Can we talk about strategic Human Resource Management in the gig economy?

12 October 2022

1:00pm-2:00pm

Summary

There has been a surge in the growth of the gig economy and the associated non-standard employment. Extant research on gig work has primarily focused on employment issues and the labour process. Less attention has been paid to the implications of digitally-enabled gig employment for human resource management (HRM) research and practice. This presentation provides an overview of the status quo of research on digitally enabled gig employment and implications of this development for the workers, and organizations hiring the gig workers, on a range of HRM aspects. It also outlines how HRM researchers may reframe research in this area with suggestions for future research. This includes, for example, a shift from a micro-level analysis on organizational behaviour within organizational boundaries to a macro-level research agenda that takes into account the role of institutional actors and policy orientations.

Bio

Fang Lee Cooke (PhD, University of Manchester, UK) is Distinguished Professor of Human Resource Management (HRM) and Asia Studies at Monash Business School, Monash University, Australia. She is also a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. Previously, she was a full professor (since 2005) at Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK. Her research interests are in the area of employment relations, gender studies, diversity management, strategic HRM, knowledge management and innovation, outsourcing, Chinese outward FDI and HRM, employment of Chinese migrants, and HRM in the care sector. Fang’s recent research projects include: employee resilience, HRM practices and engagement in the finance sector; the evolution of industrial relations; HRM in the care sector; digitalization and implications for skill, employment and HRM; low carbon growth and future of work. Fang is the recipient of the Dean’s Award for PRME Research Excellence (2018) and the Dean’s Award for Research Excellence (2011), Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University, Australia. She was also a DAAD (German Academic Exchange Scheme) Visiting Professor, Georg-August-Universität Goettingen, Germany (2016).