A wide range of platforms now enable firms to source work directly from freelancers on an on-demand basis, but little is known about how and why firms are making use of such platforms. This report contains nine case studies, examining how Fortune 500 firms and multinational enterprises are adopting platform sourcing as part of their business models.
The authors argue that platform sourcing benefits large firms by providing easy access to a scalable source of labour, skills and expertise, reducing start-up and transaction costs, and eliminating conventional hiring barriers. Yet platform sourcing also poses challenges, including co-ordination costs, internal resistance, and organisational problems. The report sets out these challenges, before laying out how firms currently face them and offering suggestions as to how they might be better dealt with in the future.
Former Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Gretta Corporaal is a Sociologist of Work and Organizations, previously based at the Oxford Internet Institute, specializing in online labor platforms and the future of work and organizations in the digital economy.
Professor of Economic Sociology and Digital Social Research
Vili Lehdonvirta examines the politics and socio-economic impacts of digital technologies. He is one of the world's most cited authors on gig work and the platform economy. His current research deals with the geopolitics of digital infrastructures.