Management and Organizational Studies Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-29-2019
Volume
20
Issue
8
Journal
Television and New Media
First Page
848
URL with Digital Object Identifier
https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476419851087
Last Page
861
Abstract
Studies of digital game labor have tended to document problems in the working lives of developers while devoting relatively limited attention to solutions, or to collective representation as a step toward solutions. An increasing number of game developers are dissatisfied with their working conditions, and dissatisfaction is a necessary condition for workers to engage in collective action to gain the representational power needed to achieve change in the workplace. Noting that the landscape of collective mobilization in the game industry has not yet been systematically mapped, this article documents collective actions over the past five decades, and asks, “Are the collective actions of developers building momentum toward a viable, sustained mobilization?” The article presents a thematic survey of such actions, including the Quality of Life Movement, exposés of working conditions, gender equity struggles, and unionization efforts. In conclusion, the authors revisit John Kelly’s mobilization theory to assess developers’ capacity to engage in collective mobilization.
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Work, Economy and Organizations Commons
Notes
This is an author-accepted manuscript. The article was initially published by Sage Journals in Television and New Media, 2019 and can be found online at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476419851087