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The platform effect: How Amazon changed work in logistics in Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom
[journal article]
Abstract While the effects of the platform economy on work are mainly studied through the lens of gig or cloud workers, many more employees are likely to be affected in non-platform firms or sectors. We discuss the mechanisms of platform economy’s impact on the employment relationships and indirect effect on... view more
While the effects of the platform economy on work are mainly studied through the lens of gig or cloud workers, many more employees are likely to be affected in non-platform firms or sectors. We discuss the mechanisms of platform economy’s impact on the employment relationships and indirect effect on employment trends. Platform firms enter the service economy with business models that put existing service providers under pressure and advance a platform model of employment relationship. However, their transformative force is limited by three factors: employment regulations, access to welfare provisions and the employment relations at legacy firms. We examine the case of Amazon logistics in the US, Germany and the UK and find that the employment contract, as a legal institution, prevents the dissemination of independent contracting as the preferred employment model. Moreover, the welfare state has a paradoxical effect on platform work: universal welfare and liberal employment law facilitate the rise of precarious work.... view less
Keywords
microcensus; logistics; employment relationship; precarious employment; Federal Republic of Germany; United States of America; Great Britain; employment conditions; service work
Classification
Sociology of Work, Industrial Sociology, Industrial Relations
Free Keywords
platform economy; Amazon; comparative employment relations; Mikrozensus 2010; Mikrozensus 2018
Document language
English
Publication Year
2022
Page/Pages
p. 363-382
Journal
European Journal of Industrial Relations, 28 (2022) 3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/09596801221082456
ISSN
1461-7129
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed