Crowdsourcing as a
platform for digital labor unions?
A critical analysis of how crowdsourcing enables dialogue between brands and global laborers
Payal Arora & Linnea Thompson
To be published in the International Journal of Communication
Global, complex supply chains
Source: Human Rights Watch
Transparency issues
Source: Tracy Le Blanc & Better work Cambodia
The game changer
Crowdsourcing possibilities
Companies able to detect problems in supply chains
Laborers can take active part shaping working conditions
Workers’ access to information
Current gaps/issues
Crowdsourcing for digital unionization
Collective representation through mobile phones
Crowdsourcing for supply chain management &
accountability
Case studies
LaborVoices: Symphony
Better Factories
Cambodia’s Outstanding Worker
QuizRR: training videos
and quizzes
Methods
Multiple-case study
Qualitative content analysis of:
Skype interviews
Product demonstrations
Online articles & interviews
Reports & videos
Material examined based on Boije’s (2010) framework for qualitative
analysis
Key findings – labor unionization
User-oriented design
Voice communication
Open-ended messages
Trust & anonymity
Personal phones vs. in-factory tablets
Source: Better Factories Cambodia
New and old media technologies
“(…) Because when you try to reach a community, you know where the
community is, and you know, then you have the opportunity to, you can go to
the tea stalls, you can go door to door, you can have leaflets and flyers, you
can have sponsorships of events, to get workers to know about your system
and the benefits there (…)” Kohl Gill, CEO LaborVoices.
Key findings
Gamification for engagement
Marketing efforts
The business model
Source: Better Factories Cambodia
Design, marketing, content
Workers receiving information on rights Workers reporting of issues
Transparency down the supply chain
Worker empowerment
Enforcement mechanisms: local labor law,
regulations for public disclosure Platfor
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