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Master Thesis

What factors influence freelance workers with regard to

a reliable Service Delivery commitment for small and

medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)?

MSc. Business Administration – Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Lecture: Dr. W. van der Aa Supervisor: Dr. A.S. Alexiev

Date: June 24th, 2016 Student: Luca Corrieri Student number: 11109386

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Statement of originality

This document is written by Luca Corrieri who declares to take full responsibility for the contents of this document.

I declare that the text and the work presented in this document is original and that no sources other than those mentioned in the text and its references have been used in creating it.

The Faculty of Economics and Business is responsible solely for the supervision of completion of the work, not for the contents.

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Abstract

The Internet era has given small and medium-sized enterprises completely new service opportunities. These service opportunities provide technological and human solutions by bundling organizational, technological, and human capabilities and competences. Since small and medium-sized enterprises often lack resources and competences, securing the right partnerships are crucial for an enterprise’s growth strategy. ‘Freelance’ is a specific type of employment that, thanks to the Internet, has no geographical constraints on the individual and is worthwhile for firms in terms of added competence and skills. Hence, attracting and maintaining the right service freelance workers is of great importance for small and medium-sized enterprises. This master’s thesis adopts a discovery-oriented approach, in order to understand the motivation that freelancers have for maintaining their relationship with the service firm and to continue delivering a high service. In the case of relationship commitment, service freelance workers are influenced by their affective and calculative commitments. Interview data suggest that feedback, work ethics, identification with service firm, job significance, knowledge management, professionalism, and support directly influence affective commitment, while monetary reward, potential market demand, and switching costs influence calculative commitment. The findings from the literature review together with interview data generate an integrative framework that could be helpful for service firms when considering how to maintain and motivate their service freelance workers.

Keywords: Service firm, Relationship commitment, Service freelance workers, Small

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Table of contents

LIST OF FIGURES ... 1 LIST OF TABLES ... 1 A INTRODUCTION ... 2 B LITERATURE REVIEW ... 4 1 Service innovation ... 4

1.1 Co-producing and orchestrating service innovation ... 4

2 Small and medium-sized IT firms ... 5

2.1 SMEs and partnerships ... 6

2.2 Role of trust in SME partnerships ... 7

2.3 Nonlocal IT service partnerships ... 8

3 Improving service delivery ... 9

3.1 Knowledge management ... 10

3.2 Job characteristics ... 11

3.3 Employee satisfaction ... 12

4 Freelance workers ... 12

4.1 Individual career perspective ... 13

4.2 Entrepreneurial perspective ... 14

5 Freelancer commitment towards platform owners ... 14

5.1 Calculative commitment ... 15

5.2 Affective commitment ... 17

6 Conceptual model ... 18

C METHODOLOGY ... 20

1 Data collection ... 20

2 Research population sample ... 20

3 Analytical strategy ... 22

4 Validity and reliability ... 23

D RESEARCH FINDINGS ... 24

1 Calculative commitment ... 24

1.1 Monetary reward ... 25

1.2 Potential market demand ... 26

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2 Affective commitment ... 27

2.1 Feedback ... 28

2.2 Work ethics ... 29

2.3 Identification with service SME ... 30

2.4 Job significance ... 31

2.5 Knowledge management ... 32

2.6 Professionalism by service SME ... 32

2.7 Support ... 33

E DISCUSSION OF RESULTS ... 35

1.1 Calculative commitment ... 35

1.2 Affective commitment ... 38

1.3 Limitations and further research ... 42

F CONCLUSIONS ... 44 REFERENCES ... III APPENDICES ... XIII

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Integrative framework (Hsieh & Hsieh, 2013, p. 312) ... 15

Figure 2 Conceptual model ... 19

Figure 3 Intention to deliver a high quality service ... 24

Figure 4 Comparison calculative research findings vs. existing findings ... 36

Figure 5 Solution 1 for service SMEs to commit service freelancers ... 38

Figure 6 Comparison intrinsic research findings vs. existing findings ... 38

Figure 7 Similarities in the identification commitment antecedent ... 39

Figure 8 Comparison of existing perceived service quality vs. new findings ... 40

Figure 9 Solution 2 for service SMEs to commit service freelancers ... 42

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Importance of monetary reward ... 25

Table 2 Unimportance of monetary reward ... 26

Table 3 Potential market demand ... 26

Table 4 Loyalty towards IT SME SCRiBBR ... 27

Table 5 Switching costs ... 27

Table 6 Feedback ... 29

Table 7 Work ethics ... 30

Table 8 Identification with service SME SCRiBBR ... 31

Table 9 Job satisfaction ... 31

Table 10 Knowledge management ... 32

Table 11 Professionalism by service SME SCRiBBR ... 33

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A INTRODUCTION

Service innovation is broadly discussed in the literature, and has proven challenging to define. This challenge is because service innovation is not a tangible product (McDermott and Prajogo, 2012), but is there to provide a technological and human solution by bundling organizational, technological, and human capabilities and competences (Gadrey, Gallouj & Weinstein, 1995).

At a time where trends in technology are affecting the information technology (IT) industry through intense competition (Findikoglu & Watson-Manheim, 2015), and where globalization is triggering new challenges for business activities (Nambisan, 2002), new service provider opportunities have arisen. Those opportunities are the reason that an increasing number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are emerging. SMEs are typically characterized by a small number of employees and limited resources, and they are therefore in need to acquire complementary resources through partnerships (Das & He, 2006).

In order to understand how IT SMEs are able to manage service innovation through partnerships, the existing conceptual framework by den Hertog, van der Aa, and de Jong (2010) will be taken into account. More precisely, this master’s thesis will mainly consider the capability of co-producing and orchestrating, where a service provider is responsible to co-produce and co-design service solutions with external parties.

The fact that the IT industry enables new service innovation opportunities for SMEs, and that the role of global partnerships are crucial to gain knowledge and resources, a specific type of IT employment will be researched within thesis: freelancers. Freelancers are considered by van den Born and Witteloostuijn (2013) as hybrids in being employees and entrepreneurs. This leads to different commitment affects towards the service provider they are working for.

Recent research conducted by Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) has tried to elaborate on freelance developers’ motivations to maintain relationships with platform owners. They suggested an interesting integrative framework, but due to its sole focus on freelance developers, their findings are not useful for general commitment statements about freelancing. Hence, due to emerging service innovation opportunities for IT SMEs, a new integrative framework towards service freelancer commitment must be

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developed. For that reason, this master’s thesis will answer the following research question:

What factors motivate freelance workers, with regard to a reliable Service Delivery commitment, for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)?

