IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/woemps/v39y2025i2p267-289.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring Informal Work: Gaining Legitimation through Nudging

Author

Listed:
  • Danny Buckley

    (Leicester Castle Business School, UK)

  • Natalia Vershinina

    (Audencia Business School, France)

  • Peter Rodgers

    (University of Southampton, UK)

Abstract

This article develops a micro-level understanding of informal work (IW) by exploring the legitimising factors which business owners exercise to provide the rationale for engaging in IW. Using the lens of nudge theory, originating from behavioural economics, we show how IW becomes legitimised through nudging . Empirically, we explore the lived experience of service sector business owners who engage in IW practices in the East Midlands, UK. The findings uncover how the business owners’ context is shaped through exposure to various IW arrangements early in their working life; we also reveal a range of actors who actively shape these arrangements for embracing IW while delegitimising formal work. We present the factors that condition the beliefs and embed the understanding that IW is legitimate for the individual business owners, thus highlighting an important and emergent context for future studies in the realm of IW.

Suggested Citation

  • Danny Buckley & Natalia Vershinina & Peter Rodgers, 2025. "Exploring Informal Work: Gaining Legitimation through Nudging," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 39(2), pages 267-289, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:39:y:2025:i:2:p:267-289
    DOI: 10.1177/09500170241292305
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09500170241292305
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/09500170241292305?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:39:y:2025:i:2:p:267-289. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.britsoc.co.uk/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.