Author(s)

Wenkang Luo ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ School of Business Administration, Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, 550025, Guiyang, Guizhou, China

Corresponding Author

Wenkang Luo

ABSTRACT

The global expansion of the gig economy, coupled with the deep integration of algorithmic control, has reshaped the labor governance paradigm. This research reveals how algorithms, through mechanisms like dynamic pricing, behavior scoring, and risk transfer, reconstruct the power relations between labor and capital while enhancing platform efficiency. Workers experience an "autonomy paradox," caught by algorithmic black boxes, data surveillance, and systemic exclusion; while superficially enjoying flexibility, they effectively suffer the erosion of their health and rights. The study critically argues that algorithmic control is essentially digital Taylorism masked by "technological empowerment," with its core controversy stemming from the conflict between technological determinism and human-centric values. The article proposes algorithmic transparency, worker participatory governance, and an interdisciplinary research framework to provide a theoretical basis for balancing efficiency logic and labor protection. Future research should examine the disruptive impact of emerging technologies such as Generative AI and the Metaverse on the control models within the gig economy.

KEYWORDS

Gig economy, Algorithmic control, Digital Taylorism, Algorithmic governance

CITE THIS PAPER

Wenkang Luo, Algorithmic Control in the Gig Economy: Power Reconfiguration, Labor Plight, and Management Implications. Accounting and Corporate Management (2025) Vol. 7: 67-72. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/acccm.2025.070309.

REFERENCES

[1] Yang, Y., Chi, M., Bi, X., & Xu, Y. (2025). Dark sides of algorithmic control in app-based gig work: An objectification perspective. Journal of Business Research, 195, 115407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115407.
[2] Parent-Rocheleau, X., & Parker, S. K. (2022). Algorithms as work designers: How algorithmic management influences the design of jobs. Human Resource Management Review, 32(3), Article 100838. https://doi.org/10. 1016/j.hrmr.2021.100838
[3] Rani, U., & Furrer, M. (2021). Digital labour platforms and new forms of flexible work in developing countries: Algorithmic management of work and workers. Competition & Change, 25(2), 212-236. https://doi. org/10. 1177/10245294209051
[4] De Ruyter, A., Brown, M., & Burgess, J. (2018). Gig work and the fourth industrial revolution. Journal of International Affairs, 72(1), 37-50. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26588341
[5] De Stefano, V. (2016). Introduction: crowdsourcing, the gig-economy and the law. Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal, 37(3). 461-470. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2767383.
[6] Gandini, A. (2019). Labour process theory and the gig economy. Human Relations, 72(6), 1039–1056. http://journals.sagepub.com/home/hum
[7] Shevchuk, A., Strebkov, D., & Tyulyupo, A. (2021). Always on across time zones: Invisible schedules in the online gig economy. New Technology, Work and Employment, 36(1), 94-113.  https://doi.org/10.1111 /ntwe.12191
[8] Zhang, Y., Li, L., Ma, X., Sun, J., Dong, Y., & Yang, Z. (2025). Invisible Algorithms, Visible Outcomes: Roles of Emotional Labor and Work Gamification in Gigs. Computers in Human Behavior, 169, 108681. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2025.108681
[9] Sutherland, W., Jarrahi, M. H., Dunn, M., & Nelson, S. B. (2020). Work precarity and gig literacies in online freelancing. Work, Employment and Society, 34(3), 457–475. https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170198865 11

Sponsors, Associates, and Links

---

• Information Systems and Economics
  
  
• Accounting, Auditing and Finance
  
  
• Industrial Engineering and Innovation Management
  
  
• Tourism Management and Technology Economy
  
  
• Journal of Computational and Financial Econometrics
  
  
• Financial Engineering and Risk Management
  
  
• Social Security and Administration Management
  
  
• Population, Resources & Environmental Economics
  
  
• Statistics & Quantitative Economics
  
  
• Agricultural & Forestry Economics and Management
  
  
• Social Medicine and Health Management
  
  
• Land Resource Management
  
  
• Information, Library and Archival Science
  
  
• Journal of Human Resource Development
  
  
• Manufacturing and Service Operations Management
  
  
• Operational Research and Cybernetics