Talent Management or Talent Extraction? Redefining the Psychological Contract in the Platform Economy: A Qualitative Exploration among Skilled Freelancers

The platform economy, with its promise of reducing transaction costs, has transformed the nature of talent management. While the classical literature regards talent as a strategic asset to be nurtured, evidence points to the emergence of a different pattern: a relationship that extracts maximum value from skilled labor in the shortest possible time, without any commitment to its sustainability. This study was conducted with the aim of exploring this tension and redefining the psychological contract in the platform economy. Its central question is whether the modes of engagement with skilled freelancers constitute talent management or have resulted in talent extraction. The study employed a qualitative approach using Braun and Clarke's six-phase thematic analysis method. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with ۱۲ skilled Iranian freelancers from diverse fields. Participants were selected using snowball sampling while ensuring maximum variation. The data analysis led to three main themes that redefine our understanding in this area: ۱) The collapse of mutual exchange, wherein freelancers hold relational expectations while the employer defines the relationship as transactional and unilateral. ۲) The mechanisms of silent extraction, including unilateral changes in the scope of work, time pressure, and the depreciation of human capital. ۳) Survival strategies in the precariat, including forced adaptation, emotional detachment, and silent quitting. These themes form a vicious cycle: the collapse of mutuality paves the way for extraction, and continuous extraction forces the freelancer into survival strategies. The findings indicate that the psychological contract in the platform economy is no longer a mutual agreement, but has become a unilateral quasi-contract characterized by inherent instability and interpretive asymmetry. By introducing the concept of talent extraction as opposed to talent management, this study concludes that what occurs is not the nurturing but the systematic exploitation of human capital a finding that carries significant implications for rethinking management theories and labor policy in the digital age.

کلیدواژه ها:

Talent Management ، Talent Extraction ، Psychological Contract ، Platform Economy