Exploring How Self-Organizing Communities are Sustained

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the evolving landscape of work driven by self-organizing processes, focusing on their impact on worker contributions and experiences. The first study examines the outcomes of decentralizing employee development within organizations. By analyzing a mixedmethods case study of SelfCo, where employee development is managed through a peer-to-peer digital platform, the study investigates whether employees can capture returns from proactively participating in development services. Using archival personnel data, fuzzy sets qualitative comparative analysis, and in-depth interviews, the study explores how human and social capital investments relate to salary increases and identifies patterns of development investments that lead to individual returns. The second study explores the management of fear-based stigma in stigmatized occupations, specifically focusing on hacking. By analyzing public narratives and conducting interviews with hackers and platform leaders, this study develops a process model of stigma management tactics. It reveals how stigmatization can blend identities and practices, and how individuals can correct misattributed fear-based stigma to convey the positive value of their occupation. The third study analyzes engagement dynamics in the gig economy, focusing on the interaction between individual workers and digital intermediaries. This conceptual study introduces the notion of engagement funnels, describing how platforms manage varying degrees of worker engagement through self-selection mechanisms. The study highlights the importance of understanding engagement structures that facilitate both paid and unpaid contributions, supporting the gig economy's sustainability. Overall, this dissertation contributes to literature on employee-driven development, stigma management, and engagement in the gig economy. By drawing on human capital theory, stigma management, and signaling theory, it extends our understanding of how communities within and across organizations can support individuals' careers, well-being, and engagement.