Customers' positive feedback as an answer: how can online ride-hailing drivers control the impact of occupational stigma perception?

Purpose In the gig economy, online ride-hailing drivers experience occupational stigma perception (OSP), which may surpass that experienced by traditional service providers and significantly affect their service performance. However, how these drivers counteract OSP in the new online labor relationship has not been well studied. To address this issue, this paper presents an analysis of the moderating roles of online ride-hailing drivers' internal locus of control over work (iLOC) and customers' positive feedback on the basis of the conservation of resources theory. Design/methodology/approach To test our hypotheses, this paper conducted a field questionnaire survey in a Chinese city, collecting data from online ride-hailing drivers across various platforms. Findings The results reveal that online ride-hailing drivers' OSP negatively impacts their service performance and that both drivers' iLOC and customers' positive feedback mitigate this adverse effect. Moreover, the moderating effect of customers' positive feedback is mediated by drivers' iLOC, confirming the presence of a mediated moderation effect. Practical implications By focusing on the roles of the public, online ride-hailing platforms, and online ride-hailing drivers themselves, this study provides actionable and comprehensive insights into how to mitigate online ride-hailing drivers' OSP in the gig economy. Originality/value Previous studies have identified online ride-hailing drivers' iLOC as a stable moderator in the relationship between OSP and service performance. However, this paper empirically demonstrates that customers' positive feedback can induce changes in the iLOC, which subsequently moderates the relationship between OSP and service performance.