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  • November 2015
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Upwork: Reimagining the Future of Work

By: Feng Zhu, Rory McDonald, Marco Iansiti and Aaron Smith
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:22
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Abstract

Upwork, the world's largest freelance talent platform, was the result of a merger between the two leading online freelancing companies in 2014, Elance and oDesk. After the merger, the company operated as Elance-oDesk and continued to manage two online platforms—Elance.com and oDesk.com—independently of one another. However in 2015 the company relaunched as Upwork, with both a new brand and a new platform. The company began to migrate Elance.com members and functionalities over to the new platform, which was based on the technical infrastructure of oDesk.com. This case helps students consider the challenges and opportunities associated with such a platform merger, from strategy to implementation.

Keywords

Platforms; Employment; Digital Platforms; Market Transactions; Business Processes; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Job Search

Citation

Zhu, Feng, Rory McDonald, Marco Iansiti, and Aaron Smith. "Upwork: Reimagining the Future of Work." Harvard Business School Case 616-027, November 2015.
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About The Authors

Feng Zhu

Technology and Operations Management
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Rory M. McDonald

Technology and Operations Management
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Marco Iansiti

Technology and Operations Management
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Related Work

    • November 2015
    • Faculty Research

    Upwork: Reimagining the Future of Work

    By: Feng Zhu, Rory McDonald, Marco Iansiti and Aaron Smith
    • February 2020
    • Faculty Research

    Upwork: Reimagining the Future of Work

    By: Feng Zhu and Shirley Sun
Related Work
  • Upwork: Reimagining the Future of Work By: Feng Zhu, Rory McDonald, Marco Iansiti and Aaron Smith
  • Upwork: Reimagining the Future of Work By: Feng Zhu and Shirley Sun
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