To obtain an answer to this question, research similar to that of Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) will be undertaken. The reason behind using their research methodology is because results can then be better compared and, hence, a more valuable outcome can emerge. This research consists of three stages to distinguish the factors that motivate online freelance workers to deliver high quality service. These are:

(1) A prior literature review

(2) Sampling, field interviews and data collection (3) Data analysis

The outcome of this research will present new findings about the commitment of freelance workers within service industries and also illustrate and suggest how service SMEs can encourage their external resources and hence continue to deliver a high service.

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B LITERATURE REVIEW

The following chapter will give an in-depth literature review of the existing literature on service innovation, the role of IT SME firms, how to improve the delivery of a service, and the characteristics of freelance workers. Moreover, Hsieh and Hsieh’s (2013) research on the commitment of freelance developers will be introduced and critiqued.

Furthering the integrative framework outlined by Hsieh and Hsieh (2013), an improved conceptual model of service freelancer commitment will be developed for the research methodology of this thesis.

1 Service innovation

A great deal of research has already been carried out regarding service innovation. This had led to several kinds of definitions: One of the main issues with regard to defining service innovation is that it is not itself a tangible product (McDermott and Prajogo, 2012). More precisely, a service is needed to provide a solution to a problem, and must bundles competences and capabilities. This service is not meant to be directly associated with physical goods, but might involve additional technologies and human input (Gadrey et al., 1995). In fact, over the last decades providing services has become increasingly important within the global economy market, while the importance of physical goods has declined (Berry et al., 2006).

Berry et al. (2006) define services as being part of an incremental innovation. Such services might take the form of longer opening hours for stores or websites that offer e-commerce functions. In the year 2000, den Hertog criticized the lack of literature for service innovation within non-manufacturing industries, since IT led to new opportunities for service firms. Furthermore, in later research conducted by den Hertog et al. (2010), a conceptual framework of how to manage service innovation within a service firm was developed. This research introduces six dynamic capabilities for service innovation and, due to the stated research question of this thesis, an in-depth view of the co-producing and orchestrating capability will be given.

1.1 Co-producing and orchestrating service innovation

While Gradrey et al. (1995) defines service as a solution provider in which capabilities and competences need to be bundled, den Hertog et al. (2010) broaden the

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definition by discussing the service capability of co-producing and orchestrating. Here, service providers generate innovations by co-designing and co-producing together with external parties, such as suppliers or customers (den Hertog et al., 2010). Therefore, service firms that offer new service solutions need to be able to orchestrate and manage external partners (Teece, 2007). The capability of orchestrating is identified as a key service-oriented dynamic within the context of a service system (Kindström, Kowalkowski & Sandberg, 2009).

Sundbo (1997) also recognizes the importance of this capability for service firms, finding similarities with open innovation approaches, where the involvement of customers, as well as partners and suppliers, is vital for the innovation process. In addition to that, individual service firms benefit from a co-producing network where competences and resources are shared (de Jong and den Hertog, 2010). In general, innovation in services mostly refers to the shifting boundaries between customers and firms (de Jong and den Hertog, 2010), or, by co-producing and orchestrating with external parties. Today, the IT industry gives SMEs vast opportunities in extending their boundaries by online partnerships with external parties. Therefore, the following chapter will further discuss literature findings with regard to SMEs in the IT industry. 2 Small and medium-sized IT firms

Due to an increase in interaction between firms, the late 1990s marked the beginning of a shift from mass manufacturing to production that was more customer tailored and combined with knowledge-intensive services (Contractor and Lorange, 2002). These technological trends for fulfilling new innovative needs affected the IT industry by intensifying competition among IT firms (Findikoglu & Watson-Manheim, 2015). Moreover, globalization is partly responsible for the emergence of new challenges within technology-based industries in that it breaks down national boundaries for business activities (Nambisan, 2002). Such characteristics are therefore responsible for an increasing demand for service providers (Findikoglu & Watson-Manheim, 2015).

SMEs within the IT industry often lack resources, and could therefore benefit by accumulating additional resources through partnerships (Baum et al., 2000). Even so, there has been little research on the importance of services for SMEs, and previous research has mostly focused on topics of new technology development, technology exchange and innovation within technology-based partnerships (Cantwell &

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Colombo, 2007). Where the SMEs that lack in resources aims to increase innovative capacity by reducing uncertainty within technology and gain access to a larger share of the market, the more technology development focused group aims to develop partnerships for efficiency gains as well as future business opportunities (Hagedoorn, Letterie, & Palm, 2007).

Another relevant aspect for IT SME service firms involves the added capability of non-geographical constraints, since globalization together with the constant improvement of IT are advantageous for seeking nonlocal partnerships (Findikoglu & Watson-Manheim, 2015). Stuart and Sorenson (2003) confirm that this phenomenon is noticeable in service IT industries, where technical skills and intellectual property for services move relatively cost efficient.

Recent exploratory research conducted by Findikoglu and Watson-Manheim (2015) analyze how geographical distance affects cooperation within IT SMEs and other IT firms for service deployment, and which factors address this geographical distance. For this thesis, (1) SMEs and partnerships, (2) the role of trust in SME partnerships, and (3) nonlocal IT service partnerships, as researched by Findikoglu and Watson-Manheim (2015), will be further discussed.

2.1 SMEs and partnerships

SMEs are seen as the ‘engine’ of the IT industry and the economy (Findikoglu & Watson-Manheim, 2015). SMEs are typically characterized by a small number of employees, limited resources and restricted external and internal relationships (Das and He, 2006). Thus, these firms have fewer resources for dealing with challenges and errors, and so complementary resources – acquired through partnerships – are crucial (Street & Cameron, 2007). In addition to helping to resolve the stated challenges, SME service firm partnerships are also advantageous in other ways. Compared to large enterprises, SMEs are faster in responding to emerging opportunities set by the market, due to their lean organizational structure that focuses on quick decision-making processes (Olander et al., 2009).

Van Gils and Zwart (2009) state that partnerships give SMEs access to markets with the resources and information they require. Those resources are crucial for the growth phase of SMEs, since the time to learn certain skills in house would require much more planning. Moreover, external partnerships lead to a decrease in

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operational costs and a significant increase in service quality, which is considered an indicator of growth for SMEs (Findikoglu & Watson-Manheim, 2015).

