Block Chain for Gig Economy Contracts: Trust and Innovation in Freelancing

Abstract

The gig economy gives independent workers all around flexibility in today's quickly changing employment market; yet, trust deficits, delayed payments, and high intermediary costs in global contracts provide ongoing difficulties. By offering open, tamper-proof contracts that reduce contract conflicts and enable new work arrangements, blockchain-based smart contracts help to transform governance mechanism. Based on a organized survey of 280 cross-border freelancers, this study investigates how blockchain affects openness, trust, cost savings, and adoption hurdles. Using Henry Garrett's ranking methodology, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), empirical data show that blockchain-enabled trust greatly lowers transaction costs ( ) and directly drives freelancing innovation (). Cost cutting helps to negotiate the relationship between trust and innovation (). However, technical literacy requirements (Garrett Mean Score = 81.33) and cryptocurrency volatility (73.65) emerge as primary impediments, with a significant negative path effect on adoption dependability ( ). Overall, the structural model accounts for 24.5% of the variance in cost reduction (), 43.7% in freelancing innovation (), and 15.5% in adoption reliability (). These findings emphasize the necessity of targeted technical education and stablecoin integration to overcome adoption barriers and establish equitable, decentralized digital labor platforms