Delusive Speech in the Sharing Economy, by Julie Reid

Research background: Sharing (or collaborative) economy brought a bulk of possibilities to spread the business internationally not only for private sector, but also for every citizen who own any assets demanded on the market. With a vital support of web platforms even individuals can utilise shared goods and services either as a supplier or as buyer. Purpose of the article: The study aims at the assessment of public attitudes towards the phenomenon of sharing economy. More detailed, the willingness to utilise shared services and goods as well as the willingness to offer them are investigated. Methods: The questionnaire survey was conducted to reveal the public attitudes towards selected aspects of sharing economy. Dominantly, the Likert-type scale is used to express respondents’ attitudes, but also the method of semantic differential was utilised. It is used as the 7-points rating scale designed to measure the connotative meaning of the sharing economy concept. The questionnaire was distributed among public using purposive sampling via web platforms. The frequency and contingency analyses with support of the relevant statistics are used to process the data. Findings & Value added: The survey reached mostly young people which is positively perceived as lot of “web-skilled” individuals could be expected among such a sample. Internet literacy is a pre-cursor for sharing economy possibilities utilisation. Surprisingly, higher share respondents do not expressed interest to offer services via sharing economy platforms. Overall, no more than 30% of the sample utilise shared services. Here, men seem to be more embraced to be involved.

The spread of the sharing economy and the growing interest to this concept is caused by the transformation of business models, which is due to the redistribution of the importance of the economic, social and environmental goals of consumers, manufacturers and suppliers of goods and services. Institutional factors of doing business have a particular importance. At the same time, the rise of digital technology has become a catalyst for the transformation of the rules and regulations establishing transactions between economic agents of various levels. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of institutional environment digitalization on the sharing economy development as a basis for its further regulation. The novelty of the research lies in identifying regularities in institutional environment digitalization. The article describes various aspects of analyzing the sharing economy, reveals a narrow and broad interpretation of the studied term based on the fact that the sharing economy is a part of the digital and platform economy. It is shown that the sharing economy is also at the intersection of the access economy, platform economy and community-based economy. Two key approaches to sharing economy are defined: technological with the focus on sharing economy driven by the digital technologies and socioinstitional with the transformations of rules and standards regulating the interaction of economic agents within this model. Correlation-regression analysis is applied to test the hypotheses about the influence of institutional environment digitalization typical for formal and informal institutes, as well as the network relations on the development of the sharing economy. The European Index of Digital Entrepreneurship Systems (EIDES) and The Timbro Sharing Economy Index were used as an information base for the study. The research arrives at a nonlinear regression model showing the significance and impact nature of the development of network relations and social media on the sharing economy. Hypotheses about the influence of the digital component of formal and informal institutions have been refuted. The article justifies the need for the development of inclusive institutes to regulate sharing economy, which will stimulate the solution of social, economic and environmental problems in the society. The theoretical significance of the study lies in expanding the provisions of economic theory in the field of studying the transformation of economic relations under the changes in external and internal socio-economic conditions and the institutional environment development for sharing economy. The practical significance lies in the possibility to apply the conclusions and recommendations to improve socio-economic regulating policy for sharing economy at the macro-, meso- and micro-levels of economy. The results obtained in the research may be of interest to the specialists analyzing the transformation of economic relations and the problems of the formation and development of sharing economy. Further research will relate directly to the issues of institutional design of the sharing economy, as well as the study of the application potential to solve socially significant problems at various levels of management.

The phenomenal growth of "sharing economy" platforms, the increasing number of economic sectors affected and the conflicting interests among involved stakeholders explain the huge controversies around the "Sharing economy". This report aims to provide a better understanding of this phenomenon and the issues at stake. The platforms reviewed cover both factor (capital, labour) and product markets (goods and services), i.e. the entire economy (and potentially society at large), taking account of both empirical evidence and rhetorical discourses in order to remove confusion and identify both available and lacking empirical evidence. There is controversy on what the "sharing economy" is or is not. Because of its positive connotation, more companies started to claim belonging to the "sharing economy" although they actually pursue economic self-interest. The conditions of "on-demand workers" raise conflicting views, as earnings for providers are not as high as claimed and practices add to the erosion of the labour contract and to the increase of "contingent" labour. Another controversial issue is whether or not the "sharing economy’ has positive redistributive effects, for which evidence is lacking or not conclusive. Last but not least conflicts, legal disputes, and consumer protection concerns are on the rise. In this respect, the size and scope of a platform may pose very different regulatory and policy challenges which is why a conceptual clarification is needed.

