Digital Platforms, Surveillance and Processes of Demoralization

While digital platforms have become an increasingly important area of research in Information Systems, the existing literature does not conceptualize the theoretical link between platforms and morality. This paper theorizes such a link drawing on Jenson’s (2010) conceptualization of demoralizing processes and moral ambivalence. Our interpretive study of a large luxury resort hotel examines surveillance associated with digital platforms, such as TripAdvisor. Our findings show how panoptic and synoptic forms of surveillance are facilitated by digital platforms. While employees actively and voluntarily participate in such surveillance practices, they are ambivalent towards moral consequences of their actions, such as the invasion of privacy and pressuring others outside working hours. This paper offers a novel perspective to theorize the link between digital platforms and morality related to surveillance and highlights the unintended moral consequences.