Angela Ke Li. 2023. Working with Algorithmic Management: Design Logic, Algorithmic Unfitness, and Labor Repair Behind the Wall. New Media & Society [Pdf: here].
The current literature on algorithmic management primarily explores its external ramifications for workers. Drawing upon the case of Meituan Waimai, China’s dominant food-delivery platform, this article delves into the internal logic that guides the design of algorithmic management. I highlight how an optimal mindset and a mechanized view of human labor drive the formulation of algorithmic management, leading to what I call “algorithmic unfitness.” This concept represents a dissonance between algorithmically programmed, reductionist visions of food delivery and real-world experiences on the ground. In response, the platform constantly delegates tasks from machines to laborers who engage in repair work. The design logic positions couriers as adaptable robots, whose compliance and flexibility are simultaneously requested by the platform. By shedding light on the design choices behind algorithmic management, the article also offers methodological insights for scholars researching algorithmic power in general
The current literature on algorithmic management primarily explores its external ramifications for workers. Drawing upon the case of Meituan Waimai, China’s dominant food-delivery platform, this article delves into the internal logic that guides the design of algorithmic management. I highlight how an optimal mindset and a mechanized view of human labor drive the formulation of algorithmic management, leading to what I call “algorithmic unfitness.” This concept represents a dissonance between algorithmically programmed, reductionist visions of food delivery and real-world experiences on the ground. In response, the platform constantly delegates tasks from machines to laborers who engage in repair work. The design logic positions couriers as adaptable robots, whose compliance and flexibility are simultaneously requested by the platform. By shedding light on the design choices behind algorithmic management, the article also offers methodological insights for scholars researching algorithmic power in general
Angela Ke Li. 2022. Beyond Precarity: Forced Labor in China's Ride-Hailing Industry. New Media & Society. [Pdf: here]
Scholarly discussions of the consequences of the on-demand economy on work mainly focus on precarity. Using a case study of Didi Chuxing, this article moves beyond this conventional approach to highlight coercion as a striking feature of labor relations in China’s ride-hailing industry. Drawing upon the conceptual tool of neo-bondage, this article foregrounds the central role played by forced labor in securing a cheap and docile workforce during Didi’s rapid market expansion. This article advances the existing literature in two ways. First, it highlights the need for a more robust analysis of the productive forces in the on-demand economy. Second, it argues that the on-demand economy not only represents an intensification of the ongoing trend toward precarity but also an extension of forced labor regimes from electronic assembly lines to the service industry.
Scholarly discussions of the consequences of the on-demand economy on work mainly focus on precarity. Using a case study of Didi Chuxing, this article moves beyond this conventional approach to highlight coercion as a striking feature of labor relations in China’s ride-hailing industry. Drawing upon the conceptual tool of neo-bondage, this article foregrounds the central role played by forced labor in securing a cheap and docile workforce during Didi’s rapid market expansion. This article advances the existing literature in two ways. First, it highlights the need for a more robust analysis of the productive forces in the on-demand economy. Second, it argues that the on-demand economy not only represents an intensification of the ongoing trend toward precarity but also an extension of forced labor regimes from electronic assembly lines to the service industry.
Angela Ke Li. 2021. Beyond Algorithmic Control: Flexibity, Intermediaries, and Paradox in the On-Demand Economy. Information, Communication & Society. [Pdf: here]
The existing literature on labor control of on-demand platforms primarily concentrates on algorithmic management. Based on the case study of Didi Chuxing, China’s ride-hailing giant, this article introduces some additional complexities into the dominant storyline by bringing two managerial elements to the fore, namely, labor intermediaries and communication technologies. Although both have long been integral to the control of flexible labor forces in the post-Fordist era, they remain underexplored in the context of the on-demand economy. I argue that labor intermediaries emerge as quick solutions to the indeterminacy of labor mobility power, a critical problem inherent in the just-in-time labor strategies that challenge on-demand platform companies. Communication technologies are crucial for the functioning of this mediated relationship, formulating a virtual space where daily managerial practices take place. Ultimately, I stress that, while the labor process of on-demand platforms represents a shift towards fluid workspace, it does not mean the elimination of the organization-based control that usually occurs in a physical and formal workspace. This case study urges scholars to understand labor control of on-demand platforms as a regime of hybridity that features both continuity and renewal of the various forms of managerial strategies common to flexible production.
Angela Ke Li. 2019. Papi Jiang and Microcelebrity in China: A Multilevel Analysis. International Journal of Communication. [Pdf: here]
The vibrancy of China’s microcelebrity phenomenon contrasts sharply with the scant scholarly attention paid to it. To address this lacuna, this article provides a systematic analysis of Papi Jiang, the most prominent and illustrative example of a Chinese microcelebrity. I argue that Papi’s rise to fame is dependent on a particular digital environment with technological and cultural specificities. By bringing the phenomenon of microcelebrity in China into the spotlight, my work complicates Western-dominated writings that tend to emphasize the performances of microcelebrities as portraying an authentic, intimate, and accessible self. This article also calls for a broader analytical framework for the study of microcelebrity that invokes a multilevel analysis. I argue that microcelebrity could be better understood through combining a microlevel investigation of its performances, a new focus on the active role of digital technologies, and close scrutiny of the broader media ecology and sociocultural contexts in which microcelebrity takes shape.
