The Algorithm and the Crowd: A Design Science Research Approach to the Democratization of Algorithmic Management

Abstract

Algorithmic Management (AM) is often criticized for its opacity and centralized decision-making power, thereby limiting workers’ autonomy and participation. Building on emerging work in participatory AM and drawing on established literature on democratization mechanisms, we adopt a Design Science Research approach to develop a prototype democratized AM system for workforce scheduling. Our artifact works to ensure that workers’ voices are meaningfully represented in algorithmic decision-making by building upon three democratization mechanisms: preference, feedback, and transparency. The resulting prototype is designed based on requirements derived from those democratization mechanisms and receives high worker satisfaction in a qualitative evaluation. We extend existing research by embedding democratization principles into a functioning AM system and derive design requirements that can inform the development of future AM systems. In doing so, we demonstrate how democratization can be effectively embedded in algorithmic systems in ways that are both effective and valued by workers.