The potential benefits of mobile microwork services in developing nations: Research opportunities and challenges

Abstract

Unemployment is one of the main hindrances to socio-economic development in developing nations. At the same time, the prominent adoption and use of digital technologies, especially mobile devices have changed the status quo in Africa with regard to digital divide, communication, and information access. Nevertheless, most parts of Africa and other developing countries are still lagging behind when it comes to the swiftness of implementing technologies that have the potential of addressing pressing issues such as unemployment. On-demand mobile microwork services, which are a subset of the crowdsourcing paradigm, are some of the initiatives that are under-explored, particularly for dealing with issues of unemployment. This research paper explores the potential benefits of such services as one possible contribution for dealing with joblessness in developing nations where mobile devices are easily accessible and used. Furthermore, the paper presents some of the pertinent research opportunities and challenges that need to be considered when dealing with mobile microwork services.

Exploring the Potential of Mobile Crowdsourcing in the Sharing of Information on Items Prices

“…Furthermore, selected crowd may have a degree of expertise that is not available within the organisation, who can work to solve more complex issues or tasks. By interacting with the crowd, organisations can gain insight into customers or potential customers preferences that encourage tapping into the intelligence of the crowd in order to address unique, large and critical problems [30]. In addition to these, working with an external group of people can be a source of personal satisfaction too.…”

Moving Beyond Microwork: Rebundling Digital Education and Reterritorialising Digital Labour

“…(Un)realised Potential and Platforms of Microwork Largely emerging from the rise of crowdsourcing in the 2000s, microwork refers to small digital tasks that people can perform anywhere to supplement their income. Largely due to the ubiquity of mobile technology, microwork was seen as a potential offset to increasing levels of youth unemployment (Mtsweni and Burge 2014), particularly in emerging economies where low levels of access to more sophisticated forms of ICT (computers, smartphones, programmes and software, reliable internet access) disadvantage many. Further, microwork platforms were seen, and still are largely seen, as boons to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) where access to specialised skills had proven difficult through traditional recruitment platforms or methods (2014).…”

“…Barriers to participation, particularly for those from emerging economies, are significant. Beyond having the prerequisite skills to perform the tasks presented in microwork, and the soft skills necessary to obtain this work and develop an online reputation suggesting both capability and trustworthiness, exploitation of microworkers is a pressing issue (Mtsweni and Burge 2014) as are the erosion of fair labour practices due to the precarity of the labour being advanced (Webster 2016). Payment exchanges are often problematic in emerging economies, particularly as many microwork platforms pay through inaccessible applications such as PayPal (Galpaya et al 2018); channelling secure payments to microworkers via a micropayment gateway that could accommodate a range of payment methods (e.g.…”

“…Yet beyond these barriers, the adoption of microwork in emerging economies is further affected by gender and cultural practices associated with online work. Bidding for microwork might not be as readily accepted or understood due to its competitive structure (Mtsweni and Burge 2014). Women are less likely to participate in microwork at least partially due to the gender digital divide that limits meaningful access and use to the minimum technology required to participate, namely mobile phones, and a lack of conceptualization of the potential benefits that access and use provides (Bailur et al 2018).…”

Attitudes of Belgian Companies towards Outsourcing Microwork to Africa

“…It can alleviate rampant unemployment in Africa (Onkokame, Schoentgen & Gillwald, 2018). And, although there might be a corresponding impact on the outsourcing country's labour market, companies would increase their global competitive advantage by achieving efficiencies and cost benefits, leading to economic growth (Mtsweni, & Burge, 2014).…”