Digital platforms: Perceived criteria of success, importance of work design, occupational safety and health for present and prospective digital platforms.
Katharina Schäfer, Arne Görke, Luis Hesemann and 6 others
PMID 35723156WHAT IT FOUND
Platform workers and founders in Germany identified user orientation, scalability, network effects, and niche occupation as key to success.
Occupational safety, health, and work design were not seen as success factors, with respondents viewing them as secondary or problematic.
Key findings
01Respondents identified user orientation, scalability, network effects, and niche occupation as the primary perceived success factors for digital platforms.
02Occupational safety, health, and work design were not considered success factors by the interviewed stakeholders.
03Interviewees reported that working conditions often lack safety nets, with concerns about permanent accessibility and blurred work-life boundaries.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study was limited to Germany, so findings may not apply globally. The sample size was small, preventing generalisation to wider trends. Data was collected before the pandemic, missing recent shifts in remote work. OSH was not a primary focus of the original interview questions, which may have limited the depth of responses on this topic. Qualitative analysis is subjective, and reliability is limited by the open design.
Declared interests
None to report.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the lack of OSH as a success factor as evidence that safety is unimportant. The study reflects the subjective perceptions of a small group of German platform stakeholders, not objective outcomes or regulatory requirements.