Industrial robots, social networks, and the gig economy

Industrial robots, social networks, and the gig economy | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Industrial robots, social networks, and the gig economy Chunyang Su, Lin Zhang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6238257/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 Jul, 2025 Read the published version in The Annals of Regional Science → Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract With the rapid advancement of automation technology, the labor market is undergoing significant transformations, particularly affecting migrant workers. The widespread adoption of automation has intensified job displacement, forcing many migrant workers to turn to the gig economy as a livelihood alternative. This paper empirically examines the impact of robots on migrant workers' participation in the gig economy and analyzes the crucial role social networks play in this process. The results show that industrial robots significantly enhance participation efficiency in the gig economy. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that migrant workers with moderate skills benefit the most, while marital status and gender also influence the effectiveness of social networks. Furthermore, the impact varies between new-generation and traditional migrant workers. Mechanism analysis suggests that social networks help migrant workers cope with the employment challenges posed by automation by providing information and resource support. Overall, the findings provide valuable theoretical insights into migrant workers' employment transitions under automation disruptions, offering key guidance for gig economy development and policy-making. JEL code：J24 robots social networks gig economy migrant workers Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 Jul, 2025 Read the published version in The Annals of Regional Science → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 02 May, 2025 Reviews received at journal 25 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Mar, 2025 Reviews received at journal 29 Mar, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Mar, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 29 Mar, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 21 Mar, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 21 Mar, 2025 First submitted to journal 16 Mar, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6238257","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":439988655,"identity":"8957089c-6ee1-4948-a77c-431cffb88009","order_by":0,"name":"Chunyang Su","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chunyang","middleName":"","lastName":"Su","suffix":""},{"id":439988656,"identity":"d0b74777-c39c-4fef-a57a-c2a3b8852006","order_by":1,"name":"Lin Zhang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA0ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACNv6GxAcJBhJy8uzNBx8kVNQQ1sInceCxwYcKG2PDnmPJBg/OHCOsRY4h8ZnkjDNpiQ03fNQkH7YwE+EwhsPJxrxth40ZZ/CwVSQ2sDHwt3cn4NfC3Jb4GKhFjl2699iNxB0yDBJnzm4gYMsZqC1zzqXdSDzDxmAgkUtIS/43aaAWoF9yzAoS25iJ0ZKQBvV+jhkDcVokDiTDA1ki4cwxHoJ+ke9HisqPPypq5Pjbe/FrwQA8pCkfBaNgFIyCUYAVAABHTU/Dge9K6QAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lin","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-03-16 14:53:16","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6238257/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6238257/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00168-025-01409-y","type":"published","date":"2025-07-24T15:57:39+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":87756852,"identity":"6428329d-c472-4ac0-b290-369d6285e2eb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-28 16:09:40","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":346734,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Industrialrobotssocialnetworksandthegigeconomy.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6238257/v1_covered_3c6e49c0-e637-4e6a-9bd7-5b3f9c5f1e26.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Industrial robots, social networks, and the gig economy","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"the-annals-of-regional-science","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"arsc","sideBox":"Learn more about [The Annals of Regional Science](https://link.springer.com/journal/168)","snPcode":"168","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/168/3","title":"The Annals of Regional Science","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"robots, social networks, gig economy, migrant workers","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6238257/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6238257/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eWith the rapid advancement of automation technology, the labor market is undergoing significant transformations, particularly affecting migrant workers. 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