Innovation in the sharing economy: A framework and future research agenda

Abstract

The sharing economy (SE) has been variously described as a disruptive, discontinuous, and social innovation. Now, more than a decade since the emergence of seminal platforms such as Airbnb, and amid heightened competition and macroenvironmental pressures, service innovation has become a strategic priority. Our editorial essay is guided by three objectives. First, as a prelude to this Special Issue, we examine the current state of SE service innovation literature. Despite some important contributions, especially in relation to business model innovation, other salient types of service innovation remain underexplored. Second, we position the contributions of the 13 papers in this Special Issue on our novel Sharing Economy Innovation Framework, which stipulates both the type of service innovation examined, and the focal dyadic relationships involved. Third, based on remaining gaps in the framework, we outline an agenda for future research on SE innovations.