Decoding Algorithmic HRM in the Gig Economy: Workers’ Interpretations, Reactions, and Strategies

Call for Papers – Decoding Algorithmic HRM in the Gig Economy: Workers’ Interpretations, Reactions, and Strategies

Journal: International Journal of Manpower
Publisher: Emerald Publishing
Submission deadline: 30 April 2026

This special issue focuses on how gig workers interpret, react to, and navigate algorithmic human resource management (algorithmic HRM) on digital platforms such as Uber, Deliveroo, Upwork, and Fiverr. It invites research that embeds platform‑based work within established HRM, organizational behaviour, and labour‑economics theories, advancing understanding of workers’ agency, coping, and career‑shaping strategies under algorithmic control.

Types of research this SI invites

Guest editors Dr Sari Mansour, TÉLUQ University, Canada, Email: Sari.mansour@teluq.ca
Prof Xavier Parent‑Rocheleau, HEC Montréal, Canada, Email: xavier.parent‑rocheleau@hec.ca
Dr James Duggan, University College Cork, Ireland, Email: jamesduggan@ucc.ie

List of suggested topic areas

• Platform HRM practices and alignment:

  • How hiring, evaluation, and compensation algorithms affect wellbeing, engagement, and career outcomes

  • Perceptions of fairness, transparency, and strategic alignment of algorithmic HRM

  • How platform design and HRM practices shape worker choice of platforms

• Resistance, agency, and proactivity:

  • Countersignalling, job‑ and portfolio‑crafting, and algoactivism

  • Use of digital tools and social media to organise and resist algorithmic control

  • Limits and enabling conditions of collective power and resistance

• Gig workers’ experiences and interpretations:

  • How fairness, transparency, and trust shape attributions, dignity, and wellbeing

  • The “double‑edged sword” of autonomy vs control and technostress

  • Coping strategies under uncertainty and over time

  • Role of client interactions and feedback in shaping experiences and service behaviour

• Career development and human capital:

  • Skill building, transferability of skills, and career mobility across platforms

  • How algorithmic HRM enables or hinders meaningful, sustainable careers

• Identity and inclusion:

  • Algorithmic signals and their impact on professional identity and belonging

  • Inclusion and differential impacts by gender, race, age, or disability

  • Online and offline communities for support, knowledge‑sharing, and joint sensemaking

Submission information

Submissions are currently open and must be submitted by 30 April 2026 via ScholarOne Manuscripts:
https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ijm

When submitting, choose the special issue title “Decoding Algorithmic HRM in the Gig Economy: Workers’ Interpretations, Reactions, and Strategies” from the drop‑down menu.
Follow the journal’s Author Guidelines:
https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/ijm

Articles must be original and not under review elsewhere while under consideration for the International Journal of Manpower. Comparative, cross‑platform, and cross‑country studies are particularly encouraged.

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