63 Informasi - ISSN (p) 0126-0650; ISSN (e) 2502-3837 Vol. 52, No. 1 (2022), pp. 63-82 doi: http://doi.org/10.21831/informasi.v52i1.49348. 63-82 Hegemonic dialectics between power and resistance in the Indonesian sharing economy: Study of Gojek Irsanti Widuri Asih Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia Email: irsanti.w.a@mail.ugm.ac.id Heru Nugroho Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia Email: herunug@yahoo.com Budiawan Budiawan Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia Email: budiawan4@ugm.ac.id Abstract Gojek is an Indonesian platform-based on-demand ride-hailing business that has attracted some researchers to conduct studies in this newly emerged economy field through various approaches. Most researchers see the phenomenon of Gojek as part of the global disruptive technology movement that positively impacts the Indonesian economic and socio-cultural aspects of society. Some others expose the asymmetrical relationship between the platform and its driver- partners. No study analyzed it from the perspective of a dialectical hegemony that transpires between the platform and its driver-partners. Using a qualitative method, this article will fill in the gaps in the study of the Gojek phenomenon from the Gramscian Theory of Hegemony perspective to uncover the dialectical relationship between the digital platform and its driver-partners. The platform 64 Informasi, Vol. 52. No. 1. (2022), 62-82 articulates hegemony actions through gamification and algorithm system, the concept of work, the internalization of corporate values, the Award Programs, the Kopi Darat Program, the driver-partners communities, Gojek’s Task Force and the driver-partners influencers. The driver-partners perform resistance by conducting demonstrations and boycotts, using various application modifications, and serving over one platform. Keywords: sharing economy, hegemony, resistance, Gojek INTRODUCTION In the last decade, information-based economic activities as the primary commodity have proliferated in various parts of the world. This digital economy gives birth to several terms, such as sharing economy, collaborative economy, gig economy, and platform economy, that create workers referred to as digital workers and recognized as sharing economy workers, gig workers, or platform workers. In Indonesia, Gojek is a representation of the ride-hailing business with the concept of sharing economy. Gojek is one of the prominent applications in meeting the daily needs of its users. Gojek, with the official company name PT. Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (PT. AKAB), is an Indonesian startup founded by Nadiem Makarim in 2010 that claims as a technology company. The application-based on-demand services implemented by the Gojek platform have appeared in various countries significantly in the 2010s (Aloisi, 2015; Cockayne, 2016) and cannot be underestimated because it involves a reasonably high workforce (De Stefano, 2015). Uber is the most prominent on- demand service pioneer in the ride-hailing category with exponential business growth (Aloisi, 2015; Hall & Krueger, 2018; Jacquet, 2018). Unlike its pioneer, Uber, which in its home country, the United States, and some European countries only provides transportation services, Gojek creates a super-app due to its ability to meet several needs of its users. Gojek provides over 20 services to its users. The services include food delivery, goods delivery, house cleaning, beauty, and body care (these two services have been temporarily deactivated because of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic), donation transactions, bill payments, telephone credit and internet packages purchase, insurance, and investment. Gojek achievements as the driver of the Indonesian digital economy receive appreciation from various local, regional, and international parties. The 65 Hegemonic dialectics between power and ...(Irsanti Widuri Asih, Heru Nugroho, Budiawan Budiawan) apex of Gojek’s achievement was the inauguration of Gojek as the first decacorn startup in Indonesia and the second in ASEAN by CBInsights. Several studies have criticized the phenomenon of digital labor with the concept of the sharing economy, such as the super-exploitative practices, the absence of protection, and the pseudo-work flexibility that it offers (Krüger & Johanssen, 2014; Tran & Sokas, 2017; Kamim & Khandiq, 2019; Englert, Woodcock & Cant, 2020). Some studies highlight the same issues in Gojek’s business (Adiyasha, 2016; Nastiti, 2017; Saraswati, 2018). Although Gojek driver-partners’ concerns about the exploitative relationship practiced by the corporation are often expressed through various strikes in Indonesia, Gojek’s business continues to grow exponentially. It is supported by a survey conducted by the Demographic Institute, the Faculty of Economics and Business, the University of Indonesia (LD FEB-UI) in 2018 that provides data that most driver-partners are content with their job as the company improve their life in a significant way. The paradoxical condition of Gojek’s business can occur due to the hegemonic and affective nature of the sharing economy business model applied by Gojek. Gramsci (1971: 161) states that the practices of hegemony will form a compromised equilibrium that is defined as economic sacrifices that must be made by the ruling class, even though Storey (2018: 10) warns that the compromised equilibrium will usually be more favorable