Strunk, Kim Simon, and Franz Strich. "Building professional holding environments for crowd work job crafting through online communities." Information Systems Journal (2023).

This study delves into the dynamics of how crowd workers, operating outside traditional organizational structures, utilize online communities to establish professional holding environments. These virtual spaces serve as substitutes for the conventional workplace, providing support and structure to individuals engaged in crowd work. Through a qualitative analysis of 675 forum interactions across six online communities, the research introduces the concept of professional holding environments. It outlines how crowd workers actively participate in these environments and engage in job crafting to enhance their work experiences and mitigate the precarious nature of their employment. This work broadens the understanding of holding environments beyond personal networks of family and friends, highlighting the significance of professional online communities in fostering professionalization and creating supportive social frameworks for crowd workers.