expand our understanding of the limitations of peer-to-peer sharing platforms, where control over the service experience and quality can only be enforced indirectly.

Wong, Sut I; Fieseler, Christian & Kost, Dominique (2020)

Digital labourers’ proactivity and the venture for meaningful work: Fruitful or fruitless?

Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology Doi: 10.1111/joop.12317 - Full text in research archive

Digital Labor, taking up flexible but small-scale employment arrangements on online intermediary platforms, with few constraints on how much, when, and where work is performed, are becoming the new work reality for many individuals. Scholars have argued that this type of work is inherently demeaning. We seek to explore the worker’s perspective and how their long-term perspective aligns or misaligns with their actual workarrangement. We draw on career construction theory and hypothesize a job–career congruence model suggesting that when workers’ cognitive presentations of their microwork as jobs or careers are incongruent, they are less likely to experience their work as meaningful. The results from a two-stage field study of 803 workers from two microworking platforms support the negative effect of an incongruent job–career schema on workers’ experience of meaningful work. Additionally, results demonstrate that even workers who are proactive in nature, seem unable to excel in these fluid work settings when their job-career schema are not aligned.

Connelly, Catherine; Fieseler, Christian, Černe, Matej, Giessner, Steffen Robert & Wong, Sut I (2020)

Working in the digitized economy: HRM theory & practice

Human Resource Management Review Doi: 10.1016/j.hrmr.2020.100762 - Full text in research archive

In our introduction to this special issue on the gig economy, we provide some context to how and why this phenomenon should be studied, with a particular emphasis on Human Resource Management. We then describe the four articles that comprise the special issue, and we note some common themes. Our introduction concludes with some suggestions for future research on the gig economy.

Kost, Dominique; Fieseler, Christian & Wong, Sut I (2020)

Boundaryless careers in the gig economy: An oxymoron?

Human Resource Management Journal, 30(1), s. 100- 113. Doi: 10.1111/1748-8583.12265 - Full text in research archive

Advocates of the boundaryless career perspective have relied to a great extent on the assumption that actors take responsibility for their own career development and that they consequently take charge of developing their career competencies. In this provocation piece, we debate the obstructions to and potential ways to promote boundaryless careers in the gig economy, which—despite appearing on the surface to offer suitable conditions for boundaryless careers—suffers from numerous conditions that hinder such careers. Thus, boundaryless careers in the gig economy could be an oxymoron. In particular, we conjecture that intraorganisational and interorganisational career boundaries restrict gig workers' development of relevant career competencies and thus limit their mobility. We then put forward the notion that we have to consider moving away from traditional, employer‐centric human resource management and introduce new forms of network‐based and self‐organised human resource management practices (in the form of collaborative communities of practice) in order to diminish these boundaries.

Buhmann, Alexander; Paßmann, Johannes & Fieseler, Christian (2020)

Managing Algorithmic Accountability: Balancing Reputational Concerns, Engagement Strategies, and the Potential of Rational Discourse

Journal of Business Ethics, 163(2), s. 265- 280. Doi: 10.1007/s10551-019-04226-4 - Full text in research archive

While organizations today make extensive use of complex algorithms, the notion of algorithmic accountability remains an elusive ideal due to the opacity and fluidity of algorithms. In this article, we develop a framework for managing algorithmic accountability that highlights three interrelated dimensions: reputational concerns, engagement strategies, and discourse principles. The framework clarifies (a) that accountability processes for algorithms are driven by reputational concerns about the epistemic setup, opacity, and outcomes of algorithms; (b) that the way in which organizations practically engage with emergent expectations about algorithms may be manipulative, adaptive, or moral; and (c) that when accountability relationships are heavily burdened by the opacity and fluidity of complex algorithmic systems, the emphasis of engagement should shift to a rational communication process through which a continuous and tentative assessment of the development, workings, and consequences of algorithms can be achieved over time. The degree to which such engagement is, in fact, rational can be assessed based on four discourse-ethical principles of participation, comprehension, multivocality, and responsiveness. We conclude that the framework may help organizations and their environments to jointly work toward greater accountability for complex algorithms. It may further help organizations in reputational positioning surrounding accountability issues. The discourse-ethical principles introduced in this article are meant to elevate these positioning contests to extend beyond mere adaption or compliance and help guide organizations to find moral and forward-looking solutions to accountability issues.

Etter, Michael; Fieseler, Christian & Whelan, Glen (2019)

Sharing Economy, Sharing Responsibility? Corporate Social Responsibility in the Digital Age

Journal of Business Ethics, 159(4), s. 935- 942. Doi: 10.1007/s10551-019-04212-w - Full text in research archive

The sharing economy has transformed economic transactions, created new organizational forms, and contributed to changes in consumer culture. Started as a movement with promises of a more sustainable, democratic, and inclusive economy, the sharing economy, and its impact on issues such as privacy, discrimination, worker rights, and regulation, is now the subject of heated debate. Many of these issues root in the changes that digital technologies have brought and the unresolved moral and ethical questions emerging therefrom. This special issue contributes to this ongoing debate with five articles that develop theoretical frameworks and conduct empirical investigations, providing fine-grained analyses of urgent issues in the sharing economy. In this article, we highlight these and other issues that we believe deserve further attention from business ethics scholarship.

