Global Platform Work

1. Introduction
1.1 Background and context
1.2 Research problem
1.3 Research questions
1.4 Conceptual framework: Assembling volatile connections
1.5 Methodology
1.6 Argument and structure of the dissertation
2. Literature Review: Lines of Transformation in the Gig Economy
2.1 Overview: Dimensions of platform work
2.2 Online platforms and the transformation of work
2.3 Gaps and blind spots in the literature on platform work
3. Conceptual Framework: Work as Practices of Assembling .
3.1 De-centring economic productivity: Work beyond paid employment
3.2 Platform-mediated work from a global assemblage perspective
3.3 Working definition of practices of assembling
4. Research Approach and Methodological Perspectives
4.1 Co-construction of research, researcher, and field
4.2 The lens of digital ethnography
4.3 Research process
4.4 Concluding reflections on methodology 5. Negotiating Value
5.1 What is the value of a logo? Negotiating fair rates
5.2 Investing in subjective value: Trade-offs and long shots
5.3 Process matters: Being valued as a creative professional
5.4 Synthesis: Heterarchical negotiations of value in platform work
6. Managing Emotions
6.1 Between thrill and frustration: managing one's own emotions
6.2 Emotional relations
6.3 "Finding you a designer you'll love": How platforms mediate emotions
6.4 Synthesis: Limited knowledge and volatile trust
7. Aligning Relations
7.1 Assembling the life-work continuum
7.2 Everyday practices of aligning relations in platform work
7.3 Synthesis: Ambiguous alignment
8. Synthesis: Negotiating Relations - Assembling Global Platform Work
8.1 Summary of findings and answers to research questions
8.2 Practices of assembling
8.3 Work in a volatile, complex, and opaque environment
9. Conclusion
9.1 Main contributions
9.2 Significance and implications
9.3 Limitations and directions for further research