A critical review of the key aspects of sharing economy: A systematic literature review and research framework

Abstract

The sharing economy (SE) represents a paradigm shift in resource consumption and ownership while facilitating a promising path towards a more circular and sustainable future. Despite increasing enthusiasm for this concept, limited studies focus on potential shareable resources, the process of SE, stakeholders of SE, and factors that influence SE practices, which are essential to comprehend the key aspects of SE before delving into further theoretical applications and operationalisation of the concept. This study aims to explore key aspects contributing to the successful applications of the SE concept across diverse industries by conducting a systematic literature review (SLR). Out of 4848 articles, 57 peer-reviewed articles in two databases published between 2013 and 2022 were subjected to descriptive and content analysis. The descriptive analysis revealed that 95% of articles were published in the last four years. The case study method was involved in most articles (30%), in addition, modelling, questionnaire survey, and social media analytics were also prominent as data collection methods. Moreover, most SE studies primarily concentrated on the accommodation, and transport/delivery sectors. Among various shareable resources, the highest number of studies focused on the space/storage resource category as a shareable resource. The results of the content analysis discovered 14 types of potential sharable resources (people, animals, robots, goods, space/storage, mobility/logistics, capital, food/ingredients, drugs, materials/equipment/tools/machines/devices, data and information, energy, Wi-Fi, and fashion elements) and the 7-step process of SE practices (identification of idle resources to be shared, registration of idle resources on a digital platform, exploration and identification of suitable resources, negotiation and decision-making on terms and conditions, transaction, and review and feedback) while identifying key stakeholders involved in the SE. Furthermore, enablers, barriers, and factors with a duality of quality were also recognised. The study also proposes a conceptual framework that provides a significant contribution to industries and sectors aiming to apply the SE concept.