Dilemmas of the Sharing Economy in the Age of Access

Daniela Viegas Da Costa-Nascimento,Armindo Dos Santos De Sousa Teodósio,Marcelo De Rezende Pinto

doi:10.1590/1984-92302021v28n9904en

Daniela Viegas Da Costa-Nascimento, Armindo Dos Santos De Sousa Teodósio + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/1984-92302021v28n9904en

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Abstract

Abstract In the discussions involving the sharing economy, it is possible to see a tendency to highlight its positive aspects. However, the debates seem to neglect problematizations regarding the dilemmas and consequences of what sharing can mean for the social groups interested in embracing the sharing economy concept. In the age of access, the lack of ownership of goods may indicate a transformation concerning life in society. However, the essence of collaboration inherent in the sharing economy might be questioned, as the shared system would be just an attractive instrument with a friendly discourse mostly used to transfer the responsibility of the industry to the citizen, under the banner of mutual aid. Thus, our article seeks to investigate the different perspectives on sharing by analyzing its main dilemmas. Our study presents a critical view of the barriers, vulnerabilities and illusions present in this specific issue, which most studies and approaches on the subject end up reproducing. As a theoretical contribution to the literature, we point out that only those who have access to the sharing system are able to participate effectively, and their excesses reiterate the economicist and utilitarian structure based on inequality.

Highlights

A quick look at the roll of initiatives that make up the sharing economy can lead to enthusiasm due to a characteristic discourse that uses politically correct terms, such as collaboration and sharing, to describe practices that recover old movements of exchange between people of a community
In these discussions it is often possible to observe a tendency to appreciate the positive aspects of the sharing economy phenomenon, e. g. to replace the concept of disruptive collaborative practices (Mesquita, Pozzebon, & Petrini, 2020), to supply or share resources – instead of purchasing new ones – between people, who act as consumers and / or suppliers (Petrini, Freitas, & Silveira, 2017), to choose the experience of temporarily using other people’s goods and services (Rifkin, 2001)
It is relevant to highlight the notion that trust, reputation, sustainability, strengthening of communities, and the empowerment of vulnerable groups – who have to cope with companies and state regulation – are the main currencies of the sharing economy; it can constitute a different way of looking at society as sharing would replace hegemonic self-interested economic and utilitarian thinking

Summary

Introduction

A quick look at the roll of initiatives that make up the sharing economy can lead to enthusiasm due to a characteristic discourse that uses politically correct terms, such as collaboration and sharing, to describe practices that recover old movements of exchange between people of a community. These questions motivated us to elaborate this paper, whose purpose is to discuss the different meanings of sharing based on the analysis of delimitation, economic, sustainability, social, access, and excess dilemmas.

Results

Conclusion