Sorting and matching processes on online care platforms

• Applicant: Professorin Lena Hipp, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 535467021

The outlined research project will investigate sorting and matching processes on online care and household platforms that involve great information asymmetries between those who offer and those who purchase such services. How do seekers select providers of care and household services? What do those who offer these services do to get (good) job offers? To answer these and related questions on trust-building and discrimination on online care and household platforms, this research project will draw on several methodologies. In a first step, we will collect qualitative interviews with persons offering or seeking care and household services to learn about their motives and selection criteria. With automated text analysis procedures of provider profiles, we will next examine the individual self-representations of providers. The findings of these exploratory analyses will be used for the design a factorial survey experiment (FSE) with seekers of care and household services (demand-side). The FSE will test whether there is discrimination against men on these platforms and examine the role of online ratings, formal qualifications, as well as experience compared to profile descriptions that signal warmth and likeability. Theoretically, we will draw on a combination of theories on trust-building and social-psychological theories on discrimination and gender stereotypes to understand how matching and sorting processes on these online platforms are organized. In particular, we will theorize the concept of “trust-based discrimination” and empirically test this type of discrimination empirically. The findings of our research project will be both of practical and sociological relevance. In light of growing demographic changes, care and household services are becoming increasingly important. Job placements through these platforms are therefore important entry points into professional activities for different social groups. In addition to student workers, low-income earners, people re-entering the workforce, or people without formal qualifications and a lack of German language skills for instance, might use such platforms to find work. At the same time, however, care and household service jobs in private households—which are predominantly held by women—are often characterized by informal and precarious working conditions. Against this backdrop, a better understanding of the underlying selection processes will contribute to our understanding of persistent inequalities and can inform both policymakers and platform businesses. This applies specifically to the questions of whether men may experience discrimination and whether formal qualifications lead to more and “better” job offers or whether a likeable first impression is much more decisive than competencies.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants