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(Dis)embeddedness and (de)commodification: COVID-19, UBer, and the unravelling logics of the gig economy

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Adam Badger

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

The ride-hailing giant Uber has long circumvented labour regulations and commodified its drivers’ labour by existing at the conjuncture of multiple geographies – being simultaneously embedded and disembedded from the places where it operates. In this commentary, we argue that the COVID-19 pandemic has destabilised Uber’s ‘conjunctural’ existence and forced the company to become more embedded in the locations where it operates, bringing about a – perhaps temporary – turn towards the decommodification of its drivers’ labour.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Katta S, Badger A, Graham M, Howson K, Ustek-Spilda F, Bertolini A

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Dialogues in Human Geography

Year: 2020

Volume: 10

Issue: 2

Pages: 203-207

Print publication date: 01/07/2020

Online publication date: 23/06/2020

Acceptance date: 25/03/2020

Date deposited: 23/10/2025

ISSN (print): 2043-8206

ISSN (electronic): 2043-8214

Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd.

URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/2043820620934942

DOI: 10.1177/2043820620934942

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Funding

Funder referenceFunder name
Economic and Social Research Council through the Global Challenges Research Fund [grant agreement number ES/S00081X/1]
European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme [grant agreement number 838081]
German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
OX/BER Research Partnership Seed Funding Fund [grant agreement number OXBER_SOC3]

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