Sharing Economy: A Systematic Review of Definitions, Drivers, Applications, Industry status and Business models

We live in an age where digital platforms have the power to shape and channel our social and economic choices. The advent of technology and growth of digital platforms has created avenues for sharing outside trusted circles and brought opportunities for the establishment of entirely new kind of marketplaces. This business activity is what the World Economic Forum describes as the shift from ‘sharing’ to the ‘sharing economy’ (WEF, 2017). In the Indian context, ever since their introduction to the digital and physical marketplace, within a matter of a few years, sharing economy platforms like Uber, OLA, Urban Company, Swiggy, Zomato, WeWork and Airbnb have become household names in urban India. The sharing economy – unclassified capitalism, though a truant complier of regulations, has indispensable implications for the urban informal sector. The sharing economy has been on a steady thrive since its inception – majorly due to its ingenious utilisation of otherwise dormant private assets as a stream of services. While it may not be large enough to obliterate the informal sector, the sharing economy does improve the reputation of part-time work and thereby its wages – reflecting the high opportunity cost for unorganised sector workers in their enhanced bargaining power. Sharing organises informality by standardising output and enabling data collection in the informal economy. Furthermore, it collaterally consolidates the given sector – both vertically and horizontally – enabling better management of its activities. The sharing economy has thus earned the distinction of democratising employment amplified by spillover effects on other markets. Primitive sharing can be thought of as condominium and time-share arrangements that were the first to revolutionise the ability to scale and leverage assets. The precursors to the sharing economy existed in what appeared to be more local, even marginal, pockets, contributing to an assumption that these forms of doing business could not flourish on a large scale. The technological versions of the sharing economy challenge the assumption mightily creating the possibility of new types of sharing - a perfect visualisation of an Adam Smithian world ruled solely by market forces of demand and supply. By combining micro-entrepreneurship with democratic employment, it has undoubtedly overtaken traditional counterparts in obviating search cost and ensuring adequate supply. This seemingly perfect competition has the potential to redistribute resources in the economy and produce more equity in jobs and markets for a broader range of individuals typically marginalised from robust market participation. However, the confident unicorns of sharing economy seemed to have met unpredictable fortune with the onset of the COVID-19-19 pandemic. This contagious disease has the potential to decimate the consumer demand for these platforms unless necessary measures are taken and a roadmap is charted to mitigate its impact. This report critically analyses the Impact of COVID-19-19 on the Sharing Economy in India and outline the way forward for both platforms and gig workers.

Sharing economy is described as a growing trend on advanced countries and it has a very limited research within, for it is rarely found conducted in developed countries as Indonesia. From the previous research conducted abroad assisting an author to develop a research on sharing economy in Indonesia, to explore how motivation for the sharing economy and perceived security affected attitude in loyalty as a partner/ participant in sharing economy like Go-jek, Grab, Airbnb, Airyrooms, etc. This research used structural equation modeling as research method. This study found that only practical/rational motivation in sharing motivation had a positive effect toward attitude in sharing economy, whereas other motivation aspects such as economic motivation, social/emotional motivation and ecology/ideology motivation seemed not to have any significant effect. In addition, perceived of security in sharing economy were found that governmental regulations significantly affected policies in sharing economy, policies in sharing economy company had positive effect on security, and security itself was found to have a positive effect on attitude of participant in sharing economy. Attitude also is found to have a positive effect toward loyalty of partner/participant as practitioners of sharing economy

