Software gigging: A grounded theory of online software development freelancing

• Main Authors: Sison, Raymund C., Lavilles, Rabby Q.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2018
• Subjects: Computer software—Development > Philippines; Self-employed > Philippines; Software Engineering
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/3378
• Institution: De La Salle University

Despite the rapid growth of online freelancing as an industrial sector, there is a lack of research in it, especially in a country like the Philippines, which, though an important online freelancing destination, belongs to the global south. This study uses the grounded theory method to explore the practices of online software development freelancers, or software e-lancers, in the said country. The result is a substantive theory that views earning flexibly as the main concern of software e-lancers. To resolve this main concern, they engage in what we call software gigging, which is a cyclical process of gig-hunting and gig-executing, each of which has several activities. Software gigging becomes increasingly lucrative and flexible as one advances through the gigging stages of noob, rockstar, and super-rockstar. As they do software gigging, software e-lancers use various strategies such as reputationing or circumtechventing, depending on the specific gigging activity and stage that they are in. © International Conference on Information Systems 2018, ICIS 2018.All rights reserved.