Performative utterance

Sociology

Work (physics)

Construct (python library)

Knowledge management

Politics

Control reconfiguration

Epistemology

Engineering

Philosophy

Political science

Embedded system

Programming language

Computer science

Capitalism

Mechanical engineering

Information Systems Journal

Existing IS research on platform work has narrowly focused on the managerial operations of algorithmic management or its business implications. Limited research has paid attention to the scalar effects and societal implications of platform work. In this study, we address the phenomenon of ‘speed’ in the on‐demand economy through a qualitative study of Chinese food delivery workers. We construct a performative view of spatiotemporality to illustrate the reconfiguration of multiple spatiotemporal orders. The paper thus broadens the theorisation of time and space in IS research and provides a more nuanced and critical understanding of platform work against the backdrop of structural inequality in platform capitalism.

Producing speed on demand: Reconfiguration of space and time in food delivery platform work