This paper looks at the role of sociotechnical imaginaries surrounding the governance of the sharing economy in two different locations: Canada and United States. Policy makers are trying to tackle the sharing economy without potentially creating negative impact on innovation. While much of the recent discourse around the sharing economy portrays it negatively, early peer-to-peer digital platforms were envisioned as new pathways toward grassroots, inclusive, fair and low-impact economies (Schor, 2016). However Jasanoff & Kim argue that the evaluation of the positive and negative aspects of technological change have always been influenced by specific tacit or explicit political imaginations of nations in terms of how to power modern social life (Jasanoff & Kim, 2013, p. 190). Using a comparative approach, this paper analyzes these imaginations as they are expressed through policy reports and recommendations. The study shows that the sharing economy appears to be seeking a set of diverse imaginaries including new economic freedom, sustainable consumption, decentralized society, demise of social hierarchies and regulatory freedom.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.