Technology markets include a high level of uncertainty, which can be reduced by cooperating with the right partners that have the positive knock-on effect of providing SMEs with the opportunity to focus on their core service (Moensted, 2007). As mentioned above, Findikoglu and Watson-Manheim (2015) analyzed the importance of service partnerships within IT SMEs and came to the conclusion that partnerships within this industry are common. The conclusive analyses, however, were based only on the positive respondents that were using partnerships, which leaves the study open to criticism and cannot be taken as a general outcome.

Findikoglu and Watson-Manheim (2015) discovered that firms are motivated to build service partnerships in order to access external resources. SMEs were able to limit their qualifications by complementing their services with external partners and hence providing additional expertise to the IT firms’ teams. Those partnerships also prove that SMEs profit by focusing on their core business capabilities, and enable them to broaden their service offer to their customers (Findikoglu & Watson-Manheim, 2015). Finally, research has shown that SMEs consider their service partnerships as an additional marketing channel by marketing their service between each other and by recommending the service to further customers (Findikoglu & Watson-Manheim, 2015).

2.2 Role of trust in SME partnerships

Trust takes a central role between seller and buyer, especially when the relationship is between parties who are not ‘known’ to each other (Blomqvist, Hurmelinna-Laukkanen, Nummela & Saarenketo, 2008). Trust refers to faith in the interaction between firms or individuals (Ring & van de Ven, 1994). Johnson, Cullen, Sakano, and Takenouchi (1996) divide trust into two components: benevolence and credibility. Benevolence describes to which extent a firm believes in the good intentions of their partners to achieve a beneficial outcome for both parties, while credibility describes the extent to which a firm believes in the expertise and resources that a partner can provide, to meet the firm’s expectations (Johnson et al., 1996).

Trust is essential as once a SME has developed that trust, uncertainty can be converted into risk taking decisions (Moeller & Gamm, 2005). Through a decrease of complex information transfer, information gaps can be prevented and trust

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strengthened (Moeller & Gamm, 2005). A good working relationship between service firms and their partners can be developed by sharing confidential information, and since SMEs tend to be bigger risk takers than large enterprises, trust within partnerships needs to be settled (Hoffmann & Schlosser, 2001). Moreover, a partnership increases in flexibility and efficiency in decision-making once trust has been established (Moeller & Gamm, 2005).

SMEs with limited resources are more dependent of a trustful relationship with their partners than establishing complex hierarchical structures to steer the partnership (van Gils & Zwart, 2009). Previous research had already underlined the importance of SMEs developing trusting relationships as a risk mitigation procedure (van Gils & Zwart, 2009).

In the research conducted by Findikoglu and Watson-Manheim (2015), it is suggested that IT SMEs need to develop a platform where trust can be built between partners, regardless as to whether they are local or nonlocal, in order to achieve efficient communication. Moreover, creating a network for senior management and other professionals fosters collaboration within SMEs. Having said that, cultural differences and spatial distance between partners may impede the development of trust for international relationships (Katsikeas, Skarmeas & Bello, 2009), an aspect that becomes even more relevant when regarding collaboration with freelance workers, and is thus necessary for further research. Findikoglu and Watson-Manheim (2015) suggest that service firms are well advised in providing informal procedures and routines – but this has not yet been tested for their freelance workers.

2.3 Nonlocal IT service partnerships

A partnership is influenced by cultural, organizational, and cognitive factors, whereas nonlocal partnerships are also influenced by physical distance (Findikoglu and Watson-Manheim, 2015). Cramton and Webber (2005) point out that distance often results in problems within partnerships due to additional logistic challenges in the exchange of information and coordination. Moreover, Carmel and Agarwal (2001) point out how the development of trust is negatively affected between nonlocal partners, since physical distance aggravates knowledge transfer and project management.

Developing a trustful relationship between international partners is much more challenging than it is between local interaction (Skarmeas & Katsikeas, 2001).

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Furthermore, partners from different environments have different expectations with regard to business operations (Zaheer & Zaheer, 2006). These challenges can also negatively affect development due to natural communication problems (Carmel & Agarwal, 2001).

The IT industry, however, can generate significant advantages for service SMEs and nonlocal partnerships by accessing larger skill pools through new emerging international capabilities (Rao, 2004). Findikoglu and Watson-Manheim (2015) suggest that nonlocal partnerships are useful in terms of growth strategy and gaining access to a broader skill pool; service SMEs no longer need to be dependent on local resources and benefit without investing in internal talents. Thus, competitive advantages within specific business industries can emerge.

The research conducted by Findikoglu and Watson-Manheim (2015) discovered that IT SMEs that are able to manage distance-related partnerships have developed internal methodologies for managing projects and software development. Moreover, those SMEs that have developed specific routines for dealing with partnerships are more likely to start nonlocal partnerships. Hence, this research only examined the partnerships among SMEs and service firms, and there is no direct correlation to freelance workers.

3 Improving service delivery

For highly competitive industries, especially service-oriented SMEs in the IT industry, excellent customer service and operational efficiency are considered two major outcomes (Bontis et al., 2011). Organizations gain competitive advantage if operational efficiency leads to an increase in output compared to input (Bonits et al., 2011). Moreover, maximizing human capital strategies supports worker efficiency, giving service-oriented firms further competitive advantage (Skaggs & Youndt, 2004).

Customer relationships are another important factor for service firms. Service firms need to focus on their customers, and can do so by adopting structures and strategies that result in higher responsiveness and understanding for their customers’ needs (Gulati & Oldroyd, 2005). For service provider SMEs, however, there is still a significant challenge in understanding how to build infrastructures for new service delivery to satisfy customer needs while at the same time generating revenue and growing their business (Hao, 2008).

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A recent study conducted by Bontis et al. (2011) suggested that in order to deliver a high service, employee satisfaction and information sharing are necessary. Employees are in need of job related information and are also more motivated if they feel satisfied with their work (Bontis et al., 2011). For their research, a large telecommunication firm was studied, since this industry is highly competitive and a certain level of service delivery is expected towards their customers. Bontis et al. (2011) want to prove that the outcomes stated above (excellent customer service and operational efficiency) can be achieved by ensuring there is sufficient information sharing with employees; this improves employee satisfaction and creates a good work environment. Since employees play a major role in the IT SME industry, this thesis takes an in-depth look into the three influencers of employee satisfaction provided by Bontis et al. (2011): (1) knowledge management, (2) job characteristics, and (3) employee satisfaction.