Bucher, Eliane; Fieseler, Christian & Lutz, Christoph (2019)

Mattering in Digital Labor

Journal of Managerial Psychology, 34(4), s. 307- 324. Doi: 10.1108/JMP-06-2018-0265 - Full text in research archive

Purpose: Online gig labor platforms bring together a global and fast-growing workforce to complete highly granular, remote and decontextualized tasks. While these environments might be empowering to some workers, many others feel disenfranchised and removed from the final product of their labor. To better understand the antecedents of continued participation in forms of crowdsourced digital labor, we explore the relationship between worker’s ability to create a narrative of their work mattering regardless, and their continued work engagement in these work setups. Design: We approach the relationship between individual mattering and digital work engagement through a longitudinal study among workers on the crowdworking platform Amazon Mechanical Turk. We further provide qualitative insight into individual perceptions of mattering based on essay data. Findings: We develop a measure of mattering in crowdworking with four dimensions: reliance, social recognition, importance, and interaction. Reliance is the most pronounced dimension, followed by interaction, importance and social recognition. In the final longitudinal model, only importance affects work engagement positively, while the other three mattering dimension do not have a significant effect. Originality: The findings indicate that individuals who feel that they themselves and their work ‘count’ and ‘make a difference’ will be more engaged in their digital labor. By clarifying the dimensionality of mattering in crowdwork and studying its differentiated effect on work engagement, the paper makes a contribution to research on crowdwork and the future of work. Beyond the theoretical contributions, the finding that perceived importance fosters work engagement has important implications for task and platform design.

Newlands, Gemma Elisabeth Marjorie; Lutz, Christoph & Fieseler, Christian (2019)

Trading on the Unknown: Scenarios for the Future Value of Data

Law & Ethics of Human Rights, 13(1), s. 97- 114. Doi: 10.1515/lehr-2019-0004 - Full text in research archive

In this article, we explore the practices of extensive data collection among sharing economy platforms, highlighting how the unknown future value of big data creates an ethical problem for a fair exchange relationship between companies and users. Specifically, we present a typology with four scenarios related to the future value of data. In the remainder of the article, we first describe the status quo of data collection practices in the sharing economy, followed by a discussion of the value-generating affordances of big data. We then introduce the typology of four scenarios for the future value of data. Finally, the paper concludes with a short discussion on the implications of information asymmetries for a fair exchange process.

Newlands, Gemma Elisabeth Marjorie; Lutz, Christoph & Fieseler, Christian (2019)

The Conditioning Function of Rating Mechanisms for Consumers in the Sharing Economy

Internet Research, 29(5), s. 1090- 1108. Doi: 10.1108/INTR-03-2018-0134

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how rating mechanisms encourage emotional labor norms among sharing economy consumers. Design/methodology/approach – This study follows a mixed-methods research design. Survey data from 207 consumers were used to quantify the impact of three distinct rating dimensions on a consumer behavioral outcome (emotional labor). In the second step, 18 focus groups with 94 participants were used to investigate the conditioning functions of ratings in more depth. Findings – Rating mechanisms condition consumers toward performing socially desirable behaviors during sharing transactions. While consumers accept the necessity of bilateral rating mechanisms, they also recognize their coercive nature. Furthermore, the presence of bilateral rating mechanisms leads to negative outcomes such as annoyance and frustration. Originality/value – This study contributes to sharing economy literature by examining bilateral rating mechanisms as a means of behavioral conditioning for consumers. This study points to improvements in platform design and informs theory on tripartite markets as well as trust.

Maltseva, Kateryna; Fieseler, Christian & Trittin, Hannah (2018)

The challenges of gamifying CSR communication.

Corporate Communications. An International Journal, 24(1), s. 44- 62. Doi: 10.1108/CCIJ-09-2018-0092

Purpose A growing number of research report positive effects of gamification, that is the introduction of game elements to non-game contexts, on stakeholder intentions and behaviors. Hence, gamification is proposed as an effective tool for organizations to educate their stakeholders about corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability-related topics. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors ask whether gamification can communicate matters of social and environmental concern. Based on three consecutive experimental studies, the authors show that there are boundary conditions to the effectiveness of gamified communication on stakeholder attitude, intention and behavior. Findings The authors find positive, negative and insignificant effects of gamification on pro-environmental attitude, intention and behavior. Based on these ambiguous results, the authors conclude with a call for more rigorous forms of designing gamified experiences to foster stakeholder learning and highlight and develop several such future research and engagement opportunities. Originality/value The study is the first to apply gamification to the context of corporate and in particular CSR communication. It is furthermore one of the first studies that actually research the effects of gamification empirically, and in controlled experimental conditions.

Wong, Sut I & Fieseler, Christian (2018)

Making the digital transformation work

Sasson, Amir (red.). At the Forefront, Looking Ahead: Research-Based Answers to Contemporary Uncertainties of Management

Hannah, Trittin; Fieseler, Christian & Maltseva, Kateryna (2018)

The Serious and the Mundane: Reflections on Gamified CSR Communication

Journal of Management Inquiry Doi: 10.1177/1056492618790920

We debate the strategic application of game elements to corporate messaging regarding societal and ecological concerns. We propose that gamified corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication is potentially well suited to create attention and involvement for corporate CSR initiatives. However, we argue that many gamification applications undermine their purpose and increase stakeholder suspicions about CSR. By debating the potential benefits and risks of gamified CSR communication, we aim to open the scholarly debate on the appropriateness of gamification in CSR.

Newlands, Gemma Elisabeth Marjorie; Lutz, Christoph & Fieseler, Christian (2018)

Collective Action and Provider Classification in the Sharing Economy

New technology, work and employment, 33(3), s. 250- 267. Doi: 10.1111/ntwe.12119

Conditions in the sharing economy are often favourably designed for consumers and platforms but entail new challenges for the labour side, such as substandard social-security and rigid forms of algorithmic management. Since comparatively little is known about how providers in the sharing economy make their voices heard collectively, we investigate their opinions and behaviours regarding collective action and perceived solidarities. Using cluster analysis on representative data from across twelve European countries, we determine five distinct types of labour-activists, ranging from those opposed to any forms of collective action to those enthusiastic to organise and correct perceived wrongs. We conclude by conjecturing that the still-ongoing influx of new providers, the difficulty of organising in purely virtual settings, combined with the narrative of voluntariness of participation and hedonic gratifications might be responsible for the inaction of large parts of the provider base in collectivist activities.