to the ruling class. In Gojek business, this compromised equilibrium makes the relationship between the corporation and the driver-partners dialectical; each will look for “beneficial” conditions. The article will elaborate on the dialectical relationship between Gojek and its driver-partners from the perspective of the Theory of Hegemony. LITERATURE REVIEW Previous Studies Adiyasha (2016) reveals that Gojek drivers are workers in the informal sector due to the absence of job security in connection with their position as partners. Their work is high risk. Adiyasha’s research, which uses the concepts of work risk, informal social security, and the Theory of Community-Based Organization, shows that drivers make informal social security independently in overcoming vulnerability to work risks. It is an anticipatory step against 66 Informasi, Vol. 52. No. 1. (2022), 62-82 unwanted things that can happen to Gojek driver-partners and their families. It also shows the absence of the state in protecting its citizens from a sharing economy practice recognized as a sector that absorbs a relatively high workforce. It is also an indicator of the state’s inability to provide adequate employment opportunities for its citizens. Reviewed from a small political perspective, Pranoto (2017) examines various manipulative tactics by Gojek drivers because of the high competition among Gojek drivers in Surabaya. Pranoto’s research describes the problems faced by Gojek drivers mapped into the company’s system, customers, and job risks. Pranoto’s findings explain that the company often changes the game’s rules without notifying the driver-partners. Other findings describe various manipulative tactics by Gojek drivers in dealing with these problems, first by determining a suitable search location, second by giving a good image to customers, third by building relationships between Gojek communities, and fourth by using illegal applications and technology. By basing her study on labor-capital relations, Nastiti (2017) exposes workers’ anxiety with flexible labor status in the digital economy. Nastiti raised the Gojek case to reveal the controversy that often triggers labor dissatisfaction on a large scale. Through the perspective of labor-capital relations, Nastiti finds Gojek is a super-exploitative work practice for its drivers because no formal law regulates labor issues in this digital realm. Nastiti reveals that Gojek has lulled its drivers by using “freedom and entrepreneurship” merely rhetorical. Nastiti’s research successfully exposed the exploitation practices carried out by Gojek against its drivers. Saraswati (2018) finds that the conditions of Gojek drivers in Yogyakarta have not met their expectations. Using the Theory of Relative Deprivation, her study shows that Gojek drivers feel they experience distributive, procedural, and relational injustice. Her findings prove the implementation of the sharing economy scheme by PT. AKAB is merely an illusion since the driver-partners have to encounter various unfair practices caused by the business system built by the corporation. Thelen’s (2018) study on Regulating Uber: The Politics of the Platform Economy in Europe and the United States can describe the differences between the United States and Europe in responding to the Uber business phenomenon. Thelen (2018: 949) argues that Uber’s business politics is influential in the United States. Uber has always evaded regulators, used users to fight traditional taxi companies, pressured politicians, and kept labor advocates busy in court. 67 Hegemonic dialectics between power and ...(Irsanti Widuri Asih, Heru Nugroho, Budiawan Budiawan) In Germany, Thelen continues, taxi associations were more solid in responding to Uber’s business. By embracing the public transport alliance, they positioned themselves as advocates for consumers who wanted quality transportation services that only well-regulated markets can provide. They viewed Uber as a threat to public order and the rule of law. In Sweden, Thelen (2018: 949) finds that tax issues were used as a weapon against Uber, intensified by a coalition that includes taxi companies, trade unions, and state actors in defending the norms of justice that form the basis of Sweden’s social system. Thus, the dynamics of Uber’s business, which has become a global phenomenon as an Uberization phenomenon, is influenced by how the Government of the country where Uber operates responds to Uber’s business. Kamim and Khandiq’s (2019) study shows that digital platforms have implications for changes to existing employment relationships, particularly regarding contracts and the applied wage system. Gojek is a platform-based business in great demand by the younger generation of workers because of the lure of flexibility in working hours, higher wages, and bonuses offered. However, this study reveals that Gojek’s driver-partner’s position was vulnerable because of the concept of “partners” that eliminates workers’ rights, such as social security, overtime pay, no severance pay, and a more subordinated pattern of partner relationships. The promised welfare is just an illusion as the “partners” have to suffer exploitation as unreasonable working hours, mismatch with promised income, and business relationship gaps. Of the many studies related to Gojek as a material object and those related to the online ride-hailing system and the sharing economy, no academics have analyzed the Gojek phenomenon as a dialectical hegemonic relationship between the digital platform and its driver-partners. Those studies fail to reveal the paradoxical condition of the Gojek business and elucidate the relation between the platform and its driver-partners. In contrast to previous studies, we will mainly elaborate on the dialectic of hegemony and its resistance between PT. AKAB as the owner of the Gojek application and its driver-partners. This elaboration of hegemony and its resistance will show how Gojek’s business is a site of struggle between the dominant class and the subordinated one. Sharing Economy as Hegemonic Practices Gramsci (1971: 107) defines hegemony as the spontaneous consent of most people to the directions instilled by the dominant fundamental group. 