The sociology of platform work: The construction of a new research field

Department seminar with Dr. Anna Ilsøe, Employment Relations Research Centre (FAOS), University of Copenhagen.

The introduction of Uber in the US and abroad sparked a public debate of work mediated via digital platforms and led to the introduction of a completely new research field within the sociology of work - platform work. During the 2010s and early 2020s many journals within the discipline were flooded with papers addressing this new phenomenon. Fueled by the expansion of food delivery during the corona pandemic many research grants became allocated to the study of platform work. I took part in this journey holding several grants addressing platform work in Denmark, the Nordics and Europe. It allowed me to establish a small research group within the field, collaborate internationally and publish several papers on the topic.

Recently, we have witnessed a cool down in this research interest among funding agencies and journals. It is time to look back and reflect on what we have learned. Which research strategies worked – which did not? To which extent can the ‘bubble’ of research on platform work act as an instructive case for how we can design our research strategies for ‘topical’ research within sociology? I will reflect on these questions in my talk and discuss how the choice of research strategy impacts the ability of such research to contribute to the creation of longitudinal data, open data and to theory developments within the wider sociological discipline.

All members of the Department of Sociology and research staff from across the faculty are invited to attend.