Lutz, Christoph; Newlands, Gemma Elisabeth Marjorie & Fieseler, Christian (2018)

Emotional Labor in the Sharing Economy

Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), s. 636- 645. Doi: 10.24251/HICSS.2018.081

The peer-to-peer nature of the sharing economy encourages participants to alter their behavior in ways that resemble traditional notions of emotional labor. A key element in this shift lies in the coercive nature of feedback mechanisms which condition both providers and consumers to perform emotional labor during service encounters. Using survey data from 207 sharing economy consumers in the US, we show how different facets of the feedback mechanisms employed by sharing economy services influence consumers’ emotional labor. In addition, we show how platforms and their policies matter in encouraging emotional labor, indicating the need to analyze the topic on a fine-grained level. We conclude by deriving propositions for future research and practical recommendations.

Kost, Dominique; Fieseler, Christian & Wong, Sut I (2018)

Finding Meaning in a Hopeless Place? The Construction of Meaningfulness in Digital Microwork

Computers in Human Behavior, 82(May), s. 101- 110. Doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2018.01.002 - Full text in research archive

New forms of employment centered on the completion of simple and atomized tasks, such as online microwork, raise the question of the possible gratifications that could be derived from such work when compared to more traditional labor arrangements. Our research presented here focuses on how microworkers construct meaningfulness, based on the accounts of workers on the crowdsourcing platform Amazon Mechanical Turk. We draw upon a relational job design perspective to explore why microworkers experience meaningfulness in their work. We found four sources of meaningfulness: rewards, self-improvement, moral, and social. These four sources vary in the degree to which they were internal or external in focus, and in their level of rationalization (concrete or abstract). This may explain why such types of employment are appealing despite a lack of organizational-support structures and points to the need to better understand cue provision in virtual, platform-enabled work settings.

Bucher, Eliane; Fieseler, Christian, Fleck, Matthes & Lutz, Christoph (2018)

Authenticity and the Sharing Economy

Academy of Management Discoveries, 4(3), s. 294- 313. Doi: 10.5465/amd.2016.0161 - Full text in research archive

Based on a qualitative interview-study as well as on a quantitative survey among users of the room sharing platform Airbnb, we show that situational closeness between sharing economy consumers and providers may prompt instances of interpersonal contamination which in turn negatively impact reviewer behaviour and intention to engage in room sharing in the future. However, we also show that authenticity plays a significant alleviating role in shaping such closeness perceptions. Users whose sense of authenticity is evoked in their sharing experiences are significantly less bothered by negative instances of interpersonal closeness and are thus more liable to use sharing services. Our results point to the integral nature of both authenticity and the invocation of notions of authenticity for sharing business models who are reliant, by their very nature, on alleviating the imperfections of amateur production.

Müller, Severina; Fieseler, Christian, Meckel, Miriam & Suphan, Anne (2018)

Time Well Wasted? Online Procrastination During Times of Unemployment

Social science computer review, 36(3), s. 263- 276. Doi: 10.1177/0894439317715716 - Full text in research archive

This article examines the argument regarding whether perceived social exclusion during unemployment leads to procrastination through online media, which in turn lessens the job search efforts of the unemployed. Based on data from 386 unemployed Internet users, we argue that online procrastination plays an important role in the lives of the unemployed but has no immediate effects on their perceived job search efforts. Contextual factors play an important role; that is, the amount of motivational control that the unemployed can muster exerts a strong effect on job search efforts. Generally, unemployed Internet users with low motivational control struggle more with their job search efforts. Thus, the recreational use of online media as such is not necessarily detrimental to the efforts invested in finding a job; instead, online skill-building and motivational support are key antecedents to better empower the unemployed to use the Internet productively for finding reemployment.

Lutz, Christoph; Hoffmann, Christian Pieter, Bucher, Eliane & Fieseler, Christian (2018)

The Role of Privacy Concerns in the Sharing Economy

Information, Communication & Society, 21(10), s. 1472- 1492. Doi: 10.1080/1369118X.2017.1339726 - Full text in research archive

Internet-mediated sharing is growing quickly. Millions of users around the world share personal services and possessions with others—often complete strangers. Shared goods can amount to substantial financial and immaterial value. Despite this, little research has investigated privacy in the sharing economy. To fill this gap, we examine the sharing-privacy nexus by exploring the privacy threats associated with Internet-mediated sharing. Given the popularity of sharing services, users seem quite willing to share goods and services despite the compounded informational and physical privacy threats associated with such sharing. We develop and test a framework for analyzing the effect of privacy concerns on sharing that considers institutional and social privacy threats, trust and social-hedonic as well as monetary motives.

Fieseler, Christian; Maltseva, Kateryna & Hoffman, Christian (2017)

Hedonic Stakeholder Engagement. Bridging the Online Participation Gap Through Gamification.

Lindgreen, Adam; Vanhamme, Joëlle & Watkins, Rebecca (red.). Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility in the Digital Era

Hoffmann, Christian Pieter & Fieseler, Christian (2017)

Shareholder Activism and the New Role of Investor Relations

Laskin, Alexander (red.). The Handbook of Financial Communication and Investor Relations

Fieseler, Christian; Bucher, Eliane & Hoffmann, Christian Pieter (2017)

Unfairness by Design? The Perceived Fairness of Digital Labor on Crowdworking Platforms

Journal of Business Ethics, s. 1- 19. Doi: 10.1007/s10551-017-3607-2 - Full text in research archive

Based on a qualitative survey among 203 US workers active on the microwork platform Amazon Mechanical Turk, we analyze potential biases embedded in the institutional setting provided by on-demand crowdworking platforms and their effect on perceived workplace fairness. We explore the triadic relationship between employers, workers, and platform providers, focusing on the power of platform providers to design settings and processes that affect workers’ fairness perceptions. Our focus is on workers’ awareness of the new institutional setting, frames applied to the mediating platform, and a differentiated analysis of distinct fairness dimensions.

