Charting the design space for platform cooperatives

Abstract

Platform cooperatives have recently emerged as an alternative to traditional capitalistic platform models. They aim to create economic value for their members and contribute to the social sustainability of the (local) communities, and, consequently, have been regarded as a more beneficial form of the sharing economy. Our research explores the characteristics related to fairness and equity in platform cooperatives as an initial step. Guided by prior work, we identified nine key fairness criteria and analyzed 30 platform cooperatives, mapping their characteristics into a taxonomy. We subsequently interviewed 17 members of three platform cooperatives to reflect on these fairness categories within their platforms. Our findings highlight the importance of equity, trust, and a sense of community for platform cooperative members to ensure fairness. Ultimately, we draw a set of design recommendations for each taxonomy criterion, offering practical guidance for platform owners and user experience designers to bolster fairness within platform co-ops.