مقاله سال ۲۰۱۶

During the past several decades, markets have given way to alternative modes of consumption that increasingly challenge sole ownership as the dominant means of obtaining product benefits (Lamberton & Rose, 2012). This so-called sharing economy phenomenon is characterized by nonownership, temporary access, and redistribution of material goods or less tangible assets such as money, space, or time. Furthermore, these systems heavily rely on new information and communication technologies, making this form of consumption highly accessible, flexible, and easy to share (Botsman & Rogers, 2011).

The speed of growth in the spread of sharing systems shows that the sharing economy represents a serious threat to some established industries. In 2015, 17 companies operating in the sharing economy were worth more than US $1 billion and employed more than 60,000 workers all together. Just last year, Airbnb (2015) alone recorded more than 35 million paying guests worldwide. And there is no sign yet of saturation from this tremendous uplift. Estimates even predict that the main sharing economy sectors will generate revenues of approximately $335 billion by 2025 (PricewaterhouseCoopers, n.d.). Keeping an eye on this novel form of consumption is thus important for incumbents and start-ups alike (Matzler, Veider, & Kathan, 2015). The prominence of the sharing economy can be explained by a set of concurrent developments, including Internet-based technologies that facilitate connectivity, the global economic crises, the trend toward reurbanization, and an increased apprehension toward sustainable consumption (Bardhi & Eckhardt, 2012; Mo¨hlmann, 2015). Consumers are ‘‘able to access objects or networks that they could not afford to own or that they choose not to own’’ (Bardhi and Eckhardt, 2012, p. 881).

The enormous potential for price advantages, environmental sustainability, convenience, new consumption experiences, and social interactions affirms that the sharing economy will further thrive. While collaborative consumption is gaining momentum in today’s society, the potential the sharing economy holds is still in its infancy. It appears that incumbent firms, specifically, continue to expect they must ride out the storm while the expansion of the sharing economy slows down. However, it can be expected that many firms and industries–— particularly those in retail, automotive, technology, hospitality, media, finance, and travel–—will remain affected in one way or another by this new mode of consumption (Ismail, Malone, van Geest, & Diamandis, 2014).