Bucher, Eliane & Fieseler, Christian (2017)

The Flow of Digital Labor

New Media & Society, 19(11), s. 1868- 1886. Doi: 10.1177/1461444816644566 - Full text in research archive

Digital microwork is a type of labor that many—typically poorly paid—workers engage in. In our research, we focus on an experience-based model of digital labor and the nonmonetary benefits derived from such activities. Based on a survey of 701 workers at Amazon Mechanical Turk, we demonstrate that experiences during digital labor sequences generate flow-like states of immersion. We show that reaching flow-like states while performing microwork depends on certain work characteristics, such as the particular worker’s degree of autonomy, the extent to which a worker’s skills are utilized, and the apparent significance of and feedback derived from the task. The results both highlight the importance of flow-like immersion in explaining why individuals engage in digital labor projects and point to avenues that can lead to the design of better digital work experiences.

Bucher, Eliane; Fieseler, Christian & Lutz, Christoph (2016)

What's mine is yours (for a nominal fee) – Exploring the spectrum of utilitarian to altruistic motives for Internet-mediated sharing

Computers in Human Behavior, 62, s. 316- 326. Doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2016.04.002

In this contribution, we scrutinize the diverse motives for internet-mediated sharing as well as their role in shaping attitudes towards sharing one's possessions in commercialized as well as non-commercialized settings. On the basis of qualitative and quantitative research, we first develop a scale of sharing motives, showing that the reasons for participating in online sharing platforms are more nuanced than previously thought. Second, employing a motivational model of sharing, rooted in the theory of planned behavior, we show that sharing attitudes are driven by moral, social-hedonic and monetary motivations. Furthermore, we identify materialism, sociability and volunteering as predictors of sharing motives in different sharing contexts. Against this background, we explore the possible role of monetary incentives as a necessary but not sufficient condition for sharing one's possessions with others

Fieseler, Christian; Hoffmann, Christian Pieter & Meckel, Miriam (2016)

Eine Kultur der Innovation: Die Bedeutung von Innovationsnetzwerken

Hoffmann, Christian Pieter (red.). Business Innovation: Das St. Galler Modell

Hoffman, Christian; Brønn, Peggy Simcic & Fieseler, Christian (2016)

A good reputation: Protection against shareholder activism

Corporate Reputation Review, 19(1), s. 35- 46. Doi: 10.1057/crr.2015.27

Fieseler, Christian & Ranzini, Giulia (2015)

The networked communications manager : A typology of managerial social media impression management tactics

Corporate Communications. An International Journal, 20(4), s. 500- 517. Doi: 10.1108/CCIJ-02-2015-0009

Fieseler, Christian; Lutz, Christoph & Meckel, Miriam (2015)

An inquiry into the transformation of the PR roles’ concept

Corporate Communications. An International Journal, 20(1), s. 76- 89. Doi: 10.1108/CCIJ-02-2014-0013

Fieseler, Christian; Meckel, Miriam & Müller, Severina (2014)

With a little help of my peers. The supportive role of online contacts for the unemployed

Computers in Human Behavior, 41, s. 164- 176. Doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2014.09.017 - Full text in research archive

Fieseler, Christian; Meckel, Miriam & Ranzini, Giulia (2014)

Professional Personae - How Organizational Identification Shapes Online Identity in the Workplace

Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 20(2), s. 153- 170. Doi: 10.1111/jcc4.12103

Feuls, Miriam; Fieseler, Christian, Meckel, Miriam & Suphan, Anne (2014)

Being Unemployed in the Age of Social Media

New Media & Society, 18(6), s. 944- 965. Doi: 10.1177/1461444814552637 - Full text in research archive

This article reports the results of a stratified sample survey of 2414 unemployed individuals in Germany regarding Internet usage, accompanied by a small sample of qualitative interviews and time-use diaries. The Internet serves as a structuring device for individuals during unemployment and helps such individuals maintain social contacts; it fills time with activities for the unemployed that are meaningful from a normative perspective and are perceived subjectively as a good use of time. The Internet enables degrees of interaction that would otherwise not be possible because of financial difficulties. The research suggests that expanded interaction on the Internet for the unemployed would likely be beneficial.

Fieseler, Christian; Grubenmann, Stephanie, Müller, Severina & Meckel, Miriam (2014)

The Leadership Dimension of Coping with Technostress

Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), s. 530- 539. Doi: 10.1109/HICSS.2014.73

One pathway to alleviate the consequences of technology-induced stress may lie in the role that supervisors may or may not play in mitigating the negative consequences of ICT usage. Based on survey research with 491 salespersons using ICT in their work environment, and tested with structural equation modeling, we discuss the impact of two forms of leadership on individual and organizational outcomes. We differentiate between supervisor influence on ICT use and general leadership, and their influence on ICT-strain (i.e. techno stress) as well as on general strain (i.e. work exhaustion). The data show that, in the context of ICT-induced stress, leadership has a significant compensatory influence on work exhaustion and on job satisfaction. The results lead us to the interpretation that leadership constitutes a potential further instrument to ease the negative outcomes of ICT usage in work contexts, and to propose further study into the role of ICT specific supervisor influence.

