Publication Type

PhD Dissertation

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

3-2026

Abstract

The gig economy has reshaped labor markets. Motivating mobile, loosely contracted gig workers to engage in prosocial behavior is critical for platform governance. This paper uses a randomized field experiment on FlashEx in comparable Chinese cities to examine how monetary incentives affect delivery workers’ prosocial behavior and related economic outcomes.

The main findings of this study are as follows. First, monetary incentives significantly promote gig workers’ prosocial behavior, effectively increasing both the likelihood and frequency of their participation in altruistic acts. This effect is primarily driven by the “instrumental value” mechanism in the gig economy: the platform’s gold coin rewards, accompanied by privileges such as priority order allocation, enable prosocial behavior to be converted into a critical resource for improving productivity and income, thereby avoiding the “signal contamination” often associated with traditional monetary incentives. In addition, as an institutional signal, gold coin rewards transform prosocial behavior from spontaneous altruism into a form of identity construction and institutional recognition within the platform ecosystem, enhancing the professional sustainability of such behavior. Second, the effectiveness of monetary incentives exhibits significant heterogeneity across different groups of gig workers. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the incentive mechanism is more effective for highly engaged “quasi-full-time” workers and those with pre-existing prosocial tendencies, reflecting a complementary synergy between external incentives and intrinsic altruistic motivation. However, for the workers with already outstanding historical performance, the marginal effect of gold coin incentives diminishes, displaying a clear pattern of “high-performer saturation”. At the same time, extreme weather conditions significantly weaken the positive effect of monetary incentives. Third, prosocial behavior incentive policies significantly enhance the work value of gig workers on the platform. Empirical results indicate that implementing such policies can increase gig workers’ cumulative order value by approximately 10.8%. This value enhancement is realized through a mechanism combining monetary incentives and market recognition: prosocial behavior improves user experience, while user-side tipping and ratings further amplify the positive effects of the incentive policy, achieving a synergistic increase in both social and economic value.

Overall, this research provides scientific evidence for platform firms to design more targeted management and incentive strategies for gig workers.

Keywords

Gig Economy, Gig Workers, Prosocial Behavior, Monetary Incentives

Degree Awarded

Doctor of Bus Admin (CKGSB)

Discipline

Operations and Supply Chain Management | Organizational Behavior and Theory

Supervisor(s)

WANG, Heli

First Page

1

Last Page

138

Publisher

Singapore Management University

City or Country

Singapore

Copyright Owner and License

Author

Download

Share

COinS