3.1 Knowledge management

The literature already identifies that effective management of knowledge will generate significant competitive advantage (Halawi, McCarthy & Aronson, 2007). This is especially the case for the IT service industry, where changes in technology emerge on a daily basis, and intellectual capital is considered unique within an organization and is difficult to replace (Silvi & Cuganesan, 2006). Hence, an effective information sharing process within an SME is easier to achieve, and leads to an increase in competences within the organization (Grant, 1996).

One relevant aspect of knowledge management is the right transfer method for knowledge. Bontis et al. (1999) state that this requires more than technological tools alone, and Connelly and Kelloway (2003) also emphasize that it is of great importance to create a culture of sharing within the organization. Particularly for dynamic industries such as the IT industry, overcoming these challenges are relatively important in order to achieve higher performance and thus better service delivery (Thornhill, 2006).

The relevant role of knowledge management lies in the fact that customer service delivery can be achieved by providing knowledge about the service offered, and also by being able to respond to customers’ demands (Sin, Tse & Yim, 2005). Customer focus includes aligning employee behavior and their commitment to customers (Bontis et al., 2011). Thus, the research concluded that by sharing both

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technological knowledge and organizational objectives with their employees, firms could help their employees understand the organization’s mission and be more likely to deliver a higher quality of service. Finally, further research conducted by Anantatmula (2007) discovered that well composed knowledge management leads to an improvement in organizational performance and, consequently, customer satisfaction, as correcting errors from a lack of information can be prevented.

3.2 Job characteristics

In earlier research, Bontis and Serenko (2007) discovered that job characteristics are responsible for organizational efficiency as well as customer focus, due to job characteristics. Hackman and Oldham (1976) describe job characteristics by considering that autonomy can be identified as a contribution of the internal motivation towards the job. This model includes the provision of giving feedback to the employee as well as the amount of task variety and emerging task significance (Hackman & Oldham, 1976).

The Self-Determination Theory has shown that individuals have a strong desire for autonomy, relatedness and competence (Bontis et al., 2011). Pugno (2008) strengthened this statement by pointing that a sense of mastery emerges if the job’s characteristics involve challenges and autonomy, and thus lead to an increase in job satisfaction. These perceived positive experiences of a job contribute to a greater involvement in the work process (James & Jones, 1980).

The research conducted by Bontis et al. (2011) focuses on two job characteristics: autonomy and job challenge. They suggested that task significance and variety contribute positively to a higher job challenge, and this has been confirmed by further research, which states that challenging job tasks are influencers of job satisfaction (Podsakoff et al., 2007). It is of great importance that employees have challenging tasks, since motivated employees are willing to use their skills and knowledge to achieve higher self-efficacy, and also recognize further opportunities (Liden, Wayne & Sparrowe, 2000).

Finally, Bontis et al. (2011) conclude that job autonomy and job challenges have a strong and equal relationship, but since this findings sole deriver from one telecommunication firm’s employees, new conclusions must be discovered for freelance workers.

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3.3 Employee satisfaction

Ilies and Judge (2004) state that, for an employee, job satisfaction is judged through a self-evaluation of their own job, and includes affective state as well as thoughts and opinions about the own organization and job role. Cropanzano and Mitchell (2005) assert that satisfied employees are more likely to increase their efforts and decrease any counterproductive behaviors. The feeling of satisfaction triggers a perceived obligation to the organization and hence leads employees to feel more ready to contribute to the service provider. In addition, Deci, Connell and Ryan (1989) say that satisfied employees are more efficient due to the fact that they are more likely to possess more self-determination and have a positive self-perception of their job.

Hackman and Oldham (1967) discovered that receiving feedback that only derives from the job does not significantly increase job satisfaction or performance. Even so, the two researchers believe that feedback from various sources – such as customers – raise an employee’s affective reaction towards job satisfaction. Moreover, Burke, Graham and Smith (2005) confirm that employee satisfaction is positively correlated with higher customer satisfaction, since it increases the perceived engagement and enthusiasm for customer service. Therefore, Bontis et al. (2011) suggest that satisfied employees tend to feel more attached to the organization, and hence directly related to the delivery of a better service. In addition, according to Hui, Au and Fock (2004), empowering employees by relying on their knowledge and skills lead to an improved service delivery, since employees benefit from acquiring new customer understanding.

Finally, Bontis et al. (2011) discovered that employee satisfaction plays a crucial role when it comes to efficient service delivery, since business operations can be accelerated through faster information sharing processes within the organization. Still, little is currently known about how online workers, such as freelancers, perceive job satisfaction, since they are not directly integrated into an organization.

Therefore, the next chapter will introduce what the literature already knows about freelance workers, and if they are able to generate a personal relationships with an organization.

4 Freelance workers

The researchers van den Born and Witteloostuijn (2013) consider freelancers as hybrids of employees and entrepreneurs. Freelancers are considered employees

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because, in most cases, they are hired by firms to work for a certain period and provide their knowledge. Freelancers are also considered entrepreneurs because they take risks and rewards without a guarantee from the organization with whom they work (van den Born and van Witteloostuijn, 2013). Based on those attributes, two main aspects will be further discussed, which involves freelancers’ (1) individual career perspectives, and (2) entrepreneurial perspectives.

4.1 Individual career perspective

For their research, van den Born and Witteloostuijn (2013) used the model created by DeFilippi and Arthur (1996), where freelance careers are compared to boundaryless careers, the latter of which is defined as a sequence of job opportunities that includes several places of employment. Such a boundaryless career is comparable to freelance worker attitudes, since another common characteristic involves short term working within organizations (van den Born & Witteloostuijn, (2013). For service IT SMEs, which rely on the trust and knowledge of freelance workers, this attitude might cause problems.

Parker, Khapova, and Arthur (2009) previously developed an intelligent career framework in order to predict career development based on ways of knowing. First, there is the importance of knowing why, to better understand the career motivations, identity, and personal meaning of freelance workers (van den Born & Witteloostuijn, 2013). Second, it is important to know how personal knowledge is related to the specific job that needs to be accomplished. Schneider and Konz (1989) state that, in order to establish skills, ideas and abilities, individuals need to understand how they are related. The third and final factor is in knowing with whom individuals are working. This includes personal connections, business relationships, and, in general, to whom future career contacts and networks are related (Parker et al., 2009).