Feuls, Miriam; Fieseler, Christian & Suphan, Anne (2014)

A social net? Internet and social media use during unemployment

Work, Employment and Society, 28(4), s. 551- 570. Doi: 10.1177/0950017013519846 - Full text in research archive

Many people who are unemployed tend to experience forms of psychological and social losses, including a weakened time structure, diminished social contacts, an absence of collective purpose, falling status, and inactivity. This article focuses on the experience of diminished social contacts and addresses whether social media help the unemployed maintain their relationships. Based on qualitative interviews with unemployed individuals, the article identifies various types of social support networks and their impact on individual experiences of inclusion and exclusion. Although the unemployed use social media to cultivate their social support networks, the opportunity to establish new contacts, both private and professional, is underutilized. Thus, social network differentiation between the unemployed and employed persists online in social media.

Bucher, Eliane; Buhmann, Alexander & Fieseler, Christian (2020)

Responsibility Attributions in the Age of Algorithmization: New Challenges for Reputation Management

[Academic lecture]. 69th ICA Annual Conference.

Buhmann, Alexander & Fieseler, Christian (2020)

Deep learning meets deep democracy: The prospects and challenges of deliberation for responsible innovation in AI

[Academic lecture]. 36th EGOS Colloquium.

Alacovska, Ana; Booth, Peter & Fieseler, Christian (2020)

The Role of the Arts in the Digital Transformation

[Report]. Artsformation Report Series.

Boons, Mark; Fieseler, Christian, Lutz, Christoph & Stanoevska-Slabeva, Katarina (2020)

How Cooperative Behaviors Activate Members to Submit Ideas on Crowdsourcing Platforms for Innovation

[Academic lecture]. Academy of Management Annual Meeting.

Crowd-based platform organizations critically depend for their success on the willingness of their registered members to participate and perform in tasks, such as idea generation and innovative problem solving. A widely held assumption is that these platform organizations are successful, because they have such large member bases. For any given task, even though they might require specialist capabilities, someone within the ranks of their members will be able to perform it well. In reality, however, only a fraction of the crowd actively engages with tasks and if that, then in most cases, only for a limited period of time before phasing out of active participation. Crowdsourcing platforms therefore in effect depend heavily on a comparatively small number of active members. In this study, we aim to uncover these dynamics and investigate how members’ experiences with cooperative behaviors on a platform affect their willingness to continue to participate and perform for the platform organization over time. Specifically, we explore how their own commenting and rating behaviors and that of other members affect members’ idea submission behavior over time. Based on the longitudinal analysis of the activity of more than 11,000 crowd members over a period of 9 years, we show that engaging in commenting behavior makes members more likely to start submitting ideas and to continue to do so over a longer period of time."

Lombana Bermudez, Andres; Cortesi, Sandra, Fieseler, Christian, Gasser, Urs, Hasse, Alexa, Newlands, Gemma Elisabeth Marjorie & Wu, Sarah (2020)

Youth and the Digital Economy: Exploring Youth Practices, Motivations, Skills, Pathways, and Value Creation

[Report]. Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society.

Young people’s lives are increasingly shaped by digital technologies. While significant digital divides and participation gaps remain, an increasing number of young people around the globe participate in and contribute to the digitally networked environment in many forms, ranging from creative expression on social media to interactive gaming and collaboration. This spotlight explores young people’s digital engagement through the lens of the digital economy and seeks to gain an initial understanding of youth’s practices, motivations, skills, pathways, and modes of value creation as they interact with a digital environment in which the boundaries between the commercial and personal spheres, between work and play, are often blurring. The spotlight summarizes key insights from a trans-Atlantic exploratory research collaboration between Youth and Media at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and the Nordic Centre for Internet and Society at BI Norwegian Business School. In addition to sketching building blocks toward a framework, the paper brings together three essays that explore in different application contexts both the opportunities and challenges that surface when young people engage with and participate in the digital economy.

Buhmann, Alexander & Fieseler, Christian (2020)

Kunstig intelligens gir omdømmerisiko

[Popular scientific article]. Communication for Leaders

Buhmann, Alexander; Bucher, Eliane & Fieseler, Christian (2019)

Organizational responsibility in the age of algorithmization

[Academic lecture]. CSR Communication Conference.

Buhmann, Alexander & Fieseler, Christian (2019)

Tackling the Grand Challenge of Algorithmic Opacity Pragmatically: The Need for Communicative Principles in Robust Action Strategies

[Academic lecture]. Society for Business Ethics Annual Meetin.

Buhmann, Alexander & Fieseler, Christian (2019)

Tackling sustainability challenges through digitally enabled forms of organizing: The constitutive role of communication

[Academic lecture]. CSR Communication Conference.

Boons, Mark; Bavato, Davide & Fieseler, Christian (2019)

Nurturing Novelty: Understanding, Developing, and Evaluating Novel Ideas

[Academic lecture]. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management.

Wong, Sut I; Kost, Dominique & Fieseler, Christian (2019)

From Crafting What You Do to Building Resilience for a Crowdwork Career

[Academic lecture]. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management.

Buhmann, Alexander; Fieseler, Christian, Maltseva, Kateryna & Fleck, Matthes (2018)

Controlling conversations: the effects of moderation strategies in online stakeholder dialogues

[Academic lecture]. EUPRERA international congress.

Buhmann, Alexander; Passmann, Johannes & Fieseler, Christian (2018)

Algorithmic management: addressing the emerging challenge in organizational accountability

[Academic lecture]. EUPRERA international congress.

Wong, Sut I; Kost, Dominique & Fieseler, Christian (2018)

Meaningful Work and Subjective Well-Being: The Role of Job-Career (In) congruence in the Gig Economy

[Academic lecture]. Academy of Management Annual Conference.