The vibrancy of China’s microcelebrity phenomenon contrasts sharply with the scant scholarly attention paid to it. To address this lacuna, this article provides a systematic analysis of Papi Jiang, the most prominent and illustrative example of a Chinese microcelebrity. I argue that Papi’s rise to fame is dependent on a particular digital environment with technological and cultural specificities. By bringing the phenomenon of microcelebrity in China into the spotlight, my work complicates Western-dominated writings that tend to emphasize the performances of microcelebrities as portraying an authentic, intimate, and accessible self. This article also calls for a broader analytical framework for the study of microcelebrity that invokes a multilevel analysis. I argue that microcelebrity could be better understood through combining a microlevel investigation of its performances, a new focus on the active role of digital technologies, and close scrutiny of the broader media ecology and sociocultural contexts in which microcelebrity takes shape.
Angela Ke Li. 2018. Convergence and de-Convergence of Chinese Journalistic Practice in the Digital Age. Journalism. [Pdf: here]
The existing literature broadly suggests that newsrooms are adapting to the media convergence world at the cost of traditional quality journalism. However, based on my ethnographic study of the Beijing News, I propose a convergence and de-convergence model of journalistic practice. The model explains how one Chinese newspaper preserves the legacy of critical journalism, on the one hand, while negotiating the challenges of adapting to the converging trends on the other. I argue that a well-established organizational culture and a working routine are crucial in the newspaper’s transformation, which makes it impossible to redesign the newsroom and redefine journalism with technology alone. Moreover, the article calls for a more nuanced understanding of the transformation of legacy media in the digital age, especially considering a non-Western context. I argue that the Chinese newspaper’s response to technological and economic impacts brought by the Internet is in fact mediated by political concerns.
The existing literature broadly suggests that newsrooms are adapting to the media convergence world at the cost of traditional quality journalism. However, based on my ethnographic study of the Beijing News, I propose a convergence and de-convergence model of journalistic practice. The model explains how one Chinese newspaper preserves the legacy of critical journalism, on the one hand, while negotiating the challenges of adapting to the converging trends on the other. I argue that a well-established organizational culture and a working routine are crucial in the newspaper’s transformation, which makes it impossible to redesign the newsroom and redefine journalism with technology alone. Moreover, the article calls for a more nuanced understanding of the transformation of legacy media in the digital age, especially considering a non-Western context. I argue that the Chinese newspaper’s response to technological and economic impacts brought by the Internet is in fact mediated by political concerns.
Angela Ke Li & Colin Sparks. 2018. Chinese Newspapers and Investigative Reporting in the New Media Age. Journalism Studies. [Pdf: here]
Drawing on fieldwork at the Beijing News, this paper examines how emerging economic pressures facing newspapers, the increasingly draconian political climate under the new leadership, and the development of new media challenge Chinese investigative journalists. In order to remain competitive, the investigative reporting unit of the Beijing News has reshuffled its organization and readjusted its reporting strategy. The paper concentrates on the interplay between political and economic factors in defining the context of Chinese investigative journalism. It argues that studies of Chinese journalism should not only consider the enduring political control that trammels journalistic practice, but also pay attention to the impact of other factors, notably technological developments and economic pressures.
Drawing on fieldwork at the Beijing News, this paper examines how emerging economic pressures facing newspapers, the increasingly draconian political climate under the new leadership, and the development of new media challenge Chinese investigative journalists. In order to remain competitive, the investigative reporting unit of the Beijing News has reshuffled its organization and readjusted its reporting strategy. The paper concentrates on the interplay between political and economic factors in defining the context of Chinese investigative journalism. It argues that studies of Chinese journalism should not only consider the enduring political control that trammels journalistic practice, but also pay attention to the impact of other factors, notably technological developments and economic pressures.
Angela Ke Li. 2015. Towards a More Proactive Method: Regulating Public Opinion on Chinese Microblog under Xi's New Ledaership. China Perspectives. [Pdf: here]
Drawing upon policy analysis and textual analysis of official microblogs, this paper describes how Xi’s new leadership regulates public opinion and public emotion in Chinese microblogs. The paper argues that the advent of the Xi Jinping administration demonstrates much more aggressive ideological demands. On the one hand, the new leadership has increasingly ramped up its efforts on censoring information and repressing critical public opinion. On the other hand, however, it has paid more attention to proactively guiding public opinion on the Internet. New strategies, represented by cultivating self-discipline among Internet users, repressing the insubordinate and wooing obedient public opinion leaders, establishing cooperation between official microblogs, and eliminating emotional outpourings in the microblogsphere have been used in Xi’s new ideological campaign to repress Internet rumours and sanitise critical public discourse.
Drawing upon policy analysis and textual analysis of official microblogs, this paper describes how Xi’s new leadership regulates public opinion and public emotion in Chinese microblogs. The paper argues that the advent of the Xi Jinping administration demonstrates much more aggressive ideological demands. On the one hand, the new leadership has increasingly ramped up its efforts on censoring information and repressing critical public opinion. On the other hand, however, it has paid more attention to proactively guiding public opinion on the Internet. New strategies, represented by cultivating self-discipline among Internet users, repressing the insubordinate and wooing obedient public opinion leaders, establishing cooperation between official microblogs, and eliminating emotional outpourings in the microblogsphere have been used in Xi’s new ideological campaign to repress Internet rumours and sanitise critical public discourse.