One of the findings of the research conducted by van den Born and Witteloostuijn (2013) shows that independent professionals offering a broad range of services ranges are most likely to perceive a career within the organization to be satisfying. Even so, the researchers also point out that modern freelance careers are threatened by job changes, since freelance workers are likely to move from one contract to another. Hence, the literature lacks knowledge of the behavior and involvement of service freelancers, and this gap in the literature will be further considered within the scope of this thesis.

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4.2 Entrepreneurial perspective

A freelancer is considered to be a self-employed entrepreneur, not only as a boundaryless employee. The freelancer can be compared the entrepreneurial success drivers given by Parker (2004) for self-employed and small businesses. Entrepreneurial founders have a strong impact on the performance of the firm, especially those that possess a great deal of knowledge and experience in their target area (Pennings, Lee & van Witteloostuijn, 1998). Another important aspect of entrepreneurship is the capability of building bridges in a network by providing easy access for information sharing and, respectively, distribution (van den Born & Witteloostuijn, 2013).

In contrast, Parker (2004) emphasizes the importance of personality traits towards entrepreneurial success, since these traits are more likely to negatively influence entrepreneurial performance. The research conducted by van den Born and Witteloostuijn (2013) suggests that freelancers, even though they are considered entrepreneurs, are still likely to receive partner support from the enterprise, as the outcome of van den Born and Witteloostuijn’s research shows that freelance work can be stressful.

5 Freelancer commitment towards platform owners

The previous chapters have offered a closer insight of SME development within the IT industry, as well as evaluated how to improve service delivery. Moreover, the involvement of freelance workers within the Internet era has been discussed, since companies start to redefine boundaries, and are hence open to develop new partnerships with a specific type of employment such as freelance. Pagani and Fine (2008) state that in order to align their expertise with the mission of the company, freelance workers need to establish a solid relationship with the IT platform they are working for.

Recent research conducted by Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) sought to discover commitment antecedents by freelance smartphone developers with the platform for which they are working. For that reason, commitment towards the company has been considered as a crucial factor, since loyalty is responsible for any successful long-term relationship (Gustafsson, Johnson & Roos, 2005). Researchers Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) conducted an exploratory study to develop an integrative framework to understand how freelance developers maintain a relationship within their incumbent

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platform. Figure 1 illustrates the framework that was obtained by the research, and it is based on a literature review of calculative and affective commitment towards customer relationship. Six further antecedents were also gathered from sample field interviews with freelance developers (Hsieh & Hsieh, 2013). Figure 1 illustrates the outcome of this research, which will be further discussed in the upcoming sub-chapters of this thesis.

Figure 1 Integrative framework (Hsieh & Hsieh, 2013, p. 312)

5.1 Calculative commitment

Gustafsson et al. (2005) describe calculative commitment as an instrumental evaluation for assessing benefits and costs in ending or continuing relationships. In short, relationships are considered to be maintained because there is a need to (Meyer, Allen & Gellatly, 1990). Moreover, calculative commitment is perceived when the costs of leaving a relationship are greater and more disadvantageous than the costs of remaining (Liu, Su, Li & Liu, 2010). This decision can reflect internal or external pressures from social, economic, and psychological perceived costs (Bendapudi & Berry, 1997). Therefore, calculative commitment is responsible for maintaining

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relationships in order to avoid poor alternatives or high switching costs (Gilliland & Bello, 2010).

In the research stated above by Hsieh and Hsieh (2013), three antecedent conditions were discovered that influence freelance developer’s calculative commitment towards the platform. Those are (1) monetary rewards, (2) potential market demand, and (3) switching costs, all of which will be further explained in order to discuss the outcomes and limitations, since only a specific type of freelancers (developers) have been interviewed and, therefore, no generalizations can be made. 5.1.1 Monetary rewards

According to Boudreau and Lakhani (2009), monetary reward plays a crucial role for freelance developers, since the marketplace for smartphone applications is designed for commercial purposes, and freelancer developers value their ability to develop applications. Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) discovered that freelance developers compare effort with cost, and only a positive evaluation will lead to them reinforcing their collaborations. The only reason for accepting lower monetary reward is that those freelancers believe in a future greater reward, due to growth factors in their industry (Hsieh & Hsieh, 2013). These two researchers also agree with Skinners’ (1969) reinforcement theory, which emphasizes the influence of adequate monetary reward on the commitment to a professional relationship.

5.1.2 Potential market demand

According to the comparison-level theory postulated by Thibaut and Kelley (1959), a relationship will always be compared to the next-best available alternative. If it is negatively evaluated, then intentions to leave will become stronger. The study conducted by Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) with freelance developers strengthened this theory due to an increase in the number of platform owners who can easily satisfy market opportunities and forecast the desires of freelance developers. Monetary rewards have shown that commitment plays a crucial role for developers, and hence a competitive market offers opportunities to constantly evaluate new partnerships. 5.1.3 Switching costs

Even though the application market is static in terms of growth and opens new work opportunities to freelancers, switching costs can decelerate the procedure of changing from one platform to another. As Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) correctly remark, freelance developers working for certain platforms first need to understand the right

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programming language before registering on the platform and setting up the right environment. All these points are time consuming and switching to other platforms is therefore perceived as negative upcoming switching costs. Moreover, relational costs such as friendships and the procedural costs of switching can influence the commitment of freelance workers (Hsieh and Hsieh, 2013). Therefore, the two researchers suggest that building high switching costs is necessary for an increase in calculative commitment to the platform.

5.2 Affective commitment

In contrast to calculative commitment where there is a need to maintain the relationship, affective commitment is maintained because of the desire to keep a working relationship (Mayer et al., 1990) due to an emotional attachment (Gustafsson et al., 2005). Gilliland and Bello (2002) explain that freelance workers generate an affective commitment as a sign of loyalty and faithfulness towards their partners, which is based on shared values with and enjoyment of the partnership. Furthermore, the research conducted by Vandenberghe and Bentein (2009) has shown that emotional and loyal partnerships allow companies to reduce revenues and still continue a loyal partnership.

Employee satisfaction and identification is crucial for high service delivery, as mentioned by Bontis et al. (2011). In their field interviews, Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) discovered three affective commitments that affect freelancer intention to keep up a relationship with a given platform provider: (1) perceived service quality, (2) identification with platform owner, and (3) intrinsic motivation. There is a need for a comparative assessment of these commitments, as the interviewed partners of this research are more likely to be attached to calculative commitments, since most freelance developers earn 70% of the revenue shares (Hsieh & Hsieh, 2013).

