A conceptual framework for building trust on a gig platform : An qualitative study of which factors make customers trust giggers in knowledge sharing

Sammanfattning: The development of information technology through Internet is disrupting the ways that people share and receive knowledge. Traditional communication channels, such as face to face-communication is to an increasing extent accompanied by knowledge sharing through digital communication channels. Furthermore, the digital channels offers methods to instantly charge for knowledge sharing with a monetary transaction. The gig economy is a concept that was first coined at 2009, but that has shown rapid and scalable growth in terms of both revenue and practitioners. Gigging, which is the main activity that is performed within the gig context, refers to working in an environment in which temporary work tasks are made by independent workers for short- term engagements. The purpose of this paper is to investigate one of the most recent trends within gigging, namely how to make extra money by sharing knowledge online. The study in this paper is done on Udemy.com, a platform that allows giggers to upload a video of a lecture. Potential buyers of these courses visit Udemy.com, search for what they want to learn, and will then be able to choose courses and tutors based on their own judgement. Knowledge sharing is not a new concept, e.g. lending books at libraries has been part of different cultures for a long time, but knowledge sharing through the gig economy context is a a rather new concept. Trust is key in online communities and gig platforms. On Udemy, giggers set up a profile, record a course and promote themselves in order to get more leads on their courses. Quality assurance of the course is a challenge in this context. Previous research has stated a few methods and principles to follow when gigging, but no research has been done on how to gigg within the context of knowledge sharing. The central research question in this paper is: “What aspects affect a potential buyer’s perceived trust towards tutor that has uploaded a course on Udemy.com?”. To answer the research question, a thoroughly literature study was made, convering the areas of building trust in the gig economy and the area of personal branding online. A conceptual framework was developed by comparing many different research articles within these fields, and finding common themes that builds trust for the potential buyer. A qualitative data collection was made by doing a think aloud-test on the gig platform Udemy.com. The think aloud study was done to verify the conceptual framework that was bought forward in the literature study, and to invetstigate further improvements of the framework. Trust is an abstract concept since it is based on a feeling, and qualitative research is more suitable than quantitative research to investigate these types of values. A think aloud study on the online platform Udemy.com was therefore done, in combination with a pre- and postinterview. The reason for doing a pre- and post- interview was to undertand the participants’ attitudes towards using a gig platform that offers knowledge sharing dynamics. The main aim of this study is to be able to bring forward a conceptual frmework that can be given to gig companies that strives for having an active marketplace, and that wants to help the giggers on the platform to sell their courses. Results from the qualitative study showed that the conceptual framework that was brought forward in the literature study, and subsequently tested in the qualitative interviews, was not sufficient to guarantee the participants’ perceived trust for the tutors. The conceptual framework was relevant, but many more aspects of building trust was discovered in the qualitative study. These aspects is relevant to investigate in further research. The discussion part of this paper discusses challenges in giiging knowledge sharing. It furthermore suggest improvement of investigation methodologies and further research in this context. Bringing forward the conceptual framework from an extensive literature review was central in this study. The qualitative data collection resultet in improvements of the framework. These contributions of improvement of the framework could however be tested further.