Many academics have highlighted that the organizations of the twenty-first century differ from those of the previous centuries in a number of significant ways (Cascio, 2006).

After reviewing the features of organizations in the twenty-first century, Cascio and Aguinis (2008) made the case that the present staffing model and approaches are incompatible with the dynamic, international companies of today. Organizations are going through a fundamental transformation that is nothing less than a new industrial revolution, and this shift is being influenced by internet technology and is being felt all over the world (Cascio & Aguinis, 2008).

According to research firm IDC, over 850 million people will use remote access and/or mobile technologies to work in 2009 (Schweyer, 2006). Therefore, rather than focusing on self-sufficiency, businesses will be structured around networks, expanded collaborations and coopetition, outsourcing, and contracting. The long-held belief that labor and capital should be organized to deliver product and service in the same location seems to be losing support. Academics and generalists in human resources have started to focus on a hybrid business model that promotes distributed mobilization of labor and capital to provide product and service (Dong & Pourmohamadi, 2014).

Due to hiring cost and legal concerns, traditional and large firms encounter difficulty in employing and terminating personnel. A new market mechanism called internet freelancing (E-Lancing) has been introduced (Malone & Laubacher, 1998) as a result of technological advancements (He, Peng, & Zeng 2022). IT and other services are provided by electronically connected freelancers who join networks under the umbrella of the new market mechanism known as E-Lancing. These channels make it possible for small businesses to effectively outsource few jobs. According to Stone and Dulebohn (2013), E-Lancing has altered the nature of employment and the interaction between a company and an employee.

Approximately 1.5 million freelancers work in the UK alone (Kitching & Smallbone, 2012), but more than that, according to these researchers. According to the Freelnacers Union, 56.7 million Americans freelanced in 2021, More than one billion hours Americans spend on freelancing every week, more than $1 trillion contributed annually to the economy by freelancing (Freelancers union, 2022). Top 5 countries for freelancers are USA, UK, Brazil, Pakistan, and Ukraine(Gilchrist, 2019). 

In E-Lancing, prospective clients offer their services for a set price or an hourly rate. In actuality, the entire transaction—including hiring, task assignments, supervision, compensation, and conflict resolution—takes place online. E-Lancers are employed professionals that offer their services on an hourly, project-by-project, or temporary basis to a variety of clients. Additionally, they stand for a particular category of professional self-employment where human capital is the most valuable asset (Abubakar & Shneikat, 2017).

References  

1. Abubakar, A.M., & Shneikat, B. (2017) eLancing Motivations. Online Information Review, 41(1), 53-69.
2. Cascio, W.F. (2006). Managing human resources: Productivity, quality of work life, profits. Burr Ridge, IL: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
3. Cascio, W.F., & Aguinis, H. (2008). 3 Staffing Twenty‐first‐century Organizations. The Academy of Management Annals, 2(1), 133-165.
4. Dong, A & Pourmohamadi, M. (2014). Knowledge matching in the technologyoutsourcing context of online innovation intermediaries. Technology Analysis& Strategic Management, 26(6), 655-668.
5. Freelancers Union.(2022). About Us. (2022, October 17). Retrieved from https://www.freelancersunion.org/about/
6. Gilchrist, K. (2019). The 10 countries with the fastest-growing earnings for freelancers. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/07/the-10-countries-with-the-fastest-growing-earnings-for-freelancers.html
7. He, J., Peng, J., & Zeng, G. (2022). The Spatiality of the Creative Digital Economy: Local Amenities to the Spatial Agglomeration of Creative E-Freelancers in China. Journal of the Knowledge Economy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-022-01088-6
8. Kitching, J. and Smallbone, D. (2012). Are freelancers a neglected form of smallbusiness? Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 19(1),74-91
9. Malone, T. W. and Laubacher, R. J. (1998). The Dawn of the E-lance Economy.HBR, 76(5), 144-152.
10. Schweyer, A. (2006). Managing the virtual global workforce. Human Resources (Australia). Retrieved from: http://www.humanresourcesmagazine.com.au. (Accessed October 13, 2022)
11. Stone, D.L. and Dulebohn, J.H. (2013). Emerging issues in theory and research on electronic human resource management (eHRM). Human Resource Management Review, 23 (1), 1-5