A Cause Without Rebels? Exploring the Tensions Between Framing and Identity in the Mobilisation of Platform Workers

ABSTRACT The development of the gig economy has sparked significant societal and academic debates about increased work precarity. While social movements appear necessary to improve the conditions of gig workers, they are difficult to develop in a context marked by the absence of a clear collective identity among workers. Accordingly, this article explores the complex interactions between framing, resonance and identity to explain the failure of a social movement organisation (SMO) to mobilise platform deliverers in France. It shows how the SMO's framing constructed and conveyed an embedded identity presenting platform workers as alienated, disguised employees, which clashed with a shared identity among deliverers based on an independent entrepreneur ideal. These results clarify the links between framing and identity resonance and suggest that aligning frames with the target audience's identities plays a key role in developing social movements in the gig economy.