From the Sharing Economy to the Collaborative Economy: a transition of note for the research community?

Over recent months the concept of the sharing economy has begun to emerge within the discourse of the sustainability transitions research community: a transitions stream has been organised for the First International Workshop on the Sharing Economy; a PhD project focused on business-to-consumer and peer-to-peer models of car sharing has been advertised; and, Frank Geels noted engagement with the sharing economy as evidence of the dynamism of sustainability transitions research (see March 2015 Sustainability Transition Research Network Newsletter).  Perhaps, this interest reflects the growing media profile of, and government engagement with, the sharing economy. Indeed, it is becoming increasingly hard to ignore Airbnb; the Silicon Valley success story, which is so often used to exemplify the nature of the sharing economy.

However, the definition and scope of the sharing economy is much contested, and definitions which reflect the multifarious uses of the concept in practice remain elusive at best (Schor, 2014). Perhaps, the dominate definition has been offered by Botsman (2013), who argues that the sharing economy is an economic model built upon peer-to-peer platforms and “based on sharing, swapping, trading, or renting products and services, enabling access over ownership”. Furthermore, advocates including Botsman and Rogers (2010) argue that the sharing economy possesses the potential to disrupt the practices of hyper-consumption prevalent in market economies, and hence bring major environmental and social benefits. However, the sharing economy has also garnered strong critiques, amongst the most scathing Morozov’s (2013) claim that the sharing economy is a form of “neo-liberalism on steroids”. Such divergent arguments, and a growing profile, make the sharing economy a fertile domain for researchers, and the sustainability transitions research community is not alone in struggling to keep place with developments in practice[1].

Before engaging with sharing economy - to understand sustainability impacts and processes of innovation - as a research community we might benefit from engaging with the latest developments within the niche. Indeed, having done so, I have found that much of the discourse now expands upon the central ideas advocated by Botsman and Rogers (2010) - – i.e. new digitally mediated business models which enable access over ownership. My observations of the Ouishare 2015 Fest[2] – attended by approximately 1000 activists, social innovators, entrepreneurs and innovation intermediaries – suggest that many niche actors are distancing themselves from the concept of the sharing economy (as defined in the narrow terms above). Whilst, within the niche the concept of the collaborative economy has also emerged - and has been the topic of lengthy discussion at the Ouishare Fest - driven by concerns around the unsustainable nature of the prevailing capitalist economic paradigm. OuiShare (2015a), a think and do tank and network of innovators, define the collaborative economy:

“as initiatives based on horizontal networks and participation of a community. It is built on "distributed power and trust within communities as opposed to centralized institutions" (R. Botsman), blurring the lines between producer and consumer. These communities meet and interact on online networks and peer-to-peer platforms, as well as in shared spaces such as fablabs and coworking spaces.”

Similar visions of a broader sharing economy or collaborative economy have also been offered by other niche actors, and actors working at the interface between the niche and the regime (e.g. Nesta (Stokes et al., 2014), a major UK based innovation charity). Such visions share a critique of the centralised structures of the market economy, and herald the potential of, and need for, digital and social innovations which empower citizens to promote sustainability and equality. Hence, the concept of the collaborative economy connects with active research areas, e.g. grassroots innovation (Seyfang and Smith, 2007), and areas which have tended to be overlooked, e.g. digital innovation (with notable exceptions including Smith et al., 2013).

To conclude, I suggest there is a considerable opportunity for the sustainability transitions research community to develop and pursue a sharing economy research agenda that engages with both mainstream and emerging niche visions. In particular, the emerging concept of the collaborative economy is related to, but distinct from, the mainstream understanding of the sharing economy, and is hence also in need of further research. In pursuing such an agenda, a transdisciplinary research orientation might have an important role to play in supporting the formation of a robust sharing (or collaborative) economy niche with the potential to contribute to a wider transition to sustainability.

References

Botsman, R. 2013. The Sharing Economy Lacks a Shared Defintion [Online]. Available: http://www.collaborativeconsumption.com/2013/11/22/the-sharing-economy-lacks-a-shared-definition/ [Accessed 8th January 2015].

Botsman, R. & Rogers, R. 2010. What's mine is yours: how collaborative consumption is changing the way we live, London, UK, Collins.

Morozov, E. 2013. The 'sharing economy' undermines workers rights [Online]. Available: http://evgenymorozov.tumblr.com/post/64038831400/the-sharing-economy-undermines-workers-rights [Accessed 8th January 2015].

Ouishare. 2015a. The Collaborative Economy [Online]. Available: http://ouishare.net/en/about/collaborative_economy [Accessed 21st January 2015].

Ouishare. 2015b. Ouishare Fest 2015: Lost in Transition? [Online]. Available: http://2015.ouisharefest.com/ [Accessed 26th May 2015].

Schor, J. 2014. Debating the Sharing Economy. Available: http://greattransition.org/publication/debating-the-sharing-economy [Accessed 19th January 2015].

Seyfang, G. & Smith, A. 2007. Grassroots innovations for sustainable development: Towards a new research and policy agenda. Environmental Politics, 16, 584-603.

Smith, A., Hielscher, S., Dickel, S., Soderberg, J. & Van Oost, E. 2013. Grassroots digital fabrication and makerspaces: reconfiguring, relocating and recalibrating innovation. Available: https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=2013-02-swps-aps-sh-gdf-working-paper.pdf&site=25 [Accessed 8th January 2015].

Stokes, K., Clarence, E., Anderson, L. & Rinne, A. 2014. Making Sense of the UK Collaborative Economy. Available: http://www.nesta.org.uk/sites/default/files/making_sense_of_the_uk_collaborative_economy_14.pdf [Accessed 21st January 2015].

---

[1] A search of the Scopus database of academic literature for the term “sharing economy” returns 39 results [22^nd May 2015].

[2] The theme of Ouishare Fest was “Lost in Transition?” which the organiser expanded upon as follows: “Transition, transformation, shift: these are words we hear a lot lately to express how the economy, environment, politics and business are changing. What exactly are we transitioning to? What direction would we like to go in? What could a collaborative society look like?” (Ouishare, 2015b)