5.2.1 Perceived service quality

Regarding the entrepreneurial perspective of freelance workers, van den Born and Witteloostuijn (2013) emphasize that even if freelancers are considered entrepreneurs, they still are likely to receive support by the enterprise for which they are working. Moreover, Fullerton (2005) states that affective commitment can be positively influenced through service quality. Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) treated their interviewed freelance developers as customers in need of a customer service in order to maintain the relationship. The research findings suggest that a positive relationship

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strengthened commitment towards a platform owner, whereas an unpleasant interaction resulted in negative emotions and a decrease in affective commitment. 5.2.2 Identification with platform owner

Bontis et al. (2011) state the importance of identification with the partner in order to deliver a high service. The core values of a company, such as its organizational mission, as well as demographic characteristics like the industry in which it sits, help to construct a company’s identity (Bhattacharya & Sen, 2003). Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) confirm this, and emphasize that, due to the existing physical distance between freelance developers and platform owners, identification reduces the gap and strengthens affective commitment. This can be crucial, since according to van den Born and Witteloostuijn (2013), freelance workers are likely to move from one contract to another.

5.2.3 Intrinsic motivation

The findings regarding intrinsic motivation in the smartphone application market are based on freelance developers of free applications that have no financial gains attached. According to Weitz, Sujan and Sujan (1986), intrinsic rewards are directly related to the job that needs to be accomplished. Moreover, freelance developers have a passion for their work as they enjoy solving problems, gaining new skills and increasing their reputation in the industry (Shah, 2006). Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) suggest comparing free application developers with volunteer workers and thus use the Moon and Sproull (2008) motivation mechanism.

6 Conceptual model

This literature review has given insight into service innovation, the role of SMEs in the IT industry, and how to improve service delivery. Moreover, for the purpose of this thesis, an in-depth look into the role of freelance workers has been given. The research question wants to discover what freelance workers commit, in order to ensure a high service delivery for SMEs. As suggested in the literature review, Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) have already tried to discover how calculative and affective commitment influences intentions to maintain relationships between freelance developers and their incumbent platforms. The interactive framework achieved by this research, as illustrated in Figure 1, shows what those factors are. The main limitation of this research is that the only research samples are from active freelance developers

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in the smartphone application marketplace (Hsieh & Hsieh, 2013), and so this framework cannot be generalized for freelancers involved in other industries.

Therefore, based on the previous literature review, Figure 2 illustrates a new conceptual model for this thesis. This framework combines the literature review concerning ways to improve service delivery and the integrative framework created by Hsieh and Hsieh (2013).

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C METHODOLOGY

The literature review offers an in-depth look into the advantages and disadvantages of SMEs and the importance of creating partnerships, and goes some way in answering the research question. To further underpin the research question, the literature review has also given insight into how to improve a service delivery within a service firm. The specific role of freelance workers has also been discussed and, furthermore, a similar research project carried out by Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) has been described and critiqued. Hence, a conceptual model for this master thesis is build and needs to be proved.

Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) developed a new theory for their research, but since the developed integrative framework was only based on the commitment study of freelance developers, the research outcomes could not be generalized across industries. Therefore, this thesis will use the same methodology in order to broaden the results and come to more general conclusions.

1 Data collection

For developing new theories, Eisenhardt (1989) suggests using a case study approach. An integrative framework will help to understand the factors that influence online freelance workers’ service delivery. Gibbert and Ruigrok (2010) advise formulating a theoretical framework to illustrate the approaches and variables that might influence such a case study. The theoretical framework of this research is based on prior literature as well as field-based interviews that were held (Morgan et al., 2005), the latter of which are similar to those carried out by Hsieh and Hsieh (2013).

This research consists of three stages to distinguish the factors that influence online freelance workers to deliver quality service. These are:

(1) A prior literature review

(2) Sampling, field interviews and data collection (3) Data analysis

2 Research population sample

The unit of analysis for this research has been obtained from active online freelance editors for an IT service firm. Data for this research is collected in collaboration with the organization SCRiBBR. This SME, consisting of six main employees, offers a professional editing service for academic content (https://www.scribbr.com). In order

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to supply their customers, the firm collaborates with over 250 international freelance editors. One of the main characteristics of SCRiBBR is the quality service that they provide for their customers. As a basis of proof, the company has an average online Trustpilot review score of 9.6, based on over 800 reviews (https://www.trustpilot.com/review/scribbr.nl).

In order to obtain qualitative data from a sufficient number of SCRiBBR’s freelance respondents, email interviews were considered the most valuable method (King & Horrocks, 2010). The advantages of email interviews lie in the fact that interviews can be conducted simultaneously and without financial or geographical constraints (Meho, 2006). In addition, Meho (2006) states that email interviews reduce any potential disruptive interview effects as a consequence of nonverbal and visual cues between interviewer and respondent. The respondents that are reached via email are not required to answer immediately, which means they can potentially provide more valuable feedback within their own time and environment (Meho, 2006). Cursai (2001) argues that email interviews can provide even more qualitative responses than face-to-face interviews. Therefore, email interviews are regarded as an acceptable alternative research method to traditional face-to-face interviews (King & Horrocks, 2010; Meho, 2006).

Identical questions using the same wording and order were sent to all respondents in order to achieve a standardized and open-ended email interview (Patton, 2002). This standardized format will help in the eventual evaluation of data outcomes at a later stage (Patton, 2002). To better understand the commitment of freelance workers, open questions were taken from the research conducted by Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) and adopted to this specific topic. The questions are formulated as follows:

1) What motivates you to deliver a high service?

2) What makes you choose a certain freelance service firm over other, similar ones? (e.g., SCRiBBR vs. its competitors)

3) How do you benefit from delivering a high quality service?

4) Would you continue to provide services for this service firm? What are your reasons?

5) Would you consider providing similar services for other service firms? What are your reasons?

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The procedure for this email interview was as follows: First, the list of email addresses was acquired from SCRiBBR. This list consists of 255 contacts that can all be reached simultaneously. Full access to this database was granted as the researcher himself works for this organization. The sent emails can be seen in Appendix 1 and the stated questions with another short introduction to the topic in Appendix 2. Second, this research followed the guidelines stated by Meho (2006) for sending out email interviews. Third, if the number of respondents was too low, reminders would be sent again.

3 Analytical strategy

In order to correctly analyze the conducted email interviews, the content must first be analyzed. Therefore, there will be an objective and systematic approach toward evaluating the text (Neuendorf, 2002). For the successful outcome of this research, the qualitative text source from the email interviews will be transformed into comparable data, made possible due to the consistent application of categorization rules (Nasir, 2005).

