The Emergence of the Sharing Economy: Implications for Development

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Hira ◽  
Katherine Reilly
Keyword(s):  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Taxi Drivers ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Transformative Potential ◽  
Introductory Article ◽  
Traditional Service ◽  
The One

With the spread of internet-based technologies, the sharing economy is emerging as a new and rapidly growing sector of the economy. This sector offers transformative potential for many other sectors of the economy, and possibilities for new economic activity and growth in the developing world. The sharing economy is a misnomer, as while there are possibilities for more cooperative economic approaches, the primary emphasis is on the reduction of transaction costs including the elimination of middlemen in sales between a good/service provider and a customer. In this introductory article to the special edition, we provide an overview of both the positive and negative potential for the contribution of the sharing economy to development. On the one hand, we find that the reduction in transactions costs and the low price of mobiles improves access to goods and services, and reduces the need for economies of scale for marginalized groups who lack access to capital and infrastructure. However, we point to the real obstacles that the poor experience in using internet-based platforms to start businesses or accumulate capital. We discuss the potential for labour substitution of traditional service providers, such as taxi drivers. In juxtaposition to some of its claimants, we find that the sharing economy changes the nature of institutional, regulatory and promotional challenges by the state and social groups, rather than reducing the need for them.

scholarly journals The ‘gig economy’: employee, self-employed or the need for a special employment regulation?

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrián Todolí-Signes
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Business Organisation ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
New Type ◽  
The One ◽  
Individual Service ◽  
Labour Regulation

The digital era has changed employment relationships dramatically, causing a considerable degree of legal uncertainty as to which rules apply in cyberspace. Technology is transforming business organisation in a way that makes employees – as subordinate workers – less necessary. New types of companies, based on the ‘on-demand economy’ or so-called ‘sharing economy’ and dedicated to connecting customers directly with individual service providers, are emerging. These companies conduct their entire core business through workers that they classify as self-employed. In this context, employment law is facing its greatest challenge, as it has to deal with a very different reality to the one existing when it was created. This article analyses the literature available about the classification of this new type of worker as an employee or as self-employed, concluding that there is a need for a new special labour regulation. It also describes and justifies the bases for this new special labour regulation.

Building trust in sharing economy platforms: trust antecedents and their configurations

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Akhmedova ◽  
Neus Vila-Brunet ◽  
Marta Mas-Machuca
Keyword(s):  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Positive Word ◽  
Repurchase Intention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The One ◽  
Positive Word Of Mouth

PurposeThe sharing economy is the internet-enabled business model that has changed the way people travel, work and interact. Similar to other internet-enabled settings, trust is of paramount importance for the sharing economy as it leads to continued use and positive word-of-mouth. The main objectives of this research are twofold: (1) to identify the most relevant antecedents of trust in the sharing economy; and (2) to identify which combination of these antecedents allows repurchase intention and positive word-of-mouth to be achieved.Design/methodology/approachThrough revision of trust theories and complementary frameworks, and an analysis of the sharing economy, the authors develop a model of trust for the sharing economy. The authors propose a model assuming that different types of trust will form a limited number of pathways valid for the creation of positive behavioural intentions. The authors use qualitative comparative analysis to empirically assess the proposed model on a sample of 235 sharing economy users.FindingsThe authors find two configurations that jointly suggest the key role of website quality and usability in generating consumer trust. The authors propose that, on the one hand, platforms might focus on creating value-added services and increasing the reliability of the platform brand. On the other hand, platforms can focus on creating good signalling mechanisms and educate their service providers towards reliable behaviour.Originality/valueThe authors build a conceptual model of trust in the sharing economy setting, that considers the feedback loops among the combination of several dimensions. The authors define specific strategies for platforms in the sharing economy that lead to repurchase intention and positive word-of-mouth.

scholarly journals Entrepreneurial Activism? Platform Cooperativism Between Subversion and Co-optation

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 801-817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisol Sandoval
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Public Goods ◽  
Social Activism ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Solidarity ◽  
Business Enterprise ◽  
Taxi Drivers ◽  
Digital Capitalism ◽  
The One

