Celebrating Success: Professor Savvas Papagiannidis

Congratulations to Professor Savvas Papagiannidis, whose paper “Platform-Provider Relationship Dynamics in the Sharing Economy: Challenges and Implications” has been accepted by Industrial Marketing Management.

Abstract:

The implications of the sharing economy for its providers have raised many concerns, against the backdrop of the challenges in platform-provider relations. Even though the sharing economy market continues growing and such challenges become even more pressing, the providers’ perspective on work in such an environment has not received the necessary attention. Given the gaps in the literature, the study aimed a) to explore the challenges in platform-provider relations, and b) to investigate the provider’s perspective on platforms’ responses to negative incidents in such relations. Using a cross-sectional research design, 510 responses from the providers of ridesharing services were collected. The structural equation modelling analysis of the challenges in relations showed that perceived information asymmetry, uncertain working conditions and relational opportunism predict dissatisfaction with platforms and a subsequent feeling of job insecurity. Latent class analysis based on the providers’ perceptions of platforms’ responses to negative work incidents resulted in three clusters of respondents. Those clusters had significant variance in the perception of proactive, passive and defensive responses. The membership of classes had an impact on the variance in the job satisfaction level among clusters. These findings contribute to the literature on stakeholder relations in the sharing economy and the organisational/psychological climate by extending knowledge about platform-provider relationship dynamics in digitally-mediated work environments. In terms of managerial implications, the findings of the study offer practices that can improve the work environment in platforms and its perception by providers.