Abstract

In two-sided online labor markets, information about worker quality is jointly shaped by signals generated by workers, clients, and the platform. However, information asymmetry makes it difficult for clients to assess worker quality, particularly in supply-driven platforms where workers compete for visibility and selection. In such settings, the effectiveness of signals depends on how they are configured and interpreted in relation to one another. This study examines signaling strategies from a portfolio perspective in supply-driven online labor markets, conceptualizing signals as an integrated portfolio whose interactions shape market outcomes. In doing so, we theorize how a comprehensive portfolio of rhetorical and substantive description signals and demonstration signals, generated by multiple sources, interact to mitigate information asymmetry and shape gig workers’ success in attracting clients. Using data from Fiverr, our findings show that both rhetorical and substantive description signals generated by workers and clients play a critical role in determining worker success. The results also reveal that demonstration signals from the platform and workers moderate these relationships by complementing the effects of substantive description signals from clients while substituting for the effects of workers’ rhetorical description signals. We further present suggestive evidence indicating that rhetorical description signals and platform-endorsed demonstration signals are more salient determinants of worker success in projects with higher outcome uncertainty. This study contributes to the literature by shedding light on the signal portfolio perspective, which integrates signals generated by the platform and its participants in two-sided online labor markets.

DOI

10.17705/1jais.01000

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