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Sharing economy business models for sustainability

Curtis, Steven Kane LU orcid and Mont, Oksana LU (2020) In Journal of Cleaner Production 266.
Abstract

Background: The predominant focus of academic research on the sharing economy has been on Airbnb and Uber; to this extent, the diversity of business models ascribed to the sharing economy has not yet been sufficiently explored. Greater conceptual and empirical research is needed to increase understanding of business models in the sharing economy, particularly attributes that deliver on its purported sustainability potential. Objective: We aimed to elaborate an improved sharing economy business modelling tool intended to support the design and implementation of sharing economy business models (SEBMs) with improved sustainability performance. Methods: We used a structured approach to business modelling, morphological analysis, to... (More)

Background: The predominant focus of academic research on the sharing economy has been on Airbnb and Uber; to this extent, the diversity of business models ascribed to the sharing economy has not yet been sufficiently explored. Greater conceptual and empirical research is needed to increase understanding of business models in the sharing economy, particularly attributes that deliver on its purported sustainability potential. Objective: We aimed to elaborate an improved sharing economy business modelling tool intended to support the design and implementation of sharing economy business models (SEBMs) with improved sustainability performance. Methods: We used a structured approach to business modelling, morphological analysis, to articulate relevant business model attributes. Our analysis was informed by a narrative literature review of business and platform models in the sharing economy. We also iteratively tested, refined, and evaluated our analysis through three structured opportunities for feedback. Results: The output of the morphological analysis was a sharing economy business modelling tool for sustainability, with stipulated preconditions and descriptions of all business model attributes. Conclusion: The sharing economy is not sustainable by default, so we must be strategic and deliberate in how we design and implement SEBMs. The sharing economy business modelling tool should be of interest not only to researchers and practitioners, but also to advocacy organisations and policymakers who are concerned about the sustainability performance of sharing platforms.

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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Morphological analysis, Sharing economy, Sustainable business models, Sustainable consumption
in
Journal of Cleaner Production
volume
266
article number
121519
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85084267682
  • pmid:32884181
ISSN
0959-6526
DOI
10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121519
project
Urban Sharing: Sustainability and Institutionalisation Pathways
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
087a7dd4-e448-446a-8542-bf47caa84312
date added to LUP
2020-06-01 12:38:49
date last changed
2024-06-13 16:59:39
@article{087a7dd4-e448-446a-8542-bf47caa84312,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: The predominant focus of academic research on the sharing economy has been on Airbnb and Uber; to this extent, the diversity of business models ascribed to the sharing economy has not yet been sufficiently explored. Greater conceptual and empirical research is needed to increase understanding of business models in the sharing economy, particularly attributes that deliver on its purported sustainability potential. Objective: We aimed to elaborate an improved sharing economy business modelling tool intended to support the design and implementation of sharing economy business models (SEBMs) with improved sustainability performance. Methods: We used a structured approach to business modelling, morphological analysis, to articulate relevant business model attributes. Our analysis was informed by a narrative literature review of business and platform models in the sharing economy. We also iteratively tested, refined, and evaluated our analysis through three structured opportunities for feedback. Results: The output of the morphological analysis was a sharing economy business modelling tool for sustainability, with stipulated preconditions and descriptions of all business model attributes. Conclusion: The sharing economy is not sustainable by default, so we must be strategic and deliberate in how we design and implement SEBMs. The sharing economy business modelling tool should be of interest not only to researchers and practitioners, but also to advocacy organisations and policymakers who are concerned about the sustainability performance of sharing platforms.</p>}},
  author       = {{Curtis, Steven Kane and Mont, Oksana}},
  issn         = {{0959-6526}},
  keywords     = {{Morphological analysis; Sharing economy; Sustainable business models; Sustainable consumption}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Cleaner Production}},
  title        = {{Sharing economy business models for sustainability}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121519}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121519}},
  volume       = {{266}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}