Digital Taylorism in China’s e-commerce industry: A case study of internet professionals

Hong Yu Liu
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Hong Yu Liu: University of Cambridge, UK

Economic and Industrial Democracy, 2023, vol. 44, issue 1, 262-279

Abstract: This article documents the working conditions and experiences of tech professionals at a leading Chinese e-commerce firm. Using intensive qualitative research methods, the author finds that digital management of tech professionals has accompanied and perhaps explains some of the Chinese tech industry’s much-heralded increases in efficiency and productivity. This management form can be understood as digital Taylorism, which has similar pathologies to the original Taylorism: a dehumanising effect on the workplace, increased work intensity, a higher income but proportionately lower share of the gains from increased productivity, and intensified competition among workers. It is hoped that this study will open up new avenues for evidence-based discussion about the future of work and the ethics of algorithm use in the workplace.

Keywords: Chinese tech worker; digital Taylorism; digital technologies; knowledge work (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:44:y:2023:i:1:p:262-279

DOI: 10.1177/0143831X211068887

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