"What is the role of conflict in bringing about radical change? Taking the case of the gig economy, we study the conditions of possibility for fairer alternative ways of organising to emerge, and the relative impeding forces. Currently, some commentators underscore the sense of freedom of working as a self-employed contractor; others focus on its negative and exploitative dimensions. Less attention has been given to the potential for the emergence of (radical) conflicts around the nature of gig work contracts that might be expected. We analyse this puzzle by appreciating how, on the one hand, neoliberal gig work mobilises positive fantasies of self-entrepreneurship, leading to reformist responses to contractual disputes; and, on the other hand, how the dark side of gig work can trigger radical conflict, which rejects the assumptions underpinning the “self-employed contractor” business model. The prospect of imaginative labour revolts is, we argue, buffered by neoliberal individualisation and hegemonic ideology – articulated in the phenomenon that we term “econormativity”. Yet, since its elements offer no resolution to structural grievances, conflict continues to simmer in the background. Thus, this work aims to improve from an organisation studies perspective our understanding of conflict and its role in unleashing radical alternatives."

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