SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT IN THE GIG ECONOMY: TRADITIONAL VS. GIG BUSINESS MODEL IN THE DELIVERY SECTOR

Abstract

In a global energy and natural gas crisis and high inflation rate caused by geopolitical tensions and war, the question of achieving sustainability arises. In the stringent needs of today’s lives and future ones, governments and privately-held company managers have to prioritise, choosing between the transitions towards the old and the new, between opening coal mines and implementing renewable energy systems, between people and profit, between profit and planet, between planet and people. Thus, the current article explores sustainable management principles by looking at the delivery sector, one of the most affected by the increasing fuel price and technological advancement, in which traditional and GIG economy models coexist and challenge the people, planet and profit status quo. Navigating through the main theories in the field of sustainability from governmental, non-governmental, and environmental perspectives, this article clarifies the GIG economy principles, thriving to find a compiling business model for the delivery sector. The theoretical analysis has served to design a quantitative questionnaire dedicated to GIG workers, which revealed that sustainable management in the GIG economy, applied to the delivery sector, has a long way to go towards respecting the independence criteria imposed by legislation and balancing the fair payment and incentivising eco-practices.