A Descriptive Mixed-Methods Examination of Corporate Social Responsibility, Accountability, and HRD in the Access Economy

Abstract

App-based companies have emerged as legitimate forms of business, giving way to gigs, odd jobs, and convenient access to goods, products, or services. As with all business, growth brings the need for socially responsible change. This study presents an original exploration of factors that underlie stakeholder perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the access economy (i.e. gig/sharing economy). The access economy is framed as a complex adaptive system and benefits of platform companies are discussed along with prevalent criticisms regarding worker classifications and unethical business practices. By utilizing a mixed methods survey, empirical evidence is provided that not only identifies a negative association between observed versus expected CSR in the access economy, but also provides insight on the need for four types of platform stakeholder responsibility. Although findings revealed that perceptions on accountability were spread across stakeholder groups, the overarching theme is that more accountability should be allocated to platform companies. The data support the idea that consumers expect platform companies to go beyond mere onboarding and to establish some form of worker protections in line with what would generally be expected from a more conventional business model. Opinions of platform accountability appear to be influenced by expectations associated with specific industries (e.g. transportation vs. tourism) and whether or not workers would have direct contact with consumers. Individual factors such as ethical ideology, risk aversion, desire for certain types of service attributes, and propensity toward social proof techniques are shown to be associated with perceptions of CSR. This study serves as a starting point for the field of HRD to enter the access economy.