In the last years, the sharing economy has emerged as an alternative to traditional exchanges, introducing the idea that users can grant other users temporary access to their goods and services for economic compensation. This shift was made largely possible by technological evolutions: Sharing platforms, which match users who share (providers) with users willing to pay for access (consumers), are based online and many services are available exclusively through a smartphone. The nature of the sharing economy, aimed at least initially at co-consumption, and its technological dependency have led both media and academic outlets to link it strongly to the so called ‘Millennial generation’ (Anderson & Rainie, 2010; Belk, 2014; Godelink, 2017). Born between 1982 and 1996 and having lived through an economic crisis as either teenagers or young adults, Millennials have so far shown somewhat divergent consumption patterns when compared to older generations. Previous research has shown that Millennials in the US, for instance, are less likely to be homeowners (Xu, Johnson, Bartholomae, O'Neill, & Gutter, 2015) and are more likely to choose public or shared transportation over owning their own car (Klein & Smart, 2017). It is therefore not surprising that Millennials have been identified as ‘driving’ the growth of the sharing economy (Maycotte, 2015). Aiming to directly approach the experience of consumers in the sharing economy, this report presents the results from an in-depth analysis of qualitative data which emerged from 18 focus groups conducted concurrently across six European countries (Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and The United Kingdom). Our findings, based on a sample of Millennial consumers of the sharing economy, paint a picture of the meanings, expectations, and obstacles which emerge from interacting with peers and platforms. This report is part of a European Union Horizon 2020 Research Project on the sharing economy: Ps2Share ‘Participation, Privacy, and Power in the Sharing Economy’. The initial stage of this Research Project involved a set of three literature reviews of the state of research on three core topics in relation to the sharing economy: participation (Andreotti, Anselmi, Eichhorn, Hoffmann, & Micheli, 2017), privacy (Ranzini, Etter, Lutz, & Vermeulen, 2017), and power (Newlands, Lutz, & Fieseler, 2017a). The second step consisted of a series of focus groups conducted across six European countries, the results of which are presented in this report. The third step consisted of a large-scale survey of citizens of twelve European countries, the results of which are to be found in three separate reports, covering privacy in the sharing economy (Ranzini, Etter, & Vermeulen, 2017), participation in the sharing economy (Andreotti, Anselmi, Eichhorn, Hoffmann, Jurss, & Micheli, 2017), and power in the sharing economy (Newlands, Lutz, & Fieseler, 2017b). This report, focusing solely on the focus group analysis, is structured around the three themes covered by the EU Horizon 2020 Ps2Share Research Project: Participation, Privacy, and Power. The report commences with an executive summary and a brief overview of our methodology and objectives. Following on, chapter 4 focuses on participation and covers consumers’ motives and obstacles for operating in the sharing economy. Chapter 5 covers our analysis of privacy topics and includes consumers’ perceived risks and defensive behaviors. Chapter 6 focuses on power and reports on what consumers perceive as the challenges and power-dynamics of the sharing economy. The report closes with a discussion of key conclusions, drawn from across the differentiated topics. More details about the methodology, as well as a description of participants and the focus group guidelines, can be found in the Appendices.

This report is part of a European Union Horizon 2020 Research Project on the sharing economy: Ps2Share ‘Participation, Privacy, and Power in the Sharing Economy’ (www.ps2share.eu). It presents the recommendations derived from Work Package 4 “Non-Participation, Inequalities, and Exclusion” within the Ps2Share project. Work Package 4 encompassed a systematic literature review on participation in the sharing economy (Andreotti, Anselmi, Eichhorn, Hoffmann, & Micheli, 2017), focus group discussions among Millennials in several European countries (Ranzini, Newlands, Anselmi, Andreotti, Eichhorn, Etter, Hoffmann, Jurss, & Lutz, 2017) and a largescale survey of citizens of twelve European countries (Andreotti, Anselmi, Eichhorn, Hoffmann, Jurss, & Micheli, 2017). The project also included three deliverables on the topic of privacy in the sharing economy: a comprehensive literature review (Ranzini, Etter, Lutz, & Vermeulen, 2017), a large-scale survey report (Ranzini, Etter, & Vermeulen, 2017) as well as recommendations on a more privacy-friendly sharing economy in Europe (Ranzini, Kusber, Vermeulen, & Etter, 2018). In addition, three deliverables on power in the sharing economy were produced: a comprehensive literature review (Newlands, Lutz, & Fieseler, 2017a), a large-scale survey report (Newlands, Lutz, & Fieseler, 2017b) as well as recommendations on a more empowering sharing economy in Europe (Newlands, Lutz, & Fieseler, 2018). Finally, two deliverables about platforms in the sharing economy formed part of the project: a comprehensive platform analysis report (Stanoevska-Slabeva, Lenz-Kesekamp, & Suter, 2017) and a set of platform design implications in the form of guidelines (Stanoevska-Slabeva, Lenz-Kesekamp, & Suter, 2018).

This report selectively draws on the systematic review of a large set of data sources, which is presented elsewhere, and comprises 430 secondary sources (Codagnone, 2016). The report also provides a critical overview of key analytical, empirical, and normative dimensions of the ‘sharing economy’. It reviews both the rhetorical and controversial debates currently surrounding the topics and the available empirical evidence in order to sharpen our understanding of relevant policy and regulatory issues. The broad umbrella term 'sharing economy' is critically assessed and a typology developed that identifies the commercial 'peer to peer' sharing economy as the main focus of both controversies and policy-relevant issues. Empirical evidence of the benefits and costs of the sharing economy and its implications for sustainability and employment is very limited and inconclusive, particularly as regards the European landscape. This critical review, hence, shows that, as yet, there are no unambiguous answers to some of the fundamental questions about the ‘sharing economy’. The available research is too limited and patchy to give us a comprehensive and coherent picture. This report’s main contribution is to clear some of the conceptual and empirical fog around the ‘sharing economy’ and to identify where possible answers might be found in the future. It is suggested that the definition of sharing platforms should focus on P2P activities, as most of the policy concerns are found there. These include regulatory and consumer protection issues resulting from the informal production of services, potentially unfair competition with formal B2C service providers, and questions related to dominance and market power of P2P platform operators as commercial businesses.

