The governance practices of sharing platforms: Unpacking the interplay between social bonds and economic transactions

Abstract

The sharing economy represents a form of governance that combines practices which facilitate social bonds and economic transactions. Based on the understanding that enabling desired socio-economic relations between individuals forms the core of the governance of sharing activities, this paper develops a conceptual framework which shows how governance practices for sharing vary in terms of the weight given to social bonding development and economic transaction facilitation. Drawing on literature from management, marketing, economics and sociology as well as empirical studies on the sharing economy, this paper identifies the governance practices to which sharing economy organizations resort to different degrees and in different ways to structure their sharing activities. Potential contradictions and complementarities between governance practices are specified as they can be an important source shaping the specific governance mix of sharing economy organizations. The proposed framework contributes to a fine-grained understanding of the complexity of governance in the sharing economy, it highlights the relevance of the interplay between the social and economic governance practices, and it lays the foundation to empirically capture the governance mix of sharing economy organizations.