How is Trust Created in the Platform Economy?- A Triadic Perspective of the Interrelationship between Work Platforms, Workers and Clients in Sweden

Abstract

The lack of trust is seen as one of the most significant barriers to the functioning of the platform economy in Sweden. Consequently, how trust is created is vital to understand in order for the market to thrive. The study aims to examine how trust is created from a triadic perspective involving work platforms, workers and clients, with regard to high-skilled working tasks. The setting of the platform economy is a complex blend of people and technology which complicates previous ideas of what or whom one may regard as a creator of trust. We emphasize that trust is created between people but supported by social- and/or technological mechanisms. The study adds to previous research by showing that there is a continuum of work platforms on the Swedish market which in turn differentiates the interrelationships and infer different discourses on how trust is created and by what supporting mechanisms. The study makes two contributions: Firstly, it provides knowledge of the platform economy in the Swedish context showing that there is a continuum of different work platforms. Secondly, it highlights five blocks containing different embedded trust-supporting mechanisms which are relational to the continuum.