First, the unit of analysis that involves paragraphs, words or sentences within the interviews will be defined (Nasir, 2005). Out of the 255 sent emails, 73 replies were collected. In order to analyze the content of this qualitative text data, the software NVivo10 will be used to clearly categorize the content. The researcher has knowledge and experience of this tool, having undertaken an extensive course to use the software in his master’s program. NVivo10 is of great help, since answers like “I may start looking at other companies providing the same service as I noticed their fees and rates were higher.” can be categorized both ‘Monetary reward’ and ‘Potential market demand’, and hence be more easily sorted by NVivo10. The final discovered categories can be seen in Appendix 3 with the amount of references and sources.

Second, there will only be one coder of this thesis: the researcher himself. This leads to certain limitations in the outcome, since no external opinion can support the evaluation of the analysis. An in-depth literature review, along with multiple evaluations of the interviews, will help to obtain the right codes for the data. This approach will continue until a point when interviews introduce no further categories; this point is known as the saturation of the data collection (Strauss & Corbin, 1990).

Third, the outcome of the codes will be sorted into categories that will be illustrated in the integrative framework of this research.

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Figure 3 illustrates the integrative framework, which includes (1) the primary conditions that support affective and calculative commitment, (2) the two categories of freelancer commitment, and (3) the affects of delivering a high service quality. 4 Validity and reliability

This research attempts to achieve internal validity through the above stated methods. The approach to using multiple sources, such as a literature review and structured interviews, will lead to a better comparison of findings and hence a valid research outcome. The design of the questions is based on previous understanding of the existing literature and the questions themselves are deliberately open-ended in order to achieve a new theory. A pilot test of the interview questions was completed with the support of SCRiBBR’s management team and quality manager in order to avoid ambiguous and non-understandable questions.

External validity is obtained through the sample of freelancer respondents chosen by the organization SCRiBBR. Although those respondents are only from one organization, the literature has shown that freelance workers are likely to have several simultaneous contracts at a time (van den Born and Witteloostuijn, 2013) and, based on the structure of having open-ended questions, more generalizable conclusions can be made. It is worth repeating here, that the advantage of email interviews as stated by Meho (2006) is that they lead to more valuable feedback, as there are no face-to-face pressures from the organization.

Finally, reliability is ensured through structured interview questions obtained by the literature review and asked in the same order to all respondents. This method should lead to similar findings if it were to be tested again by other researchers.

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D RESEARCH FINDINGS

This chapter presents the findings obtained by the research. As explained in the previous chapter, SCRiBBR’s freelance workers were interviewed via email. Those five open questions were sent to 255 participants, of which 73 responses were acquired. These responses lead to new findings about the commitment of freelance workers and serve to create a new integrative framework, as illustrated in Figure 3. This integrative framework shows an advanced model comparable to the Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) framework, with new findings respective of antecedent conditions that influence affective commitment for delivering high quality service.

Figure 3 Intention to deliver a high quality service 1 Calculative commitment

As stated by Gustafsson et al. (2005), calculative commitment is seen as an instrumental evaluation for assessing benefits and costs towards the current relationship, which in this study refers to the delivery of a high quality service. The

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three antecedent conditions of freelance developers discovered by Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) are confirmed by the research conducted in this thesis. Monetary rewards, potential market demands, and switching costs also play a crucial role in the calculative commitment of service delivery freelance workers. The 73 interview responses still gave, however, interesting new findings regarding those three antecedents, which will be separately discussed and strengthened with quotes from the interviews.

1.1 Monetary reward

The literature review has already described monetary reward as being a crucial role for freelance developers, since the marketplace is designed for commerce (Boudreau & Lakhani, 2009). In contrast, the conducted research with service freelance workers brought similar, but nevertheless interesting, new findings. Out of 73 interviews, 45 respondents stated monetary reward.

For the majority, monetary reward plays a crucial role in the industry, since for most freelancers the reason for this type of work is to earn money, as the following quotes demonstrate:

Respondent Quote

R02 I need money

R06 But above all, it’s about earning good money, of course R15 Financial benefits

R39 Good salary

R69 I need money for my study

R70 Money is always a good motivation

Table 1 Importance of monetary reward

On the other hand, differences can also be found in the service industry when it comes to accepting lower monetary rewards. Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) described that accepting lower monetary rewards is due to developers’ belief of a growing market and, hence, anticipated higher monetary rewards. This thesis shows that there is different reasoning behind accepting lower monetary rewards. Those reasons are based on preferences in reliability and procedure of the payment, and more affective commitment reasons that will be discussed later on. This outcome is evidenced by the following quotes:

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Respondent Quote

R01 Payment practices are excellent R05 They deliver the bills

R13 Scribbr is the best platform of its kind in terms of pay R18 Rates to a certain extent

R27 I’m very happy with the procedure, although the pay is rather low R55 My motivation is never financially based

R55 Higher revenues do not automatically lead to higher motivation for better service R56 It’s not about the money

R70 Money is always a good motivation

Table 2 Unimportance of monetary reward

1.2 Potential market demand

As Thibaut and Kelly (1959) described in their comparison-level theory, relationships are always comparable to the next best alternative. Negative evaluation of such a relationship leads to a higher intention for change. In the freelance developer world, Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) point out that the increase in new platforms gives freelancers comparable opportunities to satisfy their needs.

The results of this research illustrate similar behavior towards potential market demand. This can be referred to as ‘freelance behavior’, as stated by van den Born and Witteloostuijn (2013), where freelancers are likely to go from one contract to the other. Out of 73 interviews, 61 respondents gave more than 90 statements about their interest in potential market demand; this interest is largely influenced by the potential to earn more money, but is also driven by an increase in personal skills and abilities, as the following quotes show:

Respondent Quote

R02 Opportunity

R02 If I have time, why not. In order to increase my revenue R05 To expand my professional network and learn more

R17 There is an endless flow of customers and service providers coming and going and you literally have to go with the flow

R34 I am committed to my work, not the company R39 I’m not specifically bound to the current firm

R58 It’s a pretty volatile market, I’ve had clients who closed up shop, so I try to spread the risk

R67 A freelancer always keeps an open mind

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As these quotes confirm, there is indeed a willingness to have more than one contract, combined with the freelancer’s personal ambition of gaining different skills. On the other hand, a service industry where the IT SME works as an orchestrator between client and freelancer, these research findings show a certain importance in loyalty towards the service provider, in order to dissuade freelancers from switching to potential competitors. The following quotes clarify this:

Respondent Quote

R12 I would not be looking for other firms as I am happy with this one R14 I would if I didn’t get enough work. But I do get enough work

R26 Admittedly, I do not know any competitors nor do I want to know any. I’m very happy. R26 I don’t know of any that would provide this level of service to its freelancers.

