A Framework for Assessing Democratic Qualities in Collaborative Economy Platforms: Analysis of 10 Cases in Barcelona

Abstract

Abstract:The term "collaborative economy" or "collaborative economy platforms" refers to exchange, sharing, and collaboration in the consumption and production of capital and labor among distributed groups, supported by a digital platform. Collaborative economies' use is growing rapidly and exponentially, creating high expectations of sustainability and their potential to contribute to the democratization of the economy. However, collaborative economy platforms lack a holistic framework to assess their sustainability and pro-democratization qualities. In addition, there is confusion about platforms which present themselves as collaborative when they actually are not, and similar uncertainties and ambiguities are associated with diverse models. To address this confusion, this article provides a framework for assessing the pro-democratic qualities of collaborative economy initiatives. It was applied to 10 cases in the context of the city of Barcelona. The methods used in this study include mapping and typifying 10 collaborative economy cases in the city, structured and in-depth interviews, and a co-creation session. The results indicate the presence of several modalities for favoring democratic values in a collaborative economy.

A Framework to Assess the Sustainability of Platform Economy: The Case of Barcelona Ecosystem

“…For example, the sustainable design of the platform has examined economic and technical facets, but has not considered other significant sustainability measures including environmental effects, inclusion, gender, or legal ramifications, therefore, lacking an appropriate multidisciplinary perspective. (2) There is confusion about the PE which presents it as collaborative, in terms of open governance, open technologies and data, while actually other PE models also experience comparable ambiguities [7]. Unicorn extractionist corporation platforms including Airbnb and Uber are inciting great debate [1,7].…”

Assessing the Potential of Sustainable Value Chains in the Collaborative Economy

“…The conceptualization of CE is still being debated to this day. Some authors [12,13] conflate the notion of CE with that of collaborative economy platform, with Uber being part of a digital platform economy, while others acknowledge that "collaborativity" can be found in a variety of contexts, including offline settings [1,14]. We reconcile both perspectives by considering the CE as an umbrella term that comprises both offline and online delineation [1,14], and categorize Uber as part of the online delineation of the CE, which can be termed the digital platform economy [12,13].…”

“…Some authors [12,13] conflate the notion of CE with that of collaborative economy platform, with Uber being part of a digital platform economy, while others acknowledge that "collaborativity" can be found in a variety of contexts, including offline settings [1,14]. We reconcile both perspectives by considering the CE as an umbrella term that comprises both offline and online delineation [1,14], and categorize Uber as part of the online delineation of the CE, which can be termed the digital platform economy [12,13]. As such, CE: (1) entails many forms of practices; (2) draws on online, mobile, and social technologies for broader scale and scope; (3) efficiently circulates resources originating from "individual consumers", that are redistributed or mutualized directly to obtainers or indirectly to them by means of one or more intermediary(ies) [12,13].…”

“…We reconcile both perspectives by considering the CE as an umbrella term that comprises both offline and online delineation [1,14], and categorize Uber as part of the online delineation of the CE, which can be termed the digital platform economy [12,13]. As such, CE: (1) entails many forms of practices; (2) draws on online, mobile, and social technologies for broader scale and scope; (3) efficiently circulates resources originating from "individual consumers", that are redistributed or mutualized directly to obtainers or indirectly to them by means of one or more intermediary(ies) [12,13]. Table 1 shows how the CE departs from the conventional business model.…”

Sharing Cities Shaping Cities

“…Mayo Fuster Morell and Ricard Espelt [19] describe the forms and dynamics of the platform collaborative economy, drawing on outcomes from fieldwork research. Three macro-models are identified (i.e., open commons, uniform, platform coops) and 10 case studies in the Barcelona collaborative economy ecosystem were analyzed according to six democratic common qualities, which constitute the Star Framework.…”