Platform cooperativism proposes to create an alternative to the corporate sharing economy based on a model of democratically owned and governed co-operatives. The idea sounds simple and convincing: cut out the corporate middleman and replace Uber with a service owned and managed by taxi drivers themselves, create a version of Airbnb run by cities, or turn Facebook into a platform democratically controlled by all users. This article discusses the ambivalences of platform cooperativism, exploring both the movement’s potentials to subvert digital capitalism from the inside and the risk of being co-opted by it. Platform cooperativism aims to foster social change by creating a People’s Internet and replacing corporate-owned platforms with user-owned co-operatives. It yokes social activism with business enterprise. As a result, the movement is shaped by tensions and contradiction between politics and enterprise, democracy and the market, commons and commercialisation, activism and entrepreneurship. This article explores these tensions based on a Marxist perspective on the corrosive powers of capitalist competition on the one hand and a Foucaultian critique of entrepreneurialism on the other. It concludes with a reflection on the politics of platform cooperativism, drawing out problematic implications of an uncritical embrace of entrepreneurialism and highlighting the need to defend a politics of social solidarity, equality and public goods.

scholarly journals CURRENT TRENDS AND PROSPECTS OF SHARING ECONOMY

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (87) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladlena Parsenyuk ◽  
◽  
Olha Pashchenko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Information Technologies ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Business Development ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
The World ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Further Development

The sharing economy or collaborative economy is a new social economical system, the idea of which is based on the shared usage and shared access to resources, goods and services. Moreover, sharing economy includes their creation, production, distribution, trade and consumption by various people and organizations. The article highlights the problem of regulating the sharing economy, in particular, taxation, labor payment by sharing services and allocation of responsibilities between the participants of the sharing agreement and the platform. The markets of the USA, Europe and China were selected for analyzing current trends of the sharing economy`s development in the world. It is known that rent of apartments and transport are two the most developed areas of sharing. At the same time, the media and entertainment is the most credible sector among all other sharing services. During the research the features and advantages of the sharing economy were revealed, which are: access to a wider and better range of goods and services, reduction of their prices, the ability to earn additional income, saving time through automated rental processes, broadening the outlook and exchanging of experience, saving resources and protecting the environment. It is known that sharing companies are serious competitors of traditional service providers, because of using three models of business development at the same time – leadership strategy by expenditures, strategy of differentiation and focus strategy. Furthermore, the factors of dynamic development of sharing in the world were identified, the main of which is the rapid spread and usage of information technologies, as well as the growth of the world's population, increasing income inequality, the frequency of global financial, environmental and social crises, and increasing the cost`s volatility of natural resources. It is predicted further development and growth of sharing economy, which in 2025 will be comparable to the traditional economy in terms of total revenue. Based on this analysis, the trends of further development of the collaborative economy were justified – consolidation sharing platforms into large online sharing systems, changing the way of consumption, opening up new possibilities for business development and the emergence of new business projects, overcoming corruption, shift in awareness and the level of trust to sharing services, tougher competition and the increased role of the state as a regulator of sharing processes.

scholarly journals Shared accommodation as a globalization trend in tourism

2020 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 03002
Author(s):  
Miroslava Kostková
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Marketing Research ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Global Trend ◽  
Traditional Service ◽  
Modern Economic ◽  
Tourism Service ◽  
Tourist Accommodation ◽  
The Impact

Modern tourism trends have a distinctly global character. They include the use of online tourism service platforms and the sharing of services based on sharing economy. Governments and municipalities create regulatory measures to operate in accordance with the destination’s municipal, financial, security, and tourism interests to ensure transparency and a level playing field for entrepreneurship. The paper deals with this global trend in the field of the accommodation services through the Airbnb platform in the Czech Republic and in the Silesian Moravian Region, in the use and provision of tourist accommodation services and identification of the impact on tourism development and tourist attendance the destination, within the project Trends of tourism in the Moravian-Silesian Region, using the methods of marketing research. The results declare that shared economy platforms in the field of accommodation have a place in the modern economic system, they put competitive pressure on tourism service providers, the offer expands for the consumers and traditional service providers force to move to innovative concepts. The hoteliers want to offer the creation of standards that the sharing accommodation providers should follow and public administration and city representatives want to clearly describe the duties for each accommodation provider and regulate accommodation through Airbnb.

scholarly journals Can the Trust in Uber-like Platform Use Be Translated into Parcel Logistics?

