双边平台型企业的算法管理:研究挑战与机遇

Algorithmic Management in Two-sided Market Intermediary Platforms:Research Challenges and Opportunities

双边平台型企业已成为我国数字经济增长的重要推动力量,但同时也为社会治理和企业管理带来了众多挑战。本文提出组织管理研究亟须从平台企业的算法管理这一新型管理手段切入,以算法管理与平台工作者的二元关系为焦点开展研究,为应对平台企业的管理困境提供理论支撑。本文首先解析双边平台型企业这一新型组织场景下组织属性、管理逻辑与主体的变革;其次阐释“人与技术交互框架”在弥补已有平台算法管理研究不足方面的潜力;再次从平台工作者适应平台、成长发展、个人福祉三个关键问题出发,基于人与技术交互框架提出系列研究议题,解析平台算法管理对工作者的控制—赋能效应及其双向共演过程;最后提出了未来研究展望。

Accompanying the surging development of platform economy and increasing digitalization level of Chinese society,two-sided market intermediary plaforms greatly promote the economic growth in China.However,these platforms simultaneously give rise to various social governance disputes and cause organization management dilemmas.In order to offer theoretical foundation of managerial practices in the platform context,this paper calls for research on algorithmic management,a new type of organization management practices,especially focusing on the dyadic relations between algorithmic management and platform workers.First,this paper delineates the changes of the organizational features,managerial logic and managerial agency in two-sided market intermediary platforms.Second,we review the existing research on the algorithmic management of two-sided plaforms.We point out that the existing literature has dominantly treated algorithmic management in a controlling perspective and depicted the functions of algorithmic management on plaform workers as a static process.Based on the inadequacy of existing research,we then highlight the theoretical potential of“human-technology interaction framework”in explaining the human-technology interplay underpinning the algorithmic management in this context.Third,from the perspectives of structuration theory and actor-network theory,which are subsumed in the“human-technology interaction framework”,we further propose a series of research questions on the double-edged sword effects of algorithmic management and co-evolution processes between platform workers and algorithmic management of the platform.In this session,we mainly focus on three important practical issues,namely the socialization process,the learning and development of workers,and achievement of well-being of workers in the platform.Finally,we advocate that organization management scholars should pay attention to the platform economy and digitalization in China,focus on the interaction of platform workers and algorithmic management,and conduct responsible studies with theoretical novelty and ecological validity.Future research directions are then discussed.