68 Informasi, Vol. 52. No. 1. (2022), 62-82 The practice of hegemony in Gramsci’s view uses common sense; “dominant ideas about society and our place in it—in producing cultural hegemony”. In this context, the notion of common sense refers to the embedded and incoherent beliefs and assumptions that characterize specific social orders. Common sense involves a firmly held zone from the aspects of cultural life that are ‘taken for granted’ (Barker, 2004: 30). Barker (2004: 30 - 31) also argues that for Gramsci, everybody reflects the world, and through the ‘common sense’ of popular culture, they govern their lives and experiences. Common sense is the most important site of ideological struggle, since it is the realm of practical consciousness that guides the world’s everyday actions. Thus, in the concept of hegemony, what is articulated by the dominant class is not an oppressive power but ideologies, values, and beliefs that are implanted persuasively and considered as common senses. Since its emergence, the sharing economy has caused debate among those interested in this phenomenon (Martin, 2015: 149). Martin’s (2015: 149) study discovered that those who support the sharing economy business model view it as paving the way for creating a decentralized, fair and sustainable economy. Meanwhile, those who are critical of the sharing economy phenomenon consider it an economic form that causes the creation of a market that has no rules, carries a neoliberal paradigm, and is considered an incoherent innovation phenomenon. Schor (2016: 7) argues that at the beginning of its emergence, the sharing economy had a noble idea, namely empowering certain groups of people to earn income, make efficiency, and suppress carbon production resulting from increased vehicle purchases and the construction of new hotels or residences. However, the implementation and the resulting excesses are increasingly concerning and further away from the noble initial idea, being more profit- oriented than sharing and predatory and exploitative (Schor, 2016: 7). Schor (2020) also mentions that the sharing economy has been hijacked. The sharing economy finally shifted to a business model and was adopted in many fields. The principles of the sharing economy are implemented differently from traditional economics; among others, the work is short-term work based on contracts, and payments are made on an hourly or pay-as-you- go basis (Sinicki, 2019: 2). Sinicki emphasizes that the sharing economy places workers as freelancers or independent contractors by prioritizing work flexibility. 69 Hegemonic dialectics between power and ...(Irsanti Widuri Asih, Heru Nugroho, Budiawan Budiawan) Since the sharing economy works through the glorification of freedom, flexibility, cooperation, and autonomy, we analyze this subject through the lens of the Theory of Hegemony in revealing the domination by consent. METHODS This study uses the case study research method. Patton (2014: 782 – 783) argues that the case study approach in qualitative analysis is a particular way of collecting, organizing, and analyzing data that represents the analysis of a process. This approach aims to produce a comprehensive, systematic, and in- depth study of a case. Therefore, according to Patton, the term case study can refer to the analysis process, the product of analysis, or both. Robert Stake (in Denzin & Lincoln, 2018: 557) states that a case study is an act of selecting an object to be studied. The same argument is also stated by Patton (2014: 394) that case studies are discussed as a product, which is a very in-depth and detailed description of a person, organization, campaign, event, program, or the focus or unit of analysis of the study. In this study, the case raised is the new constellation of soft capitalism and soft resistance to the digital platform phenomenon in the form of the Gojek business with the sharing economy concept owned and implemented by PT. AKAB. For human data sources, data were collected through in-depth interviews. As for non-human data sources, researchers observed the Gojek application used by driver-partners and users/consumers and reviewed documents on Gojek’s social media accounts and other relevant documents. