Effects of Collaborative Economy: A Reflection

Abstract

Collaborative economy, a practice based on access to goods, is making its way into society, with disruptive effects for traditional economy, which is based on property. Although it is a recent phenomenon, its rapid growth and user acceptance make it possible to predict that in the near future, collaborative economy will be an important pillar of economic growth and employment. The results of this research indicate the existence of other effects of the collaborative economy, not always desirable, among which are changes in mentality or the appearance of new business models.

Conceptual Framework for Explorations of the Collaborative Economy

“…the cost of collaborating (e.g., transport providers in the case of BlaBlaCar company are not allowed to ask for money beyond breaking even) (Kathan et al, 2016). In other words, in addition to trying to make/save money (Botsman & Rogers, 2010;Menor-Campos et al, 2019) and reduce the time needed to realize a business transaction (Schor, 2015), people participate in the CE also to fulfill some "higher-order needs" (Maslow, 1943) such as the need to contribute to environmental sustainability and overall economic stability, maintain good neighborliness, re-connect with society, feel a sense of community-belonging, gain new experiences, prioritize access (to goods) over ownership, and/or support the anti-materialism movement (Schor, 2014;Barnes & Mattisson, 2016;Bucher et al, 2016;Alonso-Almeida et al, 2020). The last but not least background aspect, since in-tragroup activities on collaborative networks are governed horizontally (Ranjbari et al, 2018(Ranjbari et al, , p. 2336, the long-standing issue of establishing and maintaining trust in/among "strangers" (Schor, 2014) has been overcome -at least up to an extent which enables the business to keep going on -by introducing the rating systems, i.e.…”

The Sharing Economy and the Behaviour of Young Polish Singles: The Case of BlaBlaCar

“…Nevertheless, the sharing economy is developing on the basis of both a hard market mechanism (economic motivation -profit maximisation/cost minimisation) 2 and moral and ethical factors. Research conducted by L. Böcker and 1 The collaborative economy can be defined as a set of resource circulation patterns that enable consumers to both receive and provide, temporarily or permanently, various resources or services through immediate interaction with other consumers or through intermediaries [Menor-Campos, Baños García-Moreno, López-Guzmán, Hidalgo-Fernández, 2019]. The collaborative economy affects both people's mentality and their way of thinking, their social and professional relationships, and some economic sectors such as accommodation and transportation.…”

Social Energy as the Driving Force behind Crowdfunding—Analysis and Classification of Selected Attributes

“…The participation of hundreds of thousands or even millions of people in crowdfunding campaigns after mere twenty-something years since the first campaign was launched shows the scale of this phenomenon. It has already gained its place in economic theory, where it is presented as a form of the so-called sharing (collaborative) economy [14][15][16][17]. The financial perspective on crowdfunding confirms its global and financially powerful nature.…”