This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site.
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Authors: Kam Phung, Assistant Professor of Business & Society, Simon Fraser University; Luciana Turchick Hakak, Assistant Professor, Organizational Behaviour, University of The Fraser Valley; Madeline Toubiana, Associate Professor, Entrepreneurship and Organization, L鈥橴niversit茅 d鈥橭ttawa/University of Ottawa; Sean Buchanan, Assistant Professor of Business Administration, University of Manitoba, and Trish Ruebottom, Associate Professor of HR and Management, McMaster University
In early July, the leak of 124,000 confidential files from Uber 鈥� known as the 鈥淯ber Files鈥� 鈥� as part of an investigation by The Guardian revealed how the company knowingly flouted laws, secretly lobbied governments and embraced a long list of 鈥渄ark tricks鈥� and ethically questionable practices as it grew into the tech giant we know today.聽
Implicating high-profile government officials, media barons, academics and more, the leak has rightfully triggered outrage and a slew of questions.
It鈥檚 crucial to recognize that Uber鈥檚 controversial behaviour during its aggressive global expansion didn鈥檛 just help the company build its global empire. It put taxi drivers鈥� livelihoods at risk and negatively impacted their lives.
Enabling Uber
Our team, consisting of researchers at business schools across Canada, has studied Uber鈥檚 expansion into cities during the period covered by the leaked documents that have been shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.聽
In our published research on Uber鈥檚 entry into Toronto from 2013 to 2016, we explain how Uber and other groups manipulated the public perception of both Uber and the taxi industry. Uber鈥檚 entry stratified the taxi-driving profession by materially and symbolically elevating Uber drivers over taxi drivers.
What the Uber Files leak indicates is that the manipulation of Uber鈥檚 image at the cost of the taxi industry was due to more than Uber鈥檚 lack of decorum and disregard of local laws. It was the product of an ecosystem of actors 鈥� including public officials, media and Uber 鈥� 聽that allowed Uber to cast a shadow over the taxi industry.
Tech company
Our research looked at the dynamics and impact of Uber鈥檚 entry into Toronto, including its growing recognition as a tech company and its eventual legalization as a private transportation company. We found that Uber spokespeople, public officials and the media created a categorical distinction by pointing to technology to explain why Uber was not a taxi company, and highlighting differences between the perceived identities of Uber drivers and taxi drivers.
The differences between Uber and taxi drivers were manufactured and didn鈥檛 necessarily reflect reality. For example, Uber drivers were constantly described as working part-time, as opposed to taxi drivers who drive full-time. But many Uber drivers were often driving full-time, as some Uber drivers we interviewed pointed out:
The perception that people have is that the Uber drivers are not really 鈥� this is not their job. This is just an income, a different type to substitute whatever鈥� I鈥檝e heard that a lot of people are doing this full-time.
Meanwhile, although Uber drivers were often portrayed in the media as making more than taxi drivers, the leaked documents show that Uber鈥檚 leadership knew that Uber drivers鈥� earnings sometimes fell below minimum wage.
Such portrayed differences had profound effects on the lives of Uber and taxi drivers, serving as foundational building blocks in the construction of a positive image for Uber drivers and a negative image of taxi drivers during Uber鈥檚 very public expansion.
Uber鈥檚 categorization as a technology company paved the way for them to operate on their own terms and the eventual creation of a new set of favourable bylaws that gave them a competitive advantage over the highly regulated taxi industry.
Public polarization
When Uber entered Toronto, Uber drivers and taxi drivers were polarized in the mainstream discourse and portrayed as being at war with each other. Yet taxi drivers were often portrayed as the bad guys losing every battle, as an article in The National Post illustrates: 鈥渢axi drivers are losing the PR war: it鈥檚 impossible to sympathize with people who are acting like thugs.鈥�
Uber鈥檚 aggressive tactics received some negative coverage, but there was a distinctively positive sentiment associated with Uber.
As we interviewed taxi drivers, it was apparent that they were frustrated. All they wanted was for Uber to play by the rules and for the city to hold Uber to the same standards as taxis. In their minds, the city was letting 鈥渁n unfair two-tier system鈥� emerge, allowing Uber to put taxi drivers鈥� livelihoods at risk.
Supported manipulation
In Toronto, the rise of Uber at the cost of taxis was partly the result of actions by various groups, and not a singular concerted effort by Uber.
Journalists around the world, including in Toronto, have reported on how the leaked data reveals how Uber tried to shore up support by discreetly courting key and powerful members of society.
Globally, attention has fallen on how Emmanuel Macron, then France鈥檚 economy minister, aided Uber by brokering a secret deal. Documents also reportedly show that in France, 鈥淯ber paid academics six-figure sums for research to feed to the media鈥� as a part of Uber鈥檚 overall strategy to target academics and think tanks to 鈥渉elp it construct a positive narrative鈥� and lobby for favourable conditions and rules.
It has also been reported that Uber鈥檚 policy team worked to secure an 鈥渆xtremely positive response鈥� from the City of Toronto.
The leaked documents also show how the strategic construction of Uber鈥檚 categorization and Uber drivers鈥� perceived identities was central to Uber鈥檚 business.聽
Ultimately, what happened in Toronto 鈥� Uber鈥檚 celebrated rise and eventual codification into local bylaws 鈥� shows us that Uber鈥檚 success in constructing its desired image was supported in part by the actions of public officials and media. Unfortunately, that image separated Uber drivers from taxi drivers, despite the two groups fundamentally having the same job. All this fuelled a whirlwind of developments that have profoundly impacted the lives of taxi drivers.
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Kam Phung has previously received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
Luciana Turchick Hakak has previously received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
Madeline Toubiana has received funding from from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). 聽
Trish Ruebottom receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).聽
Sean Buchanan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Disclosure information is available on the original site. Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/the-manipulation-of-ubers-public-image-profoundly-impacted-the-lives-of-taxi-drivers-187118
Kam Phung, Simon Fraser University; Luciana Turchick Hakak, University of The Fraser Valley; Madeline Toubiana, L鈥橴niversit茅 d鈥橭ttawa/University of Ottawa; Sean Buchanan, University of Manitoba, and Trish Ruebottom, McMaster University, The Conversation
