Effect of Algorithmic Transparency on Gig Workers’ Proactive Service Performance: A Moderated Chain Mediation Model

Algorithmic technology in the gig economy is widely used and adopted by digital platform companies as a new form of managing employees. However, this approach has changed the form of interaction between employees and employers, and led to changes in the individual psychology and work behaviors of gig workers. The study of the impact of algorithms on employees is of great significance for enterprises to optimize employee management, improve organizational efficiency, and optimize digital human resource management practices. Based on the social exchange theory, this study developed a research model, took the gig workers of digital gig platforms in Jiangsu Province as the research object and empirically analyzed the 377 valid questionnaires collected. It was found that algorithmic transparency can positively influence proactive service performance through the chain mediation effect of psychological contract and organizational identification, while techno-complexity has a negative moderating effect on relational and transactional contract fulfillment. The findings of this study theoretically expand the current understanding of algorithmic human resource management and provide practical advice to digital platform companies on how to manage the gig workers more effectively.