Flexible employment arrangements on multiple online intermediary platforms with few constraints as to how much, when and where work is performed is becoming the new work reality for many individuals. Arguments have been advanced that this type of work is inherently demeaning. In this article, we seek to explore the worker perspective regarding whether these types of gig labor arrangements are regarded as limited jobs or more as long-term careers. We draw on career construction theory and hypothesize a job-career congruence model that suggests that when workers’ cognitive presentation of their gig work as jobs or careers are incongruent, they are less likely to experience their work as meaningful and subsequently experience lower subjective well-being. The results from a two-stage field study of 803 workers from two different crowdsourcing platforms support these incongruent relationships and provides clarity regarding how gig work factors in to an individual’s life. In addition, we demonstrate that workers who are proactive in nature seem to excel more in these fluid work settings, which points to the necessity of self-leadership in such work arrangements to ensure prosperity.

Newlands, Gemma Elisabeth Marjorie; Lutz, Christoph & Fieseler, Christian (2018)

Between Pressure and Flexibility: Provider Scheduling in the Sharing Economy

[Academic lecture]. 5th International Conference on Management and Organization.

The sharing economy offers individuals various opportunities to generate additional income through sharing their personal possessions with strangers. The flexibility promised by sharing platforms , to share when and how often individuals prefer, has been highlighted as the key advantage of the sharing economy model. However, for sharing platforms which rely on ongoing and reliable sharing among private individuals, a tension can be observed between platforms encouraging and discouraging this flexibility. Simultaneously, the ostensible flexibility and informality of the sharing economy must increasingly reconcile itself with the reality of overwork and full-time engagement, whereby individuals may face pressure to provide a mixture of platform and individual factors. In this contribution, we conduct an initial exploration into this tension between flexibility and pressure in the sharing economy. Using data across twelve European countries, we differentiate perceptions of flexibility and control among those who share their assets. The findings indicate that perceived pressure to provide varies by country, sharing frequency, motivation, most frequently used platform, and is based on whether individuals depend on the income from sharing. Perceived schedule control varies by age, education, country , and motivation. Taken together, the results show a picture where those most involved and dependent on sharing their assets feel the most pressured, while young, lesser educated providers also have least perceived schedule control. Thus, our study presents providing in the sharing economy as a more hierarchical activity than one might assume based on media and platform narratives.

Bucher, Eliane; Fieseler, Christian, Lutz, Christoph & Newlands, Gemma Elisabeth Marjorie (2018)

Managing Emotional Labor in the Sharing Economy

[Academic lecture]. Academy of Management Annual Meeting.

In the sharing economy, independent actors routinely get together to co-create service experi-ences. Here, emotional labor plays a central role in creating successful encounters. Little is known about how organizations in the sharing economy instill emotional labor practices among actors outside their direct sphere of influence. Based on a mixed methods approach which combines survey research and correspondence analysis with content analysis, we show first how both providers (hosts, drivers) and consumers (guests, passengers) of the sharing economy engage in emotional labor for the benefit of the overall quality of the sharing experi-ence. Second, we argue that platforms as facilitators of the exchange relationship actively encourage such emotional labor practices – even in the absence of direct formal power – through (hard) design features such as mutual ratings, reward systems and gamification, and through more subtle (soft) normative framing of desirable practices via platform and app guidelines, tips, community sites or blogs.

Newlands, Gemma Elisabeth Marjorie; Lutz, Christoph & Fieseler, Christian (2018)

Regulation and Fairness in the Sharing Economy

[Academic lecture]. AOM Specialized Conference: Big Data and Managing in a Digital Economy.

Sharing economy platforms frame a dichotomy between innovation and regulation. Current discussions surrounding the merits and desirability of regulatory oversight, among policy makers, academics, and platform advocates, are nevertheless conducted in a top-down fashion on both sides. What is often left out is the user perspective. We suggest that one of the most fun-damental shapers of a users perspective on regulation is their own experiences of the sharing economy. A key factor in user experience is perceived fairness. In this contribution, we inves-tigate how the perceived fairness of a platform can impact regulatory desirability among users, based on a survey in 12 European countries. We find that procedural fairness has a positive effect on the desire for regulation, while interactional fairness has a negative one.

Newlands, Gemma Elisabeth Marjorie; Lutz, Christoph & Fieseler, Christian (2018)

Algorithmic Management in the Sharing Economy

[Academic lecture]. AOM Specialized Conference: Big Data and Managing in a Digital Economy.

Sharing economy platforms have contributed to the global economy by opening up previously un-tapped sources of income. However, the on-demand nature of many dominant sharing economy platforms problematizes accompanying narratives of provider agency, autonomy, and self-determination. Through a tripartite system of algorithmic management, namely surveillance, prohibitive architectures, and behavioural nudging, platforms have been accused of leveraging managerial control over their providers. To broaden the picture, we present the results of a survey study across 12 European countries. Results indicate that a substantial minority of providers feel they have to provide more often than they would like and lack control over the parameters of their sharing participation. Uber drivers, providers in Italy, and those motivated by social benefits are particularly vulnerable to algorithmic pressure.

Lutz, Christoph; Newlands, Gemma Elisabeth Marjorie & Fieseler, Christian (2018)

Class-Consciousness in the Sharing Economy

[Academic lecture]. AOM Specialized Conference: Big Data and Managing in a Digital Economy.

The professed ethos of collaboration among the sharing economy does not extend to the provider base, who largely offer their services in a distributed and disconnected fashion. Sharing platforms, which mediate between users, neither enable nor encourage interaction between providers, restricting a sense of provider class-consciousness and the fundamental first steps towards collective action. Providers, separated both through platform narratives and architectures, nevertheless do variably take part in collective action, such as online communication and even attempted unions. In this study, we addressed the topic of collective action and class-consciousness among the heterogeneous provider base of the sharing economy, using a cluster analysis to determine four distinct clusters: Self-Oriented Pragmatists, Collective Action Enthusiasts, Modern Collectivists, and Collective Action Opponents.

Newlands, Gemma Elisabeth Marjorie; Lutz, Christoph & Fieseler, Christian (2018)

Recommendations for the Sharing Economy: (Re-)Balancing Power

[Report]. Social Science Research Network (SSRN).

This report, ‘Recommendations for the Sharing Economy: (Re-)Balancing Power’, forms one element of a European Union Horizon 2020 Research Project on the sharing economy: Ps2Share ‘Participation, Privacy, and Power in the Sharing Economy’. It presents a set of 25 recommendations for five key stakeholders in the sharing economy: providers, consumers, platforms, educators, and policy makers. This report focuses on aspects of power in the sharing economy, addressing topics such as ratings and reviews, regulation, social responsibility, information asymmetries, transparency, algorithms, narratives, and communication. It aims at providing a roadmap for a more balanced and equitable sharing economy, particularly in Europe.

Maltseva, Kateryna; Fieseler, Christian & Trittin, Hannah (2017)

Testing the Effectiveness of Gamified CSR Communication on Pro-Environmental Behavior

[Academic lecture]. 4th CSRCOM Conference.

Maltseva, Kateryna; Matthes, Fleck & Fieseler, Christian (2017)

Inclusiveness and Moderation in Social Media Dialogues

[Academic lecture]. 19th Annual EUPRERA Congress.

Newlands, Gemma Elisabeth Marjorie; Lutz, Christoph & Fieseler, Christian (2017)

Power in the Sharing Economy: European Perspectives

[Report]. Social Science Research Network.

This report, ‘Power in the Sharing Economy: European Perspectives’, forms one element of a European Union Horizon 2020 Research Project on the sharing economy: Ps2Share ‘Participation, Privacy, and Power in the Sharing Economy’. Within the survey and in the following report, we addressed various items towards four distinct sub-categories of Europeans (N=6111): Consumers, Providers, Aware Non-Users, and Non-Aware Non-Users. To present a more fine-grained overview of the perceived power-dynamics, we also provide deeper insights into the results on a cross-country level, as well as analyzing demographic and platform differences. The first section of the report focuses on the Peer-to-Peer Relationships which form the foundation of the sharing economy. Aspects covered in this section include emotional labor, perceived interpersonal treatment, and feedback systems. The second section of the report focuses on the Peer-to-Platform Relationships. This section addresses the role of the sharing platforms in establishing and maintaining power asymmetries, covering aspects such as dispute resolution mechanisms, terms and conditions, pricing, algorithmic control, and collective action. The final section provides a more macro-approach to power dynamics, focusing on the Platform-to-Society Relationships. This includes elements such as regulation and platform narratives.

Wong, Sut I; Černe, Matej, Fieseler, Christian & Bunjak, Aldijana (2017)

When creative efficacy is being challenged: The relationship between feedback valence and creative performance for crowdworkers

[Academic lecture]. EAWOP.

Giessner, Steffen Robert; Wong, Sut I, Fieseler, Christian, van Baalen, Christoph & Roufanis, Vasilis (2017)

How to implement new ways of work to increase organizational attractiveness

[Academic lecture]. EAWOP.

Wong, Sut I; Černe, Matej, Fieseler, Christian & Connelly, Catherine (2017)

Working in the Digitized Economy. HRM Theory & Practice

[Academic lecture]. Academy of Management Annual Meeting.

Kost, Dominique; Fieseler, Christian & Wong, Sut I (2017)

Micro-Entrepreneurs and the Art of Life-Crafting

[Academic lecture]. 7th Community, Work & Family Conference.

Kost, Dominique; Fieseler, Christian & Wong, Sut I (2017)

Now that we are all here – The effect of task- and relationship-focused leadership behaviors on co-presence and performance in virtual teams

[Academic lecture]. EAWOP.

Wong, Sut I; Kost, Dominique & Fieseler, Christian (2017)

Collaborative Crafting in Pursuit of a Career. The Case of Crowdworkers in the Gig Economy

[Academic lecture]. Academy of Management Annual Meeting.

Newlands, Gemma Elisabeth Marjorie; Lutz, Christoph & Fieseler, Christian (2017)

Power in the Sharing Economy

[Report]. Social Science Research Network.

This paper gives an in-depth overview of the topic of power in the sharing economy. It forms one part of a European Union Horizon 2020 Research Project on the sharing economy: "Ps2Share: Participation, Privacy, and Power in the Sharing Economy". We aim to foster better awareness of the consequences which the sharing economy has on the way people behave, think, interact, and socialize across Europe. Our overarching objective is to identify key challenges of the sharing economy and improve Europe's digital services through providing recommendations to Europe's institutions. The initial stage of this research project involves a set of three literature reviews of the state of research on three core topics in relation to the sharing economy: participation (1), privacy (2), and power (3). This piece is a literature review on the topic of power. It addresses three core topics related to power: voice and feedback mechanisms, algorithms, and regulation.

Fieseler, Christian; Kateryna, Maltseva & Hannah, Trittin (2017)

Testing the Effectiveness of Gamified CSR Communication on Pro-Environmental Behavior

[Academic lecture]. 33rd EGOS Colloquium, Copenhagen 2017.

