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Main Authors: Uma Rani, Valeria Pulignano, Nora Gobel, Karol Muszynski
Format: Artículo científico
Published: International Labour Organization 06/03/2025
Online Access:https://researchrepository.ilo.org/esploro/outputs/journalArticle/Challenging-boundaries-exploring-pricing-strategies-and/995646354902676
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author Uma Rani
Valeria Pulignano
Nora Gobel
Karol Muszynski
author_facet Uma Rani
Valeria Pulignano
Nora Gobel
Karol Muszynski
Uma Rani
Valeria Pulignano
Nora Gobel
Karol Muszynski
contents Challenging boundaries: exploring pricing strategies, and unpaid labour time to explain earning disparities in online labour markets Uma Rani Valeria Pulignano Nora Gobel Karol Muszynski This paper challenges the prevailing perception of the boundless nature of Online Labour Markets (OLMs), where platforms connect service providers, such as online freelancers or workers, with clients. The focus is specifically on the pricing strategies employed by online freelancers on Upwork, a prominent international freelance platform. This article contributes empirically and theoretically to debates on the purported boundlessness of OLMs. It illustrates how online freelancers, when confronted with the rules and practices of platform algorithms, develop distinct strategies to navigate the challenges and access work across regional boundaries. Importantly, our findings reveal that despite adopting similar pricing strategies there are earnings disparities among freelancers across regional boundaries. Consequently, unpaid labour time incurred by workers in developing countries while providing services through the platform becomes a discernible cost borne by freelancers in their pursuit of accessing more lucrative opportunities. 10.1080/13563467.2025.2462135 DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2025.2462135 publication.journalArticle
format Artículo científico
id ilo_995646354902676
institution Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT)
publishDate 06/03/2025
publisher International Labour Organization
spellingShingle Challenging boundaries: exploring pricing strategies, and unpaid labour time to explain earning disparities in online labour markets
Uma Rani
Valeria Pulignano
Nora Gobel
Karol Muszynski
Challenging boundaries: exploring pricing strategies, and unpaid labour time to explain earning disparities in online labour markets Uma Rani Valeria Pulignano Nora Gobel Karol Muszynski This paper challenges the prevailing perception of the boundless nature of Online Labour Markets (OLMs), where platforms connect service providers, such as online freelancers or workers, with clients. The focus is specifically on the pricing strategies employed by online freelancers on Upwork, a prominent international freelance platform. This article contributes empirically and theoretically to debates on the purported boundlessness of OLMs. It illustrates how online freelancers, when confronted with the rules and practices of platform algorithms, develop distinct strategies to navigate the challenges and access work across regional boundaries. Importantly, our findings reveal that despite adopting similar pricing strategies there are earnings disparities among freelancers across regional boundaries. Consequently, unpaid labour time incurred by workers in developing countries while providing services through the platform becomes a discernible cost borne by freelancers in their pursuit of accessing more lucrative opportunities. 10.1080/13563467.2025.2462135 DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2025.2462135 publication.journalArticle
title Challenging boundaries: exploring pricing strategies, and unpaid labour time to explain earning disparities in online labour markets
url https://researchrepository.ilo.org/esploro/outputs/journalArticle/Challenging-boundaries-exploring-pricing-strategies-and/995646354902676