{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,5]],"date-time":"2026-01-05T19:46:24Z","timestamp":1767642384376,"version":"3.48.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,28]],"date-time":"2023-11-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1701129600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["New Media &amp; Society"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,5]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\u201cFlexible time\u201d as a myth in platform labor has been destructed by critical media scholars. However, while previous studies have answered the question of what platform time \u201cisn\u2019t,\u201d most failed to go further in analyzing what \u201cit is.\u201d Based on the 6-month fieldwork, this study aims to re-construct the temporal politics of platform labor in the online food delivery industry in China. Specifically, we employ an inherently relational perspective to analyze three differential temporal themes constructed by heterogeneous actors, namely the \u201cdaily time\u201d by third-party subcontractor, \u201cevent time\u201d by platform, and \u201cpoaching time\u201d by rider. In the investigation of multiple temporalities, this article also uncovers the asymmetrical \u201crelational balancing\u201d among heterogeneous actors in platform labor.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/14614448231213624","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,29]],"date-time":"2023-11-29T00:05:16Z","timestamp":1701216316000},"page":"2725-2747","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Transcending \u201cflexible time\u201d: Platform labor in the Chinese food delivery industry and its temporal politics"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Kairong","family":"Shu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Renmin University of China, China"}]},{"given":"Hailong","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Renmin University of China, China"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8416-8406","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chenyu","family":"Dong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Renmin University of China, China"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1024529420914473"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.13169\/workorgalaboglob.15.1.0046"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1461444817729149"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7551\/mitpress\/13835.003.0006"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1461444820913567"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/702171"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Collier R Dubal V Carter C (2017a) Labor platforms and gig work: the failure to regulate. 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