Commitment and Entrenchment Among Gig Economy Workers: Interactions Between Work and Life Foci

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5020/2318-0722.2025.31.e15252

Keywords:

commitment, entrenchment, gig economy

Abstract

This article aims to understand how the multiple focuses of commitment and entrenchment are configured and interact with each other in the context of the Gig Economy. Through qualitative and exploratory research, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 app drivers in Brazil. The findings indicated that workers replace the traditional organization with a set of foci of commitment and entrenchment with work, family, friends, and others. There are synergy interactions and commitment conflicts, highlighting three profiles of commitment systems, which were divided by the existence/absence of work-life conflict. In the case of entrenchment, hierarchies, and synergies were also found. As a contribution, the research presents the methodological operationalization for the analysis of commitment systems, a theory that is still recent and that demands methodological construction for measurement.

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Author Biographies

Giselle Cavalcante Queiroz, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil

Substitute professor at UFC. PhD in Administration from University of São Paulo (USP); MSc and BSc in Administration from UFC. Researcher in the research group Work Context, People Management, and Organizational Relationships at the Faculty of Economics, Administration, Actuarial Sciences, and Accounting of UFC. Research interests include human resource management, work-related bonds, commitment, entrenchment, gig economy, uberization, and platform-based work.

Ana Carolina de Aguiar Rodrigues, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Psychologist and administrator; MSc and PhD in Psychology. Associate professor at the School of Economics, Business, and Accounting of USP, where she coordinates the Center for Studies on Behavior and Work in Precarious Contexts (ComTrab). Researcher in the Working Group of the National Association for Research and Graduate Studies in Psychology (ANPEPP). Her research focuses on work and community bonds, migration contexts, informality, and labor precarization, with an emphasis on mixed-methods approaches.

Daniela Campos Bahia Moscon, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

Psychologist; MSc and PhD in Administration from UFBA. Associate professor at UFBA. Coordinator of the Professional Master’s Program in Administration and the Specialization Program in Human Resource Management of the Open University of Brazil – CAPES. Lecturer in specialization programs at Institute of Education and Research (São Paulo). Associate editor of Revista Psicologia: Organizações e Trabalho. Member of a Working Group at National Association for Research and Post-Graduate Studies in Psychology. Former department head (2021–2023) and member of the scientific committee of the People Management Division of the National Association of Graduate Programs in Administration (2021–2023). Her research addresses employment relations, human behavior at work, and human resource management.

Geraldo Tessarini Junior, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

PhD in Administration from the Faculty of Economics, Business, Accounting, and Actuarial Sciences of USP. Member of the Center for Studies on Behavior and Work in Precarious Contexts. His research focuses on employment relations and organizational studies.

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Published

2025-02-03

How to Cite

QUEIROZ, Giselle Cavalcante; RODRIGUES, Ana Carolina de Aguiar; MOSCON, Daniela Campos Bahia; TESSARINI JUNIOR, Geraldo. Commitment and Entrenchment Among Gig Economy Workers: Interactions Between Work and Life Foci. Journal of Administrative Sciences, [S. l.], v. 31, p. 1–13, 2025. DOI: 10.5020/2318-0722.2025.31.e15252. Disponível em: https://ojs.unifor.br/rca/article/view/15252. Acesso em: 8 aug. 2026.

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