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The Hegemony of the Gojek Platform a. The Organic Intellectual of the Gojek Platform From the analysis of hegemonic practices carried out by PT. AKAB towards driver-partners using a Gramscian perspective, we identify the organic intellectual of the Gojek platform as the elite technology developers behind the Gojek application work system design. Dyer-Whiteford, Kjosen, and Steinhoff (2019: 3) argue that technology is never neutral but controlled by humans to accumulate profits. The Gojek platform, with an algorithm-based work system and gamification, results 70 Informasi, Vol. 52. No. 1. (2022), 62-82 from technological work that uses technological logic and social logic to get more value. The driver-partners’ performance parameters are very high. The creation of the gamification is not based solely on the results of technical work but also on the power of the technology elite, who design the platform’s work system and set the standards for those parameters. The entire application work system that is built leads to accumulating the corporation’s profits. A clear example of human determination over technology is the finding of Panimbang (2021: 17), which states that the algorithm can give privileges to driver-partners who still have to pay off the jacket and helmet installments that are deducted from the driver’s account every day. The algorithm will prioritize them to get more intense orders. However, once their installments were paid off, that privilege disappeared. b. The Hegemony Apparatuses of the Gojek Platform The sharing economy carries a rhetorical ideology with cradles of flexibility, autonomy, partnership, and increased welfare that seduce many people to become part of this digital economy business (Hall & Krueger, 2015; Ackaradejruangsri, 2015; De Stefano, 2016; Sinicki, 2019). Gojek is a digital labor phenomenon that is part of the sharing economy. The following data shows the hegemony apparatuses of the Gojek platform. b.1. “Terms of Use for the Gojek Application for Partners” as “The Contract” for Driver-partners When someone intends to join PT. AKAB as a driver-partner, they are required to agree to the terms of use for the application called GoPartner. The following part will elaborate on the terms of use for the application and how the Gojek platform works. PT. AKAB positions the drivers, the backbone of several services provided through the Gojek application, as partners. Point 7 of “Terms of Use for the Gojek Application for Partners” states that the drivers’ relationship with Gojek is “the independent contractor’s relationship in partnership.” This relationship model is used by PT. AKAB refers to the concept of sharing economy, which places drivers in their business as independent contractors. It is also emphasized that there would be no consequences in providing social protection to independent contractors and legal protection, since the relationship is not an employment relationship. Referring to several regulations in Indonesia, the concept of “independent contractor in partnership” is challenging to find a legal basis. 71 Hegemonic dialectics between power and ...(Irsanti Widuri Asih, Heru Nugroho, Budiawan Budiawan) Regarding Harris and Krueger’s opinion, Wicaksono (2020) mentions the use of the term partners by PT. AKAB has become a camouflage in a gray area. The grayish status of partners is whether they are employees, independent contractors, or not even both, since the partnership between the drivers and PT. AKAB cannot be called a bond between workers and companies. Driver-partners cannot be anointed employees of PT. AKAB, since they have the flexibility of working hours, can work anytime they want, just like independent contractors. However, being anointed independent contractors or driver-partners is also not entirely like that since the driver-partners must comply with all the rules of the work system like company employees, for example, using the corporate identity and respecting corporate values. b.2. Application Work System: Gamification and the Power of Algorithm Gamification is a strategy to adopt game mechanics in the realm outside the game (Zichermann & Cunningham, 2011: xiii-xiv). In this context, gamification is implemented in the realm of work. The concept of gamification is widely adopted in the realm of work since the fun of playing makes those who are involved in it not feel like they are working but feel that they are playing, which creates a sense of fun and psychologically motivated to give the best performance, and motivated to complete the missions given by this technology-based game. Zichermann & Cunningham (2011) describe that the elements of games that can be adopted for realms outside of games include points (the main elements of the entire system being gamified), leaderboard (the media to display the best order of all aspects of player interaction), badges (as a symbol of certain conditions or achievements), Challenge and Quest (directions for what system users or players should take), and Social Engagement Loop (social engagement circles which are psychologically motivated users or players in completing missions with certain rewards). The implementation of gamification in the Gojek application is as follows. When on duties, Gojek driver-partners, in carrying out their duties, must deal with four components: performance, rating, points, and bonuses. In addition, another determining factor is whether there are complaints from customers regarding services provided by driver- 72 Informasi, Vol. 52. No. 1. (2022), 62-82 partners in every order they execute. Performance is influenced by online hours (the time a driver-partner activates his account or is called on-bid), the mission-taking rate (acceptance rate), and the mission completion rate. Overall, the gamification adoption of the Gojek application used by driver-partners can be described as follows: Figure 1. Social Engagement Loop of Gamification Adoption on the Gojek Application Source: The Analysis of the Authors Algorithm records every action taken by the driver-partners. The algorithm will then provide recommendations for priority driver- partners who get privileged orders from various variants of Gojek services. Thus, the concept of flexibility glorified by PT. AKAB is an illusion for most driver-partners. With various algorithmic and mathematical calculations described above, the system closely monitors the performance of each driver-partner. It will affect his “fate” in front of the application, which dramatically affects his income. b.3. The Internalization of Corporate Values The internalization of corporate values is manifested by wearing uniforms comprising distinctively green Gojek jackets and helmets as a corporate identity. 