Digital platforms, surveillance and processes of demoralization

Authors

Sung Hwan Chai, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Brian Nicholson, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK, Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Robert W Scapens, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK, Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
ChunLei Yang, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

Document Type

Research Article

Abstract

While digital platforms have become an increasingly important research area in the information systems discipline, the existing literature does not conceptualize a theoretical link between platforms and morality. This paper theorizes such a link by drawing on Jensen’s (2010) conceptualization of processes of demoralization to operationalize two notions from critical social theorist Zygmunt Bauman: workers’ moral impulse and moral ambivalence. We conducted a case study of a large luxury resort hotel to examine how digital platforms (specifically TripAdvisor and WhatsApp) facilitate surveillance. Our findings show how digital platform-facilitated synoptic and panoptic forms of surveillance can suppress workers’ moral impulse and foster moral ambivalence towards such issues as invading others’ privacy, pressuring others outside working hours, and increasing surveillance in the workplace. This paper offers a novel perspective on theorizing the links between digital platforms, surveillance, and workers’ morality and highlights some unintended consequences.

DOI

10.1177/02683962231208215

Recommended Citation

Chai, Sung Hwan; Nicholson, Brian; Scapens, Robert W; and Yang, ChunLei (2024) "Digital platforms, surveillance and processes of demoralization," Journal of Information Technology: Vol. 39: Iss. 3, Article 9.
DOI: 10.1177/02683962231208215
Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/jit/vol39/iss3/9