Field Experiment Sheds New Light on Gig Work in Food Delivery

Field Experiment Sheds New Light on Gig Work in Food Delivery

A recent field experiment conducted on a leading food delivery platform is reigniting debate over whether gig workers should be classified as freelancers or full-time employees. The study, presented by Asst Prof Wee Kiat Lee from Nanyang Technological University, and co-authored by Yao Cui and Li Qi, was showcased at the 15th POMS-HK International Conference – OM and AI: The Next Horizon, held at the Chinese University of Hong Kong from 3 to 5 January 2025.

Re-examining Worker Classification in the Gig Economy

As gig platforms continue to transform the delivery and service landscape, discussions surrounding the appropriate regulatory classification of service providers have grown more urgent. This research adopts an operational perspective and challenges conventional assumptions by directly evaluating worker performance under two distinct contractual arrangements.

In a carefully designed field experiment, customer orders were randomly assigned to either freelancers or employees. The study reveals critical operational trade-offs: freelancers often take longer to complete orders due to decentralised management, yet they demonstrate higher on-time delivery performance by prioritising urgent orders. In contrast, employees benefit from centralised order coordination, which optimises route efficiency, but often at the expense of meeting time-sensitive delivery commitments.

These insights offer practical guidance on how food delivery platforms can tailor their operational strategies according to workers’ employment status.

Conference Context and Author Information

This study forms part of a broader conversation at the 15th POMS-HK International Conference, where operations management and artificial intelligence intersect to explore the next frontier for research and practice. The event serves as a vibrant platform for idea exchange among scholars, industry practitioners, and policymakers from around the world.

Presenter and Authors:
Asst Prof Wee Kiat Lee, from Nanyang Technological University, together with co-authors Yao Cui and Li Qi, presented their findings in the paper titled “Freelancers or Employees? A Field Experiment With a Food Delivery Platform.”

The work not only advances understanding of the gig economy’s dynamics, but also offers actionable insights for platform operators, regulators, and researchers striving to promote fair, effective, and sustainable labour practices in the fast-changing digital economy.

For further details, refer to the conference booklet available on the POMS-HK website at POMS-HK 2025 or the working paper at SSRN.