73 Hegemonic dialectics between power and ...(Irsanti Widuri Asih, Heru Nugroho, Budiawan Budiawan) Figure 2. Uniforms of Gojek Driver Partners Source: https://driver.go-jek.com/s/article/Semangat-Baru-Lewat-Logo-dan-Atribut- Gojek-yang-Baru Through a partnership system that places the drivers as independent contractors who are only bound through the “Terms of Use for the Gojek Application for Partners,” the driver-partners of Gojek do not have the status of Gojek employees. However, when someone decides to become a driver-partner of PT. AKAB, they must wear the Gojek jacket and helmet uniform they buy. This uniform is expected to grow the esprit de corps of the driver-partners to the corporation. They are automatically required to safeguard Gojek’s good name and carry Gojek’s corporate values , which consist of speed, innovation, and social impact in carrying out their duties. One informant admitted that wearing the Gojek uniform when he joined this platform gave him a sense of pride. He considers Gojek a large company well known through its uniform identity. The success of the informant in joining Gojek is a separate achievement because he has long thought of it. Another informant also expressed the pride in using a smartphone as a work tool. He revealed how the work system at Gojek, which uses a smartphone, makes it seem “up in class” and looks sophisticated. The acknowledgment of the two informants above on their pride when joining the Gojek ecosystem as driver-partners reflects this corporation’s hegemony towards them. Uniforms and work tools in 74 Informasi, Vol. 52. No. 1. (2022), 62-82 the form of smartphones evoke a sense of pride and a feeling of being involved in a bona fide economic activity. Internalization of the speed value is manifested in giving time for 30 seconds for driver-partners that get orders from consumers to determine whether the order will be taken. Another indicator is if a customer submits a complaint about the services provided by the driver’s partner. These complaints include the time the driver-partners arrive at the customer pick-up point, the time the food order is processed, or the time the driver-partners deliver food orders. In internalizing creativity, driver-partners are challenged to create innovations in providing the best possible services to customers. This aligns with the corporation’s award program to find creative and trustworthy driver-partners. The program aims not only to improve the quality of personal service of the driver-partners, which will affect their income but also to improve the corporate image in customers’ eyes. The program will maintain customer loyalty and increase potential customers’ interest in various Gojek services. If the corporation performs well, it will also increase investor interest and confidence in the corporation. Meanwhile, the internalization of social impact values is manifested in the corporation’s case, encouraging driver-partners always to provide the best service to their consumers and contribute positively to society. This is manifested in the formation of driver- partner communities to build solidarity and carry out social activities that positively impact society. These activities include raising funds when natural disasters occur, volunteering to help communities affected by natural disasters, forming a rapid response unit to escort an ambulance that has to pass the highway, cleaning the mosque regularly, and other social activities. b.4. Award Programs and Social Media as Hegemonic Apparatuses Gojek driver-partners are tied to rules and regulations in carrying out their jobs. If they are detected committing a violation, the partnership relationship is suspended. The rule that must be obeyed is providing exemplary service to customers. In order to give a good impression to customers, the driver- partners strive to provide the best service. This triggers driver-partners 75 Hegemonic dialectics between power and ...