Emergence and Development of Gig Economy in the Context of Society Digitalization. Part 1

New digital technologies, new economic relations, and the pandemic have changed how people work. Traditional forms of employment are being augmented by novel forms of work that have emerged in the gig economy, which represents a promising model of labor market development. The subject of this study is the gig economy, in which companies do not employ staff and workers prefer part-time employment. The paper presents a comprehensive review of the results of scientific research published in English, Chinese and Russian from 2014 to 2024. It performs econometric analysis of English-language research papers using VOSviewer software. It identifies the conditions that facilitate the emergence of novel forms of work in varying national contexts of labor organization. This has allowed the paper to comprehensively reveal the features of its emergence and development. The paper highlights the transformation in the structure of labor relations in the mode of cooperation “platform — person”, which enables the provision of on-demand services and services based on crowdsourcing platforms. Based on a comprehensive analysis of secondary information, the paper presents a model of gig economy functioning and identifies the factors that influence its specific functioning, including politics, economics, society, and technology. The article shows as well the stakeholders and key tools and mechanisms of gig economy development. The second part will highlight features of stakeholders’ relations and reveal the system of gig economy functioning based on platform companies.