Providers and Practices: How Suppliers Shape Car-Sharing Practices

Abstract

Social practice theories can be useful for studying changes in mobility systems as regards automobility practices. However, many studies address the demand side and the user practices of consumers, without examining the supplier side. This Norwegian study focuses on the role of providers in car-sharing practices, using data from household interviews with car-sharing users, stakeholder workshops, and interviews with providers of car-sharing services. How are car-sharing providers shaping car-sharing practices, and with what implications? How do business models and platform technologies affect car-sharing practices? The results show how new car-sharing service companies, in addition to established firms such as car dealers and car rental companies, affect car-sharing practices by offering several alternatives for accessing cars. The implications of this are discussed, noting how car-sharing practices are shaped by car-sharing providers in the recursive relationship between practice-as-entity and practice-as-performance. The conclusions offer a critical view of how the providers contribute to various kinds of car-sharing understandings, as well as the implications for policy and practitioners.

Addressing the Colonial Legacies of Science

“…Yet while there is strong support within Manaaki Whenua for change, it is increasingly recognised that the values and motivations of people alone will not necessarily lead to behavioural change (Hargreaves, 2011;Spurling et al, 2013;Svennevik, 2021). Known as the 'value-action gap' , people's actions do not always match their values and beliefs because other factors can constrain, deflect or deter action (Shove, 2010;Shove et al, 2012;Spurling et al, 2013;Svennevik, 2021).…”

Transport Planning beyond Infrastructural Change: An Empirical Analysis of Transport Planning Practices in the Rhine-Main Region in Germany

“…The practice-theoretical perspective is increasingly applied to the analysis of sustainability transitions and the transport transition, in particular [9,35,36]. In the context of the transport transition it has been applied to mobility practices of certain groups of society, e.g., elderly people [37] or commuters [15,38,39], to various transport modes, e.g., cycling [40] or car-sharing [41], as well as to the role of transport providers [36] and the development of transport scenarios [9].…”

Psychosocial aspects of the use and provision of carsharing services in the Czech Republic

“…In line with the focus of our research, we chose a qualitative design, similar to Svennevik [8,9] or Svennevik, Julsrud, and Farstad [10], because it allows us to explore the phenomenon in depth in several cases. Qualitative research was chosen mainly because there are no such focused studies conducted in the Czech Republic and we need to get to the core of the phenomenon under investigation.…”