Conceptualizing the Digital Sharing Economy in the Context of Sustainability

Abstract

Human society is increasingly influencing the planet and its environmental systems. The existing environmental problems indicate that current production and consumption patterns are not sustainable. Despite the remarkable opportunities brought about by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to improve the resource efficiency of production and consumption processes, it seems that the overall trend is still not heading towards sustainability. By promoting the utilization of available and underused resources, the ICT-enabled sharing economy has transformed, and even in some cases disrupted, the prevailing patterns of production and consumption, raising questions about opportunities and risks of shared consumption modes for sustainability. The present article attempts to conceptualize the sustainability implications of today’s sharing economy. We begin with presenting a definition for the digital sharing economy that embraces the common features of its various forms. Based on our proposed definition, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the digital sharing economy as a use case of ICT. The analysis is deepened by applying the life-cycle/enabling/structural impacts model of ICT effects to this use case. As a result, we show the various positive and negative potentials of digital sharing for sustainability at different system levels. While it is too early to project well-founded scenarios to describe the sustainability status of digital sharing, the implications discussed in our work may help outlining future research and policies in this area.

A Novel ICT Framework for Sustainable Development Goals

“…We are aware that there is a critical reflection on the frameworks that are based on the so called "three pillars" and the approaches to find a "balance" between the environment, economy, and society. For example, Pouri and Hilty look at "the economic system as a part of human society and human society as a phenomenon that has become possible due to the biological processes on earth which have been reliably carrying it so far" [27]. The LES model, built up to structure the impact of ICT on sustainability, was actually based on this point of view [28].…”

A Positioning Map and Future Research Agenda of Collaborative Consumption

“…of resource exchange among the actors; the form of compensation can be monetary or nonmonetary (Barbu et al, 2018;Lee, Chan, Balaji, & Chong, 2018). Another study mentions profit or non-profit compensation (Pouri & Hilty, 2018;Richardson, 2015). (4) Temporary Access: The transition of consumer behavior from buying to share underutilized resources, causing the consumer pays for access to product or service not for owning, this is means that the customer used the product or service in short or long-term (Lee et al, 2018;Lutz & Newlands, 2018).…”

Assessing the Environmental Potential of Collaborative Consumption: Peer-to-Peer Product Sharing in Hammarby Sjöstad, Sweden

“…However, social and economic sustainability are rarely addressed. There is, therefore, a need, and currently a lack of studies, for broader sustainability assessments with the increased use of sharing services and other collaborative economy models [52].…”