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 398-409
Author(s):  
Csilla Bartucz
Keyword(s):  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Resource Sharing ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
The Other ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Operating Model ◽  
Creative Commons ◽  
The One

Rising expectations for urban logistics are the biggest challenge for parcel service providers. The increased costs posed by obstacles reduce profitability, and providers are forced to develop a novel operating model based on cooperation. The new model can combine what is known so far, which can be integrated into a platform-based system to implement collaborative resource sharing. The implementation of the platform will result in the introduction of a new player and the creation of a partly common ICT background. The platform-based approach is known in the context of the sharing economy initiative, which has also brought a novel trust-based model to life. On the one hand, this article presents a possible business model for parcel logistics providers and, on the other hand, the operation of a third-party IT platform and the method of resource allocation designed to reduce costs. In addition, it presents the possible reasons for the intention to join the platform and the conditions necessary to maintain the platform. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

A Study on Consumers’ Awareness on Goods and Services Tax

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
A. Hilary Joseph ◽  
D. Kanakavalli
Keyword(s):  
Tax Reform ◽  
Subsequent Stage ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Value Addition ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Late Night ◽  
Single Tax ◽  
Doing Business ◽  
Ease Of Doing Business ◽  
The One

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) -- India's biggest tax reform since independence formally launched in Parliament by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee came into force after 17 tumultuous years of debate, unifying more than a dozen central and state levies.  The new tax regime was ushered at the late night of 30th June and came into force on 1st July 2017.  The one national GST unifies the country's USD 2 trillion economy and 1.3 billion people into a common market.  As commented by Mr.Modi, GST is not just tax reform but its economic reform. GST is a way forward in the ease of doing business.  In the language of law, it is called the goods and services tax, but the benefit of GST is really a Good and Simple Tax. Good because multiple taxes will be removed. Simple because it requires just one form and is easy to use.  GST is a single tax on the supply of goods and services, right from the manufacturer to the consumer.  Credits of input taxes paid at each stage will be available in the subsequent stage of value addition, which makes GST essentially a tax only on value addition at each stage. The final consumer will thus bear only the GST charged by the last dealer in the supply chain, with set-off benefits at all the previous stages.  It renders numerous benefits to different parties such as business and industry, central and state governments and the ultimate consumers.  An effort is made to understand the consumers’ awareness on Goods and Services Tax. Everything that is introduced will attract agitation and unrest among different group of people and they can easily be overcome by designing programmes to clarify the objections of renowned economists.  GST will sure to have success when the confidence of every individual Indian citizens have obtained.

Argumentation of the Courts and Contemporary Legal Scholarship

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Kuenzler
Keyword(s):  
Case Law ◽  
Copyright Law ◽  
Court Case ◽  
Supply Side ◽  
Resale Price Maintenance ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Supreme Court Case ◽  
Resale Price ◽  
The One ◽  
Price Maintenance

This chapter analyzes existing U.S. Supreme Court case law with respect to, on the one hand, antitrust’s minimum resale price maintenance plans, bundling and tying practices, as well as refusals to deal, and, on the other hand, trademark law’s dilution, postsale, sponsorship, and initial interest confusion doctrines, including design patent and selected areas of copyright law. It demonstrates that courts, based on the free riding hypothesis, have come to protect increasing amounts of artificial shortage of everyday consumer goods and services and corresponding incentives to innovate. Through the preservation of such values, antitrust and intellectual property laws have evolved into “dilution laws” and have focused, almost exclusively, on the refurbishment of the technological supply side of our present-day digital economies rather than also on the human demand side of “creative consumption.”

Notes on Competition and Justum Pretium Theory and Practice in Medieval Italy

2018 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 330-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Claudio Corradi
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Market Mechanisms ◽  
Medieval Italy ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Pricing Theory ◽  
Market Variables ◽  
The One ◽  
Capitalist Spirit

Medieval Italian Comuni are often considered as one of the cradles of the modern capitalist spirit. Comuni introduced economic legislation in an attempt to counteract restrictions to competition on the one hand and to control the price of certain goods and services on the other. Price control of basic commodities was often motivated by reasons of public order – such as preventing commoners’ riots. Despite some loose analogies with the modern European Union competition law approach to pricing – namely in the area of excessive pricing – the Italian medieval Comuni pricing theory and practice substantially differed from the modern European Union one. Medieval theory struggled in reconciling market mechanisms with costs analysis and missed the distinction between efficiency and distribution. Moreover, medieval Comuni market variables were substantially divergent from the modern European ones. Despite Comuni being the wealthiest areas in Europe in those days, their consumers had significantly lower buying power, they were affected by different cognitive biases than modern consumers and they were highly segmented from a gender perspective. Medieval producers, that is artisans, did not enjoy the degree of market power that characterizes modern oligopolists. Artisans produced goods for merchants who were the main promoters of trade and economic development. Merchants often succeeded in squeezing artisans’ profits, granting consumers lower prices for manufactured goods, at times also thanks to free trade policies pursued by Comuni administrations.

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