Paper Number
ECIS2026-2309
Paper Type
SP
Abstract
Ridehailing constitutes a digitally orchestrated performance where algorithms act as invisible directors. Drivers engage in dual-audience impression management, performing for both customers and algorithms, while customers alternate between audience, co-performer, and evaluator. The result is re-composed service performance: authenticity, autonomy, and quality are redefined by platform logics. Classical service-as-theatre (SaT) and algorithmic management (AM) each capture partial truths: the former explains the “how” of performance, the latter the “why” of compliance. Smiles, politeness, and composure remain—not as pre-digital traces, but as human resonance adapted to algorithmic orchestration. By bridging AM and SaT, in this short paper, we offer an empirical study and preliminary theorization of algorithmic dramaturgy (AD)–a sociotechnical mode of service performance in which human and algorithmic actors co-produce relational order. We advance theoretical conversations about sociotechnical control and service work at the intersection of SaT and AM, extending service relation research in the digital age.
Recommended Citation
Toikka, Artur and Stein, Mari-Klara, "Algorithmic Dramaturgy: A Sociotechnical Mode Of Platform-Mediated Service Performance" (2026). ECIS 2026 Proceedings. 7.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2026/algo_fow/algo_fow/7
Algorithmic Dramaturgy: A Sociotechnical Mode Of Platform-Mediated Service Performance
Ridehailing constitutes a digitally orchestrated performance where algorithms act as invisible directors. Drivers engage in dual-audience impression management, performing for both customers and algorithms, while customers alternate between audience, co-performer, and evaluator. The result is re-composed service performance: authenticity, autonomy, and quality are redefined by platform logics. Classical service-as-theatre (SaT) and algorithmic management (AM) each capture partial truths: the former explains the “how” of performance, the latter the “why” of compliance. Smiles, politeness, and composure remain—not as pre-digital traces, but as human resonance adapted to algorithmic orchestration. By bridging AM and SaT, in this short paper, we offer an empirical study and preliminary theorization of algorithmic dramaturgy (AD)–a sociotechnical mode of service performance in which human and algorithmic actors co-produce relational order. We advance theoretical conversations about sociotechnical control and service work at the intersection of SaT and AM, extending service relation research in the digital age.
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