One of the biggest challenges facing the tourism industry and policy makers is the emerging and fast growing of the concept ‘sharing economy’ (SE). Many have considered this a disruptive influence in the tourism business, while others are acknowledging it as a potentially transformative phenomenon that has been challenging for industry, governments and researchers alike. The ‘sharing economy’ describes a new economic paradigm driven by technology, consumer awareness and social commerce—particularly through web communities, and can be thought of as sharing, lending, renting and swapping redefined through digital technology and peer communities. Intense debates around the impacts of the sharing economy on the tourism industry converge around issues such as consumer welfare, economic development, equitable competition, innovation and change. Much of this conjecture coalesces around the relative merits and impacts of potential regulatory measures that might be applied to businesses operating in the sharing economy and its integration into existing business models in tourism. The challenges brought by this innovation raise questions about how voluntarily adopted principles of corporate sustainability and responsibility, and its neoliberalist consumer culture values can be reconciled with more collectivist values promoted by some established tourism firms to protect consumers and incumbent industries. In the chapter, we argue that tourism businesses only marginally use the opportunities of the sharing economy and rather advocate a regulatory framework to combat the perceived competition from the sharing economy. As SE became part of the tourism industry, tourism businesses are exploring collaborative business models. Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility (CSR 2.0) principles and practices applied to the SE might provide a way forward for tourism businesses to be more consumer oriented, have specialised operations, be flexible, transparent and responsive to market trends. This might be a means to move beyond regulation of the SE in the tourism industry and establish new ways of doing business.

Airbnb, Uber, Eatwith, and other sharing economy platforms facilitate short-term rentals, transportation, meals, and even pet sharing. These “sharing economy” companies are part of what is also called “collaborative consumption” or “the peer-to-peer economy.” The companies in the sharing economy use technology to connect people who have private excess capacity to those who want to purchase it. Rather than staying in a hotel, customers can stay in a spare bedroom through Airbnb; rather than hiring moving companies, customers can get help moving via TaskRabbit; rather than going to a restaurant, customers can have a meal prepared for them in someone’s home via Eatwith.TIME Magazine listed the sharing economy as one of the ten ideas that will change the world, and Forbes estimates that the revenue flowing through the sharing economy will surpass $3.5 billion in 2014, with growth exceeding 25%. At that rate, peer-to-peer sharing is moving beyond a fringe movement and becoming a disruptive economic force. Look only to Airbnb, which at six years old has a valuation of $13 billion, much higher than the Hyatt hotel chain ($10 billion), and Uber, which at four years old has a valuation of $40 billion, greater than Hertz, Avis, and Enterprise combined. Companies using this relatively new business model have faced innumerable legal challenges. In some places, platforms are simply banned from operating; in others, supply-side users or the platforms themselves are punished. The reason for the difficulty and uncertainty is that the sharing economy is in a “betwixt and between space” — it does not fit within existing legal frameworks. Platforms view themselves as online companies regulated by Internet law, though they execute mostly in the offline world. Furthermore, sharing economy platforms are facilitating transactions that have always been legal, but are now executed on such a large scale that the potential for harm to the public is very real. What are the rules when the lines blur between giving a friend a ride to the airport and operating as a professional driver?This paper argues that existing laws cannot effectively regulate the sharing economy, because the sharing economy is uniquely comprised of individuals profiting from their personal excess capacity. These individuals operate microbusinesses, which cannot, without devastating consequences, be regulated like traditional businesses. The paper proposes a new framework for regulators that will support the benefits of the sharing economy while still achieving regulatory goals such as fraud prevention, safety, revenue, risk allocation, and fair competition.

