Sharing Economy and the Social-Economic Context: Mercenarism or Common Good?

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this research is to understand how the social-economic context influences the transformative potential of the sharing economy (SE). Originality/value: The literature on SE is still fraught with uncertainty. We have found that there is a paradox between generating social benefits to the community versus increasing social inequality. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from documentary analysis, netnography, participant observation, and interviews. The data collected were analyzed in the light of the theoretical framework proposed by Wittmayer et al. (2019) for the analysis of narratives related to social innovation. Findings: The produced narratives differ in terms of the type of platform (profit and non-profit). We have found that, in non-profit platforms, the economic and social context does not influence the transformative potential guided by the SE; for-profit platforms, on the other hand, the narrative of ‘income opportunity’ is context-sensitive. The main contributions of the research are the use of a theoretical framework of social innovation to analyze the narratives of the SE and the observation of contextual differences about the phenomenon, which should lead platforms and governments (in their regulatory role) to have different views on SE. We conclude that the narratives of the SE are different. For-profit platforms either do not take part or contribute very little to the phe nomenon of social innovation as a transformative process and, in the contexts of greater social-economic vulnerability, it can be a mechanism of worsening social inequality.

Exploring the role of narrative in social enterprise and social innovation

“…, 2021) or comparing and contrasting approaches to narrative and storytelling in the developing versus the developed world (Karanda and Toledano, 2012; Margiono et al. , 2019), between large public limited companies and smaller social enterprises (O’Dochartaigh, 2019) or between non-profit and for-profit platforms (Lazzari et al. , 2021).…”

“…Another significant subset of publications engages in a somewhat more descriptive approach, seeking to classify the types of narratives used by social entrepreneurs (Roundy, 2014a), social innovation initiatives in rural areas (Vercher et al, 2021) or comparing and contrasting approaches to narrative and storytelling in the developing versus the developed world (Karanda and Toledano, 2012;Margiono et al, 2019), between large public limited companies and smaller social enterprises (O'Dochartaigh, 2019) or between non-profit and for-profit platforms (Lazzari et al, 2021). Finally, in the few empirical studies on the determinants of effective social entrepreneurship storytelling, Roundy (2014b) finds that, unsurprisingly, stories that construct an emotional connection between listeners and beneficiaries are more likely to elicit a positive response, Anglin et al (2014) identify that charismatic rhetoric can be a determining factor for successful fundraising, while Williamson et al (2021) suggest that a founder's deviation from gender stereotypes is advantageous in crowdfunding.…”