Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/232258 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
GLO Discussion Paper No. 805
Publisher: 
Global Labor Organization (GLO), Essen
Abstract: 
In recognition of the importance and expansion of the gig economy, largely in developed and BRICs economies, along with the growing literature surrounding it, this research contributes towards an empirical and conceptual understanding of how employee motivation and retention are managed by the mobile app-based, multiple payment platformenabled, car-pooling Chinese giant DiDi. Both the exponential usage and evidently a diversified range of services offered by Didi has not only transformed the Chinese perception of using cabs, over their personal vehicle, in the 1.4 billion demographics but also invites emerging research in learning the tools for employee retention of a company that has a high regional scale of operations across all provinces in China. While the company employs over a million people at various contractual levels, the objective of this paper is to evaluate how levels of employee motivation, in a gig economy setting, largely affects employee effort and performance of DiDi drivers working long hours in major Chinese cities. The objective of this research is to qualitatively investigate the nature and effectiveness of Didi as a customer customiser using a thematic analysis and a conceptual framework, while also adding contextual knowledge on how a relatively new transport company retain employees in a leading BRICS economy, that is embedded with many faces of the gig economy.
Subjects: 
gig economy
employee motivation
China
employee performance
ERG theory
Expectancy Theory, innovation
DiDi
mobile app-based enterprises
Emerging Economy
Platform Economy
JEL: 
D86
J41
L14
L86
M51
M52
M54
M55
O30
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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