This research is focused on the main characteristics of sharing economy as one of the fast-developing sectors of 4.0 industry in the world and in Russia. Due to the increasing role of a consumer as one of the key economic agents in the sharing economy, the research is focused on the sharing economy adoption factors on the consumer level. Sharing economy development perspectives and adoption factors, including drivers and impediments the consumers are facing are analyzed in the paper. To identify the factors determining the consumer behavior in the sharing economy in Russia, the quantitative survey with 2576 respondents was conducted. The analysis of empirical data allows to reveal six main factors of sharing economy developing from the consumer perspective: (1) the attitude to the sharing economy, (2) difficulties to start participation in the sharing economy, (3) perceived risks, (4) the role of property, (5) influence of the referent groups, (6) hygienic factors of sharing economy. After the cluster analysis, three consumer clusters were determined: (1) consumers with neutral attitude to the sharing economy, (2) skeptical consumers, (3) competent consumers. The results of the analysis are relevant both for the academic research and for the management practice and allow to make conclusions on the problems and perspectives of the sharing economy development in Russia based on the analysis of the impediments and stimulating development factors (drivers) in the context of the behavioral model of Russian consumers in the sharing economy.

The recent global economic crisis has resulted in increased discussion and attention on the sharing economy, a form of economic activity where individuals share currently available products. This study investigates consumer sharing economy usage attitudes and usage intentions by applying rational choice theory. For this study, an investigation that had 400 adult consumers from across Korea answer a structured questionnaire was conducted. A statistical approach using SPSS ver. 22.0 was used to analyze the data. The study found that the consumer’s sharing economy value and participation levels were higher than usual. Higher than usual consumption patterns were seen for the construct of rational behavior theory. An analysis of the relative influence of variables regarding sharing economy usage intention also found that usage intention was higher for those who had experienced using a sharing economy services rather than those who did not have experience. In addition, the sharing economy usage intention also increased along with the values for subjective norms, sharing economy usage attitudes, sharing economy participation, sharing economy emotional benefits, and increased values. This study found that fundamental materials for consumer education should be made to eliminate difficulties that consumers have when they use sharing economy services. It is also expected that economic policy will develop to stimulate the sharing economy in a stable manner, that sharing economy-related information will be provided to consumers, and that consumer policies will be prepared to prevent consumer problems before they occur. Keywords: sharing economy service, value, involvement, service usage intention

Introduction. Inclusive development of agricultural enterprises is possible under the conditions of implementing a sharing and circular business model. The purpose of the article is to propose a basic model of the interconnection of the structural elements of the circular and sharing economy, which formed the basis of the modern development of the agricultural sector, and to present their innovative, ecological, and inclusive actualization. Methods. To achieve the specified goal, the work used the methods of grouping, analysis and synthesis, generalization, comparison, and the systemic method. Results. The fact that the inclusive development of the agricultural sector based on environmental friendliness, waste-free production, and rational and economical use of resources is one of the goals of sustainable development is substantiated and revealed. The constituent structural elements of the circular and sharing economy, which formed the basis of the development of the agricultural sector, making it inclusive, are presented. Itʼs indicated that the sharing economy model is used in various sectors of the economy: mobility industry, retail trade, entertainment, multimedia, telecommunications, agricultural, energy, financial sectors, tourism, and hospitality. Conclusions. It is substantiated that the joint use of movable and immovable property will allow business entities to spend less on purchasing new means of labor and invest more in innovating business processes, accelerating the transition to green technologies and the formation of a circular economy.

Sharing economy is a term that has been discussed a lot on e-commerce forums in Vietnam recently. This is a new business model that can bring super profits along with general benefits to society on the digital economy platform. The sharing economy is a new opportunity to change the way of doing business from owning assets to using assets without owning. In the past, the possession of physical-production materials or consumption materials was the most important factor in assessing the efficiency of enterprises or the quality of life, but the trend nowadays has changed. Throughout the industrial revolutions from the first to the fourth ones, the production force has had a remarkable development from mechanics, electrification, electronics, computers, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing... The influence of the fourth industrial revolution and the emergence of the sharing economy leads to the appearance of a new generation who prefer the consuming experience of possessing material. Along with that trend, the production relationship, including the ownership, also has certain changes such as the subjects and objects of the ownership, the new perception of ownership... Changes in ownership, when the sharing economy is formed and developed in Vietnam, has raised many problems such as changes in ownership objects in sharing economies require a complete institutional foundation of management; property rights, especially intellectual property; means and ways to evaluate and measure the efficiency and profitability of enterprises pursuing the form of "sharing economy". Henceforth, the article proposes several implications for solving problems that arise in ownership when developing the sharing economy in Vietnam, that is: completing the institution; providing a full and flexible legal environment; creating conditions for the effective development and management of subjects participating in the sharing economic model, consistent with the rapid change of science and technology platform; renewing the intellectual property regime in the direction of encouraging creativity and protecting property rights in all fields; building a system of means and methods for economic accounting and information transparency in the sharing economy; enhancing understanding of subjects when participating in the sharing economy; having a management mechanism to protect legal rights and interests as well as personal property.