(Irsanti Widuri Asih, Heru Nugroho, Budiawan Budiawan) to be as creative as possible to provide “added value” to customers, hoping that customers will give them the highest rating (5 stars), which can also be accompanied by tips whose features are already available in the application. With this mission, many driver-partners are creative in providing extra services to customers, for example, by providing tissue, mineral water, candy, prayers, and even a power bank. All of these extra services are provided with the driver-partners financial capital. Figure 3. The Innovations of the Gojek Driver-partners Source: https://travel.okezone.com/read/2019/04/15/406/2043949/driver-ojol-ini- sediakan-permen-sampai-kacang-gratis-untuk-penumpangnya Likewise, stories about the good things done by Gojek driver- partners were glorified through various Gojek social media. This has become the Gojek apparatus used to accumulate profits in image building and hidden advertising, which has increasingly catapulted Gojek’s name because of the domino effect of glorification through a hashtag-marked campaign on various Gojek social media. Because the public identify Gojek driver-partners easily from their uniforms, the positive things they do automatically form a positive corporate image. Then, the corporation will make documentation for the driver-partners considered the top drivers and upload them on various Gojek social media. Comments, likes, and subscribers given by customers and Gojek can undoubtedly monetize the public according to its social media platform. 76 Informasi, Vol. 52. No. 1. (2022), 62-82 b.5. “Kopi Darat” Program as a Negotiation of Resistance and Strengthening Hegemony Since Gojek launched the application in 2015, Gojek has often encountered resistance from driver-partners in various demonstrations criticizing the corporation’s policies that are detrimental to them. In early 2018, Gojek designed the Kopi Darat program to reduce this turmoil, a regular meeting between the corporation and its driver- partners as a forum for dialogues. Gojek uses this program to accommodate various aspirations of the driver-partners. Through this program, Gojek also indoctrinates driver-partners regarding various corporation policies, provides training and mentoring to driver-partners and their families, and socializes health protocols and the benefits of Covid-19 vaccination during the Covid-19 pandemic. The platform usually designs Kopi Darat events in a fun way in representative places, abundant in prizes, sometimes by inviting celebrities to attract driver-partners. Kopi Darat program becomes the corporation’s apparatus to reduce the resistance of driver-partners on the pretext of accommodating their various complaints and aspirations to find solutions. The corporation expects that the driver-partners will no longer take to the streets to stage demonstrations to criticize the corporation through this program. b.6. The Two Faces of Driver Communities The driver-partner communities were born from their initiative to fill the void in the need for information media and media to communicate with each other, which was not provided by the corporation. The nature of the work of these partners is scattered. They do not know each other and cannot communicate with each other. Social media then allows them to network and gather virtually and face to face and build strong solidarity. The existence of the driver communities has essential and strategic values not only for driver-partners but also for the corporation. By including information about the existence of the driver communities on the company’s official website, the corporation encourages driver- partners to join the communities. From an informant, we gain information that the corporation gathers community administrators to provide an understanding of tariff setting and other policies. Since 77 Hegemonic dialectics between power and ...(Irsanti Widuri Asih, Heru Nugroho, Budiawan Budiawan) then, the corporation has “officially” cooperated with the communities for various activities, such as celebrating the corporation’s anniversary and holding regular meetings. However, solidarity among Gojek driver-partners was not built spontaneously between them alone. Dwirawati (2021: 162) finds the fact that PT. AKAB creates solidarity with drivers as social cohesion. Gojek driver-partner solidarity is constructed by the corporation so that drivers unite in facing Gojek’s competitors, providing the best service to customers, and not putting up resistance. Therefore, the solidarity formed by the corporation is deliberately carried out for its interests and benefits. b.7. Gojek’s Task Force: The Watchdog The corporation officially formed the Gojek Task Force in response to the frequent threats of violence experienced by Gojek driver-partners from traditional motorcycle taxi drivers at the beginning of Gojek’s business development in 2015. The task force mediates tensions between traditional motorcycle taxi drivers and Gojek driver- partners. In addition, the Task Force was also formed to regulate the use of Gojek attributes. Our informant explained the task force would calm it down concerning the desire of the driver-partners to criticize the applicator, either as demonstrations or off-bid actions. The criticism will be directed at policies that are the domain of the Government. The platform would incorporate critical driver-partners by making them a task force with several privileges. Eventually, the task force functions as “the watchdog,” which seeks to mitigate if there is a movement of driver-partners suspected to be “harming” the corporation. b.8. Driver-partners Influencers Gojek grows and develops in Indonesia’s digital society, where the democratization of social media allows anyone to use it for various purposes. Of the millions of Gojek driver-partners, some actively use social media and are present as content creators in the virtual world. Interestingly, these driver-partners use their identities as Gojek driver- partners dominantly in the content they produce. Our search resulted in at least two Gojek driver-partners who went viral among Indonesian netizens and suddenly became