Science AI Journal
Social Sciences · Research topic

Open research questions in Digital Economy and Work Transformation

416 gap statements mined from Digital Economy and Work Transformation papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 3,841 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

Choosing where to publish on Digital Economy and Work Transformation? See the ranked Social Science journals.

What the literature leaves open

  • It notes that the existing literature is platform-centric and skewed towards Western Europe, North America, and China. The paper seeks to address this gap by studying algorithmic management in platform labor and traditional organizations in Hungary.

    Beyond Platform Work: Algorithmic Management in Platform Labor and Traditional Organizations—The Hungarian Experience · 2026 · DOI

  • It notes that language barriers, bureaucratic obstacles, and stigma can concentrate migrant workers in informal and clientelist recruitment channels. The paper highlights the need to address the precarities faced by migrant care workers, including deportability and limited access to formal employment.

    Visible but precarious: gendered and racialised representations of migrant care workers on digital care platforms · 2026 · DOI

  • The discussion highlights the need to address intersectional inequalities and power differentials in labour processes and labour markets. The paper notes the challenge of situating digital platforms and platform labour within the broader context of capitalist valorisation, production, and social reproduction.

    Feminist research on platform economies: a conversation on current perspectives and future challenges · 2026 · DOI

  • The discussion highlights the need for a more nuanced understanding of the gendered and racialised dimensions of digital platform labour. The paper notes that current research often overlooks the importance of social reproduction and the transformation of domestic work in the home.

    Feminist research on platform economies: a conversation on current perspectives and future challenges · 2026 · DOI

  • Future analyses and critiques of platform labour should consider the long history of contingent labour. Regulatory approaches to platform labour should take into account the ways in which platforms adapt, reconfigure, and radicalize historical techniques, structures, and practices for organizing labour.

    Landscapes of precarious labour: on the long prehistory and contingent future of digital platforms · 2026 · DOI

  • The gap consists of a lack of understanding of the historical roots of digital platforms' labour model. The paper aims to fill this gap by providing a critical genealogy of digital platforms.

    Landscapes of precarious labour: on the long prehistory and contingent future of digital platforms · 2026 · DOI

  • The study argues that the debate on platformisation needs to reflect the implications of its urban bias. The paper highlights the need to assess the scale and geographies of platform-mediated childcare work beyond urban areas.

    Extending the platform debate beyond cities: assessing the scale and scope of platform-mediated childcare work in Switzerland · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of understanding of how workers make a living from platformized care work. The limited analysis of the role of 'platform subsidies' in sustaining workers' income. The need to investigate the effects of care work platforms on workers' financial sustainability.

    Hidden platform subsidies: the role of social networks in concealing (too) low income on care work platforms · 2025 · DOI

  • Taiwan is distinctive: both employees and the self-employed can unionize, and riders have formed unions, yet working conditions remain insufficient.

    Unrest Against Bogus Self-Employment? Identity Struggles and Resistance Among Platform Riders in Taiwan · 2026 · DOI

  • While a growing literature examines these systems in Global North contexts, their operation within politically centralised and institutionally fragile environments remains insufficiently understood.

    Silenced by design: The collapse of gig worker voice under algorithmic control in an authoritarian labour market · 2026 · DOI

  • While AM can enhance efficiency, its impact on worker well-being and public health warrants further attention and potentially mitigation strategies to inform policies that balance technological advancements with worker health protection.

    Algorithmic management is associated with psychological distress, musculoskeletal pain, and occupational accidents: a cross-sectional study in logistics · 2025 · DOI

  • While concerns have been raised regarding its potential impact on worker health, empirical evidence remains limited.

    Algorithmic management is associated with psychological distress, musculoskeletal pain, and occupational accidents: a cross-sectional study in logistics · 2025 · DOI

  • While prior research on order dispatch algorithms has largely focused on minimizing delivery time or delay, the direct impact of delivery performance on repeat purchases remains underexplored.

    Faster Deliveries and Smarter Order Assignments for an On‐Demand Meal Delivery Platform · 2025 · DOI

  • It calls for policy reforms – fair wages, social protection, and legal safeguards – to enhance the worker’s real freedoms, and encourages further research into the intersectional and contextual dynamics shaping internal migrant labour precarity.

    Exploring the lived experiences of internal migrant gig workers through the lens of the Capability Approach · 2025 · DOI

  • Yet, the proactive engagement of platform workers with algorithms remains underexplored in empirical research.

    Algorithmic Competency of On‐Demand Labor Platform Workers: Scale Development, Antecedents, and Consequences · 2025 · DOI

  • The review findings are limited in nature owing to the paucity of quality research papers published in the said domain.

    The gig verse: building a sustainable future · 2024 · DOI

  • The Attraction-Selection-Attrition (ASA) model, a major current model for organizational culture, has not been examined empirically for fit against the currently flourishing gig economy, an organizational style used by growing companies such as Uber and Lyft, which rely on app technology to pair consumers with organizational contractors to provide a service.

    An application of the ASOA framework in gig worker social media usage · 2024 · DOI

  • It also delineates effective humanistic management actions in scenarios in which algorithmic decisions are insufficient, which contributes to both performance and humanistic outcomes.

    Fostering humanistic algorithmic management: A process of enacting human-algorithm complementarity · 2024 · DOI

  • Communication issues and lack of commitment are common challenges faced by HR while managing gig workers. The gig economy presents challenges related to communication, engagement, performance evaluation, and legal compliance.

    Role of HR in Managing Gig Workers and the Freelance Economy · 2026 · DOI

  • Although the study provides valuable insights into the role of HR in managing gig workers and freelancers, it is subject to certain limitations. Firstly, the sample size used in the study is relatively small, consisting of only 59 respondents. A larger sample size could have provided more comprehensive and generalizable results. Secondly, a significant proportion of respondents were students.

    Role of HR in Managing Gig Workers and the Freelance Economy · 2026 · DOI

  • While we present a decentralized, protocol-based approach as an alternative future for delivery work, future work guiding implementation and adoption are crucial to make this future viable. Here we highlight two key areas. Designing a Governance Model A decentralized network introduces unpredictable dynamics of competition and collaboration among platforms.

    Envisioning Alternative Futures for Delivery Work: Toward a Decentralized Network Built on the OpenCourier Protocol · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper argues that institutional factors shape the distributional consequences of AI adoption, but this has not been fully explored.

    Artificial Intelligence And The Transformation of Labor Markets · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research is needed to understand the impact of AI on the future workforce in India. Research is needed to identify potential solutions to the challenges posed by AI. Research is needed to analyze the effectiveness of labour law in addressing the challenges and opportunities posed by AI.

    Future Of Indian Workforce- Labour Law And Artificial Intelligence · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper highlights the need for further research on the interplay between AI and labour law.

    Future Of Indian Workforce- Labour Law And Artificial Intelligence · 2026 · DOI

  • Testing the contrast between traditional firms and platform labor, - Further research on the institutional factors explaining variation in AM…

    Beyond Platform Work: Algorithmic Management in Platform Labor and Traditional Organizations—The Hungarian Experience · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Digital Economy and Work Transformation

Most recent work

Find a gap in your own Digital Economy and Work Transformation sub-topic

This page shows what the Digital Economy and Work Transformation literature already flags as unresolved. To narrow it to your specific question, search the Research Gap Finder: the search is free with a free account and lists the papers closest to your topic first. Unlocking that topic (50 credits, charged once) fills the comparison table from our 7.9M-paper local library and writes the gaps from its rows.

Open the Research Gap Finder →

Related topics in Social Sciences

Legal Issues in Turkey
2,143 open questions
Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis
2,051 open questions
Teacher Education and Leadership Studies
1,901 open questions
Higher Education Research Studies
1,814 open questions
Global Educational Policies and Reforms
1,727 open questions
Impact of Technology on Adolescents
1,677 open questions
Electoral Systems and Political Participation
1,653 open questions
Science Education and Pedagogy
1,616 open questions
Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) The gap consists of a lack of understanding of the historical roots of digital platforms' labour model (“Landscapes of precarious labour: on the long prehistory and contingent future…”, 2026); (2) While a growing literature examines these systems in Global North contexts, their operation within politically centralised and institutionally fragile environments remains insufficiently understood (“Silenced by design: The collapse of gig worker voice under algorithmic control…”, 2026); (3) Communication issues and lack of commitment are common challenges faced by HR while managing gig workers (“Role of HR in Managing Gig Workers and the Freelance Economy”, 2026); (4) The paper argues that institutional factors shape the distributional consequences of AI adoption, but this has not been fully explored (“Artificial Intelligence And The Transformation of Labor Markets”, 2026); (5) Further research is needed to understand the impact of AI on the future workforce in India (“Future Of Indian Workforce- Labour Law And Artificial Intelligence”, 2026). 416 gap statements have been mined from Digital Economy and Work Transformation papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 3,841 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

Tools for your next paper

Gaps & Literature SearchFind open questions in any field — 1,100,000+ open gaps mined from our own library.Pre-CheckIs your paper ready? Acceptance odds for top, mid and open/emerging journals, in seconds.Journal FinderA ranked shortlist of target journals from a 17,500-venue index.Duplicate Publication CheckerCheck for prior publication across 7 sources and our local library.Citation GeneratorFreeA DOI or title → APA, MLA, Vancouver, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS. No signup.Graphical Abstract MakerFreeTurn your findings into a colorblind-safe graphical abstract.

How Pre-Check worksHow AI Review works

Compare the category — Honest roundups of the AI research tools, ours listed alongside the alternatives.

Command palette

Jump anywhere, run any action.