#CoopTech: Platform Cooperativism as the Engine of Solidary Growth

Summary

This research investigates some cases of cooperative platforms in the field of workerowned cooperation and consumer cooperation and explores the effects of the merger of platform technology with cooperation. The research focuses on the main consequences of this merger on the organizational model and the engagement level of individuals and studies the change of attitudes of providers and consumers when they are engaged in a cooperative project. The argument is that a cooperative platform can offer solutions and answers to both platform workers’ needs and problems of modern consumption by allowing both providers and consumers to join the entrepreneurial project, share resources – and, in specific cases, earnings – in an equal way, and be part of a community. Against the outsourcing and dispersive models of a classical digital platform, such as Deliveroo, Uber or Airbnb, where providers and consumers are separated and isolated, a cooperative platform enables the propensity of providers and consumers to engage in collective actions and become the protagonist of the platform activity. In this way, the organizational form of a cooperative platform is both an alternative to classical digital platforms and an evolution of traditional cooperative models.

Keywords: Platform cooperativism, Gig workers, Prosumers, Digital platform, Platform work