influencers 78 Informasi, Vol. 52. No. 1. (2022), 62-82 due to the video content they uploaded on their social media accounts. They are Ulfah or known as Mpo Bhabay, and Babeh Ary, or known as Babeh Ojol. They have many followers on their social media accounts, including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter. Gojek cross-posted Mpo Bhabay’s video on its official Instagram account highlighting the J3 Health Protocol (Stay Healthy, Stay Clean, and Stay Safe) during the COVID-19 pandemic Babeh Ary once went viral for creating content regarding the face verification feature for driver-partners when activating their Gojek accounts. The creative content produced by Ulfah and Babeh Ary was then cross-posted by Gojek on its official social media accounts with many views. By doing this, Gojek will benefit from image building and may also gain financial benefits by monetizing its social media accounts. Gojek often invites Ulfah as a guest speaker at the Kopi Darat event. Some contents of these driver-partner influencers serve as the Gojek hegemonic apparatuses that amplify Gojek policies and attempt to reduce driver-partner criticism in responding to corporate policies. Figure 4. The Cross-posting of Driver-partners Video Content by Gojek’s Instagram Account Source: Akun Instagram @gojekindonesia 79 Hegemonic dialectics between power and ...(Irsanti Widuri Asih, Heru Nugroho, Budiawan Budiawan) c. Gojek Driver-partners’ Resistance Movements c.1. Demonstrations as a Means of Struggle Demonstrations are the primary means of struggle for Gojek driver-partners in voicing their aspirations regarding various corporate and Government policies that are detrimental to them. Although Gojek driver-partners often conduct demonstrations, their number continues to grow. There are no genuinely militant demonstrations because the corporation always tries to negotiate every aspiration the driver-partners convey. c.2. Boycotts: The Scattered Splinters One of the resistance movements carried out by the driver- partners is through boycotts. In contrast to demonstrations in the form of protest actions by expressing opinions which are usually followed by mass mobilization in strategic places (which can also be followed by demands to meet relevant officials to listen to and respond to the protesters’ aspirations), boycotts are carried out to refuse cooperation with the platform. The boycotts are demonstrated by turning off Gojek driver-partners’ accounts (known as off-bid). By turning off their accounts, these driver-partners intend to disrupt Gojek services. c.3. Application Modification (Mod App) Pranoto (2017: 7-8) describes the use of illegal technology and applications by driver-partners in getting around the work system of the Gojek application. These strategies include Fake GPS, Repeti Touch, Xposed Installer, and Signal Jammer. Fake GPS applications can change location settings. Fake GPS is used by the first partner to put a fake location to a location often ordered by customers so that the driver-partner does not have to approach the location of the order; both driver-partners used fake GPS to place fictitious orders. The repeti touch application is an application that can be set to perform button presses automatically. The driver-partners use this application to reduce energy when taking orders and must compete with other driver-partners. Xposed Installer is an application that can hide illegal applications from being detected by the corporation. The signal jammer is an application that can remove the location of the driver-partner hanging around on moving to a location far from the customer’s order and the internet signal on the mobile Gojek driver hanging around. 80 Informasi, Vol. 52. No. 1. (2022), 62-82 c.4. Multi Applicator: An Effort to Attain Orders Gojek does not prohibit its driver-partners from registering with other competing corporations as partners. Driver-partners mainly done this as their strategy to earn higher income opportunities. By becoming a driver-partner with over one applicator, their chances of getting orders are also greater. In addition, as the driver-partners for multi- applicator, they can select the most profitable orders. As just happened when Gojek lowered the tariff between Gofood orders for a distance of less than 2 KM from Rp. 9,600 to Rp. 8,000, the driver-partners would then compare which order would benefit them the most among several applications. They will take the most profitable ones. CONCLUSION Some points that can be drawn from the analysis and discussion of this topic are; first, all the hegemonic apparatuses are intertwined and create a work system that positions the driver-partners as the most vulnerable in this business because without social protection, they must provide production tools and various innate capitals, bear all the risks of work, be creative in dealing with all vulnerable conditions, and share profits with the corporation, with rooms of resistance that corporation continues to try to co-opt. Meanwhile, data as the surplus-value generated from these partners’ work becomes the corporation’s right to be processed into profit. Second, the driver-partners resistance model combines conventional resistance and soft resistance. The resistance movement has never been militant because it is based on economic rather than political motives, which Gramsci admits is challenging to realize in class resistance. 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