Evolving Notions of Power and Authority in Platform-Based Organizations

Abstract

This study aimed to explore how power and authority are experienced, interpreted, and negotiated by workers within platform-based organizations in Bangladesh. A qualitative research design was employed using semi-structured interviews with 27 participants engaged in frontline roles across various platform sectors, including ride-sharing, food delivery, and e-commerce logistics. Participants were selected through purposive sampling and met inclusion criteria requiring at least two years of platform-based work experience. Data were collected until theoretical saturation was achieved. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically using NVivo software, following an inductive coding approach that progressed from open codes to axial themes. Three main themes emerged from the analysis: algorithmic governance and control, fluid hierarchies and informal authority, and reconfiguration of traditional power structures. Participants reported extensive algorithmic surveillance, lack of managerial transparency, and conditional autonomy dictated by platform logic. Informal peer-based leadership and trust-based influence filled the vacuum left by absent formal management structures. Furthermore, workers described the displacement of human authority by app-driven decision-making, the emergence of resistance strategies such as coordinated logouts, and a dual accountability to both clients and platforms. Economic dependence and perceptions of unfairness were pervasive, particularly in relation to algorithmic penalties and shifting pay structures. Platform-based organizations represent a fundamental shift in organizational authority, replacing traditional hierarchical management with algorithmically mediated governance and informal social structures. While platforms offer flexibility, they also embed new forms of control and precarity, especially in emerging economies. Understanding the lived experiences of platform workers is crucial for designing fairer systems and informing regulatory frameworks that address these evolving dynamics of digital labor.