Existing research suggests that CSR communication is a delicate matter and a key challenge is to minimize stakeholder skepticism and to convey intrinsic motives in an organization’s CSR activities, in order to motivate stakeholders to get involved in CSR activities. Initial theoretical studies suggest that gamification is a suitable way to overcome these obstacles and to attract stakeholder attention to corporate messages on CSR. In contrast to other, more traditional forms of CSR communication, gamification provides a subtle and less direct form of communication which raises stakeholder awareness in an unobtrusive manner for CSR-related issues. In other words, gamified CSR communication is viewed as a suitable way to change stakeholder perceptions, which is a necessary precondition for changes in the stakeholders’ behavior towards further pro-social or pro-environmental behavior. However, the underlying psychological mechanisms responsible for such an effect of gamification largely remain empirically untested. This is the focus of this study.

Fieseler, Christian; Bucher, Eliane & Lutz, Christoph (2017)

Alone in the Crowd – Alienation in Digital Labor

[Academic lecture]. 33rd EGOS Colloquium, Copenhagen 2017.

On the basis of a survey among 804 workers on the crowdsourcing platform Amazon Mechanical Turk, we show that (1) alienation, a form of detachment from working life, in the form of powerlessness, meaninglessness, normlessness, isolation, and self-estrangement, is often present among workers. On the basis of qualitative vignettes, we furthermore argue that (2) the perception of digital labor as alienating is not universal, depending on the perceived importance of workers’ labor and the relational nature with their contractors.

Bucher, Eliane; Fieseler, Christian & Lutz, Christoph (2017)

Alienation in Digital Labor

[Academic lecture]. 67th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA).

On the basis of a survey among 804 workers on the crowdsourcing platform Amazon Mechanical Turk, we show that (1) alienation, a form of detachment from working life, may be present in digital workplaces in the form of powerlessness, meaninglessness, normlessness, isolation, and self-estrangement. Furthermore, on the basis of qualitative vignettes, we argue that (2) the perception of digital labor as alienating is not universal, perhaps because it is often wrapped in a learned narrative of entrepreneurial belonging and empowerment. Finally, on the basis of a multiple-group analysis, we propose that (3) individual mattering (high vs. low), in the form of perceived awareness, importance and reliance may be the key to explaining differences in the effect of alienating factors such as powerlessness, meaninglessness, normlessness, isolation and self-estrangement on emotional exhaustion, work engagement and organizational commitment in the digital workplace.

Maltseva, Kateryna & Fieseler, Christian (2016)

A Gamification Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility Communications

[Academic lecture]. 66th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association.

Recent years saw increasing efforts in engaging stakeholders in ecological and social responsibility communications. However, traditionally neither the engagement nor the interest of stakeholders was easy to achieve for organizations, with attention divided, and a lack of understanding and interest often hampering the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility efforts. With our research, we propose that hedonic aspects of stakeholder engagement, in particular embodied through the process of gamifying ecological, social and governance issues, might be an ample addition to more traditional utilitarian CSR communication efforts. Specifically, we propose, based on experimental research, that the addition of gamified elements such goal-achievement, challenge, feedback and reward may better attract attention through increasing the desire for information. Our research thus complements traditional research into CSR-communications with insights about the effectiveness of hedonic message factors, and is an effort to help engage stakeholders in an increasingly attention-starved communication environment.

Bucher, Eliane; Fieseler, Christian & Hoffmann, Christian Pieter (2016)

An Exploration of the Worker-Platform Relationships in the Context of Crowdsourced Digital Labor

[Academic lecture]. 32nd European Group for Organizational Studies Conference.

Lutz, Christoph; Bucher, Eliane, Fieseler, Christian & Hoffmann, Christian Pieter (2016)

The Sharing Paradox: The Role of Privacy in the Sharing Economy

[Academic lecture]. 32nd European Group for Organizational Studies Conference.

Internet-mediated sharing is booming to an unprecedented degree. Millions of people around the world share their possessions with others – often with complete strangers. The shared goods can amount to substantial financial and immaterial value, as is the case for shared rooms and flats via Airbnb and similar services. While the question of trust in the sharing economy is being increasingly explored, surprisingly little research is devoted to privacy in the sharing economy. In this contribution, we tackle that research gap and explore the sharing-privacy nexus. In analogy to the privacy paradox in online contexts such as social media, we propose a sharing paradox for the sharing economy: Users attach considerable value to their goods, yet they share them quite willingly. We describe ways that privacy can be endangered with sharing, present a variety of explanations how the sharing paradox can be entangled and finally suggest how empirical studies could go about researching it.

Bucher, Eliane; Fieseler, Christian & Hoffmann, Christian Pieter (2016)

Unfairness by Design? Examining Institutionalized Inequality on Digital On-Demand Service Platforms

[Academic lecture]. 66th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association.

As new information and communication technologies change organizations, they affect how organizations contribute to or mitigate inequalities in the workplace. Currently, online platforms facilitate the dissolution of organizational structures, the unravelling of jobs, and the allocation of clearly defined tasks to a crowd of willing laborers. Digital on-demand service platforms constitute a new institutional setting for the labor of an ever-increasing dispersed, anonymous and fluid workforce. Based on a qualitative survey among 203 US workers active on the microwork platform amazon mechanical turk, we analyze inequalities embedded in the institutional setting provided by on-demand service platforms and their effect on perceived workplace fairness. We explore the triadic relationship between employers/requesters, workers and platform providers, focusing on the power of platform providers to design settings and processes that one-sidedly disadvantage workers. We differentiate workers’ perceptions of the role of platform providers in ensuring workplace fairness. Based on workers’ suggestions for increasing fairness, we identify systematic conflicts of interest between workers and platform providers. We derive policy suggestions for mitigating inequalities ingrained in on-demand service platforms and for bolstering workplace fairness in the age of platform capitalism.

Kost, Dominique; Wong, Sut I & Fieseler, Christian (2016)

Finding meaning in a hopeless place: The construction of meaning in digital Microwork.

[Academic lecture]. Academy of Management.