RECALIBRATING LABOUR PROCESS THEORY FOR ALGORITHMIC HRM: A SEMI-SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF GIG WORK (2010–2025)

Abstract

Gig work has reconfigured managerial authority through algorithmic infrastructures, raising fundamental questions for Human Resource Management (HRM) and Labour Process Theory (LPT). This study conducts a semi-systematic review and bibliometric mapping of 250 Scopus-indexed publications (2010–2025), retrieved with a targeted query and screened to transparent ex-ante criteria. Using VOSviewer for network analysis and interpretive synthesis, the review connects quantitative structures with substantive debates. The field has expanded rapidly since 2016, remains Euro-Atlantic centred with growing Chinese contributions, and is organised around recurring clusters of control, agency, institutions, and HRM transformation. Building on these patterns, we recalibrate LPT through a triad of Algorithmic Control, Adaptive Agency, and Institutional Co-Governance. Comparative evidence highlights China’s state–platform arrangements as an alternative to adversarial litigation. The article contributes by: (1) providing an updated map of LPT-informed HRM research on platform work; (2) clarifying a framework and propositions for algorithmic HRM; and (3) offering practice and policy implications focused on transparency and hybrid governance.