R38 Only few would meet my standards

R49 I have not yet needed to research competitors, since the company has earned a certain amount of loyalty from me

R62 I wouldn’t switch to a competitor easily, because of my positive experiences Table 4 Loyalty towards IT SME SCRiBBR

1.3 Switching costs

The literature has shown that switching costs can decelerate the procedure of changing from one platform to another. This personal perceived costs arise, since switching to other platforms consists in acquiring new specific platform procedures and skills (Hsieh and Hsieh, 2013). The research in this case had only 18 useful statements on the calculative commitment of switching costs:

Respondent Quote

I06 Looking for new clients is always time consuming R58 Time to build trust

R61 I know I have to deal with situations that are less professional R72 I am familiar and comfortable with the working process at this firm R72 I understand what is expected of me and how the entire process runs

Table 5 Switching costs 2 Affective commitment

As has already been stated in the literature review, the main difference between calculative and affective commitment lies in the fact that where, on the one hand, there is a ‘need for’ (calculative) commitment (Mayer et al., 1990), on the other hand there is a ‘desire for’ (affective) commitment (Gustafsson et al., 2005). Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) derived three antecedents that influence freelance workers’ affective

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commitment, which is also described as a sign of loyalty and faithfulness towards their partner (Gilliland & Bello, 2002).

The research conducted in this thesis again demonstrates interesting findings. Some of the existing antecedents’ affects found by Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) were corroborated, but some new ones also emerged within the service freelance industry. The main difference lies in the fact that intrinsic motivation has been split into the antecedent factors of job significance and work ethics. This derives from the fact that the only reasoning behind the intrinsic motivation antecedent of affective commitment, as stated by Hsieh and Hsieh (2013), is attributed to volunteering attitudes from free application developers. In the service industry, the literature has shown that an improvement of service delivery can be achieved when considering knowledge management, job characteristics, and employee satisfaction. Hence, this research shows that the received responses confirm those aspects. Therefore, the new antecedents of affective commitment will be further discussed.

2.1 Feedback

The literature review has taken the outcomes of Hackman and Oldham (1976) into consideration, stating that feedback plays a crucial role in job characteristics. Feedback outcomes offer an interesting insight, supposing that receiving feedback from the organization itself does not necessarily increase performance or job significance. Hence, Hackman and Oldham (1976) suggest that feedback from external sources will raise employees’ affective reaction to job performance.

Interestingly, 60% of the interviewed freelancers (44 out of 73) gave 64 statements regarding their perception of feedback. As Hackman and Oldham (1976) discovered, freelancers in the service industry indeed understand the importance of receiving multiple sources of feedback. There are several reasons for this: The interviewed freelance workers see themselves as perfectionists, and are therefore glad to receive valuable feedback in order to improve their skills. Equally, feedback gives them personal satisfaction. As Hackman and Oldham (1976) correctly say, multiple sources of feedback are key to job satisfaction. The responses to this research clearly illustrate that an increase in motivation is not only obtained through employer (service provider) feedback but also feedback that has been directly received from customers who received the service; the latter type of feedback is considered particularly satisfying and motivating.

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The following quotes prove the outcome of this research:

Respondent Quote

R12 A nice review is a reward

R17 I obtain references that I can use to demonstrate my performance and quality of service

R22 I get high ratings for my services, which makes me feel good about myself and my work

R28 Get good feedback

R40 As well as positive feedback from agency/customer

R41 Being glad others liked the service – it can sometimes make a big difference in someone’s life and I’m always happy to hear that

R50 We provide feedback for every student

R62 I’m honestly always glad to hear if there’s room for improvement R63 Recognizing a good job and congratulating me for it

R72 Personal satisfaction when I receive high ratings Table 6 Feedback

2.2 Work ethics

The antecedent of work ethics is an interesting new outcome of this conducted research. Gulati and Oldroyd (2005) point out that in order to deliver a high quality service there must to be a focus on customers. The responses gathered in this research show that freelance workers in the service industry have a certain perceived ethical duty toward the delivery of high quality work.

Responses vary with regard to how service freelance workers consider their own work, and this can be attributed to their entrepreneurial attitude as previously described by Pennings et al. (1998). On the one hand, service freelance workers perceive that they have an ethical duty to deliver a high quality service. On the other hand, and rather interestingly, they indeed use a customer focus, and hence describe that they, as a customer, would also only accept a good quality service. Hence, they feel committed to help the customer as much as possible.

The following sample quotes help to illustrate this outcome:

Respondent Quote

R06 A high quality service is what I expect from myself R09 Help for others

R11 Satisfaction of serving the client well R12 Love of quality / personal standards

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bad

R18 I could not deliver poor quality work R23 Helping others makes me feel good

R26 It is part of my work ethic to deliver a high service

R39 If I were in the position of the customer, I would demand a good service, too R42 Care about the people to whom I offer a service

R50 Ethically bound to deliver the highest possible quality work

R62 It’s part of my character that I want to offer the best I can – especially if people are paying me for it!

Table 7 Work ethics

2.3 Identification with service SME

As Bhattacharya and Sen (2003) state, sharing the same values between company and worker is crucial for a successful service. Moreover, Hsieh and Hsieh (2013) emphasize that this becomes even more important when physical distance exists. In the freelance developer industry, it is recommended that SMEs reduce this gap in order to increase affective commitment to the platform.

In the industry of service freelancers, identification to the SME also plays an important role. More than 68% of respondents (50 out of 73) gave 80 statements relating to identification. The main differences within this antecedent of affective commitment lie in the ease of working with the service provider and the shared values between service provider and freelance worker. A positive match significantly influences commitment.

The following sample quotes show the outcomes of this research:

Respondent Quote

R04 Very user-friendly and considerate towards their freelancers

R10 Easy to work with

R14 I’m part of a convincing team

R16 The handling is easy, the work interesting and the firm is really trustworthy R17 I choose a freelance service firm whose requirements match my skills and current

professional needs R18 Great working conditions

R27 Partly the desire to please the firm in order to keep getting assignments R37 Same level of ambition

R43 Company does not